What is the ruling on forgetting the Noble Qur'an?

The questioner : Your Eminence the Shaykh, peace be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings. To proceed, please listen.

The Shaykh : And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.

The questioner : We are female students who memorize many verses for the purpose of citing them in religious studies. By the end of the year, much of it is forgotten because it is scattered. Do we fall under the ruling of those who are punished for forgetting what they memorized?

The Shaykh : No, we say that forgetting the Qur'an has two causes. The first cause is what nature requires, and the second cause is turning away from the Qur'an and not caring about it. As for the first cause, which is what nature requires, a person does not sin by it and is not punished for it, because it happened to the most careful of people regarding the Book of Allah. From whom? From the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed with the people one day and forgot a verse of the Qur'an. When he finished, Abu ibn Ka'b reminded him of it, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him, "Why did you not remind me of it?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) heard a man reciting, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) heard a man reciting, and he said, "May Allah have mercy on so-and-so, for he reminded me of a verse I had forgotten." This indicates that the forgetting that occurs by the requirement of nature carries no blame for the person, because the person is human. As for the forgetting whose cause is turning away from the Book of Allah and not caring about it, that is what a person may sin for. If a person is occupied with necessities that, by the requirement of nature, cause him to forget what he memorized, then there is no sin or blame on him for that. And it is amazing that Satan plots against some of the youth, that Satan plots against some of the youth, and he says to him, "Do not memorize the Qur'an lest you forget it." So you fall into sin.
This is a plot, but Allah Mighty and Majestic says: A person must know that the plot of Satan is weak. He should memorize the Qur'an because it is good, and he should hope not to forget it. And Allah the Exalted is according to what His servant thinks of Him. My advice to those brothers among the youth and others who want to memorize the Qur'an is to continue in its memorization and not to pay attention to this plot that Satan plotted, saying, "Do not memorize the Qur'an, so you will forget and you will commit sin." Yes, very well. A parallel to this is that some people, some of the common folk, if they see a person who has gone to a scholar to ask him about an issue, they say, "Come, do not ask the scholar about this. He might tell you this is forbidden, and you will fall into a problem, and you do not want to leave it. Or he might tell you this is obligatory, and you will fall into a problem, and you do not want to do it." Then he recites the noble verse, citing it as evidence: Did you see how the action is? The action is invalid and the evidence is invalid. The verse was revealed at the time of the revelation of legislation and the revelation, when people asked about matters about which Allah had been silent, so they were clarified to them, and there was strictness for the Muslims, either by obligation or prohibition, so he falls into sin.
As for our present time, and we are safe from the rulings changing by abrogation or increase or decrease, asking about the religion is obligatory, and it is not permissible for a person to be negligent. Ask, my brother. That you ask and the truth is clarified to you and you follow it is better than that you leave asking and worship Allah without...