Reading Qur'an Without Understanding: Is There Reward?

Reading Qur'an without understanding is still rewarded. The Prophet ﷺ promised a good deed for every letter you recite, multiplied by ten (at-Tirmidhi 2910), and Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymin said you're rewarded whether you know the meaning or not. Allah also says He sent it down in Arabic "that you might understand" (12:2). So keep reciting, and start understanding.

If you've recited for years and the meaning still passes you by, this page is for you. You'll read what the scholars said, why understanding still matters, and one small way to start this week with a surah you already pray with.

Is there reward for reading the Qur'an without understanding?

Yes, the scholars quoted below say reading the Qur'an without understanding is rewarded, and the hadith counts the reward letter by letter. Its wording doesn't tie the reward to knowing the meaning. 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) reported it:

So Alif Lam Mim is three letters, and each one carries its own reward. For the other rewards of recitation, see the virtues of reciting the Qur'an, ten rewards a letter.

Two senior scholars answered this question, and IslamQA quotes both. When someone wrote to IslamQA, "I always read Quran but I do not understand the meanings", the answer came from the fatwas of Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymin (may Allah have mercy on him). A man "will be rewarded for reading it whether he understands its meanings or not" (IslamQA 4040).

Shaykh 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Baz (may Allah have mercy on him) also began with yes, in his own words quoted by IslamQA. Yes, he said, men and women may read the Qur'an even when they don't understand the meaning. Then he added that "it is prescribed to ponder and think so that one may understand" (IslamQA 131788).

Why was the Qur'an sent down in Arabic?

The Qur'an was sent down in Arabic so that people would understand it. Allah says so near the start of Surah Yusuf:

So reciting the Qur'an without understanding is rewarded, and understanding is still the purpose. Allah also describes the Qur'an as a blessed Book sent down so that people reflect on its ayat:

Both shaykhs quoted this ayah in their answers. Shaykh Ibn Baz also quoted a question Allah asks in Surah Muhammad:

Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymin put it in everyday terms. Someone who studies a medical book can't learn anything from it until he understands what it means and it's explained to him. He added that the Companions would not go past ten ayat until they had learned them, understood them and knew how to act on them (IslamQA 4040). For a full method, see tadabbur for non-Arabs.

Should you stop reciting until you understand?

No, the two scholars who answered this question, Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymin and Shaykh Ibn Baz, did not tell anyone to stop reciting until they understood. Both told the reader to learn the meaning too.

Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymin did add a caution. The English page puts it as the believer "should not read the Quran without understanding" once he is accountable for his actions. His Arabic original says the believer should not read without striving to understand its meaning (IslamQA 4040 in Arabic). In the same answer he said the reader is rewarded, and "he should try his best to find out what it means". So his caution asks you to keep working at the meaning while you read.

So reading without full understanding is still beneficial when you read with attention. Shaykh Ibn Baz said a reader who ponders, even without understanding perfectly, "will still understand many meanings".

The Prophet ﷺ also spoke about the reader who finds reading hard. He promised that reader a reward, in Sahih Muslim 798a:

This hadith is about the effort of reading the words, not of understanding them. Still, it shows that Allah rewards the struggle. Many adults reach this point and feel they've wasted years reading the Qur'an in Arabic without knowing the meaning. By the answers above, the reading itself is rewarded. What was missing was someone to show you the meaning.

What changes when you understand what you recite?

When you understand what you recite, you know what you're saying to Allah while you're saying it. The biggest change is in salah. Al-Fatihah is recited in every rak'ah: 17 rak'ahs a day in the five fard prayers alone (2, 4, 4, 3 and 4).

In a hadith qudsi, the Prophet ﷺ told us that Allah answers Al-Fatihah line by line as His servant says it. Here is part of it, from Sahih Muslim 395a:

Nothing in the hadith says the answer waits until you understand. But once you know that "iyyaka na'budu" means "You alone we worship", you know you've reached the line Allah calls "between Me and My servant" while you're saying it. Understanding does the same for the du'as in your prayer and the short surahs after Al-Fatihah: you know what you're saying while you say it. Here's what each line of your salah means in English.

How do you start understanding what you already recite?

You start understanding what you already recite with the words you say most: Al-Fatihah first, then the short surahs you pray with, one word at a time. Take one ayah you say every day:

You can sit with that ayah in three ways. Each one adds something to the one before, and none of them replaces the reciting.

Try it with one surah this week. Pick a short one you already pray with, learn it word by word, then follow it the next time you hear it in salah. If you can say what each word means with the page closed, you've started understanding what you recite.

Later, when you want the longer path into the language itself, read how much Arabic you need to understand the Qur'an.

A word-by-word page tells you what each word means. A teacher can hear you read it and check that you've understood it. If that would help, you can find a teacher of your choice and try up to 3 teachers free.