Home 
Contact 
Profile 
Videos 
Lecture to 2nd year medical students on 18th March 2000 at the Kulliyah of Medicine, International Islamic University, Kuantan by Professor Omar Hasan Kasule sr.
OUTLINE
1.0 NATURE OF HUMAN MEMORY
A. Memory Capacity
B. Types Of Memory
C. Neurological basis of memory
D. Cognitive basis of memory
E. Divine basis of memory
2.0 PROCESS OF MEMORY
A. Encoding
B. Structuring
C. Organization, active and latent
D. Retrieval
E. Interpretation
3.0 DEVELOPMENT OF MEMORY
A. Early brain growth and development
B. Early challenges
C. Cognitive development
D. Emotional development
E. Psychological development
4.0 ENHANCING MEMORY
A. Dua
B. Intention and focus
C. Selection
D. Multiple sensory stimulation
E. Repetitive sensory stimulation
5.0 MEMORY DISORDERS
A. Distortion
B. Confabulation
C. Moral forgetting
D. Physical forgetting
E. Reminding
1.0 NATURE OF HUMAN MEMORY
A. MEMORY CAPACITY
Memory capacity & unused brain: Most humans do not develop their memory to the maximum. Most of the memory capacity is unused. Human memory: Humans are capable of great memory. Memorisation of the whole Qur’an is encouraged (Msulim #1743, 1744). Abu Huraira’s memory MB# 100 p 103. Prophet prayed for Abu Huraira’s memory. He memorised a lot of hadith (KS p. 59). He has reported the highest number of hadith (KS p. 59). He had a methodology for memorisation (KS p. 59).
B. TYPES OF MEMORY
SHORT-TERM MEMORY:
Short-term memory is memory of recent events. It is retained for a short time and is then forgotten. It may be filtered and structured to become part of long-term memory.
LONG-TERM:
IMPLICIT MEMORY
This is a type of memory involved in learning a skill. The human is not consciously aware of this memory
C. NEUROLOGICAL BASIS OF MEMORY
D. COGNITIVE BASIS OF MEMORY
Some items of information are not stored in the human memory but can be worked out by manipulation of known facts. This is accomplished through knowledge and understanding of inter-relationships. For example a human can use a mathematical formula to generate many facts that otherwise would have had to be memorized.
E. DIVINE BASIS OF MEMORY
Allah can give humans the capacity to remember information without active human effort. Allah reassured the prophet not to worry about forgetting the Qur’an because Allah would ensure its perfect memorization (75:16)
2.0 PROCESS OF MEMORY
A. ENCODING
B. STRUCTURING
C. ORGANIZATION, ACTIVE AND LATENT
D. RETRIEVAL
E. INTERPRETATION
3.0 DEVELOPMENT OF MEMORY
A. EARLY BRAIN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Effect of age
B. EARLY CHALLENGES
Effect of repetition
C. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
D. EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
E. PSYCHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT
4.0 ENHANCING MEMORY
A. DUA
B. INTENTION AND FOCUS
Istihfaadh kitaab al llaah 5:44
C. SELECTION
D. MULTIPLE SENSORY STIMULATION
E. REPETITIVE SENSORY STIMULATION
Improving memory: repeating 3 times to ensure encoding MB # 82 p 95
5.0 MEMORY DISORDERS
A. DISTORTION
Exaggeration
Memory decay
Dhabt al hadiith
B. CONFABULATION
Confabulations happens in the elderly who lose some memory because of the dementia and they try to make up lost bits of information to make the conversation smooth. Confabulation could also occur as a community phenomenon in folk tales, asaatwiir. He revelation was rejected by claiming that it was asaatwiir (p 105 6:25, 8:31, 16:24, 23:83, 25:5, 27:68, 46:17, 68:15, 83:13).
C. MORAL FORGETTING
Forgetting is loss of access and not loss of the information. The Qur'an in many verses discussed the various types of forgetting (2;44, 2:106, 2:237, 2:282, 5:13, 5:14, 6:41, 6:44, 7:51, 7:53, 7:165, 9:67, 16:70, 18:61, 18:63, 18:73, 19:23, 20:88, 20:115, 20:126, 22:5, 23:110, 2:18, 28:77, 32:14, 36:78, 38:26, 39:8, 4:34, 59:19, 87:6). Allah does not forget: 19:64, 20:52, 58:6. Humans forget. Adam forgot (20:115). The worst form of forgetting is that of the signs of Allah, nisyan ayat al llah (20:126). Shaitan is the cause of forgetting, moral and physical (6:68, 12:42, 58:19, 18:63). Forgetting as a type of negligence (6:131, 51:11. Rememberance of Allah, dhikr Allah, cures forgetfulness (18:24).
D. PHYSICAL FORGETTING
It seems that long-term memory is not lost. It is access to it that becomes difficult. Humans forget and are not punished for it (2:286).
Forgetting in acts of ibadat: Forgetting in salat (MB# 366 p 212, Muslim #1159, 1161, 1162, 1163, 1164, 1165, 1166, 1168, 1175, 1176, 1177, 1179, 1180, 1181, 1182, 1184, 1187, 1188). Sujuud al shaw MB# 631 p 317. Eating, drinking, or sex in Ramadhan by mistake (MB# 940 p 445, Muslim #2575).
E. REMINDING
Humans must be reminded of facts in order to retain them: 2:282, 51:55, 80:3, 87:9
Reminding in a moral sense: (6:68-69, 6:90, 7:2, 11:114, 11:120, 19:67, 21:83, 26:209, 29:51, 38:43, 38:46, 39:21, 40:54, 44:13, 47:18, 50:8, 50:37, 51:55, 74:31, 79:35, 79:43, 80:4, 87:9, 89:23)
Reminding in the physical sense: (2:283)