Hafiz (Qur'an)

Hafith or Hafiz (Arabic: حافظ قرآن or حافظ, plural "huffaz"), literally meaning 'guardian', is a term used by Muslims in modern days for people who have completely memorized the Qur'an, though the term is traditionally used for scholars who have mastered and memorized 100 000 Ahadith complete with their narrators and chains of transmissions.

Overview

The Islamic prophet Muhammad lived in the 7th century AD, in Arabia. In those times, 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. 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 crowd. 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 were 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, oral recitation of the Qur'an was still honored and encouraged. There are numerous traditions of oral 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 win this title by passing one or more tests. 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 approximately 6,200 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".

A number of scholars point to hadiths that state that a "hafiz" will be rewarded on 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).

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 (i.e. Al-Hafiz [Ibn Hajar] ) In those days, memorizing the Qur'an was so commonplace that it was not even accorded great distinction; today, the study of Islam having become a specialized field, it is a mark of distinction.

See also

*List of Hafiz
*Qari'
*Qur'an

External links

* [http://www.islam101.com/dawah/WhatIsQuran.html Qur'an and Hafiz Number on islam101.com]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBxQWgk2Ol8 Qur'an recitation on YouTube]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7d37r3iUds Qur'an recitation by a Muslim child on YouTube]
* [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8574242642534193725&pl=true Recitation by Sh. Abu Bakr ash-Shatry]