"Should I Memorize the Quran or Seek Knowledge?"

Some beloved people ask this question. The answer: The Quran itself is knowledge! And this is how Allah the Almighty named it when He said to our Prophet (peace be upon him): (And if you follow their desires after the knowledge has come to you, you will have no protector or helper from Allah) and in other verses. What came to the Prophet from knowledge is the Quran. So it is not said: the Quran or knowledge. Rather, the Quran is the head of sciences and its key, and they are its explanation and elaboration. But the question remains: I know that the ideal situation is to be able to memorize the Quran while seeking the minimum of sciences that a Muslim needs to remove ignorance from himself and practice da'wah with insight, but with the conditions of study or work and life responsibilities, the time I can allocate is limited, so should I enable my memorization of the Quran, or should I prioritize studying Tafsir, Hadith, Fiqh, or other religious sciences? And the balance I advise my brothers and sisters in this case is: Memorize the Quran primarily so that you do not miss the places of the verses, even if you may not be able to distinguish their endings (and Allah is Knowing, Wise), (Verily, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise), and do not remember their order, and during and after that, give priority to what follows:

1. Contemplating the verses and reflecting on them and reading the interpretation of what is hidden in their meaning from you.

2. Developing the skill of reasoning so that whenever you face a situation or encounter a dispute or a question or a doubt is raised to you or you want to prove yourself or advise others, you can recall the appropriate verse for the occasion. And this is very important, indeed it is the most important purpose. 3. Memorize some Surahs at least to enable you to vary in reading in prayer, varying that helps you in humility, and to read them in transportation and times of spiritual thirst for the revelation of Allah the Almighty and the times that are often wasted by those whose hearts are empty of the Quran in scattered thoughts and perhaps even whispers. And I see this as more important than focusing on enabling memorization, which often ends with its people in lethargy. - With emphasis, of course, on the necessity of adhering to a daily portion of the Quran, for it is the life of the hearts as water is to plants. - If someone says: What I mentioned above is too much and time is tight, the answer: Consider how much time is wasted daily in "chatting" and scattered materials on social media and WhatsApp, which leave you thirsty, so you waste another time in complaining about chest tightness and feeling lost! ...Consider and you will find that you have time. - And Allah the Almighty knows best. Eyad Qanibi