The Prophet ﷺ was once asked, “Which prayer is superior?” He replied, “Protracted standing (qiyām).” By this he indicated that certain prayers are longer than others and yet lighter to perform, and that some worshippers add to their recitation while others recite less—although nothing can ever be added to or taken away from the Qur’an itself. With respect to tilāwah (the very act of reciting), people do differ: some recite much, others little, increasing or decreasing accordingly. Hence one may say, “So-and-so has a beautiful recitation,” but never, “So-and-so has a beautiful Qur’an,” for the Qur’an is the Speech of the Lord—magnified be His remembrance—whereas the act of reciting is the servant’s deed.

Only a person whose heart Allah has blinded, whom He has left without success or guidance to the path of right conduct, could fail to grasp so obvious a distinction. No one is entitled to enter into Allah’s matters without knowledge. Yet some have claimed that “the Qur’an in our utterance and our utterance of it are one and the same,” insisting that tilāwah is the text recited and qirāʾah the text read. They were told, “Tilāwah, rather, is the action of the reciter, the deed of the reader.” The claimant then recanted, saying, “I supposed the two words were simply synonymous verbal nouns.” He was asked: “Why did you not keep silent as many of your associates did? Why did you not send for what others had written from you, reclaim their notes and strike them out?” He protested, “How could I do that when I have already spoken and my words have spread?” It was said to him, “How could you dare speak about Allah without providing a sound explanation or clarification, when you have failed even to distinguish between tilāwah and the text recited?” At that he fell silent, for he had no answer.