Hadithcore
Sahih Muslim, 802
sahih

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:

Would any one of you like, when he returns to his family, to find there three large, fat, pregnant she-camels? We said: Yes. Upon this he said: Three verses that one of you recites in his prayer are better for him than three large, fat, pregnant she-camels.

حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، وَأَبُو سَعِيدٍ الأَشَجُّ قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا وَكِيعٌ، عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ،عَنْ أَبِي صَالِحٍ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ أَيُحِبُّ أَحَدُكُمْ إِذَا رَجَعَ إِلَى أَهْلِهِ أَنْ يَجِدَ فِيهِ ثَلاَثَ خَلِفَاتٍ عِظَامٍ سِمَانٍ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قُلْنَا نَعَمْ ‏.‏ قَالَ ‏"‏ فَثَلاَثُ آيَاتٍ يَقْرَأُ بِهِنَّ أَحَدُكُمْ فِي صَلاَتِهِ خَيْرٌ لَهُ مِنْ ثَلاَثِ خَلِفَاتٍ عِظَامٍ سِمَانٍ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

References2 variants
In-Book Reference
Book 6, Hadith 300
USC-MSA web (English) reference
Book 4, Hadith 1755 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
Recitation of the Qur'an brings goodness and blessing, for it is the extended rope of Allah, and it affords tranquility of the soul and abundance of rewards, and it leads to salvation on the Day of Judgment. If the recitation is in prayer, the merit becomes greater and the reward more abundant. In this Hadīth, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) asked his Companions: "Would any one of you like, when he returns to his family," i.e., when he returns home, where his wife and children are, to find in their place or house "three pregnant she-camels?" A "khalifah" is a pregnant she-camel. It used to be one of the most precious properties among the Arabs. and 'large' and 'fat'. If a she-camel is also large and fat, it becomes even dearer. They replied to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) in the affirmative, by the necessity of nature and looking forward to the reward. So, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed them that reciting three verses in prayer is better than the three pregnant she-camels. The reward for the recitation of three verses in prayer is better and more meritorious than the reward for possessing those she-camels. This is because the recitation of three verses belongs to the enduring good things that are beneficial in the Hereafter, whereas the she-camels are among the supplementary and transient things in the world. He mentioned three verses because this is the minimum number to form a plural number. Yet, this matter is not limited to reciting three verses only. Rather, the more verses a worshiper recites in his prayer, the greater the reward he will get in proportion to their number. In the Hadīth: Urging recitation of the Qur'an in prayer.
Related hadiths1
Compare isnād across 1 related chains →