السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
ربي اشرح لي صدري و يسر لي أمري واحلل عقدة من لساني يفقه قولي
ربي زدني علما وارزقني فهما
Why should you intend to memorize the Quran?
The following is a humble reminder from one of your dear, loving sisters in Islam:
Believers remind each other about birr (piety).
Allah says,
{فإن الذكرى تنفع المؤمنين}
I am sure many of you have memorized great portions of the Quran. But, the point I want to make is, let’s make a firm resolve this Ramadan, to memorize the Holy Quran, no matter how many years it takes.
Many of us neglect this, and I was not spared from the common misconception that it’s very difficult to memorize the Quran, or that it’s easy to forget what’s memorized, which might make it sinful for the memorizer.
Really! These are our misconceptions. If we ask those who have memorized, they’ll tell us how they pity those who still live with these false concepts. We find it overwhelming to memorize the Quran but trust me, the way memorization helps in following the commands of the Quran, simply reciting doesn’t help like that. There’s a WORLD of difference. And I have experienced that.
Each time you perform an action, you immediately remember the aayah regarding it, and that guides you to what is correct and pleasing to Allah, in every matter.
For example, you wear the hijab, but when someone asks you, “Why exactly do you do that?” What do you say? If you have memorised the ayaat regarding hijab, you can confidently answer the person: “It’s because Allah says,
{يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ قُل لِّأَزْوَاجِكَ وَبَنَاتِكَ وَنِسَاءِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ يُدْنِينَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِن جَلَابِيبِهِنَّ}
“O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves [part] of their outer garments.” (Surah Ahzaab, 59)
This makes your ‘amal (actions) to be based on ilm (knowledge), and the pleasure and confidence this gives is priceless, SubhanAllah!
If you ever find yourself lazy to stand for prayer on time, the buzzer rings:
{فَوَيْلٌ لِّلْمُصَلِّينَ الَّذِينَ هُمْ عَن صَلَاتِهِمْ سَاهُونَ}
“So woe to those who pray [But] who *delay* their prayer.” (Surah Maoon, 4-5)
…and so you immediately push yourself to prayer, because your goal is to prevent all that which displeases your Rabb (Lord).
Whenever you want to relate something of the good you have done before someone, this ayah alerts you:
{فَلَا تُزَكُّوا أَنفُسَكُمْ ۖ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنِ اتَّقَىٰ}
“So do not claim yourselves to be pure; He is most knowing of who fears Him.” (Surah Najm, 32)
Whenever you shy from giving da’wah, this ayah inspires you:
{وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ قَوْلًا مِّمَّن دَعَا إِلَى اللَّهِ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا..}
“And who is better in speech than one who invites to Allah and does righteousness.” (Surah Fussilat, 33)
When Shaytan whispers to you to lie to someone, you instantly remember how Allah reiterates 10 times in just one surah besides the other surahs:
{وَيْلٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ لِّلْمُكَذِّبِينَ}
“Woe, that Day, to the Deniers!” (Surah Mursalat, 15)
…and that He SWT despises those who speak what they don’t do–
{كَبُرَ مَقْتًا عِندَ اللَّهِ أَن تَقُولُوا مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ}
“Great is hatred in the sight of Allah that you say what you do not do.” (Surah Saff, 3)
And you cover your adornment when you go out, not behaving like the women of jahiliyya (pre-Islamic ignorance) because Allah says,
{وَقَرْنَ فِي بُيُوتِكُنَّ وَلَا تَبَرَّجْنَ تَبَرُّجَ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ الْأُولَىٰ}
“And abide in your houses and do not display yourselves as [was] the display of the former times of ignorance.” (Surah Ahzaab, 33)
When you find yourself about to burst from anger, you instantly remind yourself that Allah loves the Muhsineen and He SWT describes Muhsineen (doers of good) as those who restrain anger:
{الَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ فِي السَّرَّاءِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ وَالْكَاظِمِينَ الْغَيْظَ وَالْعَافِينَ عَنِ النَّاسِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ}
“Who spend [in the cause of Allah] during ease and hardship and who restrain anger and who pardon the people – and Allah loves the doers of good…” (Surah Aal Imran, 134)
Simplest things like – you don’t forget to say “In sha Allah” because you are always reminded the Words of Allah:
(وَلَا تَقُولَنَّ لِشَيْءٍ إِنِّي فَاعِلٌ ذَٰلِكَ غَدًا )
( إِلَّا أَن يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ)
“And never say of anything, ‘Indeed, I will do that tomorrow,’ Except [when adding], ‘If Allah wills.’” (Surah Kahf, 23-24)
And you always reply back with a better salaam, because you know its obligatory to reply to salaam, whenever someone greets you:
{وَإِذَا حُيِّيتُم بِتَحِيَّةٍ فَحَيُّوا بِأَحْسَنَ مِنْهَا أَوْ رُدُّوهَا…}
“And when you are greeted with a greeting, greet [in return] with one better than it or [at least] return it [in a like manner]…” (Surah Nisaa, 86)
My sisters, this is not even tip of the iceberg. Leading our lives in actual compliance with the Quran?! Isn’t that our goal of living in this dunya?
