Is it permissible to complete the Qur’an every day? How are we to understand the proven reports which say that the salaf used to complete it in less than three days?

Praise
be to Allah

Firstly:

Reading and
reciting the Book of Allah, may He be exalted, is one of the greatest acts
of worship in Islam. How can that not be the case, when what is read is the
words of Allah, may He be exalted? In addition to this honour that is
attained by the one who reads the Qur’an, Allah, may He be exalted, has
promised the reader great rewards in this world and the hereafter, such as
it being guidance and healing for him, that for every letter he will have
ten good deeds (hasanaat) to his credit, that the Qur’an will intercede for
him on the Day of Resurrection, and other rewards and benefits.

Please see the
answer to question no. 141700.

Hence we see
that the noble Sahaabah and Taabi‘een, and those of the early generations of
this ummah who followed them, were keen to read the Book of their Lord, may
He be blessed and exalted, and they would allocate for themselves a portion
of it to be read every day.

Despite their
eagerness to read the Book of their Lord, they adhered to the guidelines set
out by Islamic teachings and did not overstep the bounds, and did not let
their eagerness cause them to do anything contrary to prophetic guidance.
Hence the majority of scholars are of the view that the Qur’an may be
completed every seven days, and whoever has the strength to do more should
not complete it in less than three days, except in specific circumstances
which we will mention below.

Most of the
early generations adhered to the practice of completing it in seven days,
following the advice of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) to ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas.

It was narrated
that ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) said: “Read the Qur’an in a month.” I said: I am able to
do better than that… Until he said: “Then read it once every seven days, and
do not do any more than that.”

Narrated by al-Bukhaari
(4767) and Muslim (1159).

So they did not
complete it in less than three days, because the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) discouraged them to do that. 

It was narrated
that ‘Abdullah – that is, ibn ‘Amr – said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “No one properly understands who reads
the Qur’an in less than three days.”

Narrated by
at-Tirmidhi (2949), Abu Dawood (1390) and Ibn Maajah (1347); classed as
saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Ibn Maajah.

This is what the
Sahaabah understood from the Prophet’s teachings, and the leading scholars
followed them in that.

-1-

It was narrated
that Ibn Mas‘ood (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Read the Qur’an in
seven days and do not read it in less than three days.

Narrated by
Sa‘eed ibn Mansoor in his Sunan with a saheeh isnaad, as was stated
by al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar in Fadaa’il al-Qur’an (9/78)

-2-

It was narrated
from Mu‘aadh ibn Labal (may Allah be pleased with him) that he regarded it
as makrooh to read the Qur’an in less than three days.

Narrated by Abu
‘Ubayd in Fadaa’il al-Qur’an (p. 89)’ classed as saheeh by Ibn
Katheer in Fadaa’il al-Qur’an (p. 254).

-3-

Ibn Katheer
said:

More than one
scholar among the early generations regarded it as makrooh to read the
Qur’an in less than three days. This is also the view of Abu ‘Ubayd, Ishaaq
ibn Raahawayh and others of the later generations.

Fadaa’il
al-Qur’an
(p. 254)

In addition to
the fact that the one who reads it in less than three days does not
understand it properly, he also does not benefit from the sublime and subtle
meanings that are understood by the one who reads the Qur’an with
reflection, at a measured pace.

Shaykh al-Islam
Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

Reading Qur’an
in the manner enjoined instils great faith in the heart, and increases a
person in certainty, reassurance and healing.

Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa
(7/283).

Secondly:

With regard to
what is mentioned in scholarly books about some people completing the Qur’an
four times in one day or four times in one night, such reports should be
investigated to find out whether they are soundly narrated from their
alleged sources, because it is highly unlikely that that happened, as the
time is not long enough for that in the first place. The same may be said
concerning the claim that some of them completed the Qur’an between Maghrib
and ‘Isha’ (!) and other claims that cannot be believed, even if one is able
to read quickly. As for reading the entire Qur’an in a single day, that is
possible; in fact some of the leading scholars did that – as was narrated
from them – in a single rak‘ah.

An-Nawawi (may
Allah have mercy on him) said:

As for those who
completed the Qur’an in a single rak‘ah, they are innumerable, because they
are so many. They include: ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan, Tameem ad-Daari, and Sa‘eed
ibn Jubayr.

Al-Adhkaar
(p. 102)

But is the one
who does that following the Sunnah of the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him), or is he doing something that is not permissible
according to Islamic teachings?

The answer is
that the one who does that as a habit and way of life is undoubtedly doing
something that is contrary to Islamic teachings, and he can only be doing
that at the expense of neglecting other shar‘i duties such as prayer,
teaching his children, upholding ties of kinship and taking care of his
family, or by neglecting working to earn a living.

As for the one
who does that occasionally with the aim of reviewing what he has memorised,
or to make the most of auspicious times – such as the month of Ramadan – or
because he is observing i‘tikaaf (retreat for worship) in the mosque, or
because he is focusing on worship for a limited time in Makkah, for example
– then that is not contrary to Islamic teaching. It is in this manner that
we may interpret the reports narrated from some of the imams (leading
scholars), that they completed the Qur’an twice in one day or once in a day;
it is not to be understood that this was their way of life at all times.

Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali
(may Allah have mercy on him) said:

Qataadah
regularly used to complete the Qur’an every seven days, and in Ramadan he
would complete it every three days, and in the last ten nights of Ramadan he
would complete it every single night. In Ramadan ash-Shaafa‘i used to
complete the Qur’an sixty times [i.e., twice a day], reciting it outside of
prayer. Something similar was also narrated from Abu Haneefah.

The prohibition
on reading the entire Qur’an in less than three days is to be understood as
referring to doing that persistently. But at auspicious times, such as the
month of Ramadan, and especially on the nights on which Laylat al-Qadr is
sought, or in auspicious places, such as Makkah for those who go there and
are not residents, then it is mustahabb to read a great deal of Qur’an so as
to make the most of that time or that place. This is the view of Ahmad,
Ishaaq and other leading scholars, and is indicated by the actions of other
scholars, as mentioned above.

Lataa’if al-Ma‘aarif,
p. 171

See also the
answer to question no. 50781

And Allah knows
best.