Question
So my parents are people who believe I and my siblings should memorize the Quran, however I don’t know a word of Arabic, much less olden day Arabic. And whenever they talk about (it appears to look more like boasting, really) a child of a friend of theirs who “finished” the Quran, they look toward my siblings and I and tell us we should do the same. I’m perfectly capable of “finshing” reading the Quran, so long as it’s written in a language I understand. I don’t see what’s wrong with that. I feel like I’m learning nothing if I just memorize it and that’s it, especially lengthy surahs. I mean I memorized certain decently lengthed surahs for prayer, but my parents think just memorizing it will be enough.
Answer
People have different values they place on a variety of things. For many, completing the recitation of the Qur’an is an accomplishment, to others memorizing is significant, while others feel that understanding is of utmost importance.
Whatever the value your family places on memorization, what should be kept in mind is that reciting the Qur’an and getting in touch with the Almighty is a personal thing. Memorization or reading without understanding what is being read would fall short of getting the full experience of the Qur’anic message. It is granted that learning Arabic could be difficult for some people but if one truly wants to give more meaning to prayer and their overall connection with God and His message then learning the subject and context of the verses recited would be of great benefit. This doesn’t mean that one cannot memorize verse but that eventually the person should start learning what they have memorized.
If it bothers you that your parents seem swayed by the pride of others, then you could always have a conversation and inform them that you want a deeper connection and profound experience; something that merely memorizing words simply does not do.
The Qur’an constantly reminds that its message is to be pondered. How can people comply when they don’t even know what they are being told? Lastly, it is important to note that there is no religious obligation to memorizing or completing the recitation of the Qur’an. The same is true for understanding but then that would render a large part of one’s faith meaningless. With the Qur’an being translated and interpreted in practically every language in the world, it would nearly take an effort not to comprehend it, even if it is just a surface understanding of the message.
God knows best.