Truly, we were the beginning of this nation.  There would be men, amongst the best of the companions of the Messenger of Allah (S), who only had with them one surah or so from the Qur’an, but the Qur’an was heavy upon them and they were given the sustenance of acting according to it.  Truly, the end of this nation will have the Qur’an upon them until even the child and the non-Arab recites it, but they will not act according to it.

—’Abdullah ibn ‘Umar

(Read on pg 40-41, Imam Abu Baker Muhammad b. al-Husayn al-Ajurri, The Character of the Bearers and People of the Qur’an. Al-Quran Society. London:2002.)