Praise be to Allaah.
Sincerity.
It is essential to have a pure and sincere intention and a
proper aim. One should learn the Qur’aan and pay attention to it for the
sake of Allaah and attaining Paradise and earning the pleasure
of Allaah. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “So
worship Allaah (Alone) by doing religious deeds sincerely for
Allaah’s sake only. Surely, the religion (i.e. the worship and
the obedience) is for Allaah only” [al-Zumar 39:2-3]. According to a
hadeeth qudsi, Allaah says: “I am so self-sufficient that I am
in no need of having an associate. Thus he who does an action
for the sake of someone else as well as for My sake will have
that action rejected by Me to the one whom he associated with Me.” So
there will be no reward for the one who reads and memorizes
Qur’aan for the sake of showing off or gaining a good
reputation.
Correct pronunciation and reading.
This can only be learned by listening to someone who reads well
or has memorized properly. The Qur’aan can only be learned from a
teacher. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
learnt it orally from Jibreel, and the Sahaabah learned it
orally from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him). Then it was passed down orally from the Sahaabah to succeeding
generations of this Ummah.
Deciding the
amount to be memorized each time. The one who wants to learn the
Qur’aan should decide how much he wants to memorize each time. After he
has set out his objective and learned the correct
pronunciation, he has to keep on repeating it over and over.
This repetition should be with the proper intonation so as to avoid
getting bored and so that he can memorize it properly. The
intonation makes a person enjoy listening to it, helps him to
memorize it and makes the tongue get used to that intonation, so
that he will spot mistakes immediately, as the rhythm will be
interrupted. This is in addition to the fact that the Messenger
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “He is not
one of us who does not recite the Qur’aan with a rhythmic
intonation.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari).
Not going
beyond what one has decided to learn in one day until one has
memorized it perfectly. The haafiz should never move on to a new portion
until he has perfectly memorized the prvious portion , so that
it will stick in his mind. One thing that will help the student
to memorize it is to preoccupy himself with it night and day, by
reciting it in the prayers where Qur’aan is to be recited silently, and
if he is leading others in prayer, by reciting it out loud. He
can also recite it during his naafil prayers, and whilst waiting
for (congregational) prayers. In this way it will become easy
for him to memorize Qur’aan. Everyone can do this, even if he is busy
with other things.
Adhering to one style
of writing in the Mus-haf you use for memorizing. One thing that
will help in memorizing Qur’aan is to have one's own copy of the
Mus-haf (i.e., choosing a specific edition) and never changing it.
This is because people learn as much by looking as by listening,
so the pattern of the verses and where they appear on the pages
of the Mus-haf stays in the mind as one reads and looks at the
Mus-haf. So if a person changes the Mus-haf from which he is learning,
or he learns from various Masaahif where the relative positions
of the aayaat may vary, he will get confused and it will be
difficult for him to memorize.
Understanding is
the key to memorization. One of the things which is of the
greatest help in memorizing is understanding the verses one is learning
and knowing how they are connected to one another. This means
that the haafiz has to read the tafseer of some of the aayahs
and soorahs which he is memorizing and he has to focus his mind when
he is reading. This will help him to remember the verses. But when
he is committing the verses to memory, he should rely on
understanding; what he has to do is rely on repetition so that
it will be easy for him to memorize them.
Not
moving on until one has learned a soorah well. After having
memorized one soorah, the haafiz should not move on to another soorah
until he has memorized the first soorah perfectly from beginning
to end and he can recite it fluently without having to think
too hard about it. Remembering it should be easy, and he should
not move on to another soorah until he is sure that he has memorized the
first one.
Continually reciting to someone else.
The haafiz should not rely upon training by himself; he has to
recite what he has memorized to another haafiz, or to someone
else who can follow his recitation in the Mus-haf. This other person
should be someone who knows how to recite Qur’aan properly, so
that he can point out any mistakes or omissions in pronunciation
or reading. It often happens that an individual may memorize a
soorah incorrectly by himself, and he does not realize this even when he
looks at the Mus-haf. So the person who wants to memorize a
soorah looks in the Mus-haf and does not see where he is making a
mistake in his recitation. So reciting to another person is an
excellent means of correcting one’s mistakes.
Continually
following up. When it comes to memorization, the Qur’aan is
different from any other material such as poetry or prose, in that it
may be quickly forgotten. The Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: “By the One in Whose hand is my soul,
it tries harder to run away than a hobbled camel” (Agreed upon).
One only has to leave it for a little while and it escapes
one’s mind and is quickly forgotten. So one has to keep reviewing it and
always work hard at retaining what one has memorized of the
Qur’aan. Concerning this, the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: “The one who has memorized Qur’aan is
like the owner of a hobbled camel. If he pays attention to it and takes
care of it, he will keep it, but if he lets it go, he will lose
it” (Agreed upon). This means that the one who has memorized the
Qur’aan has to recite it regularly as part of his wird [regular
dhikr]. At least he should recite one of the thirty juz’ and at
most he should recite ten juz’ each day, because the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever reads the
whole Qur’aan in less than three days does not understand it”
(Agreed upon). By continually reciting it in this fashion he
will retain what he has memorized.
Paying
attention to the parts of the Qur’aan which resemble one
another. The parts of the Qur’aan resemble one another in their meanings
and wording. Allaah says: (interpretation of the meaning):
“Allaah has sent down the Best Statement, a Book (this Qur’aan),
its parts resembling each other (in goodness and truth) (and)
oft-repeated. The skins of those who fear their Lord shiver from it
(when they recite it or hear it). Then their skin and their
heart soften to the remembrance of Allaah” [al-Zumar 39:23]. So
the good reader of Qur’aan has to pay particular attention to
those parts which resemble one another, i.e., the parts where the
wording is similar, as this will help him to memorize it properly.
Making
the most of the best years. The one who is truly blessed is the
one whom Allaah enables to make the most of the best years for
memorizing, which come approximately between the ages of five
and twenty-three. During these years, a person is able to
memorize things very well. Before the age of five, he is not able to do
that, and after the age of twenty-three his ability to memorize
declines whilst his ability to understand increases. So young
people of these ages should make the most of it and memorize the
Book of Allaah, because they are at the age when they will be able to
learn it quickly and will be slow to forget it, unlike when they
get older. He spoke the truth who said, “Learning by heart when
one is young is like engraving something on stone; learning
something when one is old is like engraving something on water.”
It
is our duty towards the Book of Allaah that we should memorize it
properly, accept and follow its guidance, and make it the constitution
of our lives, the light of our hearts, the comfort of our souls.
Hopefully these rules will form a good foundation for those who
sincerely want to memorize the Book of Allaah properly. And Allaah
knows best. May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad.
Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
