“No people gather together in a house of the houses of Allah, reciting the Book of Allah and studying it among themselves, except that tranquility descended upon them, mercy covers them, the angels surround them and Allah makes mention of them to those in His presence.”
[Muslim]
SubhanAllah, this part of the hadith is so beautiful. Who would not like to have tranquility, and the mercy of Allah, and be surrounded by angels, whilst Allah mentions us specifically to those is His presence? The Prophet, SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam, is telling us how we can achieve this.
The key to these blessings is the study of the word of Allah, the Qur’an. Indeed, in another hadith the Prophet, SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam, stated,
“The best of you is the one who learns the Qur’an and teaches it.”
[Recorded by al-Bukhari]
But the purpose of the Qur’an is not simply recitation. We note that the Prophet, SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam, referred in particular to those who gather to read and study the Qur’an. The Qur’an is a source of guidance for how best to live our lives and as such, it must read with the purpose of pondering over its meaning in order to understand and apply what it teaches us. As Allah, all praises and glory be to Him, has said:
“[This is] a Book that We have revealed to you, full of blessings, that they may ponder over its verses and that men of understanding may remember.”
(Surah Saad:29)
We note that Allah refers to men of ‘understanding’, those who have sought to understand the verses and be reminded by them, but we do not have to be scholars to gain the blessings mentioned in this hadith. The Prophet, SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam, said “No people…”, and the way he said was in the indefinite, implying that any type of people who come together to study the Qur’an will receive this blessing, as long as their intention is sincere for the sake of Allah, all praises and glory be to Him.
The Prophet, SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam, also mentioned people gathering “together in a house of the houses of Allah”. Some of the scholars have suggested that the use of this phrase, rather that ‘masjid‘ or mosque in particular, is so that places that are used for the purpose of pleasing Allah through study rather than prayer, could also be included. This would therefore incorporate buildings that house madrassahs and so forth. Others say that the Prophet, SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam, did not mean anything specific by the use of this term, and that people gathering in any type of place to perform this act would receive this blessing. According to the majority of scholars, gathering in a group in the mosque to study the Qur’an is the preferred method for learning. However, Imam Malik disapproved of gatherings in which all people are reciting at the same time, because the teacher is unable to tell who is reciting correctly. The practice of the early scholars is that they would read one at a time, clearly and in a comprehensible fashion.
The most important point that we can gain from this part of the hadith is that there are blessings for those who gather to recite the Qur’an and study its meanings. One act is not complete without the other. We cannot expect to gain the blessings of tranquility and an eased path to Paradise if we do not understand what Allah is telling us, and what His guidance is for how we should live our lives. We may be a hafidh of Qur’an, but if we do not understand a word of what we recite, how can the meaning affect our hearts? We learnt in a previous hadith, that the Qur’an is either an evidence for us or against us. It is frightening to consider that the Qur’an could be an evidence against us if we do not apply what it teaches. How can we apply what it teaches if we do understand its message?
How many of us have read the Qur’an from beginning to end in a language that we understand? How many of us know intimately what guidance Allah has sent? How can we be guided if we do not seek to understand?