like those of the family of David.”

He also said, “I passed by you last night while you were reciting, and I began listening to your recitation.” Abū Mūsā replied, “Had I known that you were listening to me, I would have made it especially beautiful for you”—meaning that he would have made his recitation more beautiful.

It is reported in al-Sahīh that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to Ibn Masʿūd, “Recite the Quran to me.” He replied, “Shall I recite the Quran to you when it was revealed to you?” He said, “I love to hear it from someone else.”

Ibn Masʿūd related: “I recited Sūrat al-Nisāʾ to him until I reached this verse:

‘How will it be, then, when We bring a witness from every nation and bring you as a witness against these people?’

“He said to me, ‘That is enough.’ I looked at him and saw his eyes streaming with tears.”

It was for this kind of listening that the generations praised by the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would gather. He said:

“The best generations are those among whom I was sent, then those who follow them, then those who follow them.”

Among the earliest generations, the righteous gathered for no other kind of listening—not in the Hijāz, Yemen, Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Khurāsān, or the Maghrib. The innovated practice of listening arose only later. Allah has praised those who devote themselves to this listening and condemned those who turn away from it. He has also declared it a means of receiving mercy. Allah Most High says:

“When the Quran is recited, listen to it attentively and remain silent, so that you may receive mercy.”

Allah Most High says:

“Those who, when reminded of their Lord’s verses, do not respond to them as though deaf and blind.”

Allah Most High says:

“Has the time not come for those who believe to be humbled