Some Reciters of the Qur'an Recite It for the Purpose of Livelihood
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The first question of Fatwa No. ( 1268 ):
Q1: His text: Thatthe reciters of the Qur'an among us inMoroccorecite it for the sake of earning moneyas it appears, and whenever a feast is prepared for them, they come and recite it without paying attention to its words or respecting its recitation; due to the lack of tajwid, and there, when a reciter is reading, you see the others, each of them whispering in his companion's ear and talking about matters unrelated to the topic, and there is some recitation they use which is called (tahzant) among us, meaning: they introduce distortions in its words, and they cause a headache that the ear can barely bear
When they want to stop at a pause or something else, and what also appears to us is that they may have memorized the Qur'an, but unfortunately, they do not understand it, nor do they comprehend it, nor do they guide you, nor do they give you any evidence for guidance, except that they are content with its memorization alone. So I said: The first thing that appears from them during their attendance at this feast is seeking the wage, and collecting charity from people; so that they may seek blessing through them, then they proceed to make du'a for them and their deceased fathers, then du'a for those who gave them charity for success and assistance and the like. And after collecting that charity, they divide it among themselves, and no poor person or needy person gets any of it. So what is the ruling of the Islamic Shari'ah regarding the charity they collect and distribute among themselves, and that recitation they use? And I have found in a book a hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: , meaning: devoid of flesh, is this hadith authentic or not? And what is the meaning of the noble verse, which is: .
A1: First: Reciting the Qur'an is pure worship, and a means of drawing near by which the servant approaches his Lord. The principle in this and similar pure acts of worship is that the Muslim performs them seeking the pleasure of Allah and seeking reward from Him, so he does not seek
from the created beings any reward or gratitude. For this reason, it is not known from the righteous Salaf that they hired people to recite the Qur'an at parties or feasts, and it is not reported from any of the imams of the religion that he ordered this or permitted it. It is also not known from any of them that he took a fee for reciting the Qur'an, neither at celebrations nor at funerals. Rather, they recited the Book of Allah desiring what is with Him, the Exalted. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the one who recites the Qur'an to ask Allah by it, and warned against asking people. Al-Tirmidhi narrated in his Sunan from 'Imran ibn Husayn that he passed by a reciter who was reading, then he asked [for money] and withdrew. He said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say:Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2917Hasan (Darussalam). As for taking a fee for teaching it, or for ruqyah with it, or similar matters where its benefit extends to other than the reciter, the authentic hadiths indicate its permissibility; such as the hadith of Abu Sa'id regarding his taking a flock of sheep as a reward for curing someone he had performed ruqyah on with Surat al-Fatihah, and the hadith of Sahl regarding the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) marrying a woman to a man by teaching her what he had of the Qur'an. So whoever takes a fee for the recitation itself, or hires a group to recite the Qur'an, is contrary to what the righteous Salaf, may Allah be pleased with them, agreed upon. Second: The Qur'an is the speech of Allah, the Exalted, and its excellence over the speech of creation is like the excellence of Allah over His servants. It is the best of remembrances and the most excellent of them. It is incumbent upon its reciter that
he be well-mannered in his recitation, humble, sincere in his heart to Allah, precise in his recitation, and contemplative of its meanings according to his ability. He should not be distracted from it by other things, and he should not strain himself or be affected by it. He should not raise his voice beyond what is necessary. It is incumbent upon whoever attends a gathering where the Qur'an is being recited to listen and pay attention to the recitation and contemplate its meanings. He should not be idle or distract himself from it by talking with others, and he should not disturb the reciter or the attendees. Allah, the Exalted, said:[Al-Muzzammil 73:4], and He said: [Al-A'raf 7:204-205] Third: People vary in their understanding and thoughts, and every person of legal age must know of the religion and the rulings of the Shari'ah according to the understanding and ample time Allah has given him; so that he acts upon it himself and guides others with it. Among the first things he should understand, pay attention to, and be present-hearted for is the Book of Allah, the Exalted. And whatever he is unable to understand by himself, he