Is memorizing the Qur'an obligatory for students of hadith knowledge?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : A student of knowledge asks this. He says: We have among the [people] of knowledge those who make memorizing the Qur'an obligatory, specifically in this time.
The Shaykh : ... .
The questioner : He says: We have among the [people] of knowledge those who make memorizing the Qur'an obligatory, specifically in this time, due to the scarcity of its carriers, and they describe those who do not follow that path as being in misguidance, especially those who are students of hadith?
The Shaykh : Especially those who are students?
The questioner : Those who are students of hadith.
The Shaykh : All the answers are similar. This is a collective obligation, not an individual obligation.
The questioner : A collective obligation.
The Shaykh : Yes, that is correct. But as for one who is a student of hadith; if he is endowed with a strong memory and combines memorizing the Qur'an with memorizing what is feasible of hadith, this is undoubtedly light upon light. However, it cannot be said that one who does not do so is in misguidance; because there are many people who do not memorize from the Qur'an except what makes their prayer valid—for example, Surat al-Fatihah—and they do not memorize anything of the hadiths of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) at all. Therefore, it is not permissible in the Shari'ah to describe these people as being in misguidance; because it is not an individual obligation for these people to be among the memorizers of the Qur'an, nor for anyone else. But it is undoubtedly obligatory that there be among the Muslims memorizers of the Book of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) by heart, just as it is obligatory that there be among the Muslims scholars of hadith. Likewise, it is said regarding all other sciences, even non-religious sciences such as medicine, for example, and physics and chemistry and the like; because all these sciences assist the Muslims and assist their da'wah. But this is not an individual obligation, as we explained before, like what is obligatory for the Muslim to learn how to pray, for example, how to purify himself, how to perform wudu? All these questions actually stem from a single source. But the last question contains a serious deviation in what he relates about some of them, that he says: It is obligatory for the student of hadith knowledge to memorize the Qur'an, otherwise he will be in misguidance!! This statement.
The questioner : And they say: Is one who does not follow that path in misguidance?
The Shaykh : In misguidance, yes. What am I telling you? Rather, this statement is the misguidance itself, and it is ignorance itself, and its meaning is the failure to distinguish between the collective obligation and the individual obligation.
The Shaykh : ... .
The questioner : He says: We have among the [people] of knowledge those who make memorizing the Qur'an obligatory, specifically in this time, due to the scarcity of its carriers, and they describe those who do not follow that path as being in misguidance, especially those who are students of hadith?
The Shaykh : Especially those who are students?
The questioner : Those who are students of hadith.
The Shaykh : All the answers are similar. This is a collective obligation, not an individual obligation.
The questioner : A collective obligation.
The Shaykh : Yes, that is correct. But as for one who is a student of hadith; if he is endowed with a strong memory and combines memorizing the Qur'an with memorizing what is feasible of hadith, this is undoubtedly light upon light. However, it cannot be said that one who does not do so is in misguidance; because there are many people who do not memorize from the Qur'an except what makes their prayer valid—for example, Surat al-Fatihah—and they do not memorize anything of the hadiths of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) at all. Therefore, it is not permissible in the Shari'ah to describe these people as being in misguidance; because it is not an individual obligation for these people to be among the memorizers of the Qur'an, nor for anyone else. But it is undoubtedly obligatory that there be among the Muslims memorizers of the Book of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) by heart, just as it is obligatory that there be among the Muslims scholars of hadith. Likewise, it is said regarding all other sciences, even non-religious sciences such as medicine, for example, and physics and chemistry and the like; because all these sciences assist the Muslims and assist their da'wah. But this is not an individual obligation, as we explained before, like what is obligatory for the Muslim to learn how to pray, for example, how to purify himself, how to perform wudu? All these questions actually stem from a single source. But the last question contains a serious deviation in what he relates about some of them, that he says: It is obligatory for the student of hadith knowledge to memorize the Qur'an, otherwise he will be in misguidance!! This statement.
The questioner : And they say: Is one who does not follow that path in misguidance?
The Shaykh : In misguidance, yes. What am I telling you? Rather, this statement is the misguidance itself, and it is ignorance itself, and its meaning is the failure to distinguish between the collective obligation and the individual obligation.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.