Alternative to memorizing the Quran

“If they had learned things that would benefit society instead of memorizing the Quran, it would have been more beneficial for them.” I come across this comment or something similar from people who do not have the time to benefit themselves, and of course they do not enrich uranium. I am talking about colleagues with whom I live a life immersed in the sciences of the sect!

Some critical comments about memorizing the Quran reappear on social media with every event honoring memorizers. Some of the upset people express regret over the effort that the students are wasting: “A bleak future...they devote themselves to recitation, while the world advances in science.”

The view that the Qur’an contradicts science/other sciences is not a valid reason to mock the memorizers, as the first surah revealed to the Prophet was a glorification of science: (Read in the name of your Lord who created, created man from a clot, read and your Lord is the most generous, who taught by the pen, taught man that which he knew not) Even if Surah Al-Alaq was not the first surah revealed to the Prophet, it remains a surah that glorifies science.

Knowledge, with its derivatives and inflections, is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an more than 700 times. This is because discovering horizons and the secrets of the soul and a person learning things that he did not know, in most cases, leads to great faith (until it becomes clear to them that it is the truth).

The Quran may be a gateway for its memorizer to acquire and excel in other sciences. The genius philosopher Ibn Sina was first taught the Quran and literature by his father. In his book, The Canon of Medicine, Ibn Sina, known as Sheikh Al-Raees, explained medicine in a scientific manner centuries before the development of science in Europe. Compared to the knowledge of Ibn Sina and other great Arab and Muslim scholars of various sciences, learning the Quran at an early age helps the student excel, if he finds an environment that encourages him to learn.

Engineer Allam Hamid Al-Yousefi is one of the 721 male and female memorizers who were celebrated by Taiz Governorate a few days ago. The young memorizer graduated with distinction from Al-Jund Private University, Information Technology Department. At the same time, he was studying mechatronics engineering at Taiz State University, and was taking distance learning courses with American doctors, which means he excelled in the English language. At the same time that he was getting his legal license in the Quran, he was teaching students in a memorization circle.

Some time ago, I noticed that most, if not all, of the students in our area who went to university were in Quran memorization circles. The observation is interesting. Some of the top students in schools who did not go to Quran memorization circles did not enter university. In Europe, we have an outstanding medical student. An advanced Asian country granted citizenship to one of our village’s students and honored him at the highest levels in recognition of his excellence in university education. Despite the differences in their specializations and the countries in which they study, they are united by academic excellence, their village, and Quran memorization.

The last time the country's elders met and decided to organize an intensive memorization course for the region's students, it was before the war. When I look at the names now, I guess we have two or three memorizers left who have not forgotten what they have memorized despite their preoccupations. The others, who number in the dozens, are either abroad, in universities, or struggling to face the hardships of life. Perhaps there are those who have been seduced by the appearances of life, but the moral values that the Quran has instilled in them limit their response to harmful acts. The important thing is that none of the young people in that memorization course went to the militia. Is this the reason why the Quranic march, from which we have not known anyone who has memorized the Quran, closed the memorization centers? Is this the reason why the Houthis are bombing Quran centers and tampering with mosques?

Correction:

The only person who had memorized parts of the Qur’an, and who had joined the memorization program more than twenty years ago, and had stopped when he reached Surat al-Ahzab and had become immersed in bad company, but even though he had abandoned prayer and memorization because of family disputes, he was ashamed or hid when he saw someone opposing his new direction.