Sheikh Abdel-Nasser Saleh
Assalamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh
All praise and gratitude are due to Allah SWT. May the blessings and peace of Allah SWT be upon His Messenger PBUH.
With regard to this question, we should first understand that Allah SWT created people with different skills. What is easy for some is difficult for others. It may be that the wisdom behind this is that within every field, there would be those who are skilled in it. One of these fields in Qur’an memorisation. Allah SWT has blessed some people with excellent memory which can grasp text and memorise it quickly. Amongst those, some memorise quickly and forget quickly, while others memorise slowly and also forget slowly. However, here are some tips for those who would like to improve their memory of Qur’an.
1. Maintain Ikhlas and Taqwa (sincerity and God-consciousness). Allah has promised to make learning easy for those who maintain Ikhlas and Taqwa. In the longest ayah of the Qur’an, in Surah Al-Baqara, verse 282, Allah SWT says, “And fear Allah, and Allah teaches you”, which signifies that the secret to learning knowledge is Taqwa. Allah further states in Surah Fatir, “Indeed, only the knowledgeable are the ones who fear Allah”. It is clear in this ayah the relationship between knowledge and Taqwa.
2. Maintain a good relationship with the Qur’an based on love. In other words, when you memorise, do it with love and not only because you have to. We can understand this from the ayah in Surah Fussilat, “Indeed it is a mighty, dignified Book.” The nature of the Qur’an is that it will give you as much as you are willing to embrace it and be close to it. This is one of literal meanings of the word ‘azeez’ found in this ayah. Allah SWT also says in Surah Al-Qamar, in an ayah repeated many times, “Indeed we have made the Qur’an easy to remember, so is there anyone who will be mindful?” This alludes to the nature of the Qur’an being easy for us, so long as we are keen and mindful in contemplating its verses. Part of being mindful is to also understand the meaning of the verses you are memorising. Not only will this help you implement the teachings of what you are learning, but it will also strengthen your relationship with the Qur’an and increase your knowledge regarding it. In turn, this will help you memorise.
3. Avoid sinful acts as much as you can, especially the shameful ones, as these deeds makes the memory weak according the words of Abdullah Ibn Omar, as well as the famous story of Imam Shafi’i, who once complained to his teacher of his deteriorating ability to memorise. In that story, his teacher advised him to ensure that he is not doing haram or shameful deeds.
4. Recite what you have memorised in prayer. This is the best method to revise and reinforce what you have memorised.
5. Try to find a learning companion to motivate and practice with you. You would both encourage each other and improve each other’s quality of memorisation. If possible, a Qur’an teacher would be best.
6. Finally, choose the right time to memorise. The best time is when you are still mentally fresh, normally after Fajr prayer for the majority of people. If you find any other time which is suitable for you, you may memorise at that time.
Generally speaking, those who have a clear mind memorise quicker than those who do not, and perhaps this is why those are young are excellent at memorisation. Regardless, we can all try to improve and work on our ability.
May Allah SWT open our hearts to the Qur’an and make us from amongst the people of the Qur’an, the special people of Allah. Ameen.
And Allah knows best.