Is it sufficient to memorize the text of the 'Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah, or should the student of knowledge begin by memorizing the Noble Qur'an?

The questioner : He says.

The questioner: Does he suffice with merely memorizing the text of "Al-'Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah," or should he begin by memorizing the Noble Qur'an, given that he has already memorized more than five parts of it?

The Shaykh: The answer to this question should be preceded by a brief word: Knowledge, in terms of the obligation to acquire it, is divided into two categories: an individual obligation (fard 'ayn), which is necessary for every Muslim, and a collective obligation (fard kifayah), which is lifted from the rest if some people fulfill it. In light of this correct scholarly classification, the young Muslim must proceed in his pursuit of knowledge, not prioritizing the collective obligation over the individual obligation, because if a person does not fulfill the collective obligation himself, he is not sinful, whereas if he does not fulfill the individual obligation, he is sinful. If the matter is thus and the answer is clear to you, then we return to answering the question by saying: Before the Muslim focuses on memorizing the entire Qur'an or part of it, let alone before he focuses on memorizing many of the hadiths of his Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), it is an individual obligation for him to correct his creed. After that, his reading of the 'Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah, this blessed and concise treatise, which gathers what every Muslim must believe, is an individual obligation for every Muslim. I am not saying now that it is an individual obligation for him to read it, because mere reading—we know that many people today read the Qur'an, but they do not reflect upon it, contrary to the saying of our Lord (Mighty and Majestic): —so the intention behind reading the 'Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah is not mere reading, but reading accompanied by understanding. And in my opinion, this is not easy for every young man who can read; he may read and understand, or he may read and not understand. Therefore, if something in what he reads is unclear to him, he must seek help by asking the scholars around him, thereby acting upon His saying (Blessed and Exalted is He): . When the student of knowledge finishes reading this creed, understanding it, and adopting it, except for what is excluded from it, here the importance of the scholar to whom he must turn with his questions regarding some of what may be unclear to him becomes apparent. When he finishes this creed, its understanding, and its adoption, that does not mean that this Muslim has fulfilled the individual obligation in all its details; it is not so. Rather, he must also correct his worship: he must correct his ritual purity, he must correct his prayer, and likewise his fasting. This is a matter that is necessary for every adult Muslim who is accountable—prayer and fasting. If he is wealthy, it is an individual obligation for him to know the rulings of zakah that pertain to his wealth. Likewise, he must know how to perform Hajj to the House of Allah the Sacred, and so on. So whatever of the rulings of the Shari'ah pertains to the person himself, such as prayer and fasting, he must also master the rulings that pertain to correcting his ritual purity, his prayer, and his fasting. After that, he expands in knowledge, whether in memorizing the Qur'an, or in memorizing the hadith of the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him), or in memorizing fiqh, whether it is the fiqh of a specific school of jurisprudence or comparative fiqh. The important thing is that we distinguish between the pursuit of knowledge that is an individual obligation for every Muslim, and the pursuit of knowledge that is a collective obligation. And from the individual obligation is the correction of creed and the correction of worship. Yes.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.