What is the decree on learning to read the Quran and then giving up or forgetting what has been memorized from the Quran?

- Is it a sin not to know how to read the Quran by looking at it?

Dear Brother / Sister,

It is fard to learn al-Fatiha and some chapters, which are necessary for the prayer to be sound and valid. Although being able to read the Quran by looking at it is a very important duty, there is no decree stating that it is fard to “read the Quran by looking at it”. A significant number of Muslims have not learned to read the Quran by looking at it for centuries and scholars have not objected to it.

Although it is not a good thing to forget parts or verses of the Quran after memorizing them, we cannot say that it is haram.

According to Islamic scholars, it is sunnah for everyone to memorize the Quran. It is fard al-kifaya for some Muslims in each region to memorize the whole Quran. It is fard al-ayn for all Muslims to memorize al-Fatiha and some chapters of the Quran that will be enough for the prayer (salah) to be valid. (W. Zuhayli, al-Fiqhul-Islami, II/81)

There are a few hadiths about the issue indicating that forgetting the Quran is a big sin but they are regarded as weak by scholars.

According to a narration from Sad b. Ubadah, the Prophet (pbuh) said:

“If a person (memorizes and) reads the Quran and then forgets it, he will meet Allah on the Day of Resurrection with his hand cut off.” (Abu Dawud, Witr 21)

According to the great hadith authority al-Mundhiri, Yazid b. Abi Ziyad, who is in the chain of narrators of this hadith, is not a reliable person and his narrations are not to be trusted. According to Abdurrahman ibn Abi Hatim, Isa b. Qaid, who is in the chain of narrators of this hadith, must not have narrated it not from Sad ibn Ubada, but from someone who heard it from him; therefore, the hadith is weak because it is munqati’ (having a broken chain of narrators). (Awnul-Mabud, the explanation of the hadith in question)

Similarly, Ibn Qattan states that the narrations of Yazid b. Ziyad in the chain of narrators of the hadith cannot be trusted, and that Isa b. Qaid was “majhulul-hal”, that is, an unknown person. Munawi also stated that the hadith is munqati’/weak. (see Faydul-Qadir, V/603)

Another hadith narration regarding the issue is as follows:

“I have been shown the rewards that my ummah will receive, even the dust that a person brings out of the mosque. And I have also been shown the sins of my ummah, and I have not seen a bigger sin than a servant forgetting a chapter or verse that has been given to him (as a blessing).” (Abu Dawud, Salah 16; Tirmidhi, Thawabul-Quran 19)

Tirmidhi, who analyzed this hadith, emphasized that it was a “gharib” hadith, that he had asked Bukhari about it, and that he said that he did not know of any hadith narrated by Muttalib b. Abdullah from the Companions other than the hadith of the Khutba, and concluded that the hadith was very weak. Ali b. al-Madani, one of the hadith authorities, stated that it was not true that Muttalib had heard this hadith from Anas. (cf. Tirmidhi, Fadailul-Quran, 19; Maalimus-Sunan, Awnul-Mabud, the explanation of the hadith in question in Abu Dawud)

In addition, Abdulmajid b. Abdulaziz, who is included in this narration, is considered to be an unreliable person by many hadith authorities. (see Tuhfatul-Ahwazi, the explanation of the hadith in question)

As it is seen, the hadith narrations stating that it is a sin to forget the Quran after memorizing it are regarded as weak.

According to Islamic fiqh scholars, memorizing the Quran is fard al-kifaya for Muslims in general. If some Muslims memorize it, others are freed from the responsibility. It shows that it is not haram for some people to forget some chapters or verses (except those to be read in prayer).

Again, as mentioned above, it is sunnah, not fard or wajib, for every Muslim to memorize the Quran. According to the majority of scholars, it is not a sin to abandon a sunnah - without disdaining it.

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