Understanding is necessary alongside memorization.

The Shaykh : Many people have little understanding, many people have little understanding, but strong memorization. You find them memorizing the concise and lengthy texts, but their understanding is little; they barely extract any benefit. We have told you the story of a man who memorized the book *al-Furu'* in the jurisprudence of Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him). It is by Muhammad ibn Muflih, one of the students of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah. He describes him in his book, saying: "Our Shaykh said: This man had memorized the book *al-Furu'*. The book *al-Furu'* is full of great knowledge, not only in jurisprudence, but in jurisprudence and etiquette. However, it has difficulty in understanding; no one understands it except a person who is deeply versed, meaning well-practiced in his speech (may Allah have mercy on him). The point is that one of the students had memorized the book *al-Furu'* by heart, but his understanding was little, very little. So he would go out with his companions, and when a problem from the problems would become difficult for them, they would treat him like a book for reference. They would say, 'O so-and-so, what does the author of *al-Furu'* say in this chapter?' Then he would recite the chapter to them, but he could not take out a single problem. Glory be to Allah, and the favor of Allah is given to whom He wills. One of the students at the House of Tawhid in Ta'if, when it was first opened, was given an exam, an exam in jurisprudence. They said, 'What is the ruling?' I think they said, 'What is the ruling on a man placing his hand on his waist in prayer?' Meaning, placing his hand on his hip. This student did not understand and could not deduce the problems. So he wrote the chapter, saying: 'The author says it is disliked in prayer to turn one's head, crack one's fingers, interlace one's fingers, place one's hand on one's waist, and move about.' He wrote half the chapter and wrote at the end, 'Teacher, take what you want and leave what you want.' Yes, this is a marvel, but I do not know if they passed him or not. But it indicates intelligence. But glory be to Allah. Well, the point is that people differ in memorization and need help in understanding, and no one is free from error.