established Himself.” 1 The exegetes stated concerning the occasion for the revelation of these verses that when Allah sent down the Quran to His Messenger—peace and blessings be upon him—he and his Companions upheld it in the finest manner. The polytheists then said, “This Quran was sent down to Muhammad only to cause him misery.” Allah Most High therefore revealed: “Tā Hā. We did not send down the Quran to you to cause you distress, but only as a reminder for whoever fears.” In other words, the matter is not as these proponents of falsehood claim. Rather, when Allah grants someone knowledge of His revelation and understanding of what He has sent down, He has willed abundant good for him. Commenting on the words, “We did not send down the Quran to you to cause you distress,” Qatāda—may Allah have mercy on him—said: “No, by Allah! He did not make it a cause of misery; rather, He made it a mercy, a light, and a guide to Paradise.” 2.

It therefore behooves the bearer of the Quran—and indeed every Muslim—to remain within its bounds, treating as lawful what it declares lawful, treating as forbidden what it declares forbidden, and believing its reports. He must neither go beyond it through extremism and excess nor fall short of it through aversion and neglect; rather, he must follow a balanced course in this regard.

Abū Dāwūd narrated in his Sunan, and al-Bayhaqī in Shu'ab al-Īmān, from Abū Mūsā al-Ash'arī—may Allah be pleased with him—that the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—said: “Part of glorifying Allah is honoring an elderly Muslim, a bearer of the Quran who neither goes to excess regarding it nor turns away from it, and a just ruler.” Its chain of transmission is good; al-Dhahabī graded it good in al-Mīzān, as did Ibn Hajar in al-Talkhīs al-Habīr and other scholars. 3.

Thus the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—described those who are truly the people of the Quran and its genuine bearers—the ones who deserve