The Ruling Concerning Reading the Qurʾān in the prayer and recitation Without Moving the Tongue or Lips

The Ruling Concerning Reading the Qurʾān in the prayer and  recitation Without Moving the Tongue or Lips

Since the month of Ramaḍān is a blessed month and a month of the Qurʾān as Allāh the Exalted says: “The Month of Ramaḍān in which the Qurʾān was revealed is a guidance for the people and clear messages of guidance and the criterion between right and wrong.” [Sūrah al-Baqarah 2:185] It is a month of goodness and blessings in which the recitation of the Qurʾān and reflecting upon it is increased as well as a month when the reward for whatever a Muslim does during this month is also increased.

So for the sake of notice and as a reminder of an issue which is related to the recitation of the Qurʾān whether it occurs in the prayers in which the recitation of the Qurʾān is silent or outside of the prayers:

If an individual reads Qurʾān during his prayer without moving his lips is this type of recitation of the Qurʾān something that can be done in prayer or not?

And for the one who physically reads the Qurʾān and contemplates its meaning without moving his lips; is this considered an acceptable way to recite the the Qurʾān in which a person will receive the reward which has been mentioned by the Prophet (r) when he said: “Whoever reads a single letter from the Book of Allāh; for him is a reward for each letter. And each reward is credited with a value that is ten times greater than its worth. I do not say that alif/lām/mīm is a single letter. But rather, alif is a letter, lām is a letter, and mīm is a letter. ” Narrated by at-Tirmidhī and others.

So the summarized response to these two questions it the recitation of the Qurʾān which is appropriate for the prayers in which the recitation is silent must involve voiceless or silent enunciation. Certainly, the recitation of the Messenger (r) was known for the movement of his beard in the prayers in which the recitation was silent. So for this reason, there is no reward for the recitation in which the tongue and lips do not move. So if  this doesn’t occur, then the praying person isn’t really reciting the Qurʾān.

As for the person who is reciting the Qurʾān outside of prayer, then he can recite out loud, or enough that people around him can hear, or enough that only he can hear, or recite silently while moving the tongue and lips. This is how a person should recite if they desire the reward of the narration that was mentioned.

As for the one who reads the Qurʾān without moving his lips or tongue, then this person is not a reciter of the Qurʾān He will receive reward for his reading and reflection but he will not receive the reward of recitation.

Prof Dr. Asim Alqaryoti

(Translated by: shaykh Christopher (Qasim