Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “A believer who recites the Quran is like an orange whose fragrance is sweet and whose taste is sweet; a believer who does not recite the Quran is like a date which has no fragrance but has a sweet taste; and the hypocrite who recites the Quran is like a basil whose fragrance is sweet, but whose taste is bitter; and a hypocrite who does not recite the Quran is like the colocynth (bitter-apple) which has no fragrance and has a bitter taste.” (Muslim)

In another hadith, Ibn Mas`ud narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, “Whoever recites a letter from the Book of Allah, he will be credited with a good deed, and a good deed gets a ten-fold reward. I do not say that Alif-Lam-Mim is one letter, but Alif is a letter, Lam is a letter and Mim is a letter.” (At-Tirmidhi)