Think of the Human Memory as a Garden

Your Brain Is a Hidden Garden—And Forgetting Is Its Magic

Imagine your mind as a vast garden: every memory, idea, and sensation is a seed. Forgetting isn’t loss, it’s the gardener, clearing space so the most vital thoughts can grow. Neuroscience shows this pruning keeps the brain flexible and resilient, while the Qur’an hints at a deeper layer, a central register where nothing truly disappears. In this hidden garden, every moment of your life is preserved, ready to bloom when the time is right.

Forgetting helps us live better, neuroscientists say. In reality, oblivion is a survival strategy: the brain forgets to protect us, to help us move forward. In a sense, today we are all “surviving”, flooded with information, images, and sounds that saturate our minds until it seems to stop.

Imagine a suitcase already full, which you insist on overpacking. Eventually, nothing else fits. That’s how our mind works. Forgetting is an active process that frees up space, allowing the brain to select what truly matters.

The great German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus discovered this in the 19th century: memory doesn’t fade randomly but follows a predictable rhythm. We forget about half of what we learn within the first hour, and the loss continues more slowly thereafter. Our capacity to retain information is therefore limited.

So, how can we train the memory?

In the Qur’an, I found a verse that strikes me deeply: "And We have certainly made the Qur’an easy to remember. So is there anyone who will be mindful?" (Surah Al-Qamar, 54:17)

But if we forget so easily, why does Allah say that every movement we make is recorded in a single register?

Interpretations of the Qur’an are infinite, yet this theme fascinates me. It’s as if we live within a drawing that emerges on paper, where only the outline appears, while the essence remains on the canvas.

Science confirms that forgetting helps us survive, but it doesn’t fully explain where the rest goes: all that we record and then “lose.”

Neuroscience tells us that every memory arises from an encounter with the world: a glance, a voice, a smell, a sensation. At that moment, if the brain pays attention, it encodes the experience, transforming scattered stimuli into neural traces. And then—is it lost?

No.

There is a central register. We are only the outline, the smear, the drawing that emerges on the canvas. When I paint, I often make a mess. But in the end, only what is meant to appear remains. The colors used earlier do not disappear, but they persist in the depth of the painting, even if unseen.

This is why, when people die, many report seeing all the moments of their life flash by like a film, like a collection of slides from birth to death.

This aligns perfectly with the verse:"And everything they did is in written records."(Surah Al-Qamar, 54:52)

Plato’s thought also resonates with Qur’anic texts. He said the soul existed before entering the human body and contemplated the Ideas, eternal and perfect truths of the intelligible world. When the soul incarnates, it forgets these truths. But it does not lose them entirely; they remain as latent memories, which can be “reactivated” through reflection, philosophy, and experience.

For Plato, then, knowing means remembering what the soul already knew. Memory is thus not just a psychological process but a metaphysical one: a bridge between the sensible world and the world of Ideas.

Interestingly, this idea of “latent knowledge” also resonates in modern psychology and neuroscience. Today, we speak of implicit memory—traces of experiences that remain in the brain even without conscious awareness.

In contemporary terms, it is as if Plato intuited that not everything we forget is lost—a vision that echoes even the Qur’anic concept of a universal register or the idea of quantum memory in matter.

There is undoubtedly a single Creator, the engine of everything that happens inside and outside us. Otherwise, why would Allah provide guidance to exercise our memory and keep our minds alive?

Studies show that reading and memorizing the Qur’an activates brain areas related to memory, language, and higher cognitive functions. Qur’anic recitation nourishes the soul while training the brain to remember, focus, and stay alert. 100 Millions of people are listening Qur`an to sleep.

Neuroscientific research shows that Qur’anic recitation, especially with tarteel (slow, measured rhythm), induces calm brain states similar to meditation. EEG recordings show increased alpha and theta waves, associated with relaxation, focus, and improved memory.

Listening to the Qur’an has also been linked to reduced cortisol levels, the stress hormone, which benefits emotional and physiological health: lower anxiety, better sleep, and improved emotional stability.

During recitation, breathing slows and heart rate regularizes, signs of parasympathetic nervous system activation and higher heart rate variability (HRV)—an indicator of psychological resilience.

Cognitively, regular reciters show improvements in working memory, attention, and verbal fluency. Studies on Qur’anic learning suggest that the rhythmic and melodic structure of verses stimulates brain areas linked to auditory and linguistic memory.

In short, Qur’anic recitation not only promotes spiritual well-being but also serves as a natural neurocognitive workout, enhancing emotional balance and brain function.

 ·  Al-Galal, S. A., & Alshaikhli, I. F. (2017). Analyzing brainwaves while listening to Quranic recitation compared with listening to music based on EEG signals. International Journal on Perceptive and Cognitive Computing

·  Muchtar Hanafi, A. R., Wiyono, N., Mirawati, D. K., & colleghi. (2022). The effect of listening to Holy Quran recitation on stress among healthy adults: a non-blinded randomized controlled trial. Universa Medicina.

·  The effect of listening to Holy Quran recitation on inflammatory markers in hemodialysis patients in Iran: a randomized clinical trial. (2024). [Journal details].

. Perchè dimentichiamo. Una scienza dell`Oblio, Sergio Della Sala

. Menone e Fedone, Platone