Thursday 18 Ramadan 1445 - 28 March 2024
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How can the seeker of knowledge recall what he wants to quote as evidence?

Question

I have a problem, which is that when I want to quote a verse from the Book of Allah, may He be exalted, or from a hadith, or a scholarly text, or a line of poetry, and the like, I cannot quote only what I need to quote; rather I have to recite from memory the entire passage from the beginning. What is the solution?

Answer

Praise be to Allah.

Undoubtedly recalling evidence and exact quotations when discussing issues of knowledge is something very important for scholars and seekers of knowledge. By recalling evidence, you can benefit from what you have memorized, and the one whose recall is weak will be less able to benefit from what he has learned and memorized.

In order to strengthen your ability to recall:

Firstly:

The ability to recall is a gift from Allah, like any other blessing. So the Muslim should turn to Allah, may He be exalted, calling upon Him and beseeching Him, for Allah is able to enhance what He has created by whatever means He, may He be glorified and exalted, wills.

Secondly:

Strong recall is a skill like any other skill, and can be enhanced by taking appropriate measures, the most beneficial of which is studying with your fellow students, so as to train the mind to think of what you have memorized and seek out from what you have memorized that which is relevant to the subject being studied. See the following link for ways to study together.

Thirdly:

Recall can be developed with study and research. At the age that you referred to, it does not matter if your recall is weak, because it will grow stronger, by Allah’s leave, if you are patient in seeking knowledge and combine memorizing with understanding and research. This will make your recall stronger with the passage of time.

Please see also the following link

And Allah knows best.

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Source: Islam Q&A