Meet Al-Hafiz Mohammad Abdulmohaimen Campong, a Bangsamoro boy who managed to memorize the entire Holy Qur’an at the age of five (5).
Hafiz is the title given to a Muslim who wholeheartedly memorized the holy book which has 114 Surahs (chapters) and 6,236 verses from the Qur’an (comprising some 80,000 words).
Mohammad is a son of Sheikh Abdulmohaimen Abdulrahman Campong, a Maguindanaon who is currently earning his master’s degree in Arabic Language at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt. He is also a grandson of one of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founders, Abukhalil Yahya Abdulrahman Campong Rahimahullah.
His remarkable achievement of completely memorizing the Holy Qur’an at a very young age was announced by his father through a Facebook post on August 9, 2022. His father was an instrument for this feat.
In an interview with BIO’s Pasada Alasyete, Sheikh Campong shared that he always read the Qur’an to his pregnant wife.
“When my wife was six months pregnant with him (Mohammad), it has been my practice to read Qu’ran near his mother’s belly before and during sleeping, and when she wakes up. This became a routine until my wife gave birth to him,” Campong said in Filipino.
He further shared, “until he was growing up, he cannot sleep without listening to somebody reading the Qur’an. When he was three years old, I was surprised to learn that he was already able to memorize the Suratul Baqarah (the longest chapter of the Holy Qur’an) and Suratul Al-Imran. I continuously taught him to love and learn the Qu’ran by heart.”
Campong said he sometimes notice his kid crying while reading the holy book.
“When I asked him why was he crying, he just answered he didn’t know, that he cannot explain his feeling. He said he just felt happy and elated whenever he reads the Quran,” he explained.
Memorizing the Qur’an wholeheartedly has been a practice since the early days of Islam. It was a way of preserving the true essence and the complete message of the religion.
Even in this digital age, where storing large amount of data on memory chips is easy, millions of Muslims around the world continue to learn the Qur’an by heart and have kept the tradition of becoming a Hafiz.
According to Uthman bin Affan, Prophet Mohamad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “The best of you are those who learn the Quran and teach it.”
Accordingly, parents who encourage their child to memorize Qur’an gets immense blessings from Allah.
Someone who memorizes Quran benefits themselves, the whole Islamic population (Ummah), and their parents. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: “Whoever recites the Qur’an, learns it, and acts according to it will be given a crown of light to wear on the Day of Judgement whose light will be like the sun. His parents will be clothed in two garments that did not exist in this worldly life.” (Al-Hakim, Ath-Thahabe)
According to hadith, some benefits of memorizing the Qur’an include:
1. He takes precedence over others in leading the prayer.
3. He takes precedence in leadership if he able to bear that.
4. The status of the one who memorizes the Qur’an will be commensurate with the last ayah (verse) he memorized.
5. He will be with the angels, accompanying them.
6. He will be given a crown of honor and a garment of honor to wear in the hereafter.
7. The Qur’an will intercede for him with his Lord. (Kasan Usop, Jr./BIO)
