Allaah listens to His slaves as they recite the Quran

Fatwa Date : Rabee' Al-Aakhir 4, 1437 / 15-1-2016

Question
If the thing that Allaah listens most to is the Quranic recitation of a prophet
in a beautiful tone, is the best way to get Allaah to listen to us then to recit
e Quran?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is
none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad sallallaahu `alayhi w
a sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.
The hadeeth which you referred to in the question is a saheeh (sound) hadeeth, a
s it was narrated by Abu Hurayrah may Allaah be pleased with him that the
Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) said
, Allaah does not listen to anything (more approvingly) as He listens to a Prophe
t reciting the Quran aloud in a nice voice. [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
The interpreters of the hadeeth said that in a nice voice means reciting the Quran
in a beautiful voice, and some of them said that it means to recite the Quran al
oud.
Ibn Katheer may Allaah have mercy upon him said in his book Fadhaail Al-Qur
an:
Its meaning is that Allaah does not listen to anything (more approvingly) as He l
istens to a Prophet reciting the Quran aloud in a nice and beautiful voice. This
is because the recitation of the Prophets combines the beauty of the voice - gi
ven the perfection of their creation - and their complete fear of Allaah; and th
is constitutes the ultimate recitation. Allaah hears the voices of all His slave
s, regardless of whether they are pious or dissolute. Aaishah may Allaah be pl
eased with her said, Praise be to Allaah, Who hears all the voices , but His li
stening to His believing slaves when they recite the Quran is greater; as Allaah
says (what means): {And [O Muhammad] you are not [engaged] in any matter or rec
ite any of the Quran and you [people] do not do any deed except that We are witn
ess over you when you are involved in it. And not absent from your Lord is any [
part] of an atom s weight within the earth or within the heaven or [anything] sm
aller than that or greater but that it is in a clear register.} [Quran 10:61] He
nce, Allaah listening to the recitation of His Prophets is greater, as evidenced
by this great hadeeth.
Therefore, reciting the Quran in a nice and beautiful voice is something that is
encouraged by Allaah, and He informed us that He listens to the one who recites
the Quran in a nice and beautiful voice, as mentioned by Ibn al-Qayyim may Al
laah have mercy upon him in Zaad al-Maaad.
Also, Fat-h al-Baari by Ibn Rajab, from the Hanbali School, when speaking about
the Qudsi hadeeth, reads, I divided the prayer between Me and My Servant. And abou
t saying aameen after reciting Soorah Al-Faatihah, it reads, This hadeeth indicat
es that Allaah listens to the recitation of the praying person as he is conversi
ng with Him.
Also, the Fiqh Encyclopedia, quoting At-Tabari, reads, The reciter is conversing
with his Lord with His speech, and Allaah loves the reciter who recites in a nic
e voice, and He listens to him; so Allaah ordered the reciter of the Quran to se
ek refuge with Allaah to expel the devil when Allaah listens to him.
Thus, the one who wants that Allaah listens to him should recite His Words [i.e.
the Quran] correctly and should do so in a nice and beautiful voice.

The Quran is the best of speech, and it is the best kind of mention of Allaah; i
t gathers all kinds of knowledge, the breasts are comforted by it, the hearts ar
e assured by it, and it clarifies what is lawful and what is forbidden; the Prop
het sallallaahu
alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) said, The
best speech after the Quran is: Subhaan Allaah, Al-Hamdu Lillaah, Laa Ilaaha il
la Allaah, and Allaahu Akbar. [Ahmad]
The chain of narrators of this hadeeth is saheeh, as stated by Al-Arnaoot when cl
assifying the ahadaath of Al-Musnad.
Allaah knows best.