Will a person be rewarded for reading Qur’aan even if he does not know the meaning of what he reads?
Praise be to Allah.The Holy Qur’aan is blessed, as Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
“(This is) a Book (the Qur’aan) which We have sent down to
you, full of blessings that they may ponder over its Verses, and that men of understanding
may remember.”[Saad 38:29]
A man will be rewarded for reading it whether he understands its
meanings or not… But the believer should not read the Qur’aan without
understanding at the time when he is responsible for his actions. If a person wants to
learn medicine, for example, and studies medical books, he cannot learn anything from them
unless he understands what they mean and it is explained to him. Indeed, he would very
keen to understand what they say so that he can put it into practice. So how about the
Book of Allaah which is healing for what is in people’s hearts and exhortation for
all people? What about a person who reads it and does not understand or ponder its
meanings? The Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) would not go beyond ten aayaat
until they had learnt them and understood the knowledge therein and how to act upon it. A
person will be rewarded for reading Qur’aan whether or not he understands it, but he
should try his best to find out what it means and to seek this knowledge from scholars who
can be trusted. If he cannot easily find a scholar from whom he can learn, he should refer
to reliable books of Tafseer such as Tafseer Ibn Jareer, Tafseer Ibn Katheer, and others.
And Allaah knows best.