BismiLlah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim,

Abu Hurayrah radhi Allahu ‘anhu passed by a group of people who were eating a roasted sheep, and they invited him to sit and eat with them. He refused, saying, “The Messenger of Allah sallAllahu ‘alayhi wassalam left this world without even satisfying his hunger with barley bread.”[Sahih al-Bukhari]

An-Nu‘man ibnu Bashir radhi Allahu ‘anhuma narrated that ‘Umar ibn ul-Khattab radhi Allahu ‘anhu was mentioning the poverty that the people had become stricken with, saying, “I saw the Messenger of Allah sallAllahu ‘alayhi wassalam spend the whole day upset because of hunger, as he could not even get low quality of dates with which to fill his stomach.” [Sahih Muslim]

Anas ibnu Malik radhi Allahu ‘anhu said, “The Prophet sallAllahu ‘alayhi wassalam never ate his meals at a dining table or in an individual plate, and he never at thin well-baked bread until he died.” [Sahih al-Bukhari]

BismiLlah arRahman ar-Rahim,

Ya’la ibn ‘Ubayd informed us; (he said): Muhammad ibn Ishaq informed us on the authority of Ibn Shihab, he one the authority of ‘Ubayd Allah ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Utbah, he one the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas; he said: The Messenger of Allah sallAlahu ‘alayhi wassalam used to recite once the Book (i.e. Qur’an) before Jibril during Ramadhan every year. The Prophet sallAlahu ‘alayhi wassalam was more benevolent than the blowing wind. When it dawned after the night in which he recited the Qur’an before Jibril, he gave whatever he was asked. In the month (of Ramadhan) after which he expired, he recited twice. [Kitab at-Tabaqat al-Kabir 2:243]

Points of benefit:

1) It is now understood that the Prophet sallAllahu ‘alayhi wassalam used to finish the Qur’an at least once each Ramadhan and that we have to strive to the same.

2) The Messenger of Allah sallAllahu ‘alayhi wassalam used to recite with Jibril ‘alayhis salaam in order to check if he sallAllahu ‘alayhi wassalam was doing al right in his recitation (i.e. whether he remembered it perfectly or not). This shows we should do hifdh and check our recitation with a qualified teacher and it is better not to do it alone as one will find a lot of difficulty. It is also possible that one might be memorising wrong.

3) The beautiful way the sahabah radhi Allahu ‘anhum used to explain the behaviour of the Prophet sallAllahu ‘alayhi wassalam.

4) “…more benevolent than the blowing wind…” means more merciful than the blowing wind Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala would cause to blow as a means of mercy for the ground for the plans to pollinate. So the Prophet sallAllahu ‘alayhi wassalam was more benevolent than the wind that would the reason of plants to grow and blossom.

5) We also learn that the Prophet sallAllahu ‘alayhi wassalam would recite the Qur’an at night as Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala commanded him in Surat ul-Muzammil, ayah 4:

“…and recite the Qur’an in a slow pleasant tone.”

6) After finishing the recitation, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala would bless the Prophet sallAllahu ‘alayhi wassalam by making him generous. Thus, we understand one of the many benefits of recitation of Qur’an is that he/she becomes better in akhlaaq if recited properly, understood and implemented.

7) He sallAllahu ‘alayhi wassalam repeated the Qur’an in his last year to perfect the tajweed, and recitation from memory. And this was one of the ways Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala protected the Qur’an from corruption from the beginning.

And Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala knows best