until he entered his house, and there we found a shabbily-dressed man. I heard that man say, “I heard the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—declare, ‘He is not one of us who does not chant the Qur’an.’”

I then said to Ibn Abī Mulaykah, “Abū Muḥammad, what do you say about someone whose voice is not pleasant by nature?” He replied, “Let him improve it as best he can.” Abū Dāwūd has recorded this report.

The same principle is reflected in Abū Mūsā’s words to the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him: “Had I known that you were listening to my recitation, I would have made my voice more beautiful for you in the Qur’an—adorned it and recited it in measured tones.” This shows that Abū Mūsā already used a natural melody in his recitation in addition to the fine voice with which he had been endowed.

Taḥbīr means embellishment and beautification. Thus, had he known that the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—was listening, he would have prolonged the phrases and recited them with measured cadence, just as he used to recite to the Prophet himself; that would only have increased the beauty of his voice while reciting.

Far be it from Allah that anyone should ascribe to the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—the view that the Qur’an is beautified by voices or by anything else. Whoever interprets the matter in that way has made a grave error, for such an interpretation would imply that the Qur’an is in need of someone to adorn it, whereas it is itself light, radiance, and the supreme adornment for all who are clothed in its splendour and illuminated by its brilliance.

Some have said that the command to “beautify” means to master the modes of recitation and adorn them with our voices—i.e., “beautify the recitation with your voices.” In that case the word Qur’an carries the sense of “recitation,” as in the Almighty’s words, “and [observe] the recitation of dawn” (Q 17:78) and, “When We recite it, follow its recitation” (Q 75:18).

Likewise, it is related in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr: “In the sea are devils that Solomon, upon him be peace, imprisoned; before long they will emerge and recite to the people a Qur’an”—that is, a recitation. A poet also said of ʿUthmān (may Allah be pleased with him):
“They slew a grey-haired man, whose brow bore the sign of prostration;
he would spend the night breaking it apart in glorification and Qur’an,”
meaning “in glorification and recitation.” Under this interpretation the meaning is sound—provided one does not take the act of reciting out of its proper bounds, as we shall clarify, for that would be impermissible.

Others have said that yata-ghannā bihi (“chants it”) means “finds sufficiency in it,” from istighnāʾ, the opposite of neediness, and not from ghināʾ meaning “singing.” One says taghannaytu and taghānaytu, meaning “I became independent.” The dictionary al-Ṣiḥāḥ likewise records taghannā in this sense.