‘O Allah, I ask You for Paradise.’ When he came to a verse of threat, he would pause and say, ‘I seek refuge in Allah from that; I seek refuge in Allah from the Fire.’ When he encountered a verse of glorification—that is, one that exalts Allah—he would stop to declare His transcendence and greatness. This applies to the night prayer. In an obligatory prayer it is permissible to do so, but it is not a sunnah: if a person does it he is not censured, and if he omits it he is not commanded to adopt it. In the night prayer, however, it is preferable: one should seek refuge at a verse of warning, ask at a verse of mercy, and glorify at a verse of glorification.

Another benefit of the ḥadīth is that the sūrahs may be recited out of their customary order. The Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—recited Sūrah al-Nisāʾ before Sūrah Āl ʿImrān, even though the usual arrangement puts Āl ʿImrān first. This—Allah knows best—took place before the Prophet’s final year, for in that last year he would place Āl ʿImrān before al-Nisāʾ. For that reason the Companions—may Allah be pleased with them—fixed the written order so that Āl ʿImrān comes before al-Nisāʾ. The Prophet ﷺ would also pair al-Baqarah with Āl ʿImrān, as in his saying: “Recite the two radiant ones—al-Baqarah and Āl ʿImrān—for they will come on the Day of Resurrection like two clouds, or two canopies, or two flocks of birds in formation, pleading on behalf of those who recited them.” The main point is that the final arrangement was to place Āl ʿImrān before al-Nisāʾ.