There was once a great scholar, Hazrat Allamah Kashmiri (rahimahumullah). He had such a memory that he could remember whatever he read, maybe even after twenty years. So once Mufti Kifayatullah (rahimahumullah), he was speaking to his students and then he asked a question. “Can you tell me how Anwar Shah Kashmiri became such a big scholar?”
Someone said that he was very intelligent. The other one replied that he was a big scholar of Quran. Someone said he was a big scholar of Hadith. One said he was a good poet.
But Mufti Kifayatullah kept quiet. Then the students asked him, “Hazrat, can you tell us how he achieved these heights and became such a big scholar?” Mufti Kifayatullah (rahimahumullah) replied that once this question was asked from Allama Anwar Shah Kashmiri (rahimahumullah) himself as to how he became such a big scholar?
He replied that he had a lot of adab and respect for the books of knowledge. The questioner responded by saying that everyone makes adab of this knowledge. Allama Anwar Shah Kashmiri (rahimahumullah explained: “I never touched any Islamic book without wudhu. And if I used to put the books, one on the other, I used to take care of their ranks. For example, I never put any book of Hadith on Quran. I never put any book of Fiqh on Hadith. I never put any book of History on the book of Fiqh. So even on placing the books I used to take care of their ranks.”
Allahu Akbar! So because he had a lot of adab for the books, Allah gave him such a beneficial knowledge, he had such a power of memorization that he remembered whatever he read even after twenty years of his life.
This is how he became such a renowned scholar.