Which is more important for a student of knowledge: memorizing the Book of Allah or merely reading it?
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The questioner : May Allah preserve you, O honorable Shaykh. Which is more important for a student of knowledge at the beginning of his pursuit of knowledge: memorizing the Book of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) or reading it?
The Shaykh : The best course for a student of knowledge is to memorize the Book of Allah, because it is the origin of all books and the most beneficial of them. So he should memorize the Qur'an first. However, if he is able to memorize the Qur'an and also memorize whatever is easy of the texts of Prophetic hadith, that is better. He should also attend the scholarly sessions with the scholars. But if it happens that he says, "I am unable to memorize the Qur'an or attend the scholars," we say: Start with the Qur'an, because it is the foundation.
The Shaykh : The best course for a student of knowledge is to memorize the Book of Allah, because it is the origin of all books and the most beneficial of them. So he should memorize the Qur'an first. However, if he is able to memorize the Qur'an and also memorize whatever is easy of the texts of Prophetic hadith, that is better. He should also attend the scholarly sessions with the scholars. But if it happens that he says, "I am unable to memorize the Qur'an or attend the scholars," we say: Start with the Qur'an, because it is the foundation.