Preservation and memorising (hifz)

الحفظ

Preservation (hifz) means keeping a thing from loss and ruin, and also watchfulness, as in memorising the Qur'an by heart. ¹ Memorising the Fatiha for prayer is obligatory for one able to do it; if he cannot, he learns it or reads it from a copy; the Shafi'is and Hanbalis require it in every rak'a, the Hanafis require a long verse or three short ones. ² For leading prayer the majority prefer the more learned, and the Hanbalis and, in a view against the sounder one, the Shafi'is prefer the better reciter, on the report ”let the people be led by the one who recites the Book best”. ^{2 3} A waqf or bequest to reciters goes to those who hold the whole Qur'an by heart, according to the Shafi'is and Hanbalis; making the teaching of the Qur'an a bridal gift is disputed, allowed by the Shafi'is and forbidden by the Hanafis and Malikis. ^{3 4} The depositor must keep the deposit in a place fit for it, and is not liable if it is lost without fault. ⁵