al-Ahqaf
Imam Ja'fer al-Sadiq (as) has said, "One who recites it will receive ten good deeds for each particle of sand in the world." He has also said, "One who recites it each night or each Friday night, Allah will not expose him to any fear in the life of this world and will receive security from the horrors of the Day of Judgment."
al-An'am
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) has said that this Chapter was revealed as a whole escorted by seventy thousand angels praising and glorifying the Almighty in unison; so, whoever recites it will be blessed by those same seventy thousand angels for a full day and night. Imam al-Rida (as) is quoted as saying that those angels will keep blessing him till the Day of Judgment.
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) has said, "One who recites it from its beginning till the verse saying, 'And thus do We make some oppressors befriend others on account of what they earned (6:129),' Allah will assign for him forty thousand angels to write for him (in his book of good deeds) the like of their own adoration till the Day of Resurrection."
According to the author of Al-Af ad wal Gharaib, one who does the same after having performed the fajr prayers, forty angels will descend for him, and it will be recorded for him the like of their adoration.
According to the author of Al-Waseet, if one does so upon waking up, Allah Almighty will assign for him a thousand angels to protect him and to record for him the like of their deeds (of adoration) till the Day of Judgment.
al-Anbiya'
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) has said, "Whoever recites Surat-al-Anbiya' will be tried by Allah an easy trial, and each and every Prophet mentioned in the Holy Qur'an will shake hands with him." Imam al-Sadiq (as) has said, "One who recites it out of his love for it will be in the company of the prophets in Paradise, and he will be highly respected in the life of this world."
al-Anfal
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) is quoted as saying, "If someone recites both Surat al-Anfal and Bara'ah together, I shall seek intercession for him and testify for him on the Day of Judgment that he is free from hypocrisy, and he will be granted of the rewards ten times as many as the number of hypocritical men and women in the world, and ten of his sins will be wiped out, and his status will be elevated by ten degrees, and the 'Arsh and those (angels) that bear it shall bless him as long as he lives."
Imam al-Sadiq (as) has said, "One who recites both of these chapters every month will not undergo any hypocrisy, and he will be as a true Shi'a of the Commander of the Faithful (as) and will be eating on the Day of Judgment of the tables of Paradise with them till Allah, the most Exalted One, is through with the Judgment."
al-'Ankabut
Imam Ja'fer al-Sadiq (as) has said, "One who recites it will receive ten good deeds for the number of each and every believer and disbeliever." He (as) has also said, "One who recites both Surat al- Rum and al-'Ankabut during the twenty-third night of the month of Ramadan will, by Allah, be among the people of Paradise."
al-A'raf
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) is quoted as saying that if one recites this chapter, Allah, the most Exalted One, will install a protective veil between him and Iblis, and Adam (as) will seek intercession for him on the Day of Judgment.
Imam Ja'fer al-Sadiq (as) is quoted saying that one who reads it every month will be among those who shall have no fear on the Day of Judgment, nor shall they grieve; so, if he recites it every Friday, he will be among those who will not be tried on the Day of Judgment.
al-Baqarah
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) is quoted by Ubayy saying, "Whoever recites it will receive blessings from Allah and His mercy and will be granted the rewards due to one who camps for a full year, in the way of Allah, as a soldier on the borders of the Islamic domains to protect them, being constantly on vigil." Then the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) turned to the narrator, Ubayy, and said, "O Ubayy! Order the Muslims to learn it, for learning it is a blessing, while leaving it is a loss, and no magician can ever overpower it."
He (pbuh) is also quoted as saying that everything has a zenith, and the zenith of the Our'an is Surat al-Baqarah. "Which ayat (verse)," he (pbuh) was asked, "in it is the best, O Messenger of Allah?" He (pbuh) said, "Ayat al-Kursi [2:255]," he (pbuh) answered. And he (pbuh) entrusted the youngest among his companions, namely al-Harith ibn Zayd ibn al-Harithah, due to the fact that he knew Surat al-Baqarah by heart, to command an army to defend Islam.
al-Dukhkhan
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) is quoted as saying that whoever recites this Sura on a Friday night will be forgiven and will receive for each of its verses the rewards of one who sets a hundred thousand slaves free, and seventy thousand angels will seek forgiveness for him; and Allah will build a mansion for whoever recites it on Fridays. Imam Ja'fer al-Sadiq (as) has said that one who recites it during his obligatory and optional prayers will be resurrected among those who will be secure and Allah will shade him with the shade of His 'Arsh and will try him an easy trial and give him his book (of reckoning) in his right hand.
al-Fath
Imam Ja'fer al-Sadiq (as) is quoted as saying that whoever recites this Chapter will be as though he was present when the Prophet (pbuh) opened Mecca and was with him when he (pbuh) received the oath of allegiance under the tree. Imam al-Sadiq (as) has also said the following with regard to this Chapter: "Fortify with it your wealth, women, and whatever your right hands possess against harm."
