Table Of Contents
Is Celebrating Khatam Al-Quran a Sunnah?
Celebrating the completion of memorizing the Quran is not Sunnah , because nothing of that nature was narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) or from any of his Companions. Doing this on the grounds that it is part of religion is Bid`ah.
When Is Khatam Al-Quran Celebration Permissible?
But people do it as a customary expression of joy for the blessing of having memorized the Quran, like celebrations for the return of one who has been away, or for finding work, or for moving to a new home.
If the celebration for completing the Quran is of this nature, then there is nothing wrong with it. If a passage from the Quran is recited, from the beginning or the end, without having to recite a specific Surah or recite in a particular way such as joining the end to the beginning, then this is fine, because reciting from Quran is the best thing that can be done in a gathering and it is a reminder for those who are present.
Making Du`a Upon Completing the Quran
With regard to making Du`a when completing the recitation of the Quran , it was reported with an authentic chain of narration from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that when he completed the Quran, he would gather his family together and make Du`a with them. If the reader makes Du`a when he completes the Quran, and those who are present say “Ameen” to his Du`a, this is fine.
With regard to calling the teacher “Shaykhah”, there is nothing wrong with this. Now you know, may Allah bless you, that there is no reason not to have the celebration you have described.
Should the End of the Quran Be Connected to the Beginning?
There is no need to read from the end of the Mus-haf and then join it to the beginning. Doing something in this manner requires evidence, because reading the Quran is an act of worship, and acts of worship must be done only in the manner in which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did them, as Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
{Indeed in the Messenger of Allah (Muhammad) you have a good example to follow for him who hopes for (the Meeting with) Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah much.} [Al-Ahzab 33:21] (Written by Shaykh `Abd Ar-Rahman Al-Barrak)
Misunderstood Hadith on Continuous Recitation
There is a Hadith about the person who stops for a rest immediately carrying on, which was narrated by At-Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on him) from Ibn `Abbas. According to this Hadith, a man said, “O Messenger of Allah, which deed is most beloved to Allah? He said, “Al-Hal Al-Murtahil.” The man said, ‘What is Al-Hal Al-Murtahil?” He said, “The one who starts from the beginning of the Quran until he reaches the end, and when he stops for a rest, he immediately carries on.”
But this Hadith is weak, as At-Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on him) says after he quotes it: this is a strange Hadith which we only know from Ibn `Abbas with this chain of narration, and this chain of narration is not strong.
Hence Ibn Al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said in Al-I`lam (p.289, part2), after he mentioned this Hadith:
Some of them understood from this that when a person has finished reading the whole Quran, he should then read Al-Fatihah and three verses of Surat Al-Baqarah , because he stopped when he completed it, and he continued when he started again. But none of the Companions or Successors did this, and none of the Imams regarded it as encouraged. What is referred to in the Hadith is when a person returns from one military campaign and immediately joins another, or every time he completes one good deed, he starts another which he completes as he did the first one. But what some readers do is not what was meant in the Hadith at all. And Allah is the source of strength.
And Allah knows best.
