“It is not right for any one of you to say, ‘I have forgotten such and such.’ On the contrary, he has been made to forget. Try to review the Qur’aan, for it is more likely to escape from men’s hearts than camels.” [Saheeh al-Bukhaari, #5032]

We mentioned in part 4 of ‘The Way to Memorise’ series how important it is to continually review what you have previously memorised.  We also mentioned before that the act of reviewing the Qur’aan is much harder than memorising itself. Probably all of us, regardless of how much or how little of the Qur’aan we have memorised, have at some point or another been faced with the problem of having been made to forgot some parts of it and in some extreme cases, forgotten it altogether so we had to re-memorise it from the beginning. Some of the Salaf (including Muhammad Ibn Sireen, Imaam an-Nawawee and as-Suyooti, rahimahumullaah) used to consider this a major sin so much so that they would not speak to someone who forgot the Qur’aan after memorising it. This is because the one who fell into this sin has failed to acknowledge how great a blessing Allaah has bestowed upon him/her and didn’t show the due gratitude by holding firmly to the Qur’aan and not letting it slip away. Instead, he/she neglected it and failed to do what was required to keep the Qur’aan. Being made to forget is also a sign that one has indulged in other sins as this is a cause for forgetting the Qur’aan.

The memorisers of the Qur’aan are the protectors of Allaah’s revelation on this earth because they carry His words in their chests wherever they go. And by the Will of Allaah, it is because of the Huffaadh from amongst the Sahaaba (Companions of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) that the Qur’aan was able to be compiled into a written Book that has reached us today and preserved the teachings of this great Deen (religion). So don’t let yourself be from those who show ingratitude and are neglectful of the Qur’aan and as a result, the Speech of Allaah is taken away from them.

بَلْ هُوَ آيَاتٌ بَيِّنَاتٌ فِي صُدُورِ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ

Nay, but they, the clear Aayaat [i.e the description and the qualities of Prophet Muhammad SAW written like verses in the Tawraat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)] are preserved in the breasts of those who have been given knowledge (from the people of the Scriptures)…(Soorah Al-’Ankaboot 29:49)

ثُمَّ أَوْرَثْنَا الْكِتَابَ الَّذِينَ اصْطَفَيْنَا مِنْ عِبَادِنَا

Then We gave the Book (the Qur’aan) for inheritance to such of Our slaves whom We chose… (Soorah al-Faatir 35:32)

InshaaAllaah in the next post, we will look at how to go about reviewing the Qur’aan.

“Secure your memorisation of the Qur’aan, for it escapes more quickly than a camel does from its fetter.” [Saheel al-Bukhaari, #5033, and Saheeh Muslim, #791]
And he also said:

“The likeness of the one who memorizes the Qur’aan is that of the owner of a hobbled camel. If he tends to it regularly, he will keep it, but if he lets it go, he will lose it.” [Saheeh al-Bukhaari, #5031]

Don’t neglect the Qur’aan and slack in constantly reviewing and keeping watch over however much of it you have stored in your heart. The more you do this in the early stages, the stronger you will be as you reach towards completing the Qur’aan. This is very important because as you acquire more of the Qur’aan, the easier it will be for you to be made to forget if you do not review regularly. Its worthwhile having a review timetable just the same way you have a memorisation timetable. InshaaAllaah in a later post, we’ll cover different ways in which you can review your hifdh and why its important to incorporate the different methods in order to make your memorisation more solid.

So, as a final reminder, do not, no matter how tempted you are, move on to memorising a new portion of the Qur’aan if you are weak in the previous section/s you have memorised. This is a rule you should discipline yourself to abide by because if you don’t, you will only find yourself paying the price for it later on down the road. Impatience, hastiness and over-zealousness will only cause you to have to spend time re-memorising previous sections and set you back on your memorisation targets. Nor is it a good sign of your motivation, attentiveness, dedication and respect for Allaah’s Book.