Imaam Aboo Bakr Muhammad bn Husayn al Aajuree (d.360AH) said: ‘As for he who memorizes the Qur’aan for material gains, he is characterized with a precise mastery of its letters but he forfeits its ordainments, he is proud of himself and he behaves arrogantly to others, he turns the Qur’aan to a commodity with which he exhorts their wealth. He eulogizes the wealthy and looks down upon the poor. He is harsh towards the poor since he aims at no material gain from him; he employs the Qur’aan to enslave the indigent. If he has a sonorous voice, he loves to recite to the kings and lead them in Salawaat all because of the material gains….
He feels pompous with his recitations as he boasts with it over others below him in memorization and unique qiraa’aat. He talks a lot without bounds, and he condemns anyone who has not memorized as he did. If he sees anyone who have memorized as he did, he will seek after his faults in his sittings (halaqaat).
He feels too pompous with those he teaches and humility has no place in his heart. He busies himself with idle talks at the expense of those who come to learn from him. He loves idle talks than the words of Allaaaah ‘azza wajalla. He claims he never heard a haafidh (of hadith) recite! You hardly find him in awe when he listens to the Qur’aan neither does he cry or sober…He is inclined to material pursuits and because of it he loves and detests. When someone disrespects him, he says: people of Qur’aan are not to be disrespected!...
He does not act with the Qur’aan as ,he does not debar himself from warnings of punishment… He disregards (the lessons in) what he recites or is recited to him. He is only concerned with the mastery of the letters; if he errs in that regard, he feels too bad in fear that his position in the sight of people will be decried… Whoever has these traits has exposed himself to the anger of his Lord, the Benevolent.
Worse still, if he pretends to be pious with his recitations of the Qur’aan in public but fails in Allaah’s dues in private by engaging in all He had forbidden; all in a bid to seek superiority, popularity and haughtiness…Whoever has these traits, he becomes trail for people as the ignoramuses follow his steps and as such, people will say , the one who memorized the Qur’aan did such and such…I have penned down these as a naseehah from me to the people of Qur’aan…'
Source: Akhlaaqu Ahlil Qur’aan by Imaam Aboo Bakr Muhammad bn Husayn al Aajuree, Daarul Kutub al ‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, ed. 2003. pp.87-89.
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