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I memorised the Quran eight years ago, but I have not taught it to people, because I did not find anyone who called me to teach the Quran. Am I sinning because of that? What are the duties of the hafiz who has memorised the Quran?
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
Learning and teaching the Quran are among the noblest and best of good deeds, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “The best of you are those who learn the Quran and teach it.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (5027)
It was narrated from Abu Umaamah al-Baahili from the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that he said: “The virtue of the learned man over the worshipper is like my virtue over the least of you. Verily Allah and His Angels and the inhabitants of the heavens and the earths, even the ant in its hole and even the fish send blessings upon the one who teaches the people good.”
Narrated by at-Tirmidhi (2685); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh at-Tirmidhi.
Undoubtedly the one who teaches the people Quran is teaching the people good, and in fact he opens to them the greatest doors of goodness.
Secondly:
Teaching the Quran is a communal obligation (fard kifaayah). If there is someone in your city who is teaching people the Quran, then there is no sin on you, but you are missing out on a great deal of virtue.
If there is no one who can teach the people Quran except you, then it is obligatory for you to teach them, and if you do not do that then you are sinning and you must repent.
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Teaching learners is a communal obligation; if there is no one who is qualified to do it except one, then it becomes an individual obligation. If there are a number of people who could do that, then teaching may be done by some of them, but if they all refuse they are all sinning; however if some of them undertake to do it, the rest are absolved of blame. If one of them is asked to do that and he refuses, then the more correct view is that he is not sinning, but it is makrooh for him to do that, unless he has an excuse.
End quote from at-Tibyaan fi Adaab Hamalat al-Quran (p. 41-42).
If you want to do that type of good, then do not sit and wait for people to come to you so that they can learn from you; rather you should go to them yourself and call them to learn and memorise, and encourage them to do that by explaining to them the virtue and honour thereof. For that is good for you and for them, and it will help you not to forget, even if you cannot find anyone but small children. You can also look for memorisation schools (dar at-tahfeez) or memorisation circles in the mosques, and join them.
Thirdly:
The hafiz who has memorised the Quran should stand out from other people. The one whom Allah has enabled to attain this virtue must ascend thereby, otherwise there would be no difference between him and other people. We will quote here some of the etiquette that the hafiz who has memorised the Book of Allah should follow, which includes the following:
·His intention should be only for the sake of Allah when he memorises, recites and teaches.
·He should frequently review and revise the Quran so that he does not forget it or forget any part of it.
·He should not intend thereby to attain any worldly goal of wealth or leadership or status, or to think of himself as being above his peers, or to earn praise from people or to attract people to him and the like.
·He should strive hard to make his character be the Quran, following the example of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him.
·He should be keen to teach it to people, call people to it, helps them memorise it and guide them to the morals and manners that it promotes.
·He should be kind to the one who is learning it from him; he should welcome him and treat him nicely.
·He should act in accordance with the Quran and not go against its rulings or teachings; he should not be one of those who memorise its words but overstep its limits. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “The Quran may be evidence for you or against you.” Narrated by Muslim (223).
It was narrated in a saheeh report that Ibn Mas‘ood said: If one of us learned ten verses, he would not move on from them until he understood their meanings and acted upon them. End quote from Tafseer at-Tabari (1/80).
Abu ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan as-Sulami said: Those who used to teach us Quran told us that they used to learn it from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and when they learned ten verses, they would not move on from them until they acted upon what they contained of deeds. So we learned the Quran and how to act upon it at the same time. End quote from Tafseer at-Tabari (1/80)
·His nights should be different from the nights of other people. He should get up at night to offer the night prayers (qiyaam), as much as Allah enables him to do. For the people of the Quran among the early generations were the people of qiyaam al-layl (night prayers) and those who conversed with Allah in the time before dawn.
We advise you to acquire two great and important books concerning this matter. The first is Akhlaaq Hamalat al-Quran by Imam al-Aajurri (may Allah have mercy on him), and the second is at-Tibyaan fi Adaab Hamalat al-Quran by Imam an-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him). You should be keen to acquire them, study them and benefit from their contents.
And Allah knows best.