‘Uyaynah, who interpreted the words “recites the Quran melodiously” as “finds sufficiency in it.” He replied: Ibn ‘Uyaynah’s interpretation achieves nothing. Ibn Jurayj narrated to us, from ‘Atā’, from ‘Ubayd ibn ‘Umayr, who said: David, the Prophet of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had a musical instrument to whose accompaniment he would sing, weeping and moving others to tears. Ibn ‘Abbās said: He would recite the Psalms in seventy melodies, varying (1) his recitation among them. His recitation would enrapture even someone suffering from fever (2).

Al-Shāfi‘ī was asked about Ibn ‘Uyaynah’s interpretation and replied (3): We understand this better. Had he meant finding sufficiency, he would have said, “Whoever does not find sufficiency in the Quran.” But when he said, “recites (4) the Quran melodiously,” we knew that he meant melodic recitation.

They argued: Beautifying the Quran’s recitation, improving the voice when reciting it, and reciting it in stirring melodies move the soul more deeply and encourage people to listen attentively. This conveys its words to their ears and its meanings to their hearts, thereby helping to achieve the intended purpose. It is like the sweetness added to medicine to carry it (5) to the sites of illness, or the spices and fragrant ingredients added to food to make the body more receptive to it, or a woman’s use of perfume and adornment and her beautifying herself for her husband to further the purposes of marriage.

They argued: The soul inevitably seeks delight and longs for song, so the delight of song has been replaced for it with the delight of the Quran, just as everything forbidden or disliked has been replaced for it with something better,