for His Messenger—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and bears witness that it is indeed the truth, saying:

“You have spoken the truth, my Lord, and Your messengers have conveyed it. We, too, are among those who bear witness to that. O Allah, place us among the witnesses to the truth, those who stand up for justice.”

He may then follow this with whatever supplications he chooses.

Among the Qur’an’s sanctity is that, when one recites it, he should not snatch isolated verses from various sūrahs and read them piecemeal. It has reached us that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) once passed by Bilāl while he was reciting a little from every sūrah, whereupon he instructed him to recite an entire sūrah— or words to that effect.

Among its sanctity, when one sets the muṣḥaf down, is that he not leave it lying open, nor place any other book on top of it. Rather, it should always be kept above all other books, whether they deal with sacred knowledge or something else.

Among its sanctity is that, when reading, he place it in his lap or on something in front of him and never put it on the ground.

Among its sanctity is that he not erase writing from a wooden tablet by spitting on it; instead, he should wash it off with water.

And when that writing is washed away, he must avoid letting the rinse water flow into impure places or onto pathways that people tread, for even that wash-water possesses sanctity. Some of the early generations, in fact, sought physical healing through it.

Among its sanctity is that, when a page bearing Qur’anic text becomes worn and the writing fades, he should never use that sheet as wrapping for other books, for such treatment is gross disrespect. Rather, he should wash the writing away with water.

Among its sanctity is that he not allow a single day to pass without looking into the muṣḥaf at least once. Abū Mūsā used to say, “I feel ashamed if a day goes by and I have not looked once into the covenant of my Lord.”

Among its sanctity is that he give his eyes their proper share of it. The eye conveys to the soul, and between the soul and the breast there is a veil, while the Qur’an resides in the breast. When one recites from memory, only the ear hears, and it conveys the sound to the soul; but when he looks at the written text, both eye and ear share in conveying the Qur’an, and that is more complete, giving the eye its portion just as the ear receives its own.

Zayd ibn Aslam narrated from ʿAtāʾ ibn Yasār, from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī, that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:

“Give your eyes their share of worship.”

They asked, “O Messenger of Allah, what is the eye’s share of worship?”

He replied, “Looking into the muṣḥaf, reflecting upon it, and taking heed of its wonders.”

Makhḥūl narrated from ʿUbādah ibn al-Ṣāmit that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:

“The best act of worship for my community is reciting the Qur’an while looking at it.”

Among its sanctity is that one not force an interpretation of a verse in order to fit some worldly incident that presents itself. ʿAmr ibn Ziyād al-Ḥanẓalī told us: Hushaym ibn Bashīr related to us, from al-Mughīrah, from Ibrāhīm, that he disliked interpreting anything of the Qur’an whenever a worldly affair arose—such interpretation being like saying to a man who arrives, “You have come at the destined time (ji’ta ʿalā qadar).”