al-Furqan
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) is quoted as saying that for one who recites this Chapter each day or each night, nobody in his family will be guilty of the sin of adultery, and when he dies, his soul will be escorted to his grave by seventy thousand angels who will pray and seek Allah's forgiveness for him till he is placed in his grave, and he will enter Paradise without a trial. Imam al-Kazim (as) has said, "Allah will never torment anyone who recites Surat al-Furqan every night, nor will He try him, and his residence will be in the highest level of Paradise."
al-Fatiha
Al-Tibrisi, in his exegesis Mujma'ul-Bayan fee Tafsir al-Qur'an, provides ten names for the first chapter of the Holy Qur'an, namely Surat al-Fatiha:
1) al-Fatiha, the one that opens, for it is like a gate: when opened, it leads one to the Book of Allah;
2) al-Hamd, the praise, for its verses are clearly praising the Almighty;
3) Ummul- Kitab, the mother of the Book, for its status is superior to all other chapters of the Holy Qur'an, or like the war standard: it is always in the forefront;
4) al-Sab', the seven verses, for it is comprised of seven verses and the only one whose verses are seven, and there is no room here to elaborate on the merits of the number 7 especially since most readers of this book are already aware of such merits;
5) al-Mathani, the oft-repeated Chapter, for no other Chapter of the Holy Qur'an is repeated as often as this one;
6) al-Kafiya, the chapter that suffices and that has no substitute; you simply cannot replace its recitation with that of any other chapter of the Holy Qur'an in the first two rek'ats of the prayers, whereas it can substitute others;
8) al-Asas, the basis or foundation or bed-rock, a connotation of its being the foundation upon which the Holy Qur'an stands just as the Basmala ("Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim") is the foundation of the Fatiha;
9) al- Shifa, the healing, due to the fact that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) has said that the Fatiha heals from all ailments except death; and
10) al-Salat, the prayers, or the basic requirement of the daily prayers, one without the recitation of which no prayer can be accepted, especially since the Prophet (pbuh) has quoted the Almighty saying,
"The prayers have been divided between Me and My servant: one half for Me, and one for him;" so when one recites it and says, " Alhamdulillahi Rabbil-'Alameen," the Almighty says, "My servant has praised Me." And when he says, ''Arrahmanir Raheem," the Almighty says, "My servant has praised Me." And when he says, "Maaliki YawmidDeen," Allah says, "My servant has exalted Me." And when he says, "Iyyaaka Na'budu wa iyyaaka nasta'een," Allah will say, 'This is a covenant between Me and My servant, and My servant shall be granted the fulfillment of his pleas." Then if he finishes reciting the Fatiha to the end, Allah will again confirm His promise by saying, 'This is for [the benefit of] My servant, and My servant will be granted the answer to his wishes.
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) is quoted by Abu Ali al-Fadl ibn al-Hassan ibn al-Fadl al-Tibrisi, may Allah have mercy on his soul, saying that one who recites al-Fatiha will be regarded by the Almighty as though he recited two-thirds of the Holy Qur'an and as though he gave by way of charity to each and every believing man and woman. "By the One in Whose hand my soul is," the Prophet (pbuh) continues, "Allah Almighty did not reveal in the Torah, the Gospel, or the Psalms any chapter like it; it is the Mother of the Book and al- Sab' al-Mathani (the oft-repeated seven verses), and it is divided between Allah and His servant, and His servant shall get whatever he asks; it is the best Sura in the Book of the most Exalted One, and it is a healing from every ailment except poison, which is death."
He (pbuh) is also quoted by al-Kaf'ami as saying, "He (Allah) bestowed it upon me as His blessing, making it equivalent to the Holy Qur'an, saying, 'And We have granted you al-Sab' al-Mathani and the Great Qur'an (Surat al-Hijr, verse 87).' lt is the most precious among the treasures of the 'Arsh."
Indeed, Allah, the most Sublime, has chosen Muhammad (pbuh) alone to be honored by it without doing so to any other Prophet or Messenger of His with the exception of Sulayman (Solomon), peace be upon him, who was granted the Basmala (see verse 30 of Surat al-Naml, Chapter of the Ant). One who recites it, being fully convinced of his following in the footsteps of Muhammad (pbuh) and his Progeny (as), adhering to its injunctions, believing in its outward and inward meanings, will be granted by Allah for each of its letters a blessing better than what all there is in the world of wealth and good things, and whoever listens to someone reciting it will receive one third of the rewards due to its reciter.
al-Hajj
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) is quoted as saying that anyone who recites it will be granted as many rewards as the number of those who performed the pilgrimage and the 'umra. Imam Ja'fer al-Sadiq is quoted as saying that whoever recites it every three days will perform the pilgrimage to the House of Allah during that year, and if he dies on his way, he will enter Paradise.
