Are the people of Allah and His special ones the memorizers of the Qur'an, or those who act upon it even if they have not memorized it?

Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. The people of the Qur'an, who are the people of Allah and His special ones, are they only the memorizers of the Qur'an, or does it include those who have not memorized it but act upon it?

Answer:
There is no doubt that the people of the Qur'an are those who act upon it, whether they have memorized it or not. So its people are those who act upon it. As for the one who memorizes it but does not act upon it, he is not among its people. It was mentioned in the hadith: They do not reflect upon it, but they only recite it as letters and a profession, merely boasting with their voices and recitations, and they do not care about its meanings and its interpretation, nor do they act upon it. There is no power and no strength except with Allah. They establish the recitation as the establishment of an arrow from the quiver, but it does not go beyond their throats. This is a great calamity. Yes.