Merits of Memorizing the Glorious Qur'an

 

The Prophet (peace be upon him) highlighted the merits of memorizing the Glorious Qur'an in numerous hadiths[1]. Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), for instance, reported a hadith that reads,

 

"The one who does riot memorize some of the Glorious Qur'an is like a desolate house. "[2]

 

Also, the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to honor and revere the people who had memorized the Glorious Quran. In this context, Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) sent some of his Companions to some places. He asked each one of them what he had memorized of the Glorious Qur'an. Meanwhile, he asked a young man amongst them, the same question. When the latter said that he memorized such and such suras including surat Al-Baqarah, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) exclaimed, "Have you memorized siirat Al-Baqarahf" "Yes," the man replied. "Go and you are the leader of the people," the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) declared. A noble man then said,

"By Allah! Nothing prevented me from memorizing sitrat Al-Baqarah except my fear of not abiding by its instructions." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) commented,

 

"Learn the Qur'an and recite it. The similitude of the Qur'an and the one who learns and recites it is as a sack filled with mask spreading its fragrance everywhere, and the one who learns it and sleeps (ie., neither recites nor acts according to its instructions) is like a sack that is filled with mask but tied (to the extent that its fragrance does not reach anyone). "[3]

 

Those who memorize the Glorious Quran are honored and held superior over others by the Prophet (peace be upon him) even after their death. It is known that in the Battle of Uhud (3 AH), the Prophet (peace be upon him) buried those who had memorized the Glorious Quran in front of those who had not.

 

Likewise, it was usual practice of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to send some persons who had memorized the Glorious Quran, from amongst his Companions, to tribes in order to teach them about Islam. Examples of those were the seventy men whom the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) sent to the people of Ril, Dhakwan, `Usiya and Bani Lihyan but the unbelievers betrayed and murdered them at a place called Bi'r Ma`unah.

 

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) as having said,

 

"On the Day of Judgment, the man who has memorized the Quran will come to where the Qur'an will say, 'O Lord! Adorn him.' Therefore, he will be adorned with the crown of Honor. Then the Qur'an will say, 'O Lord! Increase hint (in adornment).' Therefore, he will be clothed with the dress of Dignity. Again, the Qur'an will say, 'O Lord! Be pleased with him Therefore, Allah will he pleased with him and it will be said to him, 'Read (the Quran) and occupy higher degrees} Each ( Qur'anic ) verse, moreover will add a reward for him. "[4]

 

On the Day of Judgment, Allah's reward is not restricted to the people of the Qur'an. Rather, its blessings will be extended to their parents. In this connection, Buraydah reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said,

 

"Whoever reads the Qur'an and learns and acts according to it, will he adorned on the Day of Judgment with a crown of Light whose gleam is like that of the sun, and his parents will he dressed in two garments that the world can never he equal to. Thereupon, they will question, 'For what reason are we dressed in these garments?' lt will be said, 'This is by virtue of your son who memorized the Qur'an. "[5]

 

Parents, in fact, are granted this Divine honor because they play an essential role in guiding their children to memorize the Glorious Qur'an from an early age. These merits are meant to encourage parents to raise their children on memorization of the Glorious Qur`an.

 

Ibn Mas`ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "The most desolate house is that in which there is no (recitation of the) Qur'an."[6]

 

In At-Targhib wa At-Tarhib, another narration of the above hadith reads, "The smallest house is that in which there is no Qur'an."

 

 

[1] Hadith; this word refers to any of the traditions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) which contain his sayings and practicies. lt also refers to the science concerned with these traditions; this is always used with initial capital (Hadith). (Trans.)

 

[2] Reported by At-Tirmidhi.

 

[3] Reported by At-Tirmidhi.

[4] Reported by At-Tirmidhi.

[5] Reported by Al-Hakim.

[6] Reported by Al-Hakim.