We know from history that during the battles of Riddah (battles of apostasy), when people were apostatizing from Islam, the Muslims who were in the front rows of the battlefield were those who had memorized great portions of the Quran, and thus many of the huffadh (Quran memorizers) were being martyred, which is what worried the Caliph Abu Bakr, who commanded Zaid (may Allah be pleased with them both) to compile the Qur’an into a single mus-haf (copy of the Quran).
So the point here is, those who had memorized great portions of the Quran were in the front rows of battle field. Why? Because they knew the numerous virtues of jihad fee sabeelillah (fighting in the path of Allah), by heart.
Allah says, and almost all of us know this ayah,
{ *قل هل يستوي الذين يعلمون والذين لا يعلمون إنما يتذكّر أولوا الألباب* }
“Say, ‘Are those who know equal to those who do not know?’ Only they will remember [who are] people of understanding.” (Surah Zumar, 9)
Of course, we have knowledge without memorizing too, but the practicing of one who has the commands of Allah memorized, and who is obedient to Him, and the one who practices because he remembers studying somewhere about it recently, these two cannot be compared.
And we all want to be those who follow the Quran to the best of our abilities, don’t we?
Prophet ﷺ said, “The quran is either a hujjah (evidence) for you, or against you.” [Muslim 223]
If you recite it and follow it, it is an evidence for you, but if you don’t follow it, it is an evidence against you.
We seek refuge in Allah from being among the second type!
To be among the first type, we need to do all that that helps us be among those for whom the Quran is an evidence that takes them to Jannah by interceding for them, and one way to do that is by memorizing the Quran, my dear sisters.
Know what? At Masjid Nabawi (Prophet’s Masjid), students memorize the classic arabic books by default. Everyone is a Quran Haafidh— plus they memorize the books they study like the kitab at tawheed, aqeedatul wasitiyyah, bulugh ul maraam. They’ll read out the entire books to you word for word and that’s because they know the importance of memorizing, and the importance of preserving knowledge. SubhanAllah!
Furthermore, one who memorizes Quran, would rise in status on the day of judgment — for every ayah he recites he is raised in his status and this sharf (honor) is EXCLUSIVE only to those who memorize.
Narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr that the Prophet ﷺ said: “It will be said to the companion of the Quran (the haafidh): Recite and rise in status, recite as you used to recite in the world, for your status will be at the last verse that you recite.” (Tirmidhi 2194)
Ibn Hajar said:
“The report referred to applies specifically to the one who memorises it by heart, not the one who reads it from the Mushaf, because people do not differ in merely reading it from the book, and they do not differ in how little or how much they read. Rather what they vary in is memorisation by heart. Hence their statuses in Paradise will vary according to the level of their memorisation.”
We don’t want to be those who would look high up and see the huffadh waving at us down, we want to be up there too!
Now, there are 6236 verses in the Quran. Imagine one who memorizes the entire Qur’an! How high in status does he reach!
Allahumma aj’alnaa minhum (May Allah make us from them!) Aameen!
Still echoes in my mind what my dearest friend once told me, those were heavy words, SubhanAllah!
She said: A haafidh acts according to the aayaat he has memorized.
