What is it of this word tells you? Is it something that you know of? Well you heard of theword Quran before, of course, but what about Hamlatul Quran? It is in Arabicand if we translate the word, it becomes “bearer” in English. Thus HamlatulQuran is the ‘bearer of Quran’. The name is given to someone who has completelymemorized the whole Quran. It is a beautiful title which was given to a Muslimthat has finally, after all his hard work in memorizing the verses of the Quranin their hearts and mind. Some recognized them as hafiz or huffaz but Iwill use the term Hamlatul Quran as hafiz means that someone who remember andmemorize a lot of hadiths in their heart.

First, we need to know the basis of how does the Divine Revelations that was revealed to the Prophet (pbuh). The Quran was sent down by the angel, Jibril a.s. in a form of revelations or wahyu to our beloved Prophet (pbuh). Let’s refer to this ayat on how the Quran was sent down to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in Surah As-Syura: 52 until 53.

﴿وَمَا كَانَ لِبَشَرٍ أَن يُكَلِّمَهُ اللَّهُ إِلاَّ وَحْياً أَوْ مِن وَرَآءِ حِجَابٍ أَوْ يُرْسِلَ رَسُولاً فَيُوحِىَ بِإِذْنِهِ مَا يَشَآءُ إِنَّهُ عَلِىٌّ حَكِيمٌ - وَكَذَلِكَ أَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَيْكَ رُوحاً مِّنْ أَمْرِنَا مَا كُنتَ تَدْرِى مَا الْكِتَـبُ وَلاَ الإِيمَـنُ وَلَـكِن جَعَلْنَـهُ نُوراً نَّهْدِى بِهِ مَن نَّشَآءُ مِنْ عِبَادِنَا وَإِنَّكَ لَتَهْدِى إِلَى صِرَطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ - صِرَطِ اللَّهِ الَّذِى لَهُ مَا فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَمَا فِى الاٌّرْضِ أَلاَ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَصِيرُ الاٍّمُورُ ﴾

(51. It is not given to any human being that Allah should speak to him unless (it be) by revelation, or from behind a veil, or (that) He sends a Messenger to reveal what He wills by His leave. Verily, He is Most High, Most Wise.) (52. And thus We have sent to you Ruh of Our command. You knew not what the Book is, nor what is Faith. But We have made it a light wherewith We guide whosoever of Our servants We will. And verily, you are indeed guiding to a straight path.) (53. The path of Allah to Whom belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth. Verily, all matters at the end go to Allah.)

According to Ibn Kathir in his tafsir, this ayat refers to how Allah sends revelation. Sometimes He casts something into the heart of the Prophet, and he has no doubt that it is from Allah, as it was reported in Sahih Ibn Hibban that the Messenger of Allah said:

«إِنَّ رُوْحَ الْقُدُسِ نَفَثَ فِي رُوعِي أَنَّ نَفْسًا لَنْ تَمُوتَ حَتْى تَسْتَكْمِلَ رِزْقَهَا وَأَجَلَهَا، فَاتَّقُوا اللهَ وَأَجْمِلُوا فِي الطَّلَب»

(Ar Ruh Al Qudus ﴿i.e., Jibril﴾ breathed into my heart that no soul will die until its allotted provision and time have expired, so have Taqwa of Allah and keep seeking in a good (and lawful) way.)

This is one of the ways of how Quran was revealed to the Prophet (pbuh). Anyway, the Quran is an amazing book indeed. More amazing is how the Quran was kept safe in this world. Verily, Allah the Superior has stated in Surah Al Hijr: 9

إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَـفِظُونَ ﴾

(9. Verily, We, it is We Who revealed the Dhikr (i.e. the Qur'an) and surely We will guard it (from corruption).)

This is the promise of Allah Azza Wa Jalla to the Quran. The Quran we read this day is the same as was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) 1400 years ago. Surely it is Allah who wrote the Quran which is guarded from any corruption, any decrease, any change in the verses of the Quran. Allah stated in Surah Al Buruj: 21 and 22

بَلْ هُوَ قُرْءَانٌ مَّجِيدٌ - فِى لَوْحٍ مَّحْفُوظٍ ﴾

(21. Nay! This is a Glorious Qur'an,) (22. In Al-Lawh Al-Mahfuz!)

