from the scholars, and he should take that knowledge with calm deliberation, not with undue haste; for when a person rushes to learn, he may receive the lesson in a form other than that intended by his teacher. Allah taught the Prophet ﷺ this very etiquette when He said: “Do not move your tongue with it to hasten it. It is for Us to collect it and recite it. So when We have recited it, follow its recitation” (75:16–18). The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to hasten to repeat the Qur’an as Gabriel was conveying it to him, so Allah said, “Do not move your tongue with it to hasten it,” meaning: do not move your tongue—even quietly—until Gabriel has completed the recitation; only then recite it yourself.

Allah continues: “So when We have recited it, follow its recitation; then it is for Us to make it clear” (75:18–19). The Lord, exalted is He, guaranteed to clarify it, assuring the Prophet that he would not forget it. Ordinarily, one might expect that if someone remains silent until a reciter finishes, he could forget some phrases, yet Allah said, “Then it is for Us to explain it.”

Part of sincere counsel to the scholars of the Muslims is that a person should not track down their slips, lapses, and mistakes, for they are not infallible. They may err, and every child of Adam is prone to error; the best of those who err are those who repent. In particular, the student of knowledge ought to be the most forbearing toward the mistakes of his teacher while still advising him about them. Many a scholar has benefited from his pupils when they alerted him to some scholarly oversight, a practical misstep, or a host of other errors—for a human being is only human.

What is essential, however, is that one must not be eager to collect such slips, for the hadith states: “O community who have believed with their tongues while faith has not yet entered their hearts, do not …”