Approach the Quran
Listening to the Glorious Qur'an
Like the recitation of the Glorious Quran, listening to it is an act of worship. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) himself listened to his Companions' recitation of the Glorious Quran.
Abu Burda narrated on the authority of Abu Musa that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said to Abu Musa,
"if you were to see me, as I was listening to your recitation (of the Qur'an) last night (you would have felt delighted). You are in fact endowed with a sweet voice like that of Dawud himself "
Thereupon, Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) replied, "lfl had known that you were listening to me, I would have read it with an even sweeter voice."[1]
One night, the Prophet (peace be upon him) along with Abu Bakr and `Umar listened to the recitation of `Abdullah ibn Mas`ud and they remained there for a long time. Then, the Prophet (peace be upon him) commented,
"Whoever wishes to recite the Glorious Qur'an with a tender sound, should read it in accordance with the recitation oflbn Unwin `Abd (i.e., `Ahdullah ibn Mas`ud). "[2]
`Abdullah ibn Mas`ud said, "The Prophet (peace be upon him) Said to me, `Recite (the Qur'an) to me.' I said, 'O AIIah's Messenger, shall I recite (the Qur'an) to you while it has been revealed to you? He said, Yes.' So, I recited surat An-Nisa', but when I recited the Verse: )How (will it be) then when We bring from each nation a witness and We bring you (O Muhammad) as a witness against these people, is he Said, 'Enough for the present,` I looked at him and behold his eyes were overflowing with tears."[3]
`A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said, "One night I came late to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) from the mosque. He asked me, 'Where have you been? I have been listening to a recitation of one of your Companions, whose recitation was unprecedented, I replied. Then, we went and listened to him, when the Prophet (peace be upon him) said,
'He is Salim, the slave of Abu Hudhayfah. Praise be to Allah Who has decreed the like of this man to be amongst my Ummah. "[4]
In our time, the means of listening to the Glorious Qur'an are numerous and worldwide such as cassette tapes, Radio, T.V., multi-media, etc. Some people may ask about the legal ruling regarding touching the tapes of the Qur'an: Should one be pure to touch them like the Mus-haf? think it is better to respect such tapes as long as one knows that they contain the recitation of the Glorious Qur'an.
[1] Reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.
[2] Reported by Ahmad and An-Nsa'i.
[3] Reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.
[4] Reported by ibn Majah.