Is it an innovation to say "Sadaqallahu al-'Azeem" after reciting the Qur'an

Answer

Institutionalising the practice to the extent that one sees saying "sadaqa-Llahu al-'Azim" at the end of recitation as being on the same level as saying "a'udhu billah min al-shaytan al-rajim" and "bismillah al-rahman al-rahim" at the beginning is problematic, as this was not the transmitted practice of the Prophet or the Companions. However, merely saying it -- without believing it holds that level of status, or that it is a specific sunnah required after every recitation -- is permissible, and it is inaccurate to say the phrase has no basis at all. Buraydah narrated that the Prophet was delivering a sermon when his grandsons al-Hasan and al-Husayn came forward, stumbling in their little shirts; he came down from the pulpit, took them up, and upon ascending again said: "Allah the Almighty has spoken the truth (sadaqa-Llahu al-'Azim): 'Your wealth and your children are only a trial' [64:15]. When I saw these two boys walking and stumbling, I could not restrain myself" (reported by Ahmad, Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, and graded authentic by al-Hakim). Granted, he said it *before*, not after, reciting -- but the hadith still demonstrates, in principle, the permissibility of saying the phrase in connection with reciting the words of Allah. *And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.*