It was narrated on the authority of Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam (may Allah exalt his mention), said:
He who recites the Qur’an and acts upon what it contains, on the Day of Judgment his parents will be crowned with the crown (of dignity), whose light is brighter than the light of the sun in the world when it is bright among you: what do you then think of the one who acts upon it? [Abu Dawood]
This Hadith clarifies the position and reward of him who recites the Qur’an and acts upon its laws and principles: his reward, indeed, transcends him to his parents (if they are believers; and if they are not believers, nothing will avail them even in the least).
Why would his parents be crowned with the crown (of dignity) on the Day of Judgment although they neither recited the Qur’an nor did what their child did? For the reason that they were the cause of the rectitude of their child, by either teaching him the Qur’an or arranging for him to learn it or by supplicating for him; or by bringing him up on righteousness and feeding him lawfully.
The Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: “If somebody dies, his deed will cease except from three: recurrent charity, advantageous knowledge by which the people benefit after him, and a good righteous child to supplicate (Allah for a good effect) to him.” [Al-Bukhari in Al-Adab, Muslim, At-Tirmithi, Abu Dawood and An-Nasa’i] The one who died then caused those three things whose reward joins him not only during his life but also after his death.
The crown, then, is the reward of the parents of the righteous child who recites the Qur’an and acts upon its principles and laws. It is they who guided him to good, and the guide to the good is like its doer (in reward). But Allah multiplies the reward for whomever He pleases. Of course, Allah’s multiplication of the reward to the doer of good is not like His multiplication to the one who guides to it. He may multiply the reward for the doer of good, if he is sincere in his intention to Allah, many times more than He does for the one who guides to it.
It is narrated on the authority of An-Nawwas ibn Sam‘an, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, say: “On the Day of Judgment, the Qur’an, along with those who used to act upon it in the world, will be brought together, headed by both Surahs of Al-Baqarah and Al ‘Imran, defending their reciter.” [Muslim]
This Hadith explains the two previous ones. The people of the Qur’an are the party and selected people of Allah; and the Qur’an will come as an intercessor for its reciter who used to act upon it in the world, headed by the first two Surahs of the Qur’an, Al-Baqarah and Al ‘Imran, to intercede and defend the one who used to recite and act upon them. To be sure, whoever acts upon the rulings of Al-Baqarah and Al ‘Imran will have almost acted upon what is in the entire Qur’an in view of the great deal of rulings they contain.
Abu Sa‘eed al-Kharraz, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:
The first part of understanding the Book of Allah is to act upon it, because doing so includes knowing, understanding and extracting its meanings; and the first thing to do towards understanding is to listen while being present in mind because Allah Almighty says (what means):
• {Indeed in that is a reminder for whoever has a heart or who listens while he is present [in mind].} [Qur’an 50:37]
• {Who listen to speech and follow the best of it. Those are the ones Allah has guided, and those are people of understanding.} [Qur’an 39:18]
The whole of the Qur’an is good and to follow the best refers to the wonders which are disclosed to the hearts when listening with attentiveness to it; and this leads to understanding and extracting its meanings. The first thing to do towards listening with attentiveness to the Qur’an is to listen to it as if the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, is reciting to you; and then you transcend that to imagine that you are listening to it from Jibreel (Gabriel), may Allah exalt his mention, while reciting it to the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, because Allah Almighty says (what means): {And indeed, the Qur’an is the revelation of the Lord of the Worlds. The Trustworthy Spirit has brought it down upon your heart, [O Muhammad] – that you may be of the warners.} [Qur’an 26:192-194] Then you may transcend further to imagine that you are hearing it from Allah Almighty.
