Will a person be rewarded for reading Qur’aan even if he does not know the meaning of what he reads?.

Question

I always read Qur’aan but I do not understand the meanings… will I be rewarded by Allaah for that?

Answer 1

Sayyidna Abdullah ibn Ma'sood, Radi-Allahu anhu narrates that Rasulullah Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam said, 'That person who recites one letter from the Kitabullah, he will get one reward, and one is multiplied by ten.' He further went on to say, 'I do not say that Alif, Laam, Meem is one letter, but instead alif is one letter, laam is one letter and meem is one letter.' (Tirmidhi)

Comments

This is an authentic hadeeth, jazaak Allaah for sharing.

Answer 2

Praise be to Allaah.

The Holy Qur’aan is blessed, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“(This is) a Book (the Qur’aan) which We have sent down to you, full of blessings that they may ponder over its Verses, and that men of understanding may remember.”[Saad 38:29]

A man will be rewarded for reading it whether he understands its meanings or not… But the believer should not read the Qur’aan without understanding at the time when he is responsible for his actions. If a person wants to learn medicine, for example, and studies medical books, he cannot learn anything from them unless he understands what they mean and it is explained to him. Indeed, he would very keen to understand what they say so that he can put it into practice. So how about the Book of Allaah which is healing for what is in people’s hearts and exhortation for all people? What about a person who reads it and does not understand or ponder its meanings? The Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) would not go beyond ten aayaat until they had learnt them and understood the knowledge therein and how to act upon it. A person will be rewarded for reading Qur’aan whether or not he understands it, but he should try his best to find out what it means and to seek this knowledge from scholars who can be trusted. If he cannot easily find a scholar from whom he can learn, he should refer to reliable books of Tafseer such as Tafseer Ibn Jareer, Tafseer Ibn Katheer, and others. And Allaah knows best.

Answer 3

Assalaamu 'alaikum

Here is a fatwa of Shaykh Abdul Azeez Bin Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him), who was the Ex Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, on this issue;

Yes, it is permissible for believing men and women to read the Qur'aan even if they do not understand the meaning, but it is prescribed to ponder and think so that one may understand, and to refer to books of tafseer (commentaries) if one has enough knowledge to understand them, and to refer to books of tafseer and Arabic language in order to benefit from that, and he can ask scholars about anything he does not understand. What is meant is that he should ponder the meanings, because Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“(This is) a Book (the Qur’aan) which We have sent down to you, full of blessings, that they may ponder over its Verses, and that men of understanding may remember”

[Saad 38:29].

The believer should ponder the meanings, i.e., he should pay attention to reading and think about what it means; he should understand the meanings and thus he will benefit from it. If he does not understand the meaning perfectly, he will still understand many meanings. So let him read carefully and ponder and understand. This also applies to women. The reader should benefit from the words of his or her Lord and understand the meaning so that he may act upon it. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Do they not then think deeply in the Qur’aan, or are their hearts locked up (from understanding it)?”

[Muhammad 47:24].

Our Lord, may He be glorified and exalted, urges and encourages us to think and ponder His words. When the believer -- man or woman -- reads the Book of Allah, it is prescribed for them to ponder and think and pay attention to what is read, so that they may benefit from the words of Allah and so that they may understand the words of Allah and so that they may act upon what they learn from the words of Allah. They may seek help in doing so from books of tafseer that have been written by scholars such as those by Ibn Katheer, Ibn Jareer, al-Baghawi, al-Shawkaani and others. They may also make use of books of Arabic language and ask scholars who are known for their knowledge and virtue about anything they do not understand. End quote.