The mutawatir of the Al Quran is kept safe by these Hamlatul Quran. They have memorized and kept all the verses of the Al Quran in their hearts. It is a noble act and was recognized in Islam of the virtues of memorizing the Al Quran. They inherited the only treasures that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) left for us after he died. I am sure that these peoples who have set their niat or intentions on becoming a Hamlatul Quran are grateful to be chosen by Allah Ta’ala. Allah has stated these chosen people in Surah Fatir: 32

﴿ثُمَّ أَوْرَثْنَا الْكِتَـبَ الَّذِينَ اصْطَفَيْنَا مِنْ عِبَادِنَا فَمِنْهُمْ ظَـلِمٌ لِّنَفْسِهِ وَمِنْهُمْ مُّقْتَصِدٌ وَمِنْهُمْ سَابِقٌ بِالْخَيْرَتِ بِإِذُنِ اللَّهِ ذَلِكَ هُوَ الْفَضْلُ الْكَبِيرُ ﴾

(32. Then We gave the Book as inheritance to such of Our servants whom We chose. Then of them are some who wrong themselves, and of them are some who follow a middle course, and of them are some who are, by Allah's leave, foremost in good deeds. That -- that is indeed a great grace.)

 To be a Hamlatul Quran, one needs to understand the responsibility that these Muslims have set their niat to be a Hamlatul Quran. Sadly, everybody has a wrong perception regarding of this matter. The perceptions that being a Hamlatul Quran is tiring, hard and a burden are very wrong. This perception contradicts on what does the real message from memorizing the Holy Verses of Al Quran. It is in fact that whoever memorizes Al Quran, Allah the Benevolent will promise him Jannah and Allah will honors him in the Hereafter. The description of the reward is in a hadith reported by Abu Daud:

Allah’s Messenger Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) said;
“Whoever recites the Holy Quran, learns it and acts according to it, will be given a crown of light to wear on the Day of the Judgment, whose light will be like the sun. His parents will be clothed in two garments that didn’t exist in this worldly life, so they will say, “What has caused us to be clothed (in these garments)?”  “It will be said; “your child taking hold of (i.e. memorizing) the Holy Quran has caused this.”

More importantly by memorizing the Al Quran, one will be able to speak of the language of Al Quran i.e. the guidance and the teachings spontaneously to the peoples of the society. These Hamlatul Quran will cause the society to be close and hold fast with the teachings of Al Quran. A hadith stated that:

"The best of you are those who learn the Quran and teach it." (Sahih Al-Bukhari)

 They are the one who will be the “imams” of a society according to a hadith:

At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah recorded that Abu Hurayrah said, "The Messenger of Allah sent an expedition force comprising of many men and asked each about what they memorized of the Qur'an. The Prophet came to one of the youngest men among them and asked him, `What have you memorized (of the Qur'an) young man' He said, `I memorized such and such Surahs and also Al-Baqarah.' The Prophet said, `You memorized Surat Al-Baqarah' He said, `Yes.' The Prophet said, `Then you are their commander.'

Allah knows best regarding this matter.

A Point of View

Do you know of anyone who memorizes the Quran? The Quran that was sent down was made easy to men to memorize and understand the meanings. Allah the Almighty has stated in His Glorious Book in Surah Al Qamar: 17

وَلَقَدْ يَسَّرْنَا الْقُرْءَانَ لِلذِّكْرِ فَهَلْ مِن مُّدَّكِرٍ ﴾

(17. And We have indeed made the Qur'an easy to understand and remember; then is there anyone who will remember)

Other verses also stated: Surah Maryam:97

﴿فَإِنَّمَا يَسَّرْنَـهُ بِلَسَانِكَ لِتُبَشِّرَ بِهِ الْمُتَّقِينَ وَتُنْذِرَ بِهِ قَوْماً لُّدّاً ﴾

(So We have made this (the Qur'an) easy in your own tongue, only that you may give glad tidings to those who have Taqwa and warn with it the most quarrelsome people.)

In fact, Muslims around the world have been eager to understand the Quran thus memorizing it will be much easier to apply the teachings of the Quran in daily life. The purpose of this article is to show the virtues of one who memorize the Quran. As stated in a hadith:

Salim son of Abdullah b. 'Umar is reported to have said on the authority of his father that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) observed: Envy is not justified but in case of two persons only: one who, having been given (knowledge of) the Qur'an by Allah, recites it during the night and during the day (and acts upon it), and the person who, having been given wealth by God, gives it in charity during the night and the day. (Muslim)

 There are a lot of benefits that one can obtain from memorizing the Quran. This is only but few.

