The Best of People

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) says that the best of people is the one who is most beneficial to people, who causes the most benefit to others. What is the best form of benefit that one can ever give to a person — the one activity that stands at the top of the list of all the good actions that can be performed towards a fellow Muslim? It is teaching the Book of Allah; teaching the dīn of Allah (swt); teaching about the ākhirah, about tawḥīd, about Allah (swt), so that people find Allah (swt) and worship Him. It is the khidmah of the dīn: teaching the dīn to children and to other Muslims. For what is given to them, what is worked into their hearts, is a key to Jannah. To give a person money to feed him is a good thing. To give him a house to live in is good; a car to drive is good, very good. It is help, assistance, and any form of assistance is good. But the best assistance one can give to a Muslim is to teach that person his religion. For this reason the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) says that Allah shall continue to come to the aid of a Muslim as long as he continues to aid others.

And he who takes a path seeking Islamic knowledge, Allah will make easy for him a path to Jannah. That is why seeking Islamic knowledge, teaching somebody, acquiring Islamic knowledge, is called the pathway to Jannah — the shortest possible way, the pathway to Jannah. Never does a group of Muslims gather in one of the houses of Allah (swt), reciting the Book of Allah and studying it among themselves — learning about their dīn, about Islam, about the ākhirah, about the Qur'an, as any gathering held to learn the dīn does — except that Allah (swt) sends down sakīnah upon them: tranquillity and peace descend upon them; the mercy of Allah (swt) encompasses them; the angels surround them — all the angels, unseen, yet present wherever the dīn of Allah (swt) is being learned; and Allah (swt) makes mention of that group, that jamāʿah of Muslims who have gathered to learn the Book of Allah and to hold a dars on Islam, among those who are with Him. This is the reward from Allah (swt). The recitation of the Qur'an, and learning together — the recitation of the Qur'an is the greatest dhikr. These are the opportunities open to Muslims. May Allah (swt) make us of those good Muslims.

This, then, is the reward — the extra ḥasanāt — received for recitation within the ṣalāh itself.