Sins have a significant impact on the morale of a person and it leads to a loss of vigor, confuses the person and robs him/her of their grace. Almighty Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) said:
"Allah puts forward the example of a township that dwelt secure and well- content: its provision comes to it in abundance from everywhere, but it denied the favors of Allah (with ungratefulness). So Allah made it taste famine and fear because of that which they used to do." [Al- Nahl: 112].
The removal of the blessings of security, safety, and peace of mind, and replacing them with the punishment of fear and hunger was the result of committing sins and denying the bounties of Allah upon them. So how is it possible to memorize the Quran without the grace of safety, security, and peace of mind?
Imam Ash- Shafi'I (May Allah have mercy on him) said:
"I complained to Waq'i about my poor memorization,
So, he advised me to quit sinning,
And he said that Allah's light is a bounty (blessing/favor),
And that Allah's Bounty is not granted to the disobedient."
Waq'i bin Al-Jarrah told Ali bin Khashram, "O son! I swear by Allah, I have not found a solution to the ills of memorization better than quitting disobedience".
Disobedience and committing sins causes hardness of the heart. Allah (Subhanahu wa ta'ala) says:
"So for their breaking of the covenant, We cursed them and made their hearts hard. They distort words from their [proper] usages and have forgotten a portion of that of which they were reminded," [Al-Maidah: 13].
Sufyan bin Uyaynah was asked:
"Is man robbed of religious knowledge when he commits sins?" He answered: "Didn't you listen to Allah's verse- and he mentioned the verse: "So for their breaking of the covenant, We cursed them and made their hearts hard,"
One of the most important things for the memorizers of the noble Quran to do is to be proactive about doing things that increase the eeman because these acts of piety are the means of safety for the people of the Quran. These acts, that increase eeman, are the greatest causes of benefiting from the hifz, and keeping them highly motivated to memorize the Quran. Allah (Subhanahu wa ta'aala) says:
"Say, 'It is, for those who believe, a guidance and a cure.' And those who do not believe- in their ears is deafness, and it is, upon them, blindness. Those are being called from a distant place." [Fussilat: 44].
That means: Say it is for those who are guided by it to the path of truth and wisdom, and the straight way. And those guided by it, use it as a cure for all doubts in their hearts. It is also for them, a cure for all bodily ailments and heart diseases; because it (the Qur'aan) restrains its companion from bad manners and the ugliest deeds, and it urges them towards sincere repentance that washes away sins, and cures the hearts.
{And those who do not believe} in the Qur'aan {in their ears is deafness}: that is: Deafness from hearing it and understanding its meaning, {and it is, upon them, blindness} that is: they do not see the wisdom in it and they are not guided by it. {Those are being called from a distant place}, that is: They are being called to believe and to have faith, but they do not respond (meaning: they are those who do not believe in the Qur'aan and who do not benefit from its guidance, and who don't see by its light, because they blocked the doors of guidance upon their own selves, by rejecting the Qur'aan.)
May Allah protect us from being from amongst the losers, aameen.
The source and main material used in preparing the content of this blog is the book, Ways of teaching the noble Qur'aan and memorizing it by Abu Abdrahman, Jamal ibn Ibrahim AlQirsh (طرائق تدريس القرآن الكريم وحفظه).