The Memorization of Hadith and the Penetration of Insight Concerning It

* Al-Jami` li Akhlaq al-Rawi wa Adab al-Sami`

Al-Khatib Al-Baghdadi

("The Compendium on the Ethics of the Hadith Narrator and the Manners of the Auditor") in two volumes, the continuation of Sharaf Ashab al-Hadith.  It contains the following chapters:

Chapter: 44

44: The Memorization of Hadith and the Penetration of Insight Concerning It (12 sections:)

1. Emphasis on the Memorization of Hadith
2. Those Who Described Themselves as Memorizers
3. Hadith Learning is Not By Mere Instruction For It Is None Other Than a Type of Knowledge Allah Most High Creates in the Heart
4. The Means That Facilitate Hadith Memorization
5. A Supplication For the Memorization of Qur'an, Hadith, and the Various Disciplines
6. Types of Preferred Foods and Those Recommended Against For the Improvement of Memory
7. The Requisite Schedule of Night Study of Hadith For the Student

8. Repeating What is Memorized To Master It By Heart:

Al-Zubayr ibn Bakkar said:

"My father came in and saw me reading silently in a notebook, reading it back to myself. He said to me: 'Your only aid in your type of narration is whatever your sight conveys to your heart. If you want narration then look at it and read it outloud also. For then, your aid comes from both what your sight conveys to your heart and what your hearing conveys to your heart.'

Dr. M. `Ajaj al-Khatib commented on this narration:

"These are fine and true words, for this is what the authorities in education and psychology say: the more senses participate in the absorption of a subject or its learning, the faster and easier its memorization." fn25

`Ilqima said:

"Repeat the hadith at length and it will never be erased from memory."

One time a pail of water was placed before Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri. When he placed his hand in it, he happened to remember a hadith. He did not remove his hand from the water until fajr rose and until he had completely mastered the hadith. Sufyan al-Thawri said:

"Make the hadith your own discourse to yourself and the very thought of your hearts, and you will then memorize it."

Ja`far al-Maraghi said:

"I went into a cemetary in Tustar, and I heard someone shouting:

'And al-A`mash, from Abu Salih, from Abu Hurayra; and al-A`mash, from Abu Salih, from Abu Hurayra,' for a long time. I began to look for the source of this voice until I saw Ibn Zuhayr, studying al-A`mash's narrations alone, from memory."

9. Rehearsing Hadith With All Types of People
10. Rehearsing Hadith With Disciples And Friends
11. Rehearsing Hadith With Spouses And Companions

12. Rehearsing Hadith With Older People

Abu Sa`id al-Khudri said:

"Review (tadhâkarû) hadith with each other, for one hadith brings out another."

`Ilqima said:

"Rehearse the hadith to one another, for its life is its remembrance."

Ibrahim al-Nakha`i said:

"Whoever is pleased with memorizing hadith let him narrate it to others, even to those who have no inkling for it. When he does this, the hadith will be like a book in his breast."

Al-Zuhri used to read back the hadiths he had memorized to his slave-girl and the beduins in his land. Ibn `Abbas would say to Sa`id ibn Jubayr:

"O Sa`id! Narrate." Sa`id replied: "I, narrate in your presence?" Ibn `Abbas replied: "If you make a mistake I will let you know."

`Ali ibn al-Madini said:

"Six men would almost take leave of their minds upon hadith repetition: Yahya [ibn Ma`in], `Abd al-Rahman [ibn Mahdi], Waki` [ibn al-Jarrah], [Sufyan] Ibn `Uyayna, Abu Dawud, and `Abd al-Razzaq - due to their ardent love of it. One night, Waki` and `Abd al-Rahman rehearsed hadith together in the Holy Sanctuary and did not stop until the caller to prayer raised the adhân of fajr."

`Ali ibn al-Hasan ibn Shaqiq said:

"I was with `Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak in the mosque on a cold winter night and we rose to leave. When we reached the door he reminded me of a hadith and I reminded him of another. We did not stop reminding each other until the caller to prayer came and raised the morning adhân." fn26