20. The Prophet’s Guidance in Reciting the Qur'an198
* The Prophet (Peace be upon him), would recite a hizb199 regularly each day without fail.

* He (Peace be upon him) used to recite slowly and precisely, not hastily, but with distinct pronunciation of each letter.

* He (Peace be upon him) used to start his recitation by seeking refuge in Allah from Satan, saying: “A`udhu billaahi minash-shaytaanir-rajeem" (I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the rejected.) Or perhaps he (Peace be upon him) would say: "O Allah, I seek refuge in You from Satan, the rejected, from his suggestion, his blowing and his breath."200
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198 Zadul-Ma`ad (1/463)
199 See Glossary
200 Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah.
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* He (Peace be upon him) used to recite the Qur'an while standing, sitting or lying on his side, with wudhu' or without. Nothing prevented him from reciting it except the state of sexual impurity.

* He (Peace be upon him) used to recite stopping at the end of each verse, and would recite a surah so slowly that it seemed longer than one, which was actually longer.

* He (Peace be upon him) used to chant when reciting the Qur'an, and said, “He is not of us who does not chant the Qur'an.”201 He also said: “Beautify the Qur'an with your voices.”202

* He (Peace be upon him) used to lengthen pronunciation of the "madd" (extension) letters, for example, he (Peace be upon him) extended the words "ar-Rahmaan'' (the Entirely Merciful) and ''ar-Raheem'' (the Especially Merciful).
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201 Al-Bukhari.
202 Abu Dawud, an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah.
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* He (Peace be upon him) liked also to listen to the Qur'an being recited by someone other than himself.

* When he (Peace be upon him) came across a sajdah (prostration) verse, he would say “Allahu akbar" and prostrate.203 During his prostration he (Peace be upon him) might say: “My face has prostrated to Him who created it, formed it and gave it its hearing and sight through His might and power."204

Or he might say: "O Allah, by [this prostration] remove from me a sin, register for me a reward, store it with You and accept it as you accepted it from Your servant, Dawud.”205

He (Peace be upon him) did not say, ''Allahu akbar'' when rising from this prostration, nor did he ever recite the tashahhud following it or the salaam.
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203 Zadul-Ma`ad (1/351)
204 Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhi and an-Nasa'i.
205 i.e., the prophet David. At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah.
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