Some students of knowledge say, “I repeat the issues and understand them, and I do not need to memorize these texts.”
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The student: Memorizing texts is difficult. Some people say, “I repeat the issues many times until I understand them, and that is sufficient for me instead of memorizing the texts.” For example, in Islamic jurisprudence, they say, “These are just the words of people; we can produce similar ones.” What is your opinion?
The Shaykh : In my opinion, memorizing texts is the foundation. I have not benefited from anything as much as I have benefited from the books I have memorized. This is because memorized issues fly away, except for those that recur daily for a person, which he does not forget because of his practice. Therefore, memorizing texts is, in reality, the knowledge. It is true that it is difficult for some people; some find it very hard to memorize. You may find that he repeats the text many times but does not memorize it. However, strive to do this. As a person grows older, his understanding strengthens and his memorization weakens. That is, his understanding becomes stronger, and insights open up to him that he did not know before, but his memorization decreases. For this reason, we advise the young person to memorize. The first thing he must memorize is the Book of Allah, which is the foundation of everything.
The Shaykh : In my opinion, memorizing texts is the foundation. I have not benefited from anything as much as I have benefited from the books I have memorized. This is because memorized issues fly away, except for those that recur daily for a person, which he does not forget because of his practice. Therefore, memorizing texts is, in reality, the knowledge. It is true that it is difficult for some people; some find it very hard to memorize. You may find that he repeats the text many times but does not memorize it. However, strive to do this. As a person grows older, his understanding strengthens and his memorization weakens. That is, his understanding becomes stronger, and insights open up to him that he did not know before, but his memorization decreases. For this reason, we advise the young person to memorize. The first thing he must memorize is the Book of Allah, which is the foundation of everything.