Question:

What do the scholars of Islam say about reading the Qur’an after the ‘Asr prayer?

Answer:

A person can recite the Qur’an at any time as mentioned in the Holy Qur’an: “Recite the Qur’an as much as you are able to with ease.” (Surah al-Muzammil: 20) In another verse Allah ﷻ mentions: “Whenever the Qur’an is recited, listen carefully to it, and be silent so that you may benefit from it. (Surah al-A’raf: 204)

These verses are talking about recitation of Qur’an without restricting the time, they have an indefinite order to allow the reciters to read the Quran at any given moment. Recitation of the Qur’an has also been mentioned in ahadith without any restriction of time.

It has been narrated by Abdullah ibn Mas’ud that the Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever recited a letter from the Book of Allah, he will receive a good deed equal to ten. I am not saying that Alif Laam Meem is one letter, but Alif is a letter, Laam, is a letter, and Meem is a letter.” (Tirmidhi) Similar to the verses presented, this narration also shows us that there is no restriction in regards to time when reciting the Holy Qur’an.

We should try to recite the Holy Qur’an whenever we can and avoid fixing a certain time only for recitation of the Holy Qur’an, such as after the ‘Asr prayer, to avoid falling into innovation. There is no evidence that a person should specify a certain time for the recitation of the Holy Qur’an. If one is free at the same time routinely such as after work, then there is no harm in establishing this as a regular practice as long as you do not believe it there is any special advantage in reciting at such a time.

And Allah ﷻ knows the best

This fatwa is written by Dr. Hafiz Muhammad Munir Al-Azhari