ercedes, and an opponent (which is) truthful. He who appoints it as his leader, (then it) will lead him to Paradise. And he who puts it behind him, (then it) will lead him to the Fire." [Ibn Hibban, Al-Bayhaqi, At-Tabarani, Sahih]
- "Fasting and the Qur'an will intercede for the slave on the Day of Resurrection. Fasting will say: 'O My Rabb! I prevented him from food and desires, so accept my intercession for him.' And the Qur'an will say: 'I prevented him from sleep during the night, so accept my intercession for him.' He (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said: 'And they will (be allowed to) intercede.'" [Ahmad, at-Tabarani, Al-Hakim, Sahih]
- "Maintain learning the Qur'an, by heart for verily it is greater in escaping from the chests of men than camels from their reins." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
- "Verily Allah raises nations by this book (the Qur'an) and puts down (i.e. destroys) others by it." [Muslim]
- "The likeness of the believer who reads the Qur'an is like that of citron; its taste is delicious and its scent is pleasant. And the likeness of the believer who does not read the Qur'an is like that of a date; its taste is delicious, yet it has no scent. And the likeness of a hypocrite who reads the Qur'an is like that of a basil; its scent is pleasant, yet its taste is bitter. And the likeness of a hypocrite that does not read the Qur'an is like that of a colocynth; its taste is bitter and it has no scent." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
- "It will be said to the beholder of the Qur'an: 'Recite, ascent and rattil (recite slowly and distinctly) as you used to rattil in the life of this world, for verily your level (in Paradise) is at the last verse you read." [Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhi, Sahih]
- "Read the Qur'an, put it into practice, do not abandon it, do not put grudges (upon others) through it, and do not eat and gain wealth through it." [Ahmad, At-Tabarani, Sahih]
- "Read the Qur'an and through it seek the Face of Allah, Exalted be He, before there comes a nation that implements it like an arrow. They read it fast and they do not recite it slowly (to implement)." [Ahmad, Abu Dawud, Hasan]
- "Verily, the best of people with regards to voices, is he whom you feel fears Allah when he recites." [Ad-Darimi, Sahih]
- From Anas ibn Malik, radhiallahu `anhu, (who said) that the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, said to Ubay ibn Ka`b (radiallahu `anhu):
'Verily Allah has ordered me to read upon you.'
He [Ubay] said: 'Has Allah named me for you?!'
He [sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam] said: 'Allah has named you for me.'
He [Anas] said: 'So Ubay began to weep.'
- "There is not a group which has gathered in a house from the houses of Allah, reciting the Book of Allah, and studying it between them, except that tranquility will descend upon them, mercy will befall them, the Angels will encircle them, and Allah will mention them to those who are with Him (i.e. the Angels). And he who falls short (in gaining knowledge and memorizing the Qur'an) should (be prompt in) action, (in) that which lineage (*) will not hasten him (to do)." [Muslim]
(*) For example, if someone is the son of a scholar and falls short in gaining knowledge and memorizing the Qur'an, then it is upon him to hasten in redeeming himself through studying and hard work, not by relying upon his lineage, i.e. him being the son of a scholar, king, or even being from the descendants of the family of the Messenger, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, etc. This meaning is taken from An-Nawawi's explanation of Sahih Muslim. [Transl.]
F. The Essentials Elements of Fasting
Definition of Siyam (Fasting): Siyam in Arabic means “to abstain from something”.
For example, Allah says about Mariam (Mary) in the Qur’an that she said [meaning]: “Verily!, I have vowed a fast to the Most Beneficent (Allah) so I shall not speak to any human this day “[Maryam 19:26]. In religion (Islam) Siyam means “abstaining from food, drink, and sexual intercourse from dawn until sunset with the sincere intention of doing so (for the sake of Allah). Therefore the pillars of fasting are:
- 1-The intention: T