so that the Qurayshi ḥarf (mode of recitation) eventually eclipsed every other dialect. When the Commander of the Believers, ʿUthmān—may Allah be pleased with him—feared that people might differ over the words of Allah and that the seven aḥruf could lead to discord and dispute, he ordered that the Qur’an be standardized on a single ḥarf, namely the ḥarf of Quraysh, the Qurayshi dialect. He therefore compiled the Qur’an on that one ḥarf, the dialect of Quraysh, and it is the version we recite today. He then commanded that all other codices be burned so that none would remain to become a source of temptation. In this lay an immense benefit and an inexpressible virtue for the Commander of the Believers, ʿUthmān—may Allah be pleased with him. We ask Allah to reward him on behalf of the Muslims with the best of rewards.

I urge myself and all of you to recite the Book of Allah. Do not abandon the Qur’an: if all you can manage is to complete it once a month, or twice, or four times, or even ten times, then do so. The lowest level of completeness is to finish it every three days—that is the ideal. Yet if once a week, every ten days, every two weeks, every three weeks, or once a month is what is feasible, then so be it. The crucial point is not to forsake the Qur’an, for it is the speech of Allah and brings nothing but light to the heart and insight in knowledge. Allah alone grants success.