`Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“Allah exalts many people by means of this book (the Glorious Qur’an), and He also degrades and disgraces many others by means of the same.”
People who believe in the Qur’an and act upon it are given by Allah position of honour and respect, both in this life as well as in the Hereafter, while those who do not act upon it are disgraced by Allah. This principle is also borne out by the various verses of the Glorious Qur’an. At one place it reads:
{He misleads many by this Book and guides many thereby.} (Al-Baqarah 2: 26)
At another place we come across:
{And We send down in the Qur’an that which is a healing and mercy for believers, though it increases for the evil-doers naught save ruin.} (Al-Isra’ 17: 82)
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is also reported to have said:
“ Many hypocrites of this Ummah will be qurra’ i.e., those who recite the Qur’an correctly.”
In Ihya-al-Ullum, it is reported from some scholars, “As soon as a man starts reading a surah (chapter of the Qur’an), the angels start invoking mercy for him and they continue to do so till he stops reading: on the contrary another person starts reading a surah and the angels start cursing him and they continue to do so till he completes the reading”
Some scholars have stated that sometimes a man reads the Qur’an and invokes curse on himself without even knowing it. For instance, he reads in the Qur’an, {Beware, the curse of Allah is on the wrong-doers} (Hud 11: 18), while he exposes himself to this warning because of his wrong-doings.
In the like manner, one may read, {the curse of Allah is upon liars} (Aal `Imran 3: 61), while he exposes himself to the warning by reason of being himself a liar.
`Amir ibn Wathilah (may Allah be pleased with him) had appointed Nafi`i ibn `Abdul Harith as the governor of Makkah. Once he asked the latter as to whom he had appointed as the administrator of forests. “Ibn `Abzi” replied Nafi`i. “Who is Ibn `Abzi?” said `Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). “He is one of our slaves” was the reply. “Why have you appointed a slave as the Amir?” objected `Umar. “Because he recites the Book of Allah”, said Nafi`. At this, `Umar narrated the hadith that because of this Book, the Qur’an, Allah elevates many people and degrades many others.
An excerpt of the author’s book “Virtues of the Holy Qur’an”.
By: Sheikh Muhammad Zakariyah Kandhlawi
A Muslim Scholar
Source: OnIslam