—the Most High, the Most Great. O Abū al-Ḥasan, do this for three Fridays, or five, or seven; by Allah’s permission your request will be fulfilled. By Him Who sent me with the truth, no believer has ever been mistaken in this matter.”

What, then, is the authenticity of this ḥadīth? If it is sound, at what time on Friday should this prayer be performed? Is it permissible for a person who has not memorised the Qur’an to carry a muṣḥaf during the prayer and read from it while looking at it? Likewise, may the supplication be written on a sheet of paper and read from that sheet during the prayer? What is the best point within the prayer for making supplication? And if the ḥadīth is not authentic, is there a correct and beneficial method of memorising the Qur’an so that it will not slip from one’s heart?

Answer: First, as for the ḥadīth you mentioned, it was related by Imām al-Tirmidhī in his Jāmiʿ, in the Book of Supplications, and he said: “This ḥadīth is ḥasan gharīb; we do not know it except through the report of al-Walīd ibn Muslim.” Ibn Kathīr then said: “Its strangeness—indeed its reprehensibility—is obvious; and Allah knows best.”

Shaykh Muḥammad Rashīd Riḍā commented: “Its style is the style of fabricated reports, not the style of the most eloquent of humankind, Muḥammad ﷺ and ʿAlī (may Allah be pleased with him), nor the style of their era.”

Accordingly, I do not advise you to act upon this ḥadīth in view of what has been said about it. As for the practical means that will make the Qur’an remain firm in your breast, you must recite it frequently and review it constantly, for the Prophet ﷺ urged us to keep revisiting this Qur’an and said, “It slips away faster than a hobbled camel.” Therefore, recite it often and repeat it,