Maintain and Sustain the Brain

Muftī Ismail Moosa (may Allāh Ta’ālā preserve him)

Whilst some people have been naturally gifted with great mental acumen and good retentive abilities, Allāh Ta’ālā made it such that every person can enhance his/her intellect and improve his memory.

Ways to Enhance the Memory

Studying the lives of the leading narrators of Aḥādītḥ and the advanced scholars of the past, we derived a few practices which they inculcated to strengthen their memories:

If we cannot bear hunger, at the very least, we should ensure not to overeat.

If we cannot eat healthy food, then we should at least cut down on foods that harm our mental strength. We should minimize consuming processed and fried food, sugary drinks, carbohydrates and other such foods that are detrimental to one’s intelligence and health in general. We should also avoid eating Ḥarām, for that causes the most mental harm.

Other Methods

Together with these apparent means, Allāh Ta’ālā divinely assists a person to understand and remember, and Allāh Ta’ālā also deprives people from attaining knowledge. There are a few methods to attain the divine help of Allāh Ta’ālā and attract blessings directly from the Almighty. These are:

If we cannot respect ‘Ilm and honour our teachers, then at the very least, we should not show any disrespect.

4)           Imploring Allāh Ta’ālā and asking Him. Allah Ta’ālā has power over everything, and Allāh Ta’ālā can also work in contrast to means and against means. It therefore goes without saying that if we ask from Him, then He will bless us.

TWO SUPPLICATIONS

• A very potent practice is reciting the following between Maghrib and ‘Ishā:

اللّٰهُمّ صَلّ وَ سَلِّمْ وَ بارِكْ عَلىٰ سَيِّدِنا مُحَمَّدٍ وَّآلِهِ كَما لا نِهايَةَ لِكَمالِكَ وَ عَدَدَ كَمالِهِ

Allāhumma ṣalli wa sallim wa bārik ‘alā sayyidinā Muḥammad, wa ālihi kamā lā nihāyata likamālika wa ‘adada kamālihi.