What Are the Key Etiquettes for Quran Teachers and Learners?

Answered by Shaykh Anas al-Musa

Question

What are the etiquettes of the Quran teacher and the learner in brief?

Answer

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful,

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all worlds, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger sent as a mercy to the worlds, our Master and Prophet, Muhammad, and his Family and Companions.

There is no doubt that the best thing to learn or teach is the Book of Allah (Most High); the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:

“The best of you are those who learn the Quran and teach it.” [Bukhari]

The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) used to take care of teaching the Quran to his companions, and his companions followed his example after him. This is supported by the narration of Ibn Mas‘ud, who was teaching a man to recite the Quran. When the man recited: “Alms-tax is only for the poor and the needy…” [Quran, 9:60] without elongation, Ibn Mas‘ud said:

“This is not how the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) recited it to me. He recited it to me with elongation.” [Tabarani, al-Mu‘jam al-Kabir; Ibn Jazari, al-Nashr fi al-Qira’at al-‘Ashr]

Principles

The etiquettes of teaching and learning the Quran are numerous, but there are some common principles that both the teacher and the student should adhere to:

Both the teacher and the learner should seek the pleasure of Allah (Most High) in their actions, in line with Allah’s saying:

“Even though they were only commanded to worship Allah (alone) with sincere devotion to Him in all uprightness, establish prayer, and pay alms-tax. That is the upright Way. [Quran, 98:5]

They should be sincere, not seeking praise from people, nor aiming to gain status or to draw people’s attention to themselves. Allah (Most High) said:

“Whoever desires the harvest of the Hereafter, We will increase their harvest. And whoever desires (only) the harvest of this world, We will give them some of it, but they will have no share in the Hereafter.” [Quran, 42:20]

The teacher and learner should always remember that sincerity is a condition for the acceptance of deeds. Without it, the outcome could be a loss. They should reflect on the Prophet’s (Allah bless him and give him peace) words regarding the first three people who will be judged on the Day of Resurrection, one of whom he mentioned:

“A man who learned knowledge and taught it and recited the Quran. He will be brought, and Allah will make known to him His favors, and he will recognize them. Allah will say: ‘What did you do with them?’ He will say: ‘I learned knowledge and taught it and recited the Quran for Your sake.’ Allah will say: ‘You have lied; rather, you learned knowledge so that it might be said (of you), “He is learned,” and you recited the Quran so that it might be said (of you), “He is a reciter,” and so it was said.’ Then he will be ordered to be dragged on his face and thrown into the Fire.” [Nasa’i]

‘Ali (Allah be pleased with him) said:

“O bearers of knowledge, act upon it, for the true scholar is the one who acts upon what he knows, and whose knowledge matches his actions. There will be people who carry knowledge that does not go beyond their throats, whose actions contradict their knowledge, and whose inner lives contradict their outward appearances. They sit in circles, boasting to one another, to the point that a man might become angry at his companion for sitting with someone else and leaving him. Such people’s actions do not ascend to Allah in their gatherings.” [Darimi]

Rabi‘ Ibn Sulayman al-Muradi said: “I heard (Imam) Shafi‘i say: ‘I wish that people would learn this knowledge without attributing even a single letter of it to me.’” [Nawawi, al-Tibyan fi Adab Hamalat al-Quran]

Etiquettes of the Teacher

As for the etiquettes of the teacher, here are some of them:

• The teacher must be patient with the student, treat them gently, and not get annoyed by their mistakes or if they fall short in fulfilling what is asked of them. The teacher should not scold a student in front of their peers or describe them as incapable or any such thing, as this deeply saddens the student and may drive them away from seeking knowledge or continuing their studies. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: “Gentleness is not in anything except that it beautifies it, and it is not removed from anything except that it disfigures it.” [Muslim]
• The teacher should continually offer advice to the student for their development and improvement.
• The teacher should remember that they are a role model for their students and must therefore adhere to the religion of Allah (Most High), as one cannot give what one does not have.
• The teacher should follow a gradual approach in teaching the student, starting with the basics of reading and the fundamentals of Tajwid, then gradually moving towards proficiency. They should select appropriate books and texts for the student to read and memorize at each stage. A good teacher nurtures knowledge step by step, as Allah (Most High) said: “Be devoted to the worship of your Lord (alone)—by virtue of what you read in the Scripture and what you teach.” [Quran, 3:79]

