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Lecture given to 2nd year students at the Kulliyah of Medicine, International Islamic University, Malaysia on Saturday 10th April 1999 by Prof Omar Hasan Kasule, Sr.
NATURE OF HUMAN MEMORY
Memory capacity & unused brain: Most humans do not develop their memory to the maximum. Most of the memory capacity is unused. With training starting very early in life, human intellectual and memory capacity can be developed to higher levels of excellence.
Types of memory: Memory can be classified on the basis of the period of information storage. Short-term memory refers to information acquired recently. Long-term memory refers to information acquired a long time ago. Implicit memory is the type of memory involved in learning a skill.
Human memory: Humans are capable of great memory. There are many examples in Muslim history to prove this. Memorization of the whole Qur’an is encouraged (Muslim #1743, 1744). Many companions of the prophet and generations of Muslims after them have committed the whole Qur'an to memory. The great scholars of hadith such as Bukhari, Ibn Hanbal, al Shafie, al Asqalani, and others committed thousands of hadiths to memory.
PROCESS OF MEMORY
Processes of memory: memorization consists of three basic processes: encoding, storage, and retrieval. Each of them can be impaired and each of them can be impaired.
Forgetting: Forgetting is loss of access and not loss of the information. A fact that may be forgotten at a certain time may be remembered later. It seems that long-term memory is not lost. It is access to it that becomes difficult. The Qur'an in many verses discussed the various types of forgetting (p. 1218 2;44, 2:106, 2:237, 2:282, 5:1.3, 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 was the first human to forget (p 40 20:115). The worst form of forgetting is that of the signs of Allah, nisyan ayat al llah (p 51 20:126).. Humans forget and are not punished for it (2:286). Forgetting being natural and human occurs in acts of ibadat such as salat (MB# 366 p 212, Muslim #1159, 1161, 1162, 1163, 1164, 1165, 1166, 1168, 1175, 1176, 1177, 1179, 1180, 1181, 1182, 1184, 1187, 1188) and sawm (MB# 940 p 445, Muslim #2575). The Law has specified remedies for such acts of forgetting such as the prostration for forgetting in salat, sujuud al sahaw (MB# 631 p 317). Shaitan is the cause of forgetting (p. 1219 6:68, 12:42, 58:19, 18:63). Forgetting as a type of negligence (p. 869 6:131 … 51:11). Rememberance of Allah, dhikr Allah, cures forgetfulness (p. 1218-19 18:24). Forgetting can be prevented by constant reminding of facts (2:282, 51:55, 80:3, 87:9). This is indeed the secret behind the repetitions found in the Qur'an. Important facts and concepts are repeated in several chapters to make sure that they are retained.
IMPROVEMENT OF MEMORY
Memory can be improved in three ways: dua, repetition, and reminding. The Prophet prayed for Abu Huraira's memory and anybody can ask Allah for better memory. The prophet prayed for Abu Huraira’s memory and Allah answered the prayer. Abu Huraira’s memory was prodigious (MB# 100 p 103). He memorized a lot of hadith, being the reporter of the the biggest number of hadiths among the companions (KS p. 59). Abu Huraira had a systematic methodology of memorization (KS p. 59).
Repetition helps retention of information. The Prophet used to repeat everything he said three times to ensure proper encoding (MB # 82 p 95).
The Qur'an has used the term reminding more in a moral sense (6:68-69, 6:90, 7:2, 11:114, 11:120, 19:67, 21:84, 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). This is understandable because attitude and commitment are necessary for memorization. A lot of forgetfulness in a result of neglect.