"Recite to Me"

'Abdullah became one of the Prophet's closest attendants. He carried his sandals and bedding and looked after his needs, and was permitted to enter on him unannounced. Companions in Madinah took him to be of the Prophet's household because they saw him so often.

The Prophet ﷺ once asked him to recite the Qur'an to him. 'Abdullah asked, "Shall I recite to you, when it was revealed to you?" The Prophet ﷺ said, "I love to hear it from someone else." He recited Surat al-Nisa' until he reached the verse, ﴿فَكَيْفَ إِذَا جِئْنَا مِنْ كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ بِشَهِيدٍ وَجِئْنَا بِكَ عَلَىٰ هَٰؤُلَاءِ شَهِيدًا﴾ (“How will it be when We bring from every nation a witness, and bring you as a witness over these?”) The Prophet ﷺ said, "That is enough for now," and 'Abdullah saw his eyes overflowing with tears (Sahih al-Bukhari 4582).

Elsewhere the Prophet ﷺ named him among four from whom to take the Qur'an: 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, Salim, Mu'adh and Ubayy ibn Ka'b (Sahih al-Bukhari 3806).

01Why it matters

The Qur'an is meant to move the heart, and listening with attention is as precious as reciting.

02Reflection

When did you last listen to the Qur'an with nothing else competing for your attention?

03Sources

Sahih al-Bukhari 4582 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
Sahih Muslim 800Sahih · in the two Sahihs
Sahih al-Bukhari 3806 Sahih · in the two Sahihs

What the hadith grades mean

Sahih (authentic): an unbroken chain of trustworthy, precise narrators, free of hidden flaws or contradiction. It is acted upon.
Hasan (good): like sahih, but a narrator's precision is slightly lighter. It is also accepted and acted upon. "Hasan sahih" means it reaches sahih by its routes.
Da'if (weak): a break in the chain or a narrator who is not reliable enough. It is not used to establish beliefs or rulings.
Very weak (munkar, matruk): a seriously flawed chain or a narrator accused of lying. It is not relied on at all.
Mawdu' (fabricated): falsely attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. It may not be narrated as his words except to warn against it.
The two Sahihs: every hadith with a full chain in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim is accepted as sahih by the scholars of hadith.
Historical report: biographies and histories (Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabari) record events with chains that are often incomplete. They are used for the story, not for rulings.
Hadith scholars grade a narration; the four madhhabs do not. Where a hadith carries a ruling, the page shows which schools act on it.

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