Hifdh Hints: Advise

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Assalaamu ‘alaykum wa Rahmatullah

May this post reach you all in a deeply inspired state  in which you are motivated & guided to make the most of your hifdh journey.    This week, I thought to share some hifdh advise for Qur’aan memorisers, and so i turned to my inbox and found an email from a colleague who recommended that these advises be shared. “It’s comprehensive, and totally relevant to all hifdh students!”, she enthused. Upon reading through the (forwarded) email I realised why she was keen to share: it contains elements which aid in strengthening & also weakening of the memory, essentials for every Qur’aan bearer.

Stay Inspired!

Rayhaanah

Guidelines for memorising the Quraan as shared by Qari Ziyaad Patel on ‘The Quraan and You’ this weekend.

THINGS WHICH STRENGHTEN THE MEMORY:

• Staying away from sin

• Abundance of Durood especially before and after memorising your new lesson

• Protecting one’s eyes from evil glances

• Use of miswaak

• Eating almonds

• Good sleep

• Respecting the Mushaf and one’s ustaads/teachers

• Staying away completely from music

• Listening to the Quran consistently

• Facing the Qiblah when learning

• Try to sit on the floor when you decide to memorise

THINGS WHICH WEAKEN THE MEMORY:

• Sin

• Music

• Sour things such as “China fruit, Chorya” etc. Some pious predecessors have also mentioned that too many take outs also affect the memory

• Interacting casually with Ghair mahrams (those whom you can marry)

• Smoking,

• Poor diet

• Not enough sleep

• Lack of exercise

1. Sincerity. Make sure that the intention you are making is only for the sake of Allāh SWT, to seek His Pleasure so that inshā’Allāh, with His Mercy, we will be rewarded in the Aakhirah. It is not to show off in front of others that you have memorized a lot. Sincerity is not a one time factor rather it’s a continual battle that you always have to renew.

2. Consistency . The more frequently you memorize, the easier it becomes. It is very essential to be consistent, and not to skip even one day. There is no Week-end in

worship. The bare minimum that one should memorize is at least 3 lines, 5 is more ideal. If you are consistent, inshā’Allāh, you will be able to be huffadh in 5-6 years

3. Timing. The first thing you should do in the day is memorize – even do so before your breakfast, because this is your spiritual breakfast. The best time to memorize is before Fajr.

4. Atmosphere. Have a secluded place to go to and memorize in a place that is quiet. You just can’t memorize properly with distractions, so turn off all your devices (like cell phones etc.)

5. Familiarity: start at the same time, at the same place and use the same mushaf every day. You need to have your own copy of the Mushaf and it will later become so dear to you.

6. No Magic trick: repeat, repeat, repeat, over and over again. It is just repetitive recitation and/or listening that will help to memorize. REPETITION IS THE KEY TO MEMORISATION

7. Memorize with the meaning: read the translation before you start and try to match the Arabic words with their meanings

8. Surround yourself with recitation: listen to the Qur’an. Before you start memorize, listen to what you are about to memorize. Sh. Husary is highly recommended

9. Have a good Ustaadh ( Teacher): get a friend, a family member or someone you know who will listen to your recitation every day. Ideally, get someone who is also memorizing to create a peer pressure system.

10. Recite daily in your ṣalāh what you have memorized. If you forget one portion, you will immediately rush towards the

Qur’an and correct your mistake and you will never do this mistake again.

11. Triple daily dose:

a) New memorization at your assigned time of the day

b) Revision of the previous 7 days, just before you start the new memorization: This is because the fastest thing you forget is the new memorization. And doing so, will also build the connector between the old ones and the new portion you are going to memorize. Plus, it will be a good warm up for the brain when you recall from your memory and recite, before you go into the real exercise of doing the new memorization.

c) At a later/another time of the day, revise those before the recent 7 days. The bare minimum should be 4-5 pages.

12. Do not jump around. Be consistent. Don’t try to go to another surah if you find it difficult and stick to the order. That way, you will have the satisfaction of having completed a juz rather than leaving some portions here and there.

13. The three chunks. Start from the back. Shorter surahs will bring you a big boost. You should divide the memorization of the Qur’an in three parts:

a) Juz 28, 29, 30 or just Juz 29, 30
b) Surah Al-Kahf till Juz 28
c) Surah Al-Baqara to Surah Al-Kahf