Memory is naima'h of allah.so
one sholud be thankful for it:one should preserve it as every muslim is student
of knowledge from his mother lap to the lap of his grave
It is human nature to be forgetful, as the Arab poet said:
“He is only called man (insaan) because of his forgetfulness (nasiyaan), and it
is only called the heart (al-qalb) because it changes so rapidly (yataqallib).”
In the past they said that the first one to forget (awwal naasin) was the first
man (awwal al-naas), meaning Adam, peace be upon him. Forgetfulness is something
that varies from person to person according to each individual’s nature; some
may be more forgetful than others. Some of the things that may help to combat
forgetfulness are the following:
1. Keeping away from sin, because the bad effects of sin result in a bad memory
and the inability to retain knowledge. The darkness of sin cannot co-exist with
the light of knowledge. The following words were attributed to al-Shaafi‘ee, may
Allah have mercy on him:
knowledge of Allah is light, and the light of Allah is not given to the sinner.”
Al-Khateeb reported in al-Jaami‘ (2/387) that Yahya ibn Yahya said: “A man asked
Maalik ibn Anas, ‘O Abu ‘Abd-Allah! Is there anything that will improve my
memory?’ He said, ‘If anything will improve it, it is giving up sin.’”
When a person commits a sin, it overwhelms him and this leads to anxiety and
sorrow which keeps him busy thinking about what he has done. This dulls his
senses and distracts him from many beneficial things, including seeking
knowledge.
2. Frequently remembering Allah, may He be glorified, by reciting dhikr, tasbeeh
(saying ‘Subhan Allah’), tahmeed (‘Al-hamdu Lillaah’), tahleel (‘Laa ilaaha
ill-Allah’) and takbeer (‘Allahu akbar’), etc. Allah says (interpretation of the
meaning): “…And remember your Lord when you forget…” [Qur’an al-Kahf 18:24]
3. Not eating too much, because eating too much makes one sleep too much and
become lazy, and it dulls the senses, besides exposing one to the risk of
physical diseases. Most of the diseases which we see result from food and drink.
4. Some of the scholars have mentioned certain foods which increase the memory,
such as drinking honey and eating raisins and chewing certain kinds of gum
resin.
Imaam al-Zuhree said: “You should eat honey because it is good for the memory.”
He also said: “Whoever wants to memorize hadeeth should eat raisins.” (From al-Jaami‘
by al-Khateeb, 2/394)
Ibraaheem ibn [sth. omitted] said, “You should chew resin gum, because it gives
energy to the heart and gets rid of forgetfulness.” (From al-Jaami‘ by al-Khateeb,
2/397)
As they mentioned, too much acidic food is one of the causes of laziness and
weak memory.
5. Another thing that can help the memory and reduce forgetfulness is cupping (hijaamah)
of the head, as is well known from experience. (For more information see Al-Tibb
al-Nabawi by Ibn al-Qayyim). And Allah knows best.