If you’re just a young kid who wanted to have a blessed life, Al Quran is the book for you. Al Quran cleans the soul and heart and prevents one from doing bad deeds. A young boy or girl will have a heart as strong as steel when they learn, recite and memorize Al Quran. They will be guided by the Words of Allah in their lives. I am sure that some of you had memorized some juz in the Quran when you are still young. Reflect this on yourself, did you still remember whatever that you had memorized? Or is it you have left all of the verses of the Al Quran and be forgotten just like that? I am not going to reveal to you what the consequences are of purposely left the Al Quran but if you do left it on purpose, now it is the time to repeat those verses.

Verily, Al Quran will help you in form of syafaat in Afterlife. As in a hadith:

The Quran will intercede for your child on the Day of Judgment, Allah's Messenger said, and “Recite the Quran for verily it will come on the Day of Judgment as an intercessor (helper or syafaat) for those who recited it. (Sahih Muslim)

You can teach yourself into believing the virtues of memorizing Al Quran now. We have only Al Quran and As Sunnah in our lives to be a guide to the straight path. Some of you might be busy with your lives and all that but take note of this matter. I am sure all of you including me longing for Al Jannah in the Afterlife. Therefore, recite the Quran day and night exclusively for the true followers of Allah’s Messenger Muhammad (pbuh).

Reciting Quran is a calm process such that this recognized deed in Islam purifies your soul and heart into truth. It will be livelier if you ask some friends to recite Al Quran together. Though this is done only in the month of Ramadan, how about you pick a day in a week, say Jumaat to recite the Quran with your friends? For this a hadith has been told:

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said,"Any group of people that assemble in one of the Houses of Allah to study the Qur'an, tranquillity will descend upon them, mercy will engulf them, angels will surround them and Allah will make mention of them to those (the angels) in His proximity.''
[Muslim].

But sadly these days, we rarely find anyone who has the intention to be a Hamlatul Quran or even memorizing the Quran itself. I suppose that they have trouble on reciting some of the words they found in the Quran. If you have this problem, do not be sad or left the Quran just because you are not good in reciting it. Tadarus of Al Quran will surely solve this problem. I am sure that some of my friends indeed love the Quran but they have not found the “ruh” of reciting the beautiful verses of Al Quran. Imam Muslim reported a hadith regarding this matter:

Narrated Abu Said bin Al-Mu'alla:

While I was praying in the Mosque, Allah's Apostle called me but I did not respond to him. Later I said, "O Allah's Apostle! I was praying." He said, "Didn't Allah say'--"Give your response to Allah (by obeying Him) and to His Apostle when he calls you." (8.24)

He then said to me, "I will teach you a Sura which is the greatest Sura in the Qur'an, before you leave the Mosque." Then he got hold of my hand, and when he intended to leave (the Mosque), I said to him, "Didn't you say to me, 'I will teach you a Sura which is the greatest Sura in the Quran?' He said, "Al-Hamdu-Lillah Rabbi-l-Alamin (i.e. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds) which is Al-Sab'a Al-Mathani (i.e. seven repeatedly recited Verses) and the Grand Qur'an which has been given to me."

These bold words show you that one needs to learn the greatest surah in the Quran. Then by that way, if you get the “ruh” of Surah of Ummul Kitab, surely it will be easy to learn any other surahs in Al Quran.

Start memorizing the Quran now as it will guide you. If you have a niat on this (memorizing the Quran) don’t delay the niat as you will surely be regretted of what you did not do. The difference of mukmin can be looked upon his love on Al Quran according to a hadith:

Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "The believer who recites the Qur'an is like a citron (a type of fruit) whose fragrance is sweet and whose taste is delicious. A believer who does not recite the Qur'an is like a date-fruit which has no fragrance but has a sweet taste. The hypocrite who recites the Qur'an is like a colocynth (a type of fruit) whose fragrance is so sweet, but its taste is bitter. The hypocrite who does not recite the Qur'an is like basil which has no fragrance and its taste is bitter.'' Reported by Al Bukhari and Muslim.

Waalaikumsalam Warahmatullah.

Thank you for readingJ.