07 Dec The Method of Memorisation Used By The Shanaaqitah Tribe
Shanaaqitah – The people of Shanqeet, Mauritania who are known for their strong memory.
Repeat and Repeat and Repeat!
We repeat something ten times and say ‘Alhamdulillah, we have learnt it.’
The Shanaaqitah have a principle which is:
“When you memorise, then do it in multiples of five.”
What does this mean?
*Some of them say it means that you should repeat 5000 times! Others say it means 500 times!*
And one view is to repeat 50 times, which is the minimum!
In their culture, a person can only qualify as a teacher when he has recited the Qur’an and presented it to his Shaykh 50 times.
And a person can only qualify as a Qari of Qur’an when he has presented the Qur’an to his Shaykh 300 times.
Now these are astronomical numbers for us:
Who does 50 rounds of The Qur’an after completion??
If you say:
‘I don’t have time for so much of repetition’, then you have not understood the method of attaining precision and your efforts will have to be very lengthy.
Memorisation requires the Qur’an to be transferred from the short-term memory which is in the front of the brain to the long-term permanent memory which is at the rear of the brain.
And this cannot happen except through repetition.
Something will not be transferred to the medium-term memory except by it being repeated 20 to 30 times. And to make it’s way to the permanent memory, it requires repetition of more than 50 times.
We want Hifth that will not be shaken by anything!
We want Hifth that will be present in the mind of the Hafith even at the time of death!
And who is there who does not desire that his soul leaves his body whilst he is reciting Qur’an?
May Allah grant you and I the ability to memorise, strengthen and practice on The Holy Qur’an. Aameen.
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