GLM Madrasah Newsletter
Memorising the Quran is not an easy task – it takes hard work, dedication and sincerity to complete such an undertaking. It requires diligence, patience and perseverance; you must be prepared to commit yourself entirely and have the pure intent of finishing it.
My journey towards Hifdh has been a long one – about 7 years of constant revising and memorising until I could finally reach the satisfaction of completing and calling myself a Haafidhah by the end of it. Recently I completed Hifdh, and reflecting back upon the many long days and nights that I endured in my struggle to learn and strive to complete, has made me realise that despite all of the constant battles against balancing my Quran with my life, it has all been worth it in the end.
The virtues of being a Haafidhah are great, and there are many many reasons why we should all endeavour to memorise the Quran and become more righteous and blessed in our struggle.
Al-Tirmidhi (2914) and Abu Dawood (1464) narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “It will be said to the companion of the Qur’aan: Recite and rise in status, recite as you used to recite in the world, for your status will be at the last verse that you recite.”
This hadeeth points to those who have memorised the Quran; they will be people who are elevated to the highest status in Jannah because of what they undertook by memorising the words of Allah – and Allah will reward them on the day of Judgement with such a blessing. Becoming a Haafidh not only esteems you in the next life but also in the Dunya, where you will be honoured amongst reciters of the Quran and may benefit from reciting it as you wish whenever you want. I don’t think we need to be reminded of the virtues of reciting the Quran, as every letter you recite you receive 10 hasanaat. Just imagine how many good deeds you will accumulate if you memorise the Quran and constantly read and revised it…
Of course, memorisation is again no easy task. For me it took many years and many hours of many days – it took toil and tears to commit myself to the Quran and at times it was a struggle to even continue it. Sometimes you lack motivation, and all seems hopeless – like the struggle will never end; you’re never going to finish, the amount you’ve done is so little that it will take too long anyway… But even throughout those times I managed to keep to my dream of finishing the Quran, renewing my intention and reminding myself of the reasons I started in the first place. In the end, the virtues, the blessings, the honours of becoming a Haafidh are just so great, so rewarding in this life and the next that it takes precedence over everything else in your life if you are reminded of the blessings that are bestowed upon you when you complete.
I started GLM Madrasah in September, and that point had memorised 23 Juzz and was progressing slowly. I was stuck on a page a week and couldn’t go any further than that; but sincerely, being in this madrasah inspired me to renew my intention once again and being in an environment with other budding Haafidhaat who joined and perceived my struggle motivated me to work harder with their constant encouragement. The teachers and students have helped me come a long way since September – they’ve made me realise the beauty that comes from the memorisation of the Quran – with those that have acted as inspirational role models to us and continually influenced me to continue on with my dream, and never in their presence could I bear to even think of giving up.
At last the time came, and it was unbelievable at first – and still sort of is! But it was such an amazing feeling to think that after everything and all the time and effort I put into my Quran, I had completed my ambition and I can quite proudly say that I am a Haafidhah. So for all of you budding young Haafidheen out there, I’d like to supply you with a few tips on how to memorise the Quran and most importantly how to be consistent:
- Make your intention – You absolutely must; you have to be memorising because you want to. You cannot start Hifdh without wanting to because you will never find that motivation within yourself to finish if it’s not something you want to do. Think of the benefits and virtues of memorising, and if it’s something you want to do, make a goal to achieve it and don’t give up until you have!
- Start off Small – Don’t try to memorise pages after pages when you’ve only just started! Memorisation is a difficult task, and can seem tiring and sometimes even hopeless if you’re not feeling it. Start off memorising a few lines a day and revise over them thoroughly till you can repeat them every day without looking. Gradually you will become accustomed to memorising and you can start learning more and more after some time, but you must go accordingly and don’t try to exhaust yourself!
- Be consistent – Don’t just memorise a portion one day and then wait another 2 weeks to get back to it! You want to be consistent, make yourself a timetable, and do a little each day until it becomes a part of your routine. If you’re not consistent, you’re not taking it seriously and you won’t retain that dedication to your Quran and motivation to finish!
- Revise, revise, revise – It sounds like a massive bore, and very repetitive too, but without revision there is no point to memorising if you’re going to forget all you’ve learnt! You want to constantly go over what you’ve learnt before you start memorising a new page or a new surah so that sticks fresh in your mind and you’re not likely to forget any of it. It will be a LOT easier this way as you won’t forget big portions of the Quran when you move on a lot further.
- Don’t give up – Even when it seems like its hopeless, or you don’t have time – make time! If you have that devotion to doing your Quran you cannot give up on it no matter how little you’ve done. Just remember – no matter how young or old you are, all of the Huffaadh started from somewhere, and none of them could be Haafidh today if they had given up so easily! If you want to be one of them, someone proud of your achievements and blessed by Allah for your efforts, then constantly remind yourself of the reason for starting and no matter how many obstacles life throws at you, dodge them all and never give up on your Hifdh!
If you follow all of these tips, I’m pretty sure that one day you can be in the position that I am in – a proud and accomplished Haafidhah inshallah; but remember Allah has chosen you to embark on this path and it is your choice if you want to follow it through and reap the rewards.
The task isn’t easy as I’ve said many times before, but if you are willing there are SO many benefits and so many virtues that everyone should at least try to start memorisation. If you’re up for it just remember – age is no matter, young or old; if you are driven – you can do it. Allah will help you as he helped me inshallah and one day we can all enjoy the rewards of being a Haafidh inshallah.
Lastly, I’d like to end with giving a shout out to the Pure Hifdh Class – you guys were the best at encouraging me and motivating me, and overall, you’re all just amazing human beings with the best intentions and I can’t even express my gratitude for all you have done for me… May Allah reward all of you and bless you with the chance to finish Hifdh and share in the virtues that it brings! Also, to the teachers – without your unwavering support and influential actions I don’t think I would be here today; you are forever in my duas and I wish the best for all those you teach after me.
But in the end, we have Allah to thank for all the blessings he brings into all of our lives, and with his help may we all become the best and most righteous of the Ummah; Ameen.
“The bearer of the Qur’an, if he regards what it permits as halaal and what it forbids as haraam, he will intercede for ten of his family members on the Day of Resurrection, all of whom deserved to enter Hell.”
Written by:
Aleena Mahmood of Pure Hifdh.
