Memorizing sacred texts

Having a contest where Muslims who don’t speak Arabic, memorize the Qur’an first appeared to be pointless. The participants were asked a question in which they had to recite the Qur’an verbatim. In order to receive full points during the competition, they had to properly pronounce each word, as well as, use certain vocal regions to express certain words. Reading Islam and the Arab Awakening has bought to life that certain sacred text’s original medium of expression was oral. Therefore, there are some aspects of the text that are best left orally transmitted. This helped me to recognize the necessity of reciting the Qur’an. Now I believe that it is necessary to send out a reciter when distributing copies of the Qur’an. I say this because the pronunciation seems to be what unifies the Muslim community. Often times, it is how the Muslim learns what is exactly mentioned in the Qur’an (and is able to recount it) as well and the interpretive meaning. Also, Islam and the Arab Awakening reminded me that there are many illiterate societies. Through oral transmission, an illiterate person can recognize the aesthetics of the text from the tajwid and attempt to memorize it. I have also recognized that oral transmission of a sacred text can bring a community together, as opposed to just an individual scholarship that brings revelations to just him or herself.