until it becomes firmly lodged in your breast, whether during the prayer or outside it; for there are only two means of safeguarding the Qur’an:

1. Frequent recitation.
2. Putting the Qur’an into practice, for acting upon it makes it settle in the heart and easy to recall. This is my counsel to you.

As for writing out specific supplications on a sheet of paper, then reading from that sheet while praying, I do not advise you to do that. Supplicate with whatever you know and have memorised, without burdening yourself with writing and reading, because such preoccupation distracts you from the prayer.

Reading from a muṣḥaf is permissible when a person has not memorised anything of the Qur’an. Some of the early generations allowed it, and it is the position of a group of scholars. Therefore, if someone cannot recite from memory—because he has nothing memorised—or wishes, for example, to perform the night prayer (tahajjud) and would like to recite at length, there is no harm. The same applies to the Tarawih prayer: if he has not memorised the Qur’an, it is permissible for him to read from the muṣḥaf out of necessity.

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Reciting the Noble Qur’an

Question: I am a person who loves to read the Noble Qur’an a great deal, yet I do not recite it well with respect to the stops, the proper pauses, the elongations, and the like. At times I mispronounce certain words, although I understand their meanings—that is, the meaning is not altered—and I strive hard to improve. Sometimes, however, I read words