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In Love with the Word
It never ceases to intrigue us when we actually meet a hafiz. Someone who has committed the entire Quran to memory, word for word.
“But We have indeed made the Qur’an easy to understand and remember: then is there any that will receive admonition?” (Surah Al Qamar 54:22)
One of the miracles of the Quran, is the ease with which it is memorised by young and old. In the month of Ramadan, the Jibreel (AS) would visit the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) every night to rehearse the Quran with him. During the last Ramadan the whole Quran was rehearsed twice. The oral tradition has always been the primary method of transmitting the Quran from generation to generation. Every year thousands and thousands of muslims memorise the holy Quran. This means that the transmission of the Quran is guaranteed and documented.
The Holy book of Allah (the Quran) is the book most widely committed to memory in full or in part by millions of people and every single praying Muslim has memorised some part of the Book of Allah. Parents have always had a role in encouraging their children to memorise the Quran. For this, they are recognised and their reward is great.
Narrated by Mu’adh al-Juhani: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “If anyone recites the Quran and acts according to its contents, on the Day of Judgment his parents will be given to wear a crown whose light is better than the light of the sun in the dwellings of this world if it were among you. So what do you think of him who acts according to his.”” (Sunan Abu Dawud, Book #8, Hadith #1448)
Whoever memorizes Quran and acts upon it, Allah will reward him and honour him greatly for that, so that he will rise in status in Paradise to a level commensurate with what he memorized of the Book of Allah.
Narrated by Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-‘As: “The Apostle of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “One who was companion of the Quran will be told to recite, ascend and recite carefully as he recited carefully when he was in the world, for he will reach his abode when he comes to the last verse he recites.”” (Sunan Abu Dawud, Book #8, Hadith #1459)
Note that what is meant by the “companion of the Quran” is the one who memorizes it by heart, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “The one who knows more Quran should lead the people in prayer,” meaning the one who has memorized the most. The differentiation in status in Paradise will depend on how much was memorized in this world, not how much one will recite on that day as some people imagine. This clearly points to the virtue of the hafiz who has memorized the Quran, but that is subject to the condition that he memorizes it for the sake of Allah, not for worldly purposes or financial gain. Otherwise the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Most of the hypocrites of my ummah are among those who have memorized Quran.”
Abu Umama said he heard Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: “Recite the Quran, for on the Day of Resurrection it will come as an intercessor for those who recite It. Recite the two bright ones, Surah Al-Baqarah and Surah Al ‘Imran, for on the Day of Resurrection they will come as two clouds or two shades, or two flocks of birds in ranks, pleading for those who recite them. Recite Surah Al-Baqarah, for to take recourse to it is a blessing and to give it up is a cause of grief, and the magicians cannot confront it. (Mu’awiya said: It has been conveyed to me that here Batala means magicians.) ” (Sahih Muslim, Book #004, Hadith #1757)
Traditionally children and adults often take one or more years out to memorise the Quran full-time. Moreover, the task of memorising the Quran is not something that can be left once completed; there is lifelong revision to be done in order to retain it. There is no doubt that whoever memorizes Quran and acts upon it, Allah will reward him and honor him greatly for that. And lets not forget the barakah (blessings) that one gets for memorising the Quran. May Allah help us always and allow us to memorize more and more of the holy Book (the Quran).