Etiquettes of the Learner

As for the etiquettes of the learner, here are some of them

• The student should seek a qualified teacher who has received knowledge and recitation from scholars with an unbroken chain of transmission back to the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) and who is recognized by scholars for their qualifications. Muhammad Ibn Sirin said: “This knowledge is religion, so look carefully from whom you take your religion.” [Muslim; Darimi]
• The student should maintain respect for their teacher by not raising their voice in their presence, not talking to their peers, not engaging in side conversations, and not neglecting what the teacher has assigned them.
• The student should be humble and gentle with the teacher and should not look down upon them, for a student will not benefit from a teacher they do not respect.
• The student should not insist on reading to the teacher if the teacher has apologized, as the teacher might have reasons that prevent them from teaching, such as illness or personal matters.
• The student should endure any occasional harshness or strictness from the teacher, as teachers are human and have their own circumstances. The student should not expect the teacher to explain all their personal feelings or challenges. As the saying goes: “Be patient with the bitterness of a teacher’s harshness, for the knowledge’s firm roots are in their occasional strictness. Whoever doesn’t taste the bitterness of learning for an hour, will drink the cup of ignorance for a lifetime.”
• The student should not ask the teacher to teach when they know the teacher is tired or bored.
• The student should give special respect and honor to their teacher over others. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: “He is not one of us who does not show respect to our elders, have mercy on our young, and command what is right and forbid what is wrong.” [Ahmad]
  ‘Ali (Allah be pleased with him) said: “It is from the right of the teacher over you to greet the people generally and to specifically greet him more. Sit in front of him and do not gesture with your hand. Do not blink your eyes, do not say ‘so-and-so said the opposite of what you say,’ do not backbite anyone with him, do not consult anyone while in his assembly, do not grab his garment if he rises, and do not insist upon him if he is reluctant.” [Nawawi, al-Tibyan fi Adab Hamalat al-Quran]
• The student should defend their teacher against backbiting if they are able, and if not, they should leave that gathering.
• The student should frequently pray for their teachers, as they are the ones who have taught, disciplined, and advised them.
• The student should remember the Prophet’s (Allah bless him and give him peace) saying about the virtue of learning the Quran: “The one who recites the Quran and is proficient in it will be with the noble, righteous scribes, and the one who recites it and finds it difficult will have a double reward.” [Ahmad]
• The student should also remember the Prophet’s (Allah bless him and give him peace) saying: “The example of the believer who recites the Quran is like that of a citron: its fragrance is sweet and its taste is sweet. The example of the believer who does not recite the Quran is like that of a date: it has no fragrance, but its taste is sweet. The example of the hypocrite who recites the Quran is like that of basil: its fragrance is sweet, but its taste is bitter. The example of the hypocrite who does not recite the Quran is like that of a colocynth: it has no fragrance, and its taste is bitter.” [Muslim]

We ask Allah to make us among those who listen to the words and follow the best of them. May Allah bless the Prophet Muhammad and give him peace, and his Family and Companions.

And Allah knows best.
[Shaykh] Anas al-Musa

Shaykh Anas al-Musa, born in Hama, Syria, in 1974, is an erudite scholar of notable repute. He graduated from the Engineering Institute in Damascus, where he specialized in General Construction, and Al-Azhar University, Faculty of Usul al-Din, where he specialized in Hadith.

He studied under prominent scholars in Damascus, including Shaykh Abdul Rahman al-Shaghouri and Shaykh Adib al-Kallas, among others. Shaykh Anas has memorized the Quran and is proficient in the ten Mutawatir recitations, having studied under Shaykh Bakri al-Tarabishi and Shaykh Mowfaq ‘Ayun. He also graduated from the Iraqi Hadith School.

He has taught numerous Islamic subjects at Shari‘a institutes in Syria and Turkey. Shaykh Anas has served as an Imam and preacher for over 15 years and is a teacher of the Quran in its various readings and narrations.

Currently, he works as a teacher at SeekersGuidance and is responsible for academic guidance there. He has completed his Master’s degree in Hadith and is now pursuing his Ph.D. in the same field. Shaykh Anas al-Musa is married and resides in Istanbul.