Short answer
Yes. Reciting the Quran in Arabic is rewarded even if you do not understand it, and the Prophet ﷺ promised a double reward to the one who struggles with it. Understanding is still a goal: the Quran asks you to reflect on it, so add a translation or tafsir as you go.
Recitation is an act of worship in itself and is rewarded without understanding; reflecting on the meaning is mustahabb and brings the fuller benefit the Quran asks for. The four schools agree on this.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
The Prophet ﷺ said that the one skilled in the Quran is with the noble, righteous scribes, and the one who reads it and stumbles, finding it hard, has two rewards: one for reading and one for the struggle. He also said each letter carries a good deed multiplied ten times, and he did not make that conditional on understanding. The four schools agree that recitation alone is worship.
At the same time, the Quran was sent "that they might reflect upon its verses" (38:29), and it asks those who do not reflect whether there are locks on their hearts (47:24). Recitation without understanding is a beginning, not the end point.
- Learn the meaning of what you recite in salah first: al-Fatiha and your usual short surahs.
- After your daily recitation, read the translation of the same page.
- Explore Quran verses by topic to connect ayat to your life.
- Improve your pronunciation with the tajweed rules.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Saad 38:29
كِتَٰبٌ أَنزَلْنَٰهُ إِلَيْكَ مُبَٰرَكٌۭ لِّيَدَّبَّرُوٓا۟ ءَايَٰتِهِۦ وَلِيَتَذَكَّرَ أُو۟لُوا۟ ٱلْأَلْبَٰبِ ﴿٢٩﴾
[This is] a blessed Book which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], that they might reflect upon its verses and that those of understanding would be reminded.
Reflection is a purpose of the Quran, so understanding is the goal to work toward.
Sahih Muslim 798
Sahih... الماهر بالقرآن مع السفرة الكرام البررة ...
"The one skilled in the Quran is with the noble and righteous scribes, and the one who stumbles over it, finding it hard, has two rewards."
Reward is promised to the struggling reader, not only to the one who has mastered it.
Jami' at-Tirmidhi 2910
Graded sahih... من قرأ حرفا من كتاب الله فله به حسنة ...
"Whoever reads a letter from the Book of Allah has a good deed for it."
The reward is tied to reading the letters, with no condition of understanding.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Tibyan fi Adab Hamalat al-Quran (Nawawi), Chapter on the virtue of recitation and reflection. Recitation is rewarded, and reflection is its fuller aim.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Hazr wa al-Ibaha, discussion of reciting the Quran. Recitation is worship in itself.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.