Fadail al-Quran wa Tilawatuhu lil-Razi
- Author died
- 454 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Bashā’ir al-Islāmiyyah
Fada'il al-Qur'an wa-Tilawatuhu (The Virtues of the Quran and Its Recitation) is a treatise by the Quranic reciter and hadith scholar Abu al-Fadl al-Razi (371–454 AH / 981–1062 CE) dedicated to the virtues of the Quran, the merits of reciting it, and the status of those who memorize and teach it.
Author and Context
The author, Abu al-Fadl Abd al-Rahman ibn Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Razi al-Ijli, was an authority in Quranic readings (qira'at) and hadith transmission. The work belongs to the traditional Islamic genre of fada'il al-Qur'an (virtues of the Quran), which was treated by early and classical authorities through compilations of prophetic traditions and narrations from the Companions and Successors. In his opening statement, al-Razi notes that he composed the book on the virtues of the Quran, its recitation, and the distinctive characteristics of its recitation and its carriers (wa-khasa'is tilawatihi wa-hamalatih).
Contents and Structure
The book is structured into thematic sections and chapters containing chains of transmission (isnad) tracing narrations back to the Prophet ﷺ, his Companions, and early authorities. The author opens by discussing the divine names and descriptions accorded to the Quran in the revelation—such as al-Furqan, al-Nur, al-Huda, al-Shifa', and al-Dhikr al-Hakim—as well as the exalted status of those who preserve and teach the text.
The subsequent sections compile prophetic hadiths and ancestral reports addressing:
- Exhortations toward learning, teaching, and reciting the Quran.
- Warnings against abandoning or forgetting the Quran.
- The stations and ranks reserved in Paradise for the companions of the Quran (manazil ahl al-Qur'an min al-Jannah).
Reception and Publication
The work is recorded among classical bibliographies of Quranic sciences, including Hajji Khalifa's Kashf al-Zunun, which lists it among the prominent compilations on the virtues of the Quran.
The text was edited and verified by Dr. Amir Hasan Sabri and published in a single volume by Dar al-Basha'ir al-Islamiyyah in Beirut (1415 AH / 1994 CE).
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