the holy quran

Some pieces of advice by Imam Muhammad ibn Ahmad Qurtubi

in al-Jami' li ahkam al-Qur'an

where he said:

not to touch the Qur'an except in the state of ritual purity in wudu, and to recite it when in a state of ritual purity;

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when beginning to recite, to take refuge with Allah from the accursed Devil and to say the Basmala ...

once one has begun, not to interrupt one's recital from moment to moment with human words, unless absolutely necessary;

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to recite it leisurely and without haste, distinctly pronouncing each letter;

to use one's mind and understanding in order to comprehend what is being said to oneself;

to pause at verses that promise Allah's favour, to long for Allah Most High and to ask of His bounty; and at verses that warn of His punishment to ask Him to save one from it;

to pause at the accounts of bygone peoples and individuals to take heed and benefit from their example;

to find out the meanings of the Qur'an's unusual lexical usages;

to give each letter its due so as to clearly and fully pronounce every word, for each letter counts as ten good deeds;

whenever one finishes reciting, to attest to the veracity of ones's Lord, and that His Messenger has delivered his message ....

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not to let a day go by without looking at least once at the pages of the Qur'an;