Khatira [ Let Us Memorize ]

Occasion: Transcription of a khatira delivered on May 15, 2021 Source: A transcription of a video khatira by Dr. Ahmed Abouseif — Watch the original video on YouTube

Yesterday, one of the brothers and I were doing a little calculation, working out how much time we would need if we tried to memorize the Noble Qur'an. We found that each page of the Qur'an has about fifteen lines, and we have about six hundred and four pages, which we round to six hundred. So we divide the number of lines by the number of days in the year, and a daily amount comes out that is somewhat difficult, so we said: let us double the period, making it two years. And in the end we found that an average of memorizing five lines a day lets a person memorize the Noble Qur'an in four years.^[1] And the time will most likely be less than that, because the skill of memorization, which is hard at the beginning, becomes easy after a little, and because the repetition of meanings brings the verses closer to the mind, so one's eagerness for them grows.

The Battle with the Self

So is there anyone who has the readiness to fight this battle with himself and set out with the Noble Qur'an in memorization? And what is the reward of the memorizers before Allah, Blessed and Most High? And what of a person whose weapon is in his heart, whom Allah, the Most High, protects from himself and protects from others by what he has stored in his chest of the Book of Allah?

It is known that people's skills differ, but the one who comes before Allah on the Day of Resurrection having tried is not like the one who comes without having tried. And whoever is able to memorize one line a day or two lines will find in his hands a very great achievement after a year, or two, or three. And the question remains: what have we achieved so far in our lives? How much money have we gathered? How much savings does any one of us have? And when one of us enters his grave, what will light the grave for him if not a verse from the verses of Allah, Blessed and Most High? And what could be an intercessor for him before Allah if not a Qur'anic text that he strove to memorize and lived by?

After Memorization

And the greater matter, which goes beyond the stage of memorization, is the matter of absorbing the meaning of the Qur'an, understanding it and living with it. For when a person's mind rises to memorize a sūrah of the Qur'an and live with it every day, deriving something new from it, understanding something else from it, consoling himself with it, making it a soother of pain, an explainer of crises and a detailer of situations for him, he sees through it a spark, a light, guidance and a path. We see in it what Allah, Blessed and Most High, described the Qur'an itself with when He said that it is ﴿شِفَاءٌ لِّمَا فِي الصُّدُورِ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةٌ﴾ (a healing for what is in the breasts, and guidance and mercy),^[2] a light that illuminates for a person his way and his path, steadying him in times of crisis. And imagine that bringing some verses to mind in many situations makes you more correct, steadfast and focused. Glory be to the One who placed His secrets in these words and made in them the keys to all the locks of the universe.

An Invitation to Try

And whoever wants to go through this experience should begin by reading two or three lines, recite them to others, and set up a plan of review. The matter is entirely optional, so whoever wants to join, welcome, and whoever wants to try, welcome. A very simple matter, but, by the permission of Allah, Blessed and Most High, it will be the opening of good. And we ask Allah, Mighty and Majestic, that we make a resolve with which we meet Allah, Blessed and Most High, and that He grant us a good acceptance. May Allah be pleased with you and make you pleased.

--- ^[1]: Editor's documentation: The phrase has been given as it appeared in the transcript; and the calculation of "five lines a day" over about nine thousand lines comes to nearly five years, not four, and perhaps the speaker rounded the figure or the count got confused for him, so it should be reviewed. ^[2]: Editor's documentation: Yūnus: 57, and the speaker uttered the words «شفاء لما في الصدور وهدى ورحمة» (a healing for what is in the breasts, and guidance and mercy) without the remainder of the verse.