from it having either gained or lost.”1 That is, he gains in faith and goodness if he acts upon it, or loses some of that if he neglects it and fails to uphold its rights.

Scholars have produced substantial writings on this subject—the etiquette and character of the bearers of the Quran—and have authored numerous and varied works of great value and benefit in this field. Among the finest and most comprehensive is The Character of the Bearers of the Quran, by the eminent scholar Abū Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Ājurrī (d. 360 AH). It is a work of immense worth and tremendous benefit, which every memorizer of the Noble Quran—indeed, every Muslim—ought to study and benefit from.

Before explaining the etiquette of the bearers of the Quran, its author—may Allah have mercy upon him—discussed the virtue of the bearers of the Quran, the virtue of those who learn and teach it, and the virtue of gathering in the mosque to study it. His purpose—may Allah have mercy upon him—in beginning with these chapters was to encourage reciting the Quran, acting upon it, and gathering to study it together. He then proceeded to explain the etiquette of its bearers, supporting everything he said with Quranic texts, Prophetic hadiths, and reports transmitted from the righteous predecessors of this nation.

Here, perhaps, we may present a worthwhile selection of this noble etiquette and these splendid qualities, with which the people and bearers of the Quran should adorn themselves—and, indeed, with which all Muslims should adorn themselves.

Among this etiquette2 is that the bearer of the Quran should adorn himself with fear of Allah, both privately and publicly; seek the Face of Allah Most High through his knowledge and deeds; and seek, through reciting it