The rituals of the recitation of the Quran

One of the most recommended acts in the holy month of Ramadan is the recitation the holy Quran. The holy Quran was descended in two ways, the first it was descended little by little throughout 23 years at the time of the prophecy of the Prophet of Islam. In different situations different verses were revealed. The story and description of the descending of the verses are mentioned in the books of the exegesis of the holy Quran, and the second kind of descending was that the whole reality of the holy Quran was revealed in the night of Qadr which is in the month of Ramadan, so this month is the spring of the Quran. There are so much emphasis on the recitation of the holy Quran especially with pondering upon its verses. There are some rituals for recitation of this divine book that we mention some of them according to the holy Quran itself and different Narrations of the infallibles.

These rituals are divided into two branches, the superficial rituals and the inward ones.

The superficial rituals are like followings:

-Being on the state of Taharah or purity (having Wudu)

-Reciting out of respect.

-Observing the rights of recitation.

In the holy Quran there are different kinds of verses, some are related to the gifts of Allah, in such cases it is appropriate to ask Allah for those gifts, or some talk about the punishments of bad doers in Hell, so it is recommended to refuge to Allah from them, or the verses that are kinds of Doa and wishes, and we are told to ask Allah by them etc.

-Refuging to Allah before starting the recitation and saying:

اعوذ باللّه من الشیطان الرجیم

Which means: I refuge to Allah from the repulsed Satan.

The second kind of the rituals of the recitation of the holy Quran is the inward ones, like:

-Knowing the greatness of the Quran.

It means that we must know that this book is the words of Allah that were descended for the guidance of the humankinds till the Day of Judgment.

-Noticing to the greatness of the creator of this book.

It means that we must notice to the One that has descended this book, the One that is the creator of the worlds and everything in them and the One that is perfect in every aspect and is away from every imperfection and need.

-Knowing that just like that the verses of the holy Quran must not be touched without having superficial purity, the reality of the this holy and divine book cannot be achieved without being pure from the sins and having the pure heart, and without that the sweetness of the recitation of the Quran cannot be tasted.

-Reciting out of the humbleness of the heart and fearing from Allah.

Imam Sadiq peace be upon him said:

The one that recites the Quran but his/her heart does not get humble and the fear from Allah is not found in his/her inside, in deed he/she has insulted the great affair of Allah and has suffered a clear loss.

-Attending just to the holy Quran and being away from any distracting thought.

-Pondering upon the verses of the holy Quran.

Allah said in chapter Mohammad verse 23:

أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ أَمْ عَلَى قُلُوبٍ أَقْفَالُهَا

“Will they not then contemplate on the Quran? or are there locks upon their hearts!”

-Considering him/herself as the addressee of Allah and being in the presence of the holy Prophet of Islam.

-Being effected by heart from the advices and recommendations of the holy Quran, obeying the commands and prohibitions of these verses and trying to implement them in our lives.

Source: tebyan.net