Hafiz (Quran)

Hafiz (Arabic: حافظ‎, ḥāfiẓ, pl. huffāẓ, f. ḥāfiẓa), literally meaning 'guardian' or 'retentive', is a term used by modern Muslims for someone who has completely memorized the Qur'an.

Overview

The prophet Muhammad lived in the 7th century CE, in Arabia in a time when many people were not literate. The Arabs preserved their histories, genealogies, and poetry by memory alone. When Muhammad proclaimed the verses later collected as the Qur'an, his followers naturally preserved the words by memorizing them.

Early accounts say that the literate Muslims also wrote down such verses as they heard them. However, the Arabic writing of the time was a scripta defectiva, an incomplete script, that did not include vowel markings or other diacritics needed to distinguish between words. Hence if there was any question as to the pronunciation of a verse, the memorized verses were a better source than the written ones. The huffaz were also highly appreciated as reciters, whose beautifully intoned words were accessible even to the illiterate. Memorization required no expensive raw materials (in an age when there was no paper in the Muslim world, only vellum). Memorization was also considered more secure — a manuscript could easily be destroyed, but if the Qur'an was to be memorized by many huffaz, it would never be lost.

Even after the Caliph Uthman ibn Affan collected and organized the Qur'an circa 650-656 CE, recitation (from memory) of the Qur'an was still honored and encouraged. There are numerous traditions of recitation. Most huffaz know only one version, but true experts can recite in several traditions.

Huffaz are highly respected within the Islamic community. They are privileged to use the title "Hafiz" before their names. They are tested on their knowledge. For example, in one test they are asked to continue the recitation of a passage taken randomly from the Qur'an. As they do not know which passage will be chosen, they must know the whole text in order to be sure of passing. In another test, a would-be hafiz might be asked to recite verses containing a specific word or phrase.

Most huffaz have studied as children in special Islamic schools or madrasahs, being instructed in tajweed (rules of recitation) and vocalisation as well as committing the Qur'an to memory. To give some idea as to the nature of this undertaking: The Qur'an is divided into 114 Surahs (chapters), containing 6,236 verses (comprising some 80,000 words or 330,000 individual characters).

During the holy month of Ramadan, special daily prayers called Tarawih are read in the mosques every evening. Tarawih prayers include Qur'an recitation. One juz' (1/30th of the Qur'an) is recited by a hafiz on each of the thirty days of Ramadan. If the audience is at all large, several huffaz will be present. Any hafiz who stumbles is sure to be corrected and this is called luqma, a correction done by another hafiz.

Children learning the Koran in Mauritania.

A number of scholars point to hadiths that state that a hafiz will be rewarded on the day of Qiyamah (Judgement Day), as will his or her parents, and will be granted the ability to intercede on behalf of ten family members.

"He who learns the Qur’an and practices upon it, his parents will be made to wear a crown on the day of Qiyamah, the brilliance of which will excel that of the sun if the same were within your worldly houses. Hence, what do you think about the person who himself acts upon it?" (Abu Dawood). "Whoever reads the Qur’an and memorises it, while he regards what it makes lawful as lawful and its unlawful as forbidden (i.e. he practises according to it), Allah Ta’ala will admit him into Jannah and will accept his intercession on behalf of ten such persons of his family who were doomed to the fire of Jahannam" (Tirmidhi).

However, some Islamic scholars judged this hadith weak (Da'if).^{[citation needed]}

It is important to note however that in the classical Arabic lexicon, the word hafiz was not traditionally used to refer to one who had memorized the Qur'an. Instead, the word used was hamil (lit. one who carries.) Hafiz was used for the scholars of hadith, specifically one who had committed 100,000 hadiths to memory (for example, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani).

Huffaz today are all over the world, and are among societies to teach others to recite the Qur'an in tajweed and a hafiz must be confident of what he/she is reciting letter by letter.

Practice

Having memorised the Qur'an, the hafiz or hafiza must then ensure they do not forget it. To ensure perfect recall of all the learned verses requires constant practice.

The memorisation of the Qur'an was very important to Muslims in the past and is also in the present. Yearly many students master the Qur'an and complete the book with tafsir (understanding) and also memorisation. The total number of hafiz and hafizas currently alive in the world has been estimated in the tens of millions.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Qari'
• Qur'an
• Fahrenheit 451 - a modern novel where memorization of complete books is an important plot element

External links

• Web Application for Hifz Students and Teachers
• live classes for Hifz Students and Teachers
• Qur'an and Hafidh Number on islam101.com
• Qur'an recitation on YouTube
• Qur'an recitation by a Muslim child on YouTube
• Recitation by Sh. Abu Bakr ash-Shatry