cites fifty will be recorded among those who are mindful; whoever recites one hun‌ dred verses will be recorded among the obedient; whoever recites two hundred will be recorded among the humble; whoever recites three hundred will be recorded among the triumphant; whoever recites five hundred will be recorded among the diligent; and whoever recites a thousand, for him there will be quantities of gold nuggets." ١٥

Another tradition reports that the Imam al-Sadiq said:

The Quran is the covenant of God for his creation. Thus, it is necessary for every Muslim
. to look into His covenant and read, every day, fifty of its verses.١٦

The Imam also said:

What prevents a merchant among you who has been busy in the market, that, when he
.returns to his home, he would not sleep until he has recited a chapter from the Quran? For every verse he recites, ten good deeds would be recorded for him and ten bad deeds erased.١٧

He also said:

It is your duty to recite the Quran, because the stations of paradise are equal to the number of its verses. On the Day of Resurrection, whoever used to recite the Quran would be told, "Recite and ascend"-and for every verse he recites, he shall be raised a station. ١٨

The compendiums of Shiite scholars contain many traditions similar to those quoted above. Whoever wishes to know about them may look them up in these com‌ pilations. Volume ١٩ of Bi/:lar al-Anwar [by al-Majlisi], in particular, includes many of them.
All these traditions refer to the excellence of reciting from the text of the Quran,
rather than from memory. Among these traditions is the one reported by Isl)aq b.
Ammar from the Imam al-Sadiq:

[I asked the Imam:] "May my life be a sacrifice for you? I have memorized the Quran by heart. Is it more excellent that I recite by heart or should I look at the text (al‌ musf:wj)?" The Imam told me: "Rather, recite while looking at the text, for it is more excellent. Do you not know that looking at the text of the Quran is a form ofworship?" ١٩

The Imam also said: "Whoever reads the Quran from the text would enjoy good eyesight and would lighten the burden of his parents even if they were rejecters of faith."٢٠
This urging to recite the Quran by sight involves a significant aim worthy of consideration-namely, to prevent the Quran from disappearing by ensuring that its copies will multiply. In other words; if recitation from memory had been accepted, there would have been less demand for copies of the written text. Therefore, there would have been few of them around, and eventually they might have disappeared altogether.
But aside from that. the numerous salutary effects of recitation that the traditions mention can result only from reciting by sight. Among these are the Imams saying [that whoever recited by sight] "would enjoy good eyesight." This is a most compre‌ hensive expression that could mean that reciting from the text protects the eyes from blindness and ophthalmia. or that reciting it makes the reader enjoy the important