Hadith 789
حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ يَحْيَى، قَالَ قَرَأْتُ عَلَى مَالِكٍ عَنْ نَافِعٍ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " إِنَّمَا مَثَلُ صَاحِبِ الْقُرْآنِ كَمَثَلِ الإِبِلِ الْمُعَقَّلَةِ إِنْ عَاهَدَ عَلَيْهَا أَمْسَكَهَا وَإِنْ أَطْلَقَهَا ذَهَبَتْ " .
'Abdullah b. 'Umar reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:
The example of a man who has memorised the Qur'an is like that of a hobbled camel. If he remained vigilant, he would be able to retain it (with him), and if he loosened the hobbled camel it would escape.
Reference : Sahih Muslim 789a
In-book reference : Book 6, Hadith 267
USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 4, Hadith 1722