What is the virtue of listening to someone else recite the Quran?

Listening attentively to Quran recitation is itself an act of worship, not merely a passive activity. Allah instructs, "When the Qur'an is recited, then listen to it and pay attention that you may receive mercy" (7:204), tying attentive listening directly to the possibility of receiving Allah's mercy. The Prophet Muhammad himself once asked his companion Abdullah ibn Mas'ud to recite the Quran to him, even though the Quran had been revealed to the Prophet directly; when Ibn Mas'ud asked why, given that the Prophet was the source of the revelation, the Prophet replied that he loved to hear it recited by someone else. As Ibn Mas'ud recited Surah an-Nisa and reached a verse about all nations being brought forth with a witness against them, he looked up to see the Prophet's eyes filled with tears (Sahih al-Bukhari 5050). This tradition underlies the value many Muslims place on gathering to listen to a skilled reciter, attending Ramadan tarawih prayers, or simply playing recitation at home, seeking the reflection, humility, and emotional response that hearing the Quran's words can produce, distinct from but complementary to reciting it oneself.

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