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Fatwa CenterImproving memorization of Qur'an and Hadeeth
Question
I would like to know how I can improve my memorization of the Qur'aan and Hadeeth.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.
There is no doubt that memorizing the Qur'an and the Prophetic narration is among the greatest acts by which one gets nearer to Allaah if a person does it with the intention of seeking the Pleasure of Allaah and it is the best deed a Muslim can busy himself with. The first, best, and greatest way to improve memorization is by seeking the Help of Allaah. Then sharpen the determination with what is reported about the excellence of memorizing and studying the Qur'an and the Sunnah.
If the seeker of knowledge seeks the help of Allaah and is determined to learn, he has to follow the following procedure:
1) Read to a Shaykh who will correct his pronunciation before he starts memorizing, because it is difficult to correct one's mistakes after one memorizes the Qur'an. This applies to the Qur'an and the Sunnah.
2) Continuously and repeatedly review what one has already memorized as long as what he has to memorize is not much. If one has to memorize a considerable amount, then he has to read a part of it each day and should place emphasis on what he previously memorized so that it would be engraved in his memory.
3) Organize his time and amount memorized, as any deficiency in this leads to anarchy in memorization.
4) Avoid anything that could hinder memorizing, including problems, physical exhaustion, and excessive sleeping, eating, or socializing with people.
5) Seek the help of a person who is also seeking knowledge to assist you in memorization and review; if your determination is weakened he is there to remind you, and vice-versa.
These are a few remarks to help improve your memorization.
Finally, we remind the questioner that the prior righteous scholars placed a higher priority on the memorization of the Qur'an over the Hadeeth. However, if a person becomes excellent in memorizing the Qur'an, then he can move to the Hadeeth and other sciences, like the Arabic language, Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and the interpretation of the Qur'an. One cannot concentrate on memorizing two things at the same time; therefore we advise the questioner to keep himself busy in memorizing the Qur'an before anything else.
Allaah knows best.
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