Imam Bilal Malik
By age 10, Imam Bilal Malik had memorized the Quran.
His desire to earn the highly respected honor of Hafiz — the Arabic term for someone who has memorized the Quran — stemmed from sibling rivalry. His older brother achieved the same honor when he was 12 years old.
“It was more like a competition,” Malik recalled in an interview Wednesday. His motivations for study have changed, but the holy book remains an integral part of his life.