Reward for memorizing Qur’aan

Reward for memorizing Qur’aan

Question
What is the reward for becoming a Haafiz?.
Answer
Praise be to Allaah.

Whoever memorizes Qur’aan and acts upon it, Allaah will reward him and honour him greatly for that, so that he will rise in status in Paradise to a level commensurate with what he memorized of the Book of Allaah.
Al-Tirmidhi (2914) and Abu Dawood (1464) narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “It will be said to the companion of the Qur’aan: Recite and rise in status, recite as you used to recite in the world, for your status will be at the last verse that you recite.” This hadeeth was classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 5/218, no. 2240, after which he said:
Note that what is meant by the “companion of the Qur’aan” is the one who memorizes it by heart, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “The one who knows more Qur’aan should lead the people in prayer,” meaning the one who has memorized the most. The differentiation in status in Paradise will depend on how much was memorized in this world, not how much one will recite on that day as some people imagine. This clearly points to the virtue of the hafiz who has memorized the Qur’aan, but that is subject to the condition that he memorizes it for the sake of Allaah, not for worldly purposes or financial gain. Otherwise the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Most of the hypocrites of my ummah are among those who have memorized Qur’aan.”

Concerning the virtue of the hafiz who memorizes the Qur’aan, al-Bukhaari (4937) narrated from ‘Aa’ishah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The likeness of the one who reads Qur’aan and memorizes it is that he is with the righteous honourable scribes. The likeness of the one who reads it and tries hard to memorize it even though it is difficult for him, he will have two rewards.”
For the hafiz who has memorized the Qur’aan, praying qiyaam al-layl is easy. And the Qur’aan will intercede for him on the Day of Resurrection, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Fasting and the Qur’aan will intercede for a person on the Day of Resurrection. Fasting will say, ‘O Lord, I deprived him of food and desires during the day, so let me intercede for him.’ The Qur’aan will say, ‘O Lord I deprived him of his sleep at night, so let me intercede for him.’ Then they will both intercede for him.” Narrated by Ahmad, al-Tabaraani and al-Haakim; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’, no. 3882
And Allaah knows best.
It should be noted here that there is a weak (da’eef) hadeeth that is quoted concerning the virtue of memorizing Qur’aan. This hadeeth says, “The bearer of the Qur’aan, if he regards what it permits as halaal and what it forbids as haraam, he will intercede for ten of his family members on the Day of Resurrection, all of whom deserved to enter Hell.” This was narrated by al-Bayhaqi in Shu’ab al-Eemaan (The Branches of Faith) from Jaabir; it was classed as da’eef by al-Albaani in Da’eef al-Jaami’.
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Memorizing Qur’aan and the virtue of some soorahs

Question
Can you please state some of the benefits of reading the following Soorahs with references to Hadith.
Soorah Naba , Soorah Al-Waqiah , Soorah Yaseen , Soorah Mulk
I am in my mid-thirties and am trying to memorize the Qur'an as much as possible. Which Soorahs should I start with? and is it okay to recite the part learnt in Nafil Salaat. What should I do if I make a mistake while reciting or forget after reciting several ayahs.
Answer
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:

