Should a student of knowledge be advised to memorize Zad al-Mustaqni' or 'Umdat al-Fiqh?

Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, what do you advise a student of knowledge to do? Should he memorize Zad al-Mustaqni' or memorize 'Umdat al-Fiqh?

Answer:
What is the point of talking about memorization? Memorization is not the same as learning. Even if you memorize al-Mughni, that is not learning. This is about when you find a teacher or instructor who explains the text to you. You memorize a portion of it every day, and he explains it to you in the lesson. That means you combine memorization with learning, and that is good. But if you just sit there and memorize and memorize the whole world, that is not learning.
Rather, that is self-deception. You may think you are a scholar while you are ignorant. Even if you memorize, knowledge is not memorization. Knowledge is fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). Knowledge is through fiqh. Whoever Allah wishes to do good to, He grants him understanding of the religion. He grants him understanding; that is what is required. Yes, how many people memorize texts but do not understand anything. If you asked them about the simplest issue, they would not be able to answer.