Should I be content with memorizing the text of the 'Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah, or must I memorize the Noble Qur'an, given that I already have memorized more than five parts?

The questioner : He says.

The questioner : Should he be content with merely memorizing the text of the 'Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah, or should he begin to memorize the Noble Qur'an, given that he has already memorized more than five parts?

The Shaykh : The answer to this question should be preceded by a word, which I hope will be brief. Knowledge, in terms of the obligation to acquire it, is divided into two categories: what is obligatory as an individual obligation (fard 'ayn), which is necessary for every Muslim, and what is obligatory as a collective obligation (fard kifayah), which is lifted from the rest if some people fulfill it. In light of this correct scholarly classification, the young Muslim must proceed in his pursuit of knowledge. He must not prioritize the collective obligation over the individual obligation, because if he does not personally fulfill the collective obligation, he is not sinful. However, if he does not fulfill the individual obligation, he is sinful. If the matter is thus, and the answer has become clear to you, then we return to answering the question. We say: Before a Muslim memorizes the entire Qur'an or part of it, let alone before he focuses on memorizing many of the hadiths of his Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he has an individual obligation to correct his creed. Therefore, his reading of the 'Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah, this blessed and concise treatise which gathers what every Muslim must believe, is an individual obligation for every Muslim. I am not saying now that it is an individual obligation for him merely to read it, because we know that many people today read the Qur'an but do not reflect upon it, contrary to the saying of our Lord (Mighty and Majestic): . Therefore, the intention behind reading the 'Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah is not mere reading, but reading accompanied by understanding. In my opinion, this is not easy for every young man; it is not easy for every young man who can read. He may read and understand, or he may read and not understand. Therefore, he must seek help, if something in what he reads is unclear to him, by asking the scholars around him, thereby acting upon His saying (Blessed and Exalted is He): . When the student of knowledge finishes reading this creed, understanding it, and adopting it, except for what is excluded from it—and here the importance of the scholar to whom he must turn with his questions regarding some of what may be unclear to him becomes apparent—when he finishes with this creed, understanding it, and adopting it, it does not mean that this Muslim has fulfilled the individual obligation in all its details. That is not the case. Rather, he must also correct his worship, correct his ritual purity, correct his prayer, and likewise his fasting. This is a necessity for every adult Muslim who is accountable for prayer and fasting. If he is wealthy, it is an individual obligation for him to know the rulings of zakah that pertain to his wealth, and likewise to know how to perform Hajj to the House of Allah the Sacred. And so on. Whatever rulings of the Shari'ah pertain to the person himself, such as prayer and fasting, he must also master the rulings that pertain to correcting his ritual purity, his prayer, and his fasting. After that, he expands in knowledge, whether in memorizing the Qur'an, or in memorizing the hadith of the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him), or in memorizing fiqh, whether it is the fiqh of a specific school of jurisprudence or comparative fiqh. The important thing is that we distinguish between the pursuit of knowledge, which is an individual obligation for every Muslim, and the pursuit of knowledge, which is a collective obligation. Among the individual obligations is correcting the creed and correcting worship. Yes.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.