Sura 47 Aya 24 أَفَلَا
يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ أَمْ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبٍ أَقْفَالُهَا
“Do they not then earnestly seek to understand the Quran, or
are their hearts locked up by them?”
This aya asks us to earnestly seek to understand what is in
the Quran, because wisdom is not grasped by superficial reading. The Arabic
word ‘tadabbur’ is used in the aya, which means to think and understand deeply.
Note that there is no instruction in the Quran for people to
memorize it.
Memorization like a parrot dulls the mind and it does not
produce understanding.
A major reason for social and spiritual stagnation in the
Muslim world is rooted in the belief that recitation of verses you don’t
understand brings you closer to God.
People repeat
memorized suras that have no personal meaning for them, and believe they are
earning credit in salat.
Note that people engaged in violent sectarianism and groups
like the Taliban and Boko-haram believe they are very religious because they
continuously recite memorized suras and dzikr phrases.
In most mosques the imam is someone who has memorized the
Quran, but has little understanding of how life works, and many people ask him
for guidance in solving their problems.
In the early days memorization was the only way to preserve
the text so Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) encouraged people to memorize. But there is
no need for it now because we have printing.
In any case, it is a mistake to believe that that Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh) wanted people to memorize the Quran without thinking about what
is in it, as is the common practice now.
If some people memorize an engineering textbook without deeply
analyzing and understanding its contents, a bridge they try to build will
collapse.
The Quran teaches how
you and I can raise ourselves to a life of excellence. This is not possible if
we memorize some or all of it and keep reciting what we memorized. It becomes
possible if we make an earnest and sustained effort to understand the amazing insights
it gives to uplift our lives.