Memorising The Holy Qur’an

July 10, 2024

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Question

My question is that what is the need and significance of Hifz-e-Quran these days. These days, the Quran has been saved in its best form; it has been saved on computers, CDs, hard disks and papers. There is no chance of any amendment/ forgery/ changes in the Quran now. Is there a need to do Hifz-e-Quran by heart? I believe that learning of the Quran by heart was only for a limited time (when there was shear need to save the Quran for future generations). Second part of my question is that what is the use of learning the Holy Quran by heart by 10-12 year old kids who are not adults (and are not able to decide what is good or bad for them)? Parents send such kids to madrassas without considering whether these kids are able to take this responsibility and whether they will be able to honour this responsibility all their lives. I have observed that many Huffaz forget the Quran when they enter the tough practical life. So what is the need and significance of putting this huge responsibility and burden on the shoulders of immature kids? Please note that I am also such a Hafiz who feels ashamed to confess that I have also forgotten the Quran and I feel extremely bad for that… What should I do?

Answer

Even after the invention of these sources, memorization still remains the primary tool for preservation and transmission of the Qur’an since every cd, hard disk, codex etc needs the stamp of a hafiz to certify if the Qur’an has been correctly recorded in these mediums.

Moreover, memorization of the Qur’an establishes a living relationship of a hafiz with the Qur’an if he knows what he has memorized. This relationship of course cements his faith and augments his ability to practice Islam.

The intense regard Muslims have for the Qur’an and the importance it occupies in their lives on the one hand and the easy-to-memorize text of the Qur’an on the other induces automatically the yearning in a person to commit it to his memory.

Regarding the second part of your question, I think that this memorization process should be adjusted to schooling by spreading it over the entire 8-10 years of the school period. Taking children out from their mainstream education and sending them to madrassas for this purpose not only at times badly damages their psyche but is also detrimental for their education.

Forgetting the Qur’an often happens with people whose native language is not Arabic and who are made to memorize the Qur’an by rote without being taught Arabic. One should devote some time for revising the Qur’an he has learnt by reciting it out in the daily prayers. In your case when the need is to recall it afresh, you will need less time to refresh your memory.

Answered by: Dr. Shehzad Saleem

Date: 2015-03-21

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Dr Shehzad Saleem (Urdu: شہزاد سلیم ), born in 1966, is an Islamic researcher. He has a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from UET Lahore, Pakistan and holds a Ph.D. in the History of the Quran from the University of Wales, UK. Dr Shehzad Saleem studied religion under the tutelage of Javed Ahmad Ghamidi. He remained Associate Fellow from 1992-2008 and Fellow from 2008 till date of Al-Mawrid, A Foundation for Islamic Research and Education, Lahore, Pakistan (www.al-mawrid.org). Dr Shehzad Saleem has authored books on Islam, Quran, Hadith and Character Building. He has also translated some works of famous Islamic scholars and exegetes Amin Ahsan Islahi and Javed Ahmad Ghamidi into English.

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