should seek help from Allah, then from the scholars, according to his capacity and ability. Then there is no blame on him after that, for Allah, the Exalted, does not burden a soul beyond its capacity. And his inability to understand the Qur'an after he has done his best does not prevent him from reciting it, and he is not blamed for it; for it is established from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: Sahih Muslim 798a. Fourth: It is permissible for the poor person to take from charity what satisfies his need and the need of those he supports, and it is recommended for him to pray for good for the one who gave him charity. As for taking money as a fee for reciting the Qur'an, or for having preached to them and reminded them, or giving it to a person hoping for his blessing, or gathering it for people hoping for their blessing and seeking their supplication, this is not permissible. And this was not the way of the Muslims in the first three centuries, which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) testified to as the best of centuries. Fifth: The meaning of His saying, the Exalted: : That Allah, the Exalted, ordered His Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) to inform his people that he does not ask them for a fee for conveying to them what was revealed to him from his Lord and calling them to pure tawhid and the other rulings of Islam. He only performs the conveyance and explanation for the Ummah in execution of Allah's command and obedience to Him, seeking His pleasure alone and hoping for the reward and noble wage from Him, the Exalted, and none other. This is to remove what may be in the hearts of the polytheists of false suspicions and illusions that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) called them to follow him in what Allah legislated for them in order to earn a livelihood by it, or to attain leadership among his people. So he clarified to them that his calling them to the truth is pure for the face of Allah, the Noble. And so it is with all the messengers, peace and blessings be upon them, they do not ask people for a fee for
their calling them. And it has been mentioned in the first paragraph of the answer the hadith of 'Imran ibn Husayn regarding the warning against earning a livelihood by the Qur'an and asking people by it. As for what you asked about regarding its punishment on the Day of Resurrection by the falling off of the flesh of his face, that is a warning for everyone who asks people while he is not in a need that compels him to ask, and he has no justification that permits him to ask people. And whether it is by reciting the Qur'an or without reciting it. From 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar , may Allah be pleased with them both, he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih Muslim 1040a, and in a narration from him: Sahih Muslim 1040c, agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim. And from Abu Hurayrah , may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih Muslim 1041, narrated by Muslim, . So whoever asks people by the Qur'an, the aforementioned hadith in the first paragraph of the answer is true for him if he is poor. But if he is rich, then all these hadiths are true for him. As for the wording of the hadith you mentioned in the question, we do not know its authenticity with this wording you mentioned. And success is from Allah. And may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q1: His text: Thatthe reciters of the Qur'an among us inMoroccorecite it for the sake of earning moneyas it appears, and whenever a feast is prepared for them, they come and recite it without paying attention to its words or respecting its recitation; due to the lack of tajwid, and there, when a reciter is reading, you see the others, each of them whispering in his companion's ear and talking about matters unrelated to the topic, and there is some recitation they use which is called (tahzant) among us, meaning: they introduce distortions in its words, and they cause a headache that the ear can barely bear
When they want to stop at a pause or something else, and what also appears to us is that they may have memorized the Qur'an, but unfortunately, they do not understand it, nor do they comprehend it, nor do they guide you, nor do they give you any evidence for guidance, except that they are content with its memorization alone. So I said: The first thing that appears from them during their attendance at this feast is seeking the wage, and collecting charity from people; so that they may seek blessing through them, then they proceed to make du'a for them and their deceased fathers, then du'a for those who gave them charity for success and assistance and the like. And after collecting that charity, they divide it among themselves, and no poor person or needy person gets any of it. So what is the ruling of the Islamic Shari'ah regarding the charity they collect and distribute among themselves, and that recitation they use? And I have found in a book a hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:
Say, "I do not ask you for any reward for it."
