Alhamdulillah, AnonyMouse asked a very good and relevant question regarding the issue of finishing the recital of the Qur’an vs studying its meanings in depth during Ramadan as well as outside of Ramadan. Certainly this has become a dilemma for us in recent ages with the loss of the Arabic language among many Muslims, but alhamdulillah the matter is not restrictive and many approaches are valid.

1) It is a Sunnah to complete the recital of the entire Qur’an in Ramadan since we know the Prophet (saas) used to do this with Jibreel. As I had mentioned in another post, to complete the whole Qur’an in Ramadan would require one to read about 25 pages per day which is not difficult if a person plans their day out in advance. This still leaves time for us to add some time for understanding selections of the Qur’an.

Knowing that Companions and Ulamaa’ like Abdullah ibn ‘Umar finished al-Baqarah and aali-’Imraan in eight years due to their depth of study in it does not mean that all the Companions did that. There is of course a difference between an elite ‘aalim like ibn Umar and others. For the majority of us, selecting portions from our daily reading of the Qur’an everyday to better understand will be sufficient because it is not reasonable to expect that a person will be able to really study and implement such huge portions in such a short time. Instead, Ramadan should be the time when we establish these habits for the rest of the year insha’Allah.

2) Regarding the issue of memorization, again there are many roads to success in this matter and Allah has made it easy for us alhamdulillah. Among the Companions are those who studied deeply and took time with memorization not wanting to memorize without full understanding, and there were also other illustrious Companions who memorized with less understanding. We know of the large number of hufaath (people having completed the memorization of the whole Qur’an) who died in the Battle of al-Yamaamah and they were not scholars in Tafseer. So as you have said masha’Allah, memorizing the Qur’an with a good intention (becoming proficient at its recitation, so that it can raise your degrees in Jannah, so that it will be a base for future study, etc., etc.) – and then studying it at a slower pace after memorization is also acceptable alhamdulillah provided the sincerity of the deed for Allah alone.

As a note, it was standard among the earlier generations, as in the time of Maalik and Shaafi’ee, to not accept students into halaqas of advanced study if they had not completed the memorization of the Qur’an. So the matter is expansive alhamdulillah and the real issue is making sure that the reason you are memorizing the Qur’an is for Allah and not to be praised by people (riyaa) and so forth and then to have the continued sincerity to study its meanings and applications later.

And Allah knows best.

Exactly what I was looking for.

I have a couple questions, however, regarding completing the reading of the Qur’an in Ramadhaan and memorization of the Qur’an throughout the year.

1) For those of us who don’t understand Arabic, or are not fluent in it, can it be considered as disliked to read the whole Qur’an cover-to-cover during this month, yet not be able to spend all that time in also looking up and studying its meanings? I say this because on one hand we’re told that we should be reading as much as possible; on the other hand we feel bad that we’re not able to give it the proper time and understanding due to it…

2) What of those who encourage us to memorize the Qur’an as much and as soon as possible, and leave studying its deeper meanings for a later time? Is either approach (that of the Sahaabah, and that which is common now) okay, as long as your intention is sincere and you truly do try and make the effort to study it? A huge problem that I have, and which I think others also have, is that it’s easy to memorize on your own – but studying the Qur’an deeply often requires a qualified teacher, which we don’t all have at our disposal.

Once again, jazaakAllahu khairan and I look forward to tomorrow’s episode!

Great reminders, thank you. I am sure everyone will benefit from it. May Allah reward you justly for what you do…… ameen

May Allah azza wajall bring our hearts closer to His book. And allow us to read with understanding and inculcate the Qur’an in our daily lives, in and outside of Ramadan, Ameen. Ramadan Mubarak – Taqqabal Allahu mina wa meenkum.