I find them to be really heavy words, I’m sure you can relate. Memorising the entire Quran is a communal obligation (fard kifayah) and so is studying about the Deen at a scholarly level. Neglecting it out of carelessness could easily put the Ummah into a major turmoil, adding to the plight the Ummah is already suffering. It was because Muslims took it upon themselves to fulfill that communal obligation as if it was fard ayn (individual obligation) that Allah blessed the community with the right understanding of the religion. This is from Allah, that He wishes khayr (goodness) for us and that He blessed us with it.
As Prophet ﷺ said,
(ومن يرد الله به الخير يفقه في الدين)
“And whoever Allah wishes good for, He grants him the true understanding of the religion.” [Muttafaqun Alayh- Recorded by Bukhari and Muslim]
(*ذلك فضل الله يؤتيه من يشاء. و الله ذو الفضل العظيم.)
That is the Bounty of Allah, He gives it to whom He wishes, And Allah is the Possessor of great Bounty!
الحمدلله الذي هدانا لهذا وما كنا لنهتدي لو لا ان هدانا الله
“All Praise and thanks is due to Allah who guided us to this and we would never be guided if it were not for Allah who guided us” (Surah A’raaf 43)
And as I was told constantly, once you start memorising, it only becomes easier and easier as you go further, and SubhanAllah! I find myself experiencing the ease in memorisation, the little that I did so far, Alhamdulillah.
This is indeed from the Bounty of our Rabb that He makes the memorization of His Word easy for us.
Sure it’s a difficult job, I’m not saying it is not difficult, but it is only difficult in the beginning when you are about to take the first step.
But all these above-listed virtues and many, many more that I didn’t even touch upon, these should build in us the zeal to go for it and to break out from the shackles of those misconceptions.
And you know what the scholars say,
*من حفظ الأصول, غَنِمَ الوصول, ومن ضيَّع الأصول حُرم الوصول وطالت عليه الفصول وفَقَدَ حتى القليل المحصول ولو ظنَّ أن له إلى السماء وصولًا*
Whoever memorizes the fundamentals principles he has actually achieved it, whoever leaves the fundamentals (meaning, doesn’t memorize them) has been deprived of achieving it, and the fruits and the benefits of the knowledge of fundamentals have been made difficult for him (to achieve) and he loses even the little that could be acquired, even if he thought he had acquired knowledge up to the limits of the sky.
Aren’t the fundamentals all found in Quran?
And when we’ve memorized the Quran, we’d have earned a great amount of beneficial knowledge that will help us in our salvation on yawm al qiyamah.
A firm resolve to do it and istiqama (remaining steadfast) in memorising EVERYDAY even if it is few ayaat will help us to follow the commands of Allah properly, help us in learning the Usool (fundamental principles) and raise us in status on the Day of Judgment.
Psst, if you need assistance then this dua from the Sunnah will help you achieved your goals: “O Allah! Do not give me death until you are pleased with me!” I also pray, “Do not give me death until I memorise your book, ya Rabb!”
Because I want to experience it being told to me: *اقْرَئي وَارْتَقِي وَرَتِّلي*
“Recite and rise!”
May Allah make us among those who memorise His Glorious Book and amend our lives accordingly! Aameen!
Let’s invest our efforts in fulfilling this fareedhah (obligation).
Allah says, (Hashr 18) and this ayah never fails to amaze me:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَلْتَنظُرْ نَفْسٌ مَّا قَدَّمَتْ لِغَدٍ ۖ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ
“O you who have believed, fear Allah (obey Him and fulfill all faraaidh– and as we mentioned hifdh of Quran is from the faraaidh, albeit communal);
And let every soul look to what it has put forth for tomorrow (contemplate what you have kept for yourselves of good deeds for the Day of your return and being paraded before your Lord);
and fear Allah (Allah orders His obedience again);
Indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what you do (all the efforts we place in our determination to fulfill His obligation, He Subhannahu wa ta’aala is fully acquainted of our efforts and He will not let a single deed go unrewarded).”
May Allah add this to our sincere efforts in working towards His Pleasure and seeking His Face (‘azz wa jall)!
بارك الله فيكم
وجزاكم الله خيرا
سبحانك اللهم وبحمدك أشهد أن لا إله إلا أنت استغفرك و أتوب إليك
والسلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
Written by: Sana Sultan
TEAM IR
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