how to memorise the

When people ask me how long it took me to complete my hifz, I’m not really sure how to reply. I consider saying either more than ten years; or just under two years.

This is because I started memorising when I was still in primary school and would memorise at my afternoon madrasah. It continued during high school, where I would attend the hifz class they had there after school each day. So by the time I completed my schooling career, I had managed to finish about 25 ajza. However, my dhor (old lessons) was extremely weak; practically non-existent I’d say. I didn’t really know what I had memorised.

I continued to do hifz part time while studying at university (doing Islamic Studies). However, this time it was different. Previously I had just been memorising because my parents had sent me there. But now I was motivated to do this myself. I had actually wanted to do it fulltime, but my mother advised me not to.

My teacher at this hifz school was excellent, may Allah ta’ala reward him and have mercy on him, and the programme was quite rigorous. For full time students it was from eight in the morning till five in the afternoon, with a two hour break from 12:00 till 2:00. There were no holidays, except for public holidays, Ramadan, and for a short time at the end of the year. I would attend from 2:00 till 5:00 after my university lectures. When I came there I started my memorisation from the beginning again. I also had to improve my tajweed: so progress was painfully slow at first, which was difficult, but alhamdulillah, I’m grateful for it now.

I had learnt some Arabic at high school and was also learning it at university. This was a major reason in speeding up my progress in memorising, as understanding what I was reciting made it much easier to commit it to memory. Previously I had done a page a day – now I had increased it to a quarter Juz, bi fadlillah. So a year and eight months after starting at that school, I completed my hifz, alhamdulillah. I would still attend the school for about another 8 months or so to make the memorisation firm. After that there was a graduation ceremony of sorts, where I was tested on how well my hifz was.

For about a year thereafter I was just revising on my own. I had now started listening to Qur’an recitations. This was a new phase in my memorisation: I would take the recitation of a Surah, put it on my phone, and listen to it over and over and over. This took the memorisation of that Surah to another level – the ease with which I would recite was far greater than with other Surahs. I could recite it from memory without having to revise it first and without using the mus-haf. For other Surahs I would have to recite while having the mus-haf with me. I’m still busy improving my hifz in this way. So far I’ve done 17 ajza like this, alhamdulillah. Make du’a that Allah ta’ala lets me complete this soon please. Progress has been slow recently, for some reason.

When I completed my degree I wanted to go back to my shaikh to recite to him again. However, he had left the county. So I started reciting by another Egyptian Shaikh, who had learnt the different qira’at. He had previously led Taraweeh with me, and he was also one of those who had tested me at my graduation. It took about a year to recite the Qur’an to him, after which I received a sanad in the riwayah of Hafs ‘an ‘Asim.

Alhamdu lillaahil-ladhee hadaanaa li haadhaa wa maa kunnaa li nahtadiya law laa an hadaanallah - All thanks and praise is due to Allah who guided us to this; and we could never have been guided if He had not guided us.

Anonymous

I was requested to summarize my Hifdh experience. With much humility, I’ll share the journey I had in a nutshell.

My official journey of Hifdh began when I was 11 years old, two months after my parents returned from Hajj. I mentioned the latter because I personally believe that was one of the many seeds my parents had planted in result of their Hajj. At the tender age of 11, I admitted the Madressah only through their wisdom and encouragement.

I vividly remember the first day. I opened my copy of the Qur’an and gazed at the 850 pages (13-lined Quran). At that point in time, I remember saying to myself that this is an impossible task, but it’s not like I’d be doing anything better at home so I’ll give it a chance.

So one year became two years, and two years became three. These were the most fruitful years of my life in every aspect. In school, I was doing exceedingly well. In Madressah, I was on par with my lessons. However, when the 3rd year arrived, I left home schooling to attend one year if public high school. This did take a toll on my Qur’an progression. However, it worked out for the best Alhamdulillah, and I do not regret the Will of Allah.

So the fourth year arrived, when I returned to my sophomore year at home schooling, but by the second semester, I graduated from High School two years earlier than the norm. Hifdh did not affect my secular studies even the least bit. Rather, it only supplemented it in every good and righteous aspect. Of course, there were days when Shaitan would implant his evil whispers in my head. This occurred especially towards the end. Through many self battles, however, Alhamdulillah I some how fought till the end.

The journey seems long, but the reward is everlasting. You can reap the benefits in both worlds. However, it’s a trust to be kept until the Last Day. Consistency must be maintained in revision even after completing the Qur’an. Even harder than memorizing is revising. And at times, it can even be harder to re-memorize something you have forgotten. The best method is to be consistent in everything you do. Designate the time of day which you will dedicate to the memorization. But even before memorizing something new, be sure to revise what you have already learned.

Jazakumullahu Khair & Wa Alaykum As-Salaam,

Rashad Abdullah