Is Memorizing and Completing a Recitation of the Qur’an Fard or Sunna?

Question

Is it obligatory (fard ‘ayn) for every person to recite or listen to the Holy Qur’an in full (a complete khatm) at least once in his lifetime, or is it a confirmed sunna (sunna mu’akkada)?

Answer

Memorizing the Qur’an by heart is not fard ‘ayn but fard kifaya (a collective obligation). Reciting or listening to it in tarawih every year is a confirmed sunna (sunna mu’akkada). And completing a full recitation (khatm) once every forty (40) days is mustahabb (recommended). So it is stated in “al-Durr al-Mukhtar” and “al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya”.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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