Is it possible to do a khatm al-Quran by following or listening to it from a device like a TV set, telephone or computer?

Is it possible to do a khatm al-Quran by following or listening to it from a device like a TV set, telephone or computer?

Dear Brother / Sister,

Yes, the Quran is completed (a khatm is done) by following or listening to it like that.

“Some people say a khatm al-Quran can be done only by reading it.”

Muqabala al-Quran started for the first time when the Prophet (pbuh) and Hz. Jibril started to read it reciprocally, one of them reading and the other listening. The phrase “fa-yudarisuhu” is used in the hadith for the Prophet (pbuh) and Hz. Jibril reading the Quran reciprocally. Ayni, the translator of Bukhari, explains this phrase as follows:

“The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) andHz. Jibril read the Quran reciprocally. This reading was continued by hafizes of the Quran after them. For instance, one of them read ten verses and the other listened; then, the other one read ten verses and the first one listened. It was a reciprocal reading.” (Umdatul-Qari, I/75)

In our mosques today, one or more than one hafiz reads one juz of the Quran every day and the Muslims who can read the Quran follow the hafiz(es) and the ones who cannot read the Quran only listen. The 30th juz is read on the 30th day of Ramadan and khatm al-Quran is completed.  

In that case, not only the hafizes who read the Quran but also those who follow them and who listen to them regularly for a month are regarded to have completed a khatm and receive the reward of it.
Listening to the Quran is better than reading it. The hadiths regarding the issue are as follows:

“There is one reward for the one who reads the Quran and two for the one who listens to it.” (Darimi, Fadailul-Quran,10).

“Two rewards are written for anyone who listens to the Quran very carefully.” (at-Targhib wat-Tarhib, 2:345)

That is, listening to the Quran is more virtuous than reading it. A person who listens to the Quran gets the reward of listening to it; a person who listens to the whole Quran gets its reward many times. It is valid for those who listen to the Quran from both a living person and from devices like a tape recorder, video recorder, etc. For, these devices are not echoes but the same as the voice of the person who reads. There is no difference between listening to it from a living person and from a device. There is nothing that changes in either state. That is, there is no change in the words and verses of the Quran.

That is, a person who gains rewards by listening to the Quran gains the reward of khatm al-Quran when he listens to the whole Quran. How happy is he who makes use of his time by listening to the Quran!

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