Listen and Be Quiet!

وَإِذَا قُرِئَ ٱلْقُرْءَانُ فَٱسْتَمِعُوا۟ لَهُۥ وَأَنصِتُوا۟ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ

When the Quran is recited, listen to it attentively and be silent, so you may be shown mercy.
(Al-A'raf vs 204)

Many of us do not not pay the needed attention to the Qur'an when it is been recited. We find ourselves chatting away, sometimes even laughing and joking! This verse is a great reminder to correct this mistake and give the Qur'an it's due so that we may earn Allah's mercy.

Imam 'Abdur-Rahmân Nâsir as-Sa'di gave a beautiful explanation of this verse in his book Taysir Al-Karimir Rahman Fi Tafsir Kalam Al-Mannan (also known as Tafsir As-Sa'di) as follows:

"This command is general and is applicable to everyone who hears the Book of Allah being recited. He is enjoined to listen to it and remain silent. The difference between listening and remaining silent is that remaining silent is an outward action, that requires one to stop talking or doing anything that may distract you from listening to it.

Listening, on the other hand, mean lending your ears, focusing your mind and contemplating the meaning of what is heard. The one who does both of these things when the Book of Allah is recited will attain a great deal of good, abundant knowledge, renewed and ongoing faith, increasing guidance and understanding of his religion. Hence Allah has made attainment of mercy dependent on these two things. This indicates that if a person does not listen and remain silent when the Book is recited to him, he will be deprived of his share of mercy and will miss out on a great deal of good

One of the most emphatically enjoined instructions with regard to listening to Qur'anic recitation is the requirement to listen attentively to it and remain silent during the prayers in which the recitation is done out loud. When the imam is reciting, the worshipper is instructed to remain silent. In fact the majority of scholars say that remaining silent and listening attentively to the imam is more important than reciting al-Fâtihah or any other soorah."

Beloved brothers and sisters, let's make amends and listen attentively and be quiet when Allah's words are been recited, may Allaah grant us tawfeeq. Below is a beautiful reminder from Shaykh AbdurRazzaq al-Badr to wrap things up!

For the One Who Wants to Benefit from the Recitation of the Qur'ān | Shaykh AbdurRazzaq al-Badr

Sources:

al-Badr, A. (2022, April 4). For the one who wants to benefit from the recitation of the Qur'ān: Shaykh Abdurrazzaq al-Badr. YouTube. Retrieved December 27, 2022, from https://youtu.be/X56qJ1f_xqE

Taysir Al-Karimir Rahman Fi Tafsir Kalam Al-Mannan (also known as Tafsir As-Sa'di)