Is it Better to Recite or To Understand Qur’aan?

One of the most frequently asked questions regarding the Qur’aan – is that is it better to recite, or to understand? How should one prioritize his/her time to get the best from the Book of Allah? 

With regards to recitation, it is a given, that one would be rewarded for every letter that he recites, with that of ten hasanah (rewards). The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:

مَنْ قَرَأَ حَرْفًا مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ فَلَهُ بِهِ حَسَنَةٌ وَالْحَسَنَةُ بِعَشْرِ أَمْثَالِهَا

“Whomsoever recites one letter from the Book of Allah,

For him is (that he receives) a reward (hasanah); and every hasanah is (multiples) of ten like it.

لاَ أَقُولُ الم حَرْفٌ وَلَكِنْ أَلِفٌ حَرْفٌ وَلاَمٌ حَرْفٌ وَمِيمٌ حَرْفٌ

“I do not say that “alif lam meem” is a letter; but alif is one letter, lam is one letter, and meem is one letter” 

(Narrated by At-Tirmidzi who graded it hasan sahih)

So it is a mercy and blessing from Allah that simply reciting from his book, without understanding whatsoever, entitles one to a huge rewards – and this reward has not been granted to any other book in this world, except the Qur’an. And if you ponder the fact that al-Fatihah alone has 113 letters, simply reciting this surah can yield in 1,130 rewards, Alhamdulillah. So yes, recitation is definitely good.

But let’s ponder for a second, the function of the Qur’an and its purpose to mankind. This is the Book that was sent to the Qurayshi nation of Jahiliyyah – one that was submerged in idol-worship, fornication, adultery, gambling, alcoholism and murdering – and it was this very book, the Qur’an that inspired and transformed this same nation who was the Best Example for mankind : that was a shining example in righteousness, abstinence, discipline and excellence.

So having said that, let’s be realistic and ask ourselves this honest question : Can a book ever have any achievement of that magnitude by having the people read and recite that book without understanding it?

If I were to read a motivational book in Spanish, a cookbook in German, or a manual in Filipino, would I really expect it to change my life in anyway, if I didn’t understand a single word? I can read the words, after all…?

Allah describes the Qur’an as هدى a Guidance (for our lives), البينة a clarification (of His Laws, of how we conduct ourselves), الفرقان the criterion (to differentiate right from wrong, truth from falsehood) – and how can one fully benefit from these functions of the Qur’an without understanding?

So my brothers and sisters, while we can, in theory, simply recite the words “طه” (ta ha), “يس” (ya seen) one hundred times in a minute and receive rewards for it, and while we can rush our Quran recitation this Ramadhan to meet our completion KPI to receive our ten multiple rewards; in reality, without spending effort to understand, ponder and reflect on these verses, how will we expect these recitations to have a practical effect on our lives and changing it for the better?

We should aspire to have the Qur’an have an effect on our hearts and our lives.

So we should balance it out; as much as we do spend time to recite the arabic text, we should also put in the effort to understand it : read the translation, listen to lectures on tafseer, read up a basic tafsir.

Themes in the Qur’an are often repeated but told from different perspectives to emphasize different lessons – so a little understanding can go a long way and really have a huge benefit and will have a profound impact to how we benefit from the Revelation of Allah.

The advent of YouTube lectures and eBooks today makes it so easy and accessible to us these days and we have no excuse.. it’s simply a matter of how serious are we about it.

أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ أَمْ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبٍ أَقْفَالُهَا

“Do they not ponder and reflect deeply on the Qur’an? Or are their hearts sealed?” (Surah Muhammad, verse 24)

May Allah make us amongst those who understand, recite, memorize, act upon, and convey His Book. 

Amin