Hafz

Hafz, also transliterated as hafiz or hifz, is an Arabic term from the root ḥ-f-ẓ meaning to preserve or memorize. In Islamic usage, hafz refers to the memorization of the Qur'an in its entirety; a person who has achieved this is commonly called a hafiz, with hafz sometimes used as a shortened form of the title. The term is widely used across Arabic-speaking regions and in South Asia, the Middle East, and parts of Africa, and it also appears as a personal name or honorific.

The Arabic noun hafiz derives from the active participle of hafz, and in Urdu, Persian, Turkish and related languages it is written حافظ (pronounced hafiz or hafız). As a given name or surname, Hafiz or Hafz appears in many Muslim communities and may be used honorifically or descriptively.

Becoming a hafiz typically involves years of study in a madrasa or under a qualified teacher, memorizing the entire Qur'an and often learning tajweed, the rules of proper pronunciation and recitation. After successful completion, the individual is addressed as Hafiz [Name], and the achievement is valued in religious, educational and community contexts. In many Muslim cultures, a hafiz may play an important role in teaching and leading recitations at mosques and during Qur'anic schools.

There is potential for confusion with Hafs, a name associated with one of the canonical Qur'an recitations (the transmission style known as Hafs ‘an Asim). Hafs is a different concept from hafz as memorization, though the terms are sometimes encountered together in discussions of Qur'anic memorization and transmission.

See also: Hifz, Qur'an memorization, Hafiz (name), Qira'at.