By Shaibu Asali, Tutorial Assistant at Islamic Online University
What is your intention when you recite the Qur’an? The Prophet (
) said,
“Actions are to be judged only by intentions and a man will have only what he intended” 1
Having great intentions was the way through which the Sahaba (may Allah be pleased with them), the sincere worshipers of Allah (
) and the scholars sought reward from Allah () They used to have multiple intentions for one action in order to acquire a great reward for every action. Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
“The intention reaches further than the action”.
Here are some intentions that are good for us to make when we are reciting the noble Qur’an:
1. We should recite the Qur’an and ask Allah () to make it intercede on our behalf because the Prophet () said,
“Read the Qur’an, for it will come as an intercessor for its reciters on the Day of Resurrection” 2
2. We should have an intention for the increase of our good deeds because the Prophet () said,
“Whoever recites a letter from the Book of Allah, he will be credited with a good deed, and a good deed gets a ten-fold reward” 3
3. We should seek salvation from the Fire by reciting the Qur’an. The Prophet (), said,
“If the Qur’an was put in a skin it would not be burnt by the fire” 4
4. We should seek to fill our hearts with the Qur’an. The Prophet () said,
“ Indeed, the one who does not have the Qur’an inside him (his heart), is like the ruined house.” 5
5. We should have the intention to act upon each verse that we recite in the Qur’an so that we may attain the most elevated statuses in Paradise because the Prophet () said,
“It shall be said – to the one who memorized the Qur’an – “Recite, and rise up, recite (melodiously) as you would recite in the world. For indeed your rank shall be at the last Ayah you recited” 6
6. When reciting the Qur’an we should intend that Allah () cures the diseases of our hearts and bodies. We should also intend that Allah’s mercy descends upon us because of our recital. Allah the Exalted says,
“And We send down from the Quran that which is a healing and a mercy” 7
7. We should intend to have tranquility because Allah () says,
“Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest” 8
8. We should intend that the Qur’an should become the life of our hearts, the light of our sights, the cause for the departure of our sadness and worries, like the Prophet () said in his supplication,
“O Allah make the Qur’an the spring of my heart, the light of my chest and sight, the departure of my sadness and sorrow” 9.
9. We should intend that the Qur’an becomes a cause for our guidance. Allah, the Exalted says,
“This is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for those conscious of Allah” 10
A hadeeth qudsi states,
“O My slaves, all of you are liable to err except the one whom I guide on the Right Path, so seek guidance from Me so that I will guide you to the Right Path” 11
10. We should recite the Qur’an with the intention that we want to die on the path of the Qur’an like ‘Uthman (
) who was granted martyrdom by Allah () while reciting the Qur’an. Ibn Katheer said,
“Whoever lives upon a thing will die upon it, and whoever dies upon a thing will be resurrected upon it”. Ibn Katheer based this on Allah’s statement:
“Or do those who commit evils think We will make them like those who have believed and done righteous deeds – [make them] equal in their life and their death? Evil is that which they judge” 12
11. We should recite the Qur’an with the hope of attaining closeness to Allah () by the love of His speech, as is stated in the hadeeth that
“You will be with those whom you love” 13
12. We should intend that our recitation of the Qur’an should be a great reason for the increase of our Iman because Allah, the Exalted says,
“And whenever a surah is revealed, there are among the hypocrites those who say, “Which of you has this increased faith?” As for those who believed, it has increased them in faith, while they are rejoicing.” 14
13. Recite the Qur’an with the intention to increase our knowledge of our Lord so we can increase our humbleness and increase our need of Allah (), so that we will seek His help at all times in our life. 14. One of the intentions for reciting the Qur’an is that we hope to attain the great virtue wherein the Qur’an becomes the reason for Allah () to choose us, so we become from His special people because the Prophet () said,
“Allah has His own people among mankind.” They said: “O Messenger of Allah, who are they?” He said: “The people of the Qur’an, the people of Allah and those who are closest to Him” 15
15. One of the greatest and most important intentions, and the intention that should be in the forefront is that we worship Allah () by reciting the Qur’an because Allah () stated,
“…and recite the Qur’an (aloud) in a slow, (pleasant tone and) style” 16
AFTER ALL THIS, HAVE YOU ASKED YOURSELF WHAT IS YOUR INTENTION WHEN YOU RECITE THE NOBLE QUR’AN? (Adapted from a post on Shaykh Ghawthaani’s Facebook page)
- Saheeh al-Bukhaaree and Muslim ↩
- Transmitted by Muslim ↩
- Transmitted by at-Tirmidhee ↩
- Graded as authentic by al-Albaani ↩
- Transmitted by at-Tirmidhee(2913). ↩
- Transmitted by Abu Dawood and at-Tirmidhee (2914) ↩
- al-Israa:82 ↩
- Ar-Ra’d: 28 ↩
- Transmitted by Ahmad (4318) ↩
- al-Baqarah 2 ↩
- Transmitted by Muslim (111) ↩
- Al-Jaathiyah: 21 ↩
- Transmitted by al-Bukharee (6167) ↩
- At-Tawbah: 124 ↩
- Transmitted by ibn Majah (215) ↩
- Al-Muzammil: 4 ↩
11 replies on “How to read Quran with Multiple Intentions”
subhanallah,i love to read this yah sheikh
Masha Allah so nice and informative and eye opening article.jaza ka aAllah
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Masha Allah informative and eye opening article i love to read it 🙂
The Quran is the holy book which Muslims recite and turn to for guidance in all aspects of their lives. Its verses have remained intact since their original revelation by God in the 7th century.