Is it better to read the Qur'an from a book or to devote oneself to memorizing it?

Question:
Which is better: reading the Noble Qur'an from a book, or devoting oneself to memorizing it? And which is better: memorizing the Noble Qur'an, that is, preserving it while fearing forgetfulness, given the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) warning to those who forget what they have memorized, or leaving off memorization and just reading it? We ask for your opinion on this matter?

Answer:
Praise be to Allah, and may Allah send prayers and peace upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow his guidance.
As for what follows: There is no doubt that preserving the Qur'an is among the best of the acts of drawing near to Allah and among the most important of acts of obedience, but it is not obligatory; rather, it is a recommended practice. A group of scholars held that it is a collective obligation, but it is obligatory to preserve from it what is obligatory for one in prayer, which is Surat al-Fatihah . It is obligatory for every Muslim to preserve this surah, and it is prescribed for him to preserve whatever is easy for him to memorize along with it, so that he may recite it in his prayers. If it becomes easy for him to preserve the entire Book, that is one of the great blessings of Allah.
In such a case, one should not compare devoting oneself to memorizing it with reading it from a book, but rather combine the two. He should set aside time to read it from a book and reflect on it from beginning to end, having a portion (hizb) that he reads every day and every night from beginning to end, with reflection and understanding. He should also have another time to memorize whatever is easy for him, starting from the end of the Qur'an (the Mufassal) or from the beginning of the Qur'an, and memorize it. He should not leave off reading from a book, nor leave off memorizing. Rather, if both are easy for him, he should combine them, setting aside time for memorization and choosing the appropriate times when his mind is free and he is not occupied, either after the Fajr prayer, or during the night, or at the end of the night. This is for memorization.
He should also set aside other times for reading from a book, such as the times of the prayers. When he attends the mosque, he reads from a book. In other times, he starts from Surat al-Fatihah and continues until he completes the Qur'an—just as the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them and grant them satisfaction) compiled it—and then when he completes it, he returns to the beginning, and so on, with reflection, understanding, and without haste. As he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So his learning it, reflecting on it, and understanding it is among the most important of matters. Learning the meanings is greater than learning the words, so he combines this and that.
And Allah the Exalted says: [Surah Sad: 29]. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [Surah Muhammad: 24]. You heard in the lecture the statement of 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, and likewise 'Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: When we learned ten verses from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), we did not move on to them until we learned their meanings and acted upon them. He said: So we learned both knowledge and action .
If one fears forgetfulness, it should not prevent him from memorizing. Rather, he should memorize and strive. Even if he were to forget some of it, it would not harm him. As for the hadith: This is a weak hadith according to the scholars; it is not authentic. If a person learns what is easy of the Qur'an and then forgets it, he returns to study and learn. He must strive in this great good. That is, it is prescribed for him to strive in this great good.
As the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: If Allah grants him the blessing of memorizing what is easy, let him review it. If he were to miss some of it, or forget some of it, then through review, what he forgot will return to him with Allah's success. It should never prevent him from memorizing. He should not say, "I am afraid I will forget it." No, he learns, strives, memorizes, and does his best, and Allah will help him. He asks his Lord for success and assistance.