Chapter: The Obligation to Maintain the Quran and the Warning Against Allowing It to Be Forgotten

1002 – Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said, “Maintain this Quran, for by the One in whose hand Muhammad’s soul rests, it slips away faster than a tethered camel when its hobble is undone.” Agreed upon.

1003 – Ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with them) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “The example of the person who possesses the Quran is that of a camel that is tied: if he watches over it, he keeps hold of it; but if he lets it go, it escapes.” Agreed upon.

[Commentary]
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) includes in Riyadh al-Salihin this chapter on the duty to review the Quran regularly and the warning against exposing it to forgetfulness. In other words, once Allah, exalted is He, blesses you to memorize His Book, you must keep revisiting it. For, as the Prophet ﷺ likened it, the Noble Quran is like a camel bound by its tether: when a person continually attends to it, he retains it, but if he releases it, it slips away.