[9] There is a difference between “listening” (istima) and...

[9] There is a difference between “listening” (istima) and “attentive silence” (insat); insat means silence combined with attention, reflection, and contemplation. Imam Sadiq (AS) says: “When the Quran is recited in your presence, attentive silence and listening are obligatory upon you” . [10] Thus, the key matter is “contemplation and reflection” upon the Quran. He asks: “Do they not then reflect upon the Quran?” [11] Do they not think deeply about it?

In a tradition, we read that the of the Prophet learned the Quran ten verses at a time from him, and they would not learn the next ten verses until they had gained both knowledge and practice from the first ten. [12] Imam Ali (AS) said: “Behold, there is no good in recitation that does not contain contemplation; behold, there is no good in worship that does not involve understanding” . [13] 6.

Recitation in the Style of Tartil (Measured, contemplative pacing) The Holy Quran should be recited in Tartil, that is, measured, slow, and accompanied by reflection: “And recite the Quran with measured recitation” . [14] In a tradition from Imam Sadiq (AS) explaining this verse, we read: “The Quran is not to be recited hurriedly; rather it should be recited in measured fashion.

If you pass by a verse that mentions Paradise, stop there and ask God for Paradise; and if you pass by a verse that mentions the Fire, stop there and seek refuge in God from the Fire” . [15] 7.

Supplication at the beginning and end It has been quoted that whenever Imam Sadiq (AS) would take up the Holy Quran, before opening and reciting it he would supplicate as follows: “O God, I bear witness that this is Your Book sent down from You to Your Messenger; Muhammad son of Abdullah, and that Your speech spoken through the tongue of Your Prophet, You have made it a guide from You to Your creatures and a connecting rope between You and Your servants.

O God, I have spread forth Your covenant and Your Book. O God, make my looking into it an act of worship, my recitation of it an exercise in thought, and my reflection upon it a source of admonition. Make me among those who are admonished by the clear exhortations in it and who abstain from Your disobedience. Do not seal my hearing at the time of my recitation, and do not place a veil over my sight, and do not make my recitation a mere utterance without contemplation.

Rather, make me one who ponders its verses and implements its rulings, observing the laws of Your religion.