Is It Correct to Recite the Entire Quran Every Week?

Answered by Ustadh Farid Dingle

Question

There is a hadith that mentions that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) used to recite the Quran every week and it mentions how he would divide it up into parts. What is the hadith and is it authentic?

Answer

Thank you for your important question. May Allah make all of us the People of the Quran. Amen!

It does not seem to be established that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) used to divide up the Quran in the parts mentioned, however it is seems likely that he would often recite the Quran in a week.

One should recite as much of the Quran as one can while giving priority to one’s obligations and other more important sunnas.

Fuller answer:

The hadith

To my very limited knowledge, the hadith is found in Hakim al Tirmidhi’s (d. 255 AH) Nawadir al Usul, and Imam al Tahawi’s (d. 321 AH) Mushkil al Athar, and it mentions that the Prophetic Companions (Allah be well pleased with them) used to divide up the Qur’an into seven parts: the first three suras, then the next five, then the next seven, then the next nine, then the next eleven, then the next thirteen, and then from the Shorter Suras (al Mufassal) to the end. This would mean that they would recite Sura Qaf to Sura al Nas in his last night.

Ibn Kathir deemed this hadith to be hasan while Shaykh Shuayb deemed it weak. (Fadail al Qur’an, Ibn Kathir; Takhrij Mushkil al Athar, Shuayb al Arnaut)

To reiterate, the hadith does not mention that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) divided it up as mentioned, but rather that the Prophetic Companions divided it up thus.

Other evidence

There is a well-known sound hadith that indicates that one should recite the Qu’ran in one month, or in seven days. (Bukhari and others)

There is also another hadith that Hakim al Tirmidhi narrated that supports the idea of reciting the Qur’an in a week or less. The text of the hadith is as follows:

‘A men asked, “O Messenger of Allah, what if someone recites the Qu’ran in a week?”

“That is the work of those brought nigh (al muqarrabin),” he replied.

“O Messenger of Allah, what if someone recites the Qu’ran in five days?”

“That is the work of the sincerely true ones (al siddiin),” he replied.

“O Messenger of Allah, what if someone recites the Qu’ran in three days?”

“That is the work of the sincerely prophets. That is very hard and I don’t think you can all do that unless you really push through the night, or one of you in reciting a sura and really wants to get to the end of it.”

They said, “What about less than three days.”

“No,” he replied. “Whoever has the energy should put it in to reciting the Qur’an beautifully.” ‘ (Nawadir al Usul, Hakim al Tirmidhi; Jami al Usul, Suyuti).

The hadith is narrated by Mujahid and is thus mursal. Mujahid’s mursal hadiths are famously more reliable than other mursal hadiths because he was quite careful when it came to selecting hadith sources. (Fath al Mughith, Sakhawi) That said, since it is mursal it is nevertheless a weak hadith, not to mention that the sub-narrator, Layth ibn abi Sulaym, is also considered weak by most scholars. (Tahdhib al Tahdhib, Ibn Hajar al Asqalani)

There is also another hadith that confirms that one should not recite the Qur’an in less than three days. (Abu Dawud and others)

How much to recite

Many of the Early Muslims reduced their worldly responsibilities by simplifying their life and thereby had lots of time for pure worship of Allah. Imam Nawawi mentions that such people should finish the Qur’an once a week or more than that. Others who are busy fulfilling their personal obligations, or obligations to the state or wider Muslim community, should recite the Qur’an in one month or once every two months. (Kitab al Adhkar, Nawawi)

Own should always prioritise one’s personal obligations, and only after fulfuling them busy oneself with sunnas. It is obligatory to leave recommended actions, like reciting Qur’an, if they stop one from fulfilling one’s obligations; it is sunna to leave certain sunnas for more important ones.

One of the Early Muslims said, ‘It may well be that a man prays and recites Qur’an and curses himself as he prays.’ (Tafsir Ibn Abi Hatim) This applies to someone who prays while wronging others, by not giving them their rights, for example.

Conclusion

It is not established that the Messenger of Allah divided up the Qur’an in a particular way, but it is quite likely that he often finished the Qur’an in a week. He discouraged finishing it in less than three days, and encouraged people to recite as much as they could while being consistent and not going to extremes.

Not finishing the Qur’an every forty days is offensive in the eyes of certain scholars. (Al Iqna, Bahuti)

I pray this helps.

[Ustadh] Farid
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Farid Dingle has completed extensive years of study in the sciences of the Arabic language and the various Islamic Sciences. During his studies, he also earned a CIFE Certificate in Islamic Finance. Over the years, he has developed a masterful ability to craft lessons that help non-Arabic speakers gain a deep understanding of the language. He currently teaches courses in the Arabic Language.