من استعمل القرآن من أجل التكسب سيأتي يوم القيامة ووجهه عظمSay: I do not ask you for any reward for it
قُلْ مَا أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَجْرٍA1: First: Reciting the Qur'an is pure worship, and a means of drawing near by which the servant approaches his Lord. The principle in this and similar pure acts of worship is that the Muslim performs them seeking the pleasure of Allah and seeking reward from Him, so he does not seek
from the created beings any reward or gratitude. For this reason, it is not known from the righteous Salaf that they hired people to recite the Qur'an at parties or feasts, and it is not reported from any of the imams of the religion that he ordered this or permitted it. It is also not known from any of them that he took a fee for reciting the Qur'an, neither at celebrations nor at funerals. Rather, they recited the Book of Allah desiring what is with Him, the Exalted. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the one who recites the Qur'an to ask Allah by it, and warned against asking people. Al-Tirmidhi narrated in his Sunan from 'Imran ibn Husayn that he passed by a reciter who was reading, then he asked [for money] and withdrew. He said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say:
Whoever recites the Qur'an, then let him ask Allah by it. For indeed there will come a people, who will recite the Qur'an, asking from the people because of it.
من قرأ القرآن فليسأل الله به، فإنه سيجيء أقوام يقرؤون القرآن يسألون به الناسhe be well-mannered in his recitation, humble, sincere in his heart to Allah, precise in his recitation, and contemplative of its meanings according to his ability. He should not be distracted from it by other things, and he should not strain himself or be affected by it. He should not raise his voice beyond what is necessary. It is incumbent upon whoever attends a gathering where the Qur'an is being recited to listen and pay attention to the recitation and contemplate its meanings. He should not be idle or distract himself from it by talking with others, and he should not disturb the reciter or the attendees. Allah, the Exalted, said:
and recite the Qur'an with measured recitation.
وَرَتِّلِ الْقُرْآنَ تَرْتِيلا(204) So when the Qur'an is recited, then listen to it and pay attention that you may receive mercy. (205) And remember your Lord within yourself in humility and in fear without being apparent in speech - in the mornings and the evenings. And do not be among the heedless.
وَإِذَا قُرِئَ الْقُرْآنُ فَاسْتَمِعُوا لَهُ وَأَنْصِتُوا لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ (204) وَاذْكُرْ رَبَّكَ فِي نَفْسِكَ تَضَرُّعًا وَخِيفَةً وَدُونَ الْجَهْرِ مِنَ الْقَوْلِ بِالْغُدُوِّ وَالآصَالِ وَلاَ تَكُنْ مِنَ الْغَافِلِينَOne who is proficient in the Qur'an is associated with the noble, upright, recording angels; and he who falters in it, and finds it difficult for him, will have two rewards.
الماهر بالقرآن مع السفرة الكرام البررة، والذي يقرأ القرآن ويتتعتع فيه وهو عليه شاق له أجرانSay: I do not ask you for any reward for it.
قُلْ مَا أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَجْرٍtheir calling them. And it has been mentioned in the first paragraph of the answer the hadith of 'Imran ibn Husayn regarding the warning against earning a livelihood by the Qur'an and asking people by it. As for what you asked about regarding its punishment on the Day of Resurrection by the falling off of the flesh of his face, that is a warning for everyone who asks people while he is not in a need that compels him to ask, and he has no justification that permits him to ask people. And whether it is by reciting the Qur'an or without reciting it. From 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar , may Allah be pleased with them both, he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
When a man is always begging from people. he would meet Allah (in a state) that there would be no flesh on his face.
لا تزال المسألة بأحدكم حتى يلقى الله وليس في وجهه مزعة لحمThe person would continue begging from people till he would come on the Day of Resurrection and there would be no flesh on his face.
ما يزال الرجل يسأل الناس حتى يأتي يوم القيامة وليس في وجهه مزعة لحمHe who begs the riches of others to increase his own is asking only for live coals, so let him ask a little or much.
من سأل الناس أموالهم تكثرًا فإنما يسأل جمرًا فليستقل أو ليستكثر
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.