Does someone who listens to the Quran in Ramadan gets the same amount of rewards as the one who reads it?

Question

Does someone who listens to the Quran in Ramadan gets the same amount of rewards as the one who reads it?

Answer 1

I have finally reached at this conclusion that, The reward of listening the Quran is not same as the reward of Reciting Quran. I am giving my reasons, but Allah knows exactly.

Some Ahadith about virtues of Reciting and Listening Quran

1. Abu Musa al-Ash'ari reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: A believer who recites the Qur'an is like an orange whose fragrance is sweet and whose taste is sweet; a believer who does not recite the Qur'an is like a date which has no fragrance but has a sweet taste; source

   From this hadith, We see the reward of believing reciter is more than of a believer who do no recite. (though there is no mention of Listener)

2. Salim narrated on the authority of his father (Ibn 'Umar) that the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Envy is not justified but in case of two persons only: one who, having been given (knowledge of) the Qur'an by Allah, recites it during the night and day (and also acts upon it) and a man who, having been given wealth by God, spends it during the night and the day (for the welfare of others. seeking the pleasure of the Lord). [source]

   In this hadith, there is no mentioning of Listener's of Quran.

3. Ibn Mas'ud (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

   The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said, "Whoever recites a letter from the Book of Allah, he will be credited with a good deed, and a good deed gets a ten-fold reward. I do not say that Alif-Lam-Mim is one letter, but Alif is a letter, Lam is a letter and Mim is a letter." [source]

   In this hadith, we see that, every harf (a letter or syllable) is rewarded ten-fold.

4. Whoever listens to even one verse of the Qur'an will be given double the rewards; and for the one who reads, it will become light on the Day of Resurrection - Ahmad (sorry, I failed to cite the source, I'll update it as soon as possible).

5. Rasul-ul-Allah (Sallallahu-Alaihi-Wa-Sallam) used to listen the recitations of his Sahabah (R.A) as in this hadith

   Abu Burda narrated on the authority of Abu Musa that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) had said to Abu Musa: If you were to see me, as I was listening to your recitation (of the Qur'an) yester-night (you would have felt delighted). You are in fact endowed with a sweet voice like that of David himself. source

6. Narrated `Abdullah:

   That the Prophet said to him, "Recite the Qur'an to me." `Abdullah said, "Shall I recite (the Qur'an) to you while it has been revealed to you?" He said, "I like to hear it from others." source

   Also in this hadith we see, The Prophet (Sallallahu-Alaihi-Wa-Sallam) Orders Abdullah (ibn Masud, i believe) to recite Quran.

The reason behind my conclusion

1. There is explict mentioning of reward of reciters of Quran.

2. In other hadiths, Rasul (Sallallahu-Alaihi-Wa-Sallam) ordered his Ummah to beautify Quran with their voices and to recite it precisely and smoothly. And I think, reciting quran with this order justify extra reward.

3. In one hadith mentioned above, there is ten-fold reward for reciting each harf of ayat of Quran. But, we failed to find such rewards for listener.

4. A reciter indeed a listener of his/her own recitation. So, the reciter gets extra rewards automatically (It is my opinion only)

But, there are some points to consider

The reward is only Awarded by Allah (Subhanahu-wa-ta'la). And The true reward is according to your level of Iklas (the intension) and level of Takwa, which is Only best know by Allah (Subhanahu-wa-ta'la). The intension of both action should be seeking pleasure of Allah. There should be complete absence of Riya (seeking reputation, worldly benefit...etc).

And another point is, If the Iklas of Listener is higher than the reciter, then of course the listener will be rewarded far more than the reciter. There are plenty of examples, where a reciter is not aware of what he reciting, but after listening this same recitation, a person completely changes his life, coming to Islam and embraces Islam.

So, The final word I think should be this: Reciters generally will get greater reward than the listeners, but this can vary according the their level of Iklas and Takwa.

For Allah says, "Indeed Allah accepts only from Muttaqeen (God aware persons)" - Source

And at the end, Allah is the rewarder and He knows best.

Answer 2

Whether you read the Qur'an or listen to someone who is reading it aloud, you should try your level best to understand it. For, only the maximum benefit will be if you strive to learn from either by reading it for yourself, or if you cannot read it for yourself(if one is blind or doesn't know how to read Arabic) then by requesting others to read it for you. Intention matters the most.

Of course, Allah is the Most Merciful.

Ibn Mas'ud (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said, "Whoever recites a letter from the Book of Allah, he will be credited with a good deed, and a good deed gets a ten-fold reward. I do not say that Alif-Lam-Mim is one letter, but Alif is a letter, Lam is a letter and Mim is a letter."

But Qur'an isn't just getting credited that way, it is more than that. It is for giving guidance to mankind. Through it you can motivate yourself to do many good deeds and get greater reward. But as a bonus you get the credits of good deeds by reading it.

May the creator guide us all.

Answer 3

As Salaamu Alaikum

The benefit of the listener according to Allah t'ala;

(وَإِذَا قُرِئَ الْقُرْآنُ فَاسْتَمِعُوا لَهُ وَأَنصِتُوا لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ) [Al-A'raf:204]

(And when the Qur'an is recited, give ear to it and pay heed, that ye may obtain mercy.) [The Meaning of the Glorious Quran]

‎ ق ر ا  = Qaf-Ra-Alif = to recite/read, compilation, collection, reading, recitation, explanation, study, investigation.

Siin-Miim-Ayn = to hear, hearken, listen

Nun-Saad-Ta = to keep quiet/silent

Ra-Ha-Miim =
Rahima - He favored, benefited, pardoned, or forgave him. To love, have tenderness, mercy, pity, forgiveness, have all that is required for exercising beneficence.
Tarhamu - He had mercy, pity, or compassion on him; he pitied or compassionated him much.
Arham - Wombs (singular) womb, i.e. place of origin. The receptacle of the young in the belly.
Ruhmun - Relationship, i.e. nearness of kin, connection by birth; relationship connecting with an ancestor. A connection or tie of relationship.
Rahman - it is active participle noun in the measure of fa'lan which conveys the idea of fullness and extensiveness.
Rahim - it is in the measure of fa'il which denotes the idea of constant repetition and giving.

Wa Allahu Alam

Answer 4

The reward for reciting Quran in salat while standing is 100 times more than listening to the Quran.

The reward for reciting Quran in salat while sitting is 50 times more than listening to the Quran.

The reward for reciting Quran outside salat with wudu is 25 times more than listening to the Quran.

The reward for reciting Quran outside salat without wudu is 10 times more than listening to the Quran.

The prophet (pbuh) use to both listen and recite the Quran

Answer 5

assalamualaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakat

Brothers this is only my humble opinion and not from a hadith source but surely weather you attentively read the quran or attentively listening to the quran there is benefit in both however large or small we should leave to allah. We agree that allah accepts and rewards any good action or deed so i am sure that listening to the quran falls into either one of these categories furthermore in this day and age we have the modern benefit of reading the translation of the quran whilst listening to beautiful recitations so have the benefit that previous generations didnt which is to understand the meaning of the quranic recitation whilst listening in virtually every language which shows the kindness of the most merciful in making it easy for his creation to understand his word. subhanallah.... I think most people would agree that listening to the quran brings a sense of peace to ones heart and encourages and increases humbleness. So to conclude inshallah allah rewards us all for either listening or reciting his holy book. Ps any thing i have said in error is from me and anything thats is true is from allah . may allah guide us all to be one beating heart striving to perfect ourselves. ameen