“Have I conveyed?” They replied, “Yes!” He said, “O Allah, bear witness.”

When the Prophet ﷺ reached this verse, he wept for his community. Imagine the scene—how tremendous it is: every nation on its knees, each one summoned to its record; nations sink to their knees from the sheer terror and its enormity: “Every nation will be called to its Book: ‘Today you will be repaid for what you used to do.’” (45:28)

Because of this, in the noble verse where ʿAbd Allah ibn Masʿūd paused, Allah says: “On that Day those who disbelieved and disobeyed the Messenger will wish that the earth were leveled over them” (4:42)—meaning they will wish they had never been resurrected or gathered—“and they will not be able to conceal anything from Allah.” (4:42) Likewise, “So how will it be when We bring from every nation a witness and bring you as a witness against these people? On that Day those who disbelieved and disobeyed the Messenger will wish that the earth were leveled over them, and they will not be able to conceal anything from Allah.” (4:41–42) They will yearn to have remained in the earth or to have become mere dust, yet that wish will do them no good. Hence Allah said: “and they will not be able to conceal anything from Allah.”

The practical point here is that a person may ask a Qur’an-reciter to read to him even if that reciter is less knowledgeable, for Allah grants some people a melodious voice and skillful delivery despite their limited learning. There is nothing wrong with saying, “Brother, may Allah reward you—recite to me,” whether you designate a specific passage or leave the choice to him and then listen. This ḥadīth highlights the blessing of the Qur’an: both the reciter and the listener benefit from it. Without a doubt, the Qur’an is the most blessed and most beneficial of all books.