It is narrated on the authority of ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said:
O holders of knowledge! Act upon your knowledge because a true scholar is he who acts upon what he knows while his knowledge agrees with his deeds. There will appear a people who will carry knowledge but it will not go beyond their collar-bones: their deeds will contradict their knowledge, and what is in their hearts opposes what they show. They will sit with the people and vie in glory with each other, so much so, that a man will grow angry with his companion because he sits with someone other than him. As for those, the deeds they do in their gatherings will not rise to Allah Almighty. [Ad-Darimi]
It was narrated on the authority of ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: “He who recites and memorises the Qur’an, making lawful what is lawful in it and making unlawful what is unlawful in it, Allah will admit him to Paradise and accept his intercession for ten of his household, to all of whom the Fire has been affirmed.” [At-Tirmithi]
The Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said:
“The lawful is evident, and the unlawful is evident, and in between them there are suspicious matters unknown to a lot of people. So, whoever forsakes those suspicious matters (lest he may commit a sin) definitely keeps his religion and honour blameless; and whoever bravely indulges in these suspicious things is about to fall into the unlawful, like a shepherd who grazes (his animals) around the protected zone, and he is about to pasture them in it. Verily, every king has a protected zone, and the protected zone of Allah is His taboos.” [Al-Bukhari, Muslim, At-Tirmithi, Abu Dawood and An-Nasa’i]
Both the lawful and the unlawful are evidently clear in the Qur’an. Suspicious matters should be avoided according to the command of the Hadith, for fear of falling into the unlawful. Whoever does so, Allah will admit him to Paradise and accept his intercession for his family.
Intercession is proven in the Qur’an and Sunnah; and whoever recites the Qur’an and acts upon what it contains will be made to intercede for others because of his high position and superiority in the sight of Allah Almighty. The first for whom he will be made to intercede are his parents, and their worthiness of intercession goes back to their being the direct cause of this act, even though they themselves are not among the people of the Qur’an. The intercession takes place only by the permission of Allah by whomever He pleases for whomever He likes. There will be no intercession for him who does not believe in Allah and His Messenger, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam.
Just as one’s intercession for his parents is a fact, the parent’s intercession for his child is also proven in the Book of Allah. Allah mentioned one’s supplication for his parents (what means): {“Our Lord, forgive me and my parents and the believers the Day the account is established.”} [Qur’an 14:41] Similarly, He mentioned the parent’s supplication for his offspring (what means): {“My Lord, make me an establisher of prayer, and [many] from my descendants. Our Lord, and accept my supplication.”} [Qur’an 14:40] A mention may also be made of the supplication of Ibrahim (Abraham), may Allah exalt his mention, for his descendants (what means): {“Our Lord, and send among them a messenger from themselves who will recite to them Your verses and teach them the Book and wisdom and purify them. Indeed, You are The Exalted in Might, The Wise.”} [Qur’an 2:129]
For this supplication in this world and the intercession in the Hereafter, they are in dire need. Intercession is assured for the Prophets and Messengers as well as for the Qur’an, fasting, righteous deeds, and Allah’s righteous servants and pious allies.
According to this Hadith, one will intercede, not only for his parents, but also for his family members to whom the fire has been affirmed. That is the bounty of Allah which He gives to whomever He pleases and the reward of reciting and memorising the Qur’an and acting upon its principles and laws in this world, and with Allah is the best reward.
Just as the righteous will intercede for their parents and relatives, they will also intercede, by the leave of Allah, for their teachers and disciples, those who have a good favor on them, those whom they like and those who like them in (the religion of) Allah Almighty.
It was narrated on the authority of Abu Shurayh Al-Khuza‘I, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said: “The Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: ‘No doubt, this Qur’an is a rope, one of whose ends is in the Hand of Allah and the other in your hands: hold fast by it so that you would never go astray nor be ruined after it.’” [Ibn Abi Shaybah]
Allah Almighty says (what means): {And thus We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur’an and have diversified therein the warnings, that perhaps they will avoid [sin] or it would cause them remembrance.} [Qur’an 20:113]
Allah only revealed this Qur’an to guide the people; and it is Allah’s uncreated, revealed speech which He says and continues to say; and that is why one of its ends is in His Hand and the other end is the mus-haf, which is in our hands. We have to adhere to it: it is the strong rope between us and our Lord which no falsehood could approach, neither from before it, nor from behind. Allah kept it from any kind of distortion or alteration. In confirmation, He, the Almighty, says (what means): {Indeed, it is We Who sent down the Qur’an and indeed, We will be its guardian.} [Qur’an 15:9]
If things become difficult and the people fall into dispute and the ways are confused so much that no one will know what to do, the saved sect will be that which adheres to the Book of Allah (the Qur’an) and, after it, the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, as stated in a Hadith.
Article source: http://www.islamweb.net/emainpage/
