What is the ruling on one who memorized something from the Holy Quran or the Beautiful Names of Allah, then forgot it or part of it due to a weak memory, and will Allah punish for that?
A Muslim should not say "I forgot" concerning what has slipped from his memory of the Quran he had memorized. Rather, he should say "I was made to forget" (أُنسيت) or "I was caused to forget" (نُسّيت), based on the Prophet's (peace be upon him) saying: "How evil it is for one of them to say, 'I forgot such and such a verse.' Rather, he was made to forget." Scholars differed regarding the ruling on forgetting the Quran after memorizing it. The most apparent view is that it is neither a major sin nor a minor sin, but rather a misfortune or a punishment. This usually occurs due to turning away from acting upon it and not regularly reviewing it. However, if the forgetting is due to a weakness in memory, then there is no blame on him, but he should consistently strive to strengthen it through frequent recitation and reading. The two narrations stating that forgetting the Quran is among the major sins are not authentic.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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