Reading

Al-Bukhaari (4582 and 5049) and Muslim (800) narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: 

The Messenger of Allaah (blessings and peace of Allah upon him) said to me:

 “Recite the Qur’aan to me.” I said: O Messenger of Allaah, should I recite to you when it was revealed to you? He said: “I like to hear it from someone else.” 

So I recited al-Nisa’, and when I reached the verse, 

“How (will it be) then, when We bring from each nation a witness and We bring you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) as a witness against these people?” [al-Nisa’ 4:41], 

I raised my head, or a man who was beside me nudged me and 

I raised my head, and I saw his tears flowing..

So what is best is to do that which is in his best interests and will have the best effect on him, 

whether it is reading or listening, 

because the purpose of reading is to ponder and understand 

the meanings and act upon what is indicated by the Book of Allah, 

as Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“(This is) a Book (the Qur’aan) which We have sent down to you, 

full of blessings, that they may ponder over its Verses, and that men of understanding may remember”

[Saad 38:29]

Over the twenty years between 1990 and 2009, 

consumer expenditures on reading dropped 29%, 

while spending on entertainment increased by 89%.