I am almost 40 years old and want to do Hifz al Quran. Can I still do iteven this late in life?

The position of a Hafiz in the sight of Allah is indeed very high and lofty. His heart is actually chosen by Allah to preserve the Qur'aan. His mind is illuminated with the brightness of the Qur'aan, his heart is perfumed with the fragrance of the Qur'aan.

For every alphabet of the Qur'aan he had recited, he earned a minimum of ten rewards. The maximum reward is best known by Allah. The Qur'aan has 6666 verses. Every verse has many alphabets. Imagine the number of alphabets a Haafiz recites. On an average os 3 alphabets per verse a Haafiz will recite approximately, 20 000 (twenty thousand) alphabets in the entire Qur'aan. That multiplied by ten rewards per alphabet is 200 000 (two hundred thousand). In the course of memorising the Qur'aan, a Haafiz makes great sacrifices. He recites one verse very many times. If he had recited one verse at least 10 times, the reward of completing the Qur'aan only once will be two million. Imagine how many times thereafter, a Haafiz recites the Qur' aan, how many Taraawees he performs, the rewards of all that is far beyond our very limited comprehension. Probably, mathematival figures will be exhausted but not the infinite rewards of Allah Ta'ala for a Haafizul Qur' aan. In conclusion, consider the following Ahaadith:
Hadhrat Abdullah ibn Amr (Radhiallaahu Anhu) narrates that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) will say to a Haafiz (upon his death and on the day of Qiyaamat) 'Recite the Qur'aan and (upon reciting each Verse) climb (a stage in Jannah) and continue reciting as you used to in the world as your abode in Jannah is upon the last verse you recite.' (Mishkaat vol.1 pg.186; Me'raaj)

Obviously, the Hafiz will stop at the last verse of the Qur'aan. The commentators of Hadith have stated that the highest abode in Jannah is equivalent to the number of verses in the Qur'aan. Therefore, upon completing the recitation of the Qur'aan, a Haafiz will be in highest abode of Jannah.

Mu'aadh al-Juhani narrates that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) said, 'Whosoever recites the Qur'aan and practices upon its injunctions, the reciter's parents will be given a crown on the day of Qiyaamat. The brightness of that crown will be more intense than the brightness of the sun in your actual house.' Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) further said, 'What do you think will be given to the Hafiz (reciter) of the Qur'aan himself?' (Ibid).

and Allah Ta'ala Knows Best

Mufti Ebrahim Desai
FATWA DEPT.