Which of the two men is more deserving of leading the prayer and should be given precedence: a man who has memorized the entire Book, or a man who has memorized half of it but is proficient in its recitation?

Al-Huwaini: His saying (peace and blessings be upon him): , a man may be the one with the best memory, but his recitation is not good, or his voice is hoarse, meaning it is unpleasant to hear or something similar. So does "the one who recites it best" mean "the one who has memorized it best"?

The Shaykh : Yes, that is the case. The intended meaning is the one who has memorized it best, but in the legal sense: the one who has memorized the Book of Allah as it was revealed, not like one who memorizes a poem, for example, and recites it without adhering to the rules of language and the requirements that language imposes. The Qur'an is the Book of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and His speech, so the intention behind memorizing it is not merely to read it however one pleases, but to recite it as it was revealed.
Al-Huwaini: Okay, so does this mean that if a man has memorized the entire Noble Qur'an, and another man, for example, has memorized half of it, but the one who memorized half articulates the words better than the first and has a beautiful voice, such that the listener does not get tired of hearing him and reflects on his recitation, would this man be more deserving? Or is it necessary to give precedence to the one with the best memory?

The Shaykh : No, this man is given precedence as long as he has memorized from the Qur'an what enables him to lead the people in all the prayers, and based on the stronger position I mentioned earlier, in accordance with what I clarified previously, which is that he should recite the Qur'an in a manner that is as close as possible to its conformity with its revelation from his Lord (Blessed and Exalted is He).
Al-Huwayni: May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : And beware of that.