Those who find this statement problematic base their objections on two grounds:

The first is their denial that some of Allah’s speech is superior to other parts—a position whose weakness has already been demonstrated. The second is their belief that reward depends on the number of letters: the more letters a passage contains, the greater the reward for reciting it.

They argue that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Whoever recites the Quran will have ten good deeds credited to him for every letter. I do not say that ‘Alif Lām Mīm’ is one letter; rather, alif is a letter, lām is a letter, and mīm is a letter.”

Al-Tirmidhī said, “An authentic hadith.” They argue, “It is well known that one-third of the Quran contains far more letters, so the good deeds credited for it must be more numerous.”

The response to them is:

This is true, just as the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, stated. Yet good deeds vary in magnitude: some are great and others small. The Prophet’s point, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was that Allah rewards His servant tenfold for every good deed, as He, Most High, says:

“Whoever comes with a good deed will be rewarded tenfold.”

Thus, reciting a letter constitutes a good deed, and Allah grants the reciter ten times the value of that good deed. But he did not say that the good deeds credited for reciting different letters are equal in value. Likewise, someone who gives a dinar in charity receives ten times the reward for that good deed.

If someone who came after the earliest forerunners were to spend gold equal to Mount Uhud, it would not equal a mudd given by any one of them, nor even half of it, as is established from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in the two Sahīh collections. Thus, if that person gives a mudd, he receives ten times the reward for this good deed. But