how to memorise the

Today we’ll be covering two points; consolidating and reviewing what you have memorised.
Let’s assume you created a timetable for memorising Juz ‘Amma (the thirtieth Juz) and you have met your target for day 1. The next day you are ready to move on to the next set of Aayaat you have set for yourself. Before starting to memorise any new section, make sure you are 110% solid on your previous day’s section. And as you go along, you will need to regularly review everything you have memorised previously. The importance of reviewing (regularly) cannot be stressed enough. It is easier to memorise the Qur’aan than it is to retain it. This may sound ridiculous to some of you but ask any Haafidh and they will agree with this statement. For this reason, the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam, was reported to have said:

“Secure your memorisation of the Qur’aan, for it escapes more quickly than a camel does from its fetter.” [Saheel al-Bukhaari, #5033, and Saheeh Muslim, #791]
And he also said:

“The likeness of the one who memorizes the Qur’aan is that of the owner of a hobbled camel. If he tends to it regularly, he will keep it, but if he lets it go, he will lose it.” [Saheeh al-Bukhaari, #5031]

Don’t neglect the Qur’aan and slack in constantly reviewing and keeping watch over however much of it you have stored in your heart. The more you do this in the early stages, the stronger you will be as you reach towards completing the Qur’aan. This is very important because as you acquire more of the Qur’aan, the easier it will be for you to be made to forget if you do not review regularly. Its worthwhile having a review timetable just the same way you have a memorisation timetable. InshaaAllaah in a later post, we’ll cover different ways in which you can review your hifdh and why its important to incorporate the different methods in order to make your memorisation more solid.

So, as a final reminder, do not, no matter how tempted you are, move on to memorising a new portion of the Qur’aan if you are weak in the previous section/s you have memorised. This is a rule you should discipline yourself to abide by because if you don’t, you will only find yourself paying the price for it later on down the road. Impatience, hastiness and over-zealousness will only cause you to have to spend time re-memorising previous sections and set you back on your memorisation targets. Nor is it a good sign of your motivation, attentiveness, dedication and respect for Allaah’s Book.

In part one, we covered the two ways in which you can go about memorising. Today we’ll look at how to draw up a timetable so you go about your memorisation according to a well structured plan.

Get yourself a pen and paper and sit down with your mushaf and a calendar and formulate a day to day memorisation timetable that outlines the exact number of aayaat you will be memorising for that day and the date by which you aim to complete it. We suggest you make a timetable for the Juz you are starting on and once you complete that Juz, spend two weeks or so consolidating that Juz before drawing up another timetable and starting to memorise the next Juz. If the following Juz starts or ends in the middle of a soorah, then set up your timetable so that you complete the whole of that soorah too. For example, the 27th Juz starts halfway in Soorah adh-Dhaariyaat, so you would draw up your timetable to include the whole of Soorah adh-Dhaariyaat not just the portion that is included in that Juz.

If you know that you are weak at motivating and disciplining yourself, ask a close friend or family member to help you by giving them your timetable and asking them to monitor you and to make sure that you are meeting your targets.

Please note that it is important for you to set yourself realistic targets and are aware of your limitations. Do not over-load your memory because this will only cause you to forget it. As the famous saying goes, ‘Whoever tries to acquire knowledge quickly, he loses it quickly’. Also, remember not to set up a timetable that spans a large chunk of the Qur’aan. The reason we advise you to draw it up Juz by Juz is because you will find initially it takes you longer to memorise because it is new for you but once you have several ajzaa under your belt, you’ll be able to memorise twice as much as what you were memorising before. And this is from the beauty and wonders of the Qur’aan that the more you memorise, the easier it becomes for you to memorise. Indeed Allaah has said in the Qur’aan,

وَلَقَدْ يَسَّرْنَا الْقُرْآنَ لِلذِّكْرِ فَهَلْ مِن مُّدَّكِرٍ

And We have indeed made the Qur’aan easy to understand and remember, then is there any that will remember (or receive admonition)? [Al-Qamar 54:17]

Here is a sample timetable for Juz Tabaarak (the 29th Juz of the Qur’aan) for you to look at.