Narrated Aisha: The Prophet (saw) said, “Such a person as recites the Quran and masters it by heart, will be with the noble righteous scribes (in Heaven). And such a person exerts himself to learn the Quran by heart, and recites it with great difficulty, will have a double reward.” ~ Sahih al-Bukhari
In addition to spiritual benefits and rewards, memorizing the Quran can also bring many other health benefits from mental health to physical health. Here’s a list of five health benefits you can experience, Insha’Allah, on your Quran memorization journey.
#1: Memorizing can help increase your memory space
Memorizing is like mental gymnastics. The more you repeat the thing you want to learn, the stronger the connection between neurons and the brain become. In turn, your brain increases its memory capacity, taking it beyond its previous capacity and duration to remember. Think of it like upgrading your memory chip from 16GB to 128GB just by memorizing the Quran.
So as you memorize the Quran, you’re actually increasing your brain’s capacity to memorize even more! Regular memorization will also strengthen your memory muscle in general, so maybe next time you won’t forget where you left your keys
#2: Memorizing can make you smarter
A lot of people mistakenly think that memorizing is not ‘real learning’ as they believe learning should encompass more than just what you can remember and regurgitate. While it is true that learning should also include understanding and context, it does not mean that memorizing doesn’t have a place in the learning process.
Neurobiologists believe remembering facts or texts can make your brain more quick and agile. This helps us to build the foundations of higher thought because we are more quickly able to recall facts required for complex thought or problem-solving.
#3: Building a working memory helps us learn new things and stimulates creativity
Memorizing builds a ‘working memory’ that helps us hold enough information in our mind to make sense of new information coming in. Research by Weber State University found that students with underdeveloped short-term memory struggled to master concepts in math and reading.
Working memory is important for creativity. Dutch researchers found people with a higher working memory capacity could perform more creatively. However, under cognitive load that decreases working memory, they performed worse on a creative insight task.
