Tips on memorizing the Qur’an

[نسيