Naseeha for the Hifdh Journey: revision for school-going students

24 Sep Naseeha for the Hifdh Journey: revision for school-going students

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Assalaamu ‘alaykum wa Rahmatullah

For this month’s installment of the Naseeha series I’ve selected to share a hifdh question I recently received from a  Qur’aan teacher, Muallima Layla:

Q:

1. This is the 2nd year that I’m teaching hifdh, alHumdulillah. I’d like to know a good method of how they (the students) should be doing their muraa-ja’ah (dhor/revision)  & how much they should be reciting?

A:

1. Generally, methods differ – let alone from one hifdh learning institute to the next, but also from one student to the other. Whilst it is difficult to generalize, here are some key points you may wish to consider : some individuals perform well at school and find memorisation easy, whilst others may find it challenging to strike a balance between hifdh, school, sport / hobbies. My advise would be to set a consultation time with each student and discuss with her what her long-term and short-term goals for hifdh are.Ask her how she feels she is coping, given that she has a full schedule throughout the week.  Also, ask what she feesl can be done (by yourself) to help with her hifdh progress. During the course of your consultation, you may come to learn of any challenges and concerns that directly / indirectly affect her hifdh, and then be able to joint seek solutions. Based on this, together with your knowledge of the quality of her hifdh work, you will be more accurate and realistic in drawing up a sustainable & successful revision plan for her, that would include the amount, frequency & your expectations of your student.                         Generally,  most school going girls  attend hifdh for 1 / 1.5 hours in the morning (before school) and  2 hours after school or university. There is the daily lesson (each student will commit to what she can manage with) and then sabaq para (meaning: to read the juzz she is currently memorising), from the start. Then there is  muraa-ja’ah ( here, she will read from the older & oldest chapters) : those that have memorized less than 10 ajzaa’  will read atleast 1 juzz  each day.                                                                                                                                                                                                                              And then for every 5 additional ajzaa’ after this, the student will give an extra quarter juzz. This varies on the students ability, but generally, after 2 months they do settle in well and cope, mashaAllah. As students progress in the hifdh and the volume increases, you may consider conducting lessons during the weekend mornings: whilst it may reuire sacrifice from both student & teacher (and families), part-time hifdh students find this to be an incredible window of learning opportunity, away from school and campus schedule, deadlines and assignment submissions. There is plenty of benefit to be found from implementing a hifdh-salah roster system: this would involve creating a time table with each student wherein she has a realistic plan of reciting her muraa-ja’ah in salah.  Remember, there will be some days when students are unable to complete all revision in classs and also instances where muraa-ja’ah may be weak & require re-leaning, and here is where the roster helps tremendously in terms of accountability, responsibility & improvement. An effective way for every teacher to track progress of an inspiring hafidha!
   Rest assured, once students start noticing improvement in their hifdh standard, they will begin enjoying and cherishing the gift of reciting hifdh in Qiyaam. And the days of merely reciting Feel —> Naas in salah will be long gone!

Stay Inspired!

Rayhaanah

PS: Entering ‘Naseeha” on the Fee Qalbee search blog will yield answers to many more of your hifdh questions. Try it today!