With regard to the virtues of Soorat al-Naba’ and the reward for reading it, we do not know of anything that applies specifically to this soorah apart for what is known about the rest of the Qur’aan; there is nothing special about this soorah as it were, apart from what we know that whoever reads one letter of the Qur’aan will have one good deed is recorded for him. ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever reads one letter from the Book of Allaah will earn one good (hasanah) thereby. One good deed is equal to ten good deeds the like of it. I do not say that Alif-Lam-Mim is a letter, but Alif is a letter, Laam is a letter and Meem is a letter.’”
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2910; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi, 2327
But it was narrated that it is one of the soorahs containing warnings that were very difficult for the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
It was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Hood, al-Waaqi’ah, al-Mursalaat, ‘Amma yatsaa’iloon [al-Naba’] and Idha al-‘shamsu kuwwirat [al-Takweer] have made my hair grey.”
(Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 3297. classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani, al-Saheehah, 955)
With regard to the virtues of Soorat al-Waaqi’ah, there is a hadeeth which speaks of its virtues, but that hadeeth is not saheeh.
It was narrated from Shujaa’ from Abi Faatimah that ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan (may Allaah be pleased with him) visited Ibn Mas’ood when he was sick. He said, “What is hurting?” He said, “My sins.” He said, “What do you need?” He said, “The mercy of my Lord.” He said, “Shall we not call the doctor for you?” He said, “The doctor made me ill.” He said, “Shall I order that your regular income [from the state] be restored to you?” He said, “You did not let me have it before today and I have no need of it now.” He said, ‘Then leave it to your family and dependents.” He said, “I have taught them something which, if they say it, they will never become poor. I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say, ‘Whoever recites al-Waaqi’ah every night will never become poor.”
(Narrated by al-Bayhaqi in Shu’ab al-Eemaan, 2/491. This hadeeth was classed as da’eef by Shaykh al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Da’eefah, 289).
With regard to the virtues of Soorah Ya-Seen, there are ahaadeeth concerning its virtues which are not saheeh.
It was narrated that Anas said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Everything has a heart and the heart of the Qur’aan is Ya-Seen. Whoever recites Ya-Seen, Allaah will record for him the reward of reading the Qur’aan ten times.’”
(Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2887. He said, It is not saheeh because of its isnaad, and its isnaad is da’eef (weak). Al-Albaani said in al-Da’eefah (169): (it is) mawdoo’ (fabricated)).
The same applies to the hadeeth narrated from Abu Hurayrah, which says that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah recited Ta-Ha and Ya-Seen one thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth. When the angels heard the Qur’aan they said, ‘Glad tidings to the nation to whom this will be revealed, and glad tidings to the hearts that will bear this, and glad tidings to the tongues that will speak these words.’”
(Narrated by al-Daarimi, 3280. al-Albaani said in al-Da’eefah (1248): (it is) munkar (a form of da’eef or weak hadeeth)).
And the same may be said of the hadeeth narrated from Ma’qal ibn Yassaar, which says: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Recite Ya-Seen over your dead.”
(Narrated by Abu Dawood, 3121; Ibn Maajah, 1448. Shaykh al-Albaani said: With regard to reciting Soorat Ya-Seen over the deceased and turning him to face the qiblah, there is no saheeh hadeeth to this effect. Ahkaam al-Janaa’iz, p. 11)
And the same may be said of the hadeeth of Anas ibn Maalik according to which the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever enters the graveyard and recites Soorat Yaa-Seen, (the torment) will be reduced for them that day, and he will have hasanaat equivalent to the number of people in the graveyard.”
Shaykh al-Albaani said in al-Da’eefah (1246): It is mawdoo’ (fabricated). It was narrated by al-Tha’labi in his Tafseer (3/161/2)
With regard to Soorat al-Mulk, there are saheeh ahaadeeth which speak of its virtues:
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There is a soorah of the Qur’aan containing thirty verses which have interceded for a man until he was forgiven. It is the soorah Tabaarak alladhi bi yadihi’l-mulk.”
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2891; Ahmad, 7634; Abu Dawood, 1400; Ibn Maajah, 3786. This hadeeth was classed as hasan by al-Tirmidhi and by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi, 3/6.
Another hadeeth which speaks of its virtues was narrated from Jaabir, that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) never used to sleep until he had recited Alif-laam-meem tanzeel [al-Sajdah] and Tabaarak alladhi bi yadihi’l-mulk [al-Mulk].
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2892; Ahmad, 14249. Al-Albaani said in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi (3/6) that this hadeeth is saheeh.
Secondly:
There is no set way to memorize Qur’aan. People vary in their ability to commit things to memory; each person has a way and a time that suits him.
Some people like to read and memorize after Fajr prayer; some like to do so after Maghrib. So look at your own situation and do what is best for you.
Some people find the short Makkan soorahs easier, and some find the long Madeenan soorahs easier, so start with whichever is easier for you.
You could start with the soorahs which are often heard and are easy to memorize, such as al-Kahf and Maryam, and the later juz’ (parts) of the Qur’aan. This will give you a motive to complete your memorization, when you find that you have memorized many juz’.
One of the most important means of consolidating what you have memorized and not forgetting it is to repeat it and go back to it all the time. Some people who have tried to memorize the Qur’aan recite it as they walk in the street and when riding buses, when going into shops and marketplaces, and in all circumstances and at all times, night and day.
Acting upon what you have learned of the verses of Allaah is one of the best means of memorizing the Qur’aan by heart.
It was narrated that Abu ‘Abd al-Rahmaan said: The companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) who used to teach us Qur’aan told us that they would learn ten verses, then they would not move on to the next ten verses until they had learned the knowledge contained therein and how to act upon it. They said, So we learnedt he knowledge and how to put it into practice.
Ahmad, 22384
What is well known and has been tried and tested by people is that the best way to memorize Qur’aan is to repeat it in prayers such as Sunnah and naafil prayers, etc – or in the fard prayers for the imam } – especially in Qiyaam al-Layl (naafil prayers at night). There is nothing wrong with reciting the juz’ which you are learning in naafil prayers.
But if you forget some part of the Qur’aan when you are praying, try to remember it until you feel that you will not be able to remember it, then there is nothing wrong with moving on from the part that you cannot remember, to the following part that you can remember. When you finish you prayer, go to the Mus-haf and review the part that you had forgotten.
And Allaah knows best.
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