How to Memorize the Qur'an and the Books Recommended for Memorization

Question:
A message was received by the program from the listener Wahid Khalifi Mustafa 'Ani, an Egyptian residing in the Kingdom. Our brother has a number of questions; in one of them he says: I hope you will inform me, may Allah reward you, about the best and easiest method that can make the Qur'an appealing to us and enable me to memorize it in the shortest time, and how I should begin. I also want to memorize the hadiths; should I start first by memorizing the Noble Qur'an, or should I start memorizing both together? And what are the books that contain authentic hadiths?

Answer:
Memorizing the Qur'an is among the best of acts of drawing near to Allah and acts of obedience, and likewise, memorizing what is feasible of the authentic Sunnah is among the best of acts of drawing near to Allah and acts of obedience. It is better that you begin by memorizing what is feasible of the Qur'an, and you have the choice: if you wish, you may start with al-Mufassal [Q:1] and what follows it, until you complete memorizing the last four parts. Or, if you wish, you may start with al-Baqarah and set for yourself a known portion each night or each morning, such as one, two, or three pages. You should arrange a known amount and continue with it, ask your Lord for help and success, and seek out the appropriate times when you are not occupied with other matters.
If you combine both matters and set aside a time for memorizing what is feasible of the Qur'an and a time for memorizing what is feasible of the Sunnah, that is good. This is because memorizing the Qur'an may take a long time, so if you combine this with that, it is a good thing.
We advise you to memorize *Umdat al-Hadith* by the Shaykh 'Abd al-Ghani ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab al-Maqdisi, as it contains authentic hadiths and is concise, comprising four hundred hadiths and a slight addition. If you memorize this book, it is a good, great, and beneficial book. If you have the ability to memorize *Bulugh al-Maram* by al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar, it is also a well-organized and good book, though it contains some weak hadiths which the author, may Allah have mercy on him, has identified.
We also advise you to memorize some books of creed, such as *Kitab al-Tawhid*, *Thalathat al-Usul*, and *Kashf al-Shubuhat* by the Imam, the scholar, and the Shaykh al-Islam of his time, Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, may Allah have mercy on him. These are beneficial books in creed. Also, *Kitab al-'Aqidah al-Wasitiyyah* by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, and *Luma' al-I'tiqad* by al-Muwaqqi' ibn Qudamah, may Allah have mercy on him. These are good books in creed, and we advise you to memorize them as well, because they are beneficial and all of them are taken from the great Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His trustworthy Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). They are beneficial, concise books in creed. Yes.

The presenter: May Allah reward you with good. He asks about the books that contain authentic hadiths, Shaykh 'Abd al-'Aziz?

The Shaykh: We mentioned *Umdat al-Hadith*, which is entirely from the two Sahihs, al-Bukhari and Muslim, except for a few individual narrations from one of them. So, *al-'Umdah* by the Shaykh 'Abd al-Ghani ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab ibn Sirr al-Maqdisi is, in fact, a very beneficial book. He named it *al-'Umdah* because of the authentic hadiths it contains. If a student of knowledge memorizes it, or a female student of knowledge memorizes it, that is very appropriate. If it is also facilitated for you to memorize *Bulugh al-Maram*, it is a broader and well-organized book containing much knowledge, and it has a few weak hadiths which the author, may Allah have mercy on him, has identified. Yes.

The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.