Qur'an

Giving one's own interpretation of the Quraan Majeed

Q: I went to visit a family member. They had some notes lying around. They told me they were going to do a tafseer class. I read over the notes and found some very strange explanation of the Quraan. 

When I looked in the tafeer, I noticed the notes were from Ma'ariful Quraan but they had added their own interpretation trying to say a Surah is promoting Dunya. 

Will a person who twists the tafseer to suit him be a kafir or what will his status be?

Playing the Quraan in the home with the intention of protection and bringing barakah in the home

Q: My question is with regards to the Qur'aan cube/speaker. Is it permissible to keep the Quraan playing in the home while cooking, doing mundane daily tasks and leaving the Quraan playing while being in another room? Is this disrespectful to the Quraan Shareef or can it be done with the intention of protection and bringing barakah in the home?

Learning and understanding the Quraan

Q: I know that being a Hafiz-e-Quran has virtues, and there is a sahih hadith that says their parents will be crowned on the day of judgement. There is also a weak hadith that mentions they will intercede for ten relatives on the Day of Qiyamah. Despite this hadith being weak, Ulama have said that a Hafiz-e-Quran still has virtues and might intercede and they will go to Jannatul Firdaus.

I want to do hifz because I want Jannatul Firdaus, but I am 26 and struggle to memorize things. It is also very challenging to do hifz in today's busy schedule, where we work 9 to 5 or run businesses, and also have to pray five times a day and give time to family. In this case, what if we don't do hifz but instead learn essential Quranic Arabic words and grammar to understand the Qur'an in Arabic, and study reliable tafsir under a scholar like Tafsir Ibn Kathir or Bayan ul Quran?

Who has more virtues: a Hafiz-e-Quran or a person who is a non aalim but understands the Qur'an, knows what is written in it, is familiar with the seerah of Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam), and the stories of all the Prophets (qasas ul ambiyaa), and many other things? Can such a person who is not aalim and Hafiz but has the above mentioned knowledge go to Jannatul Firdaus and have virtues equal to a Hafiz-e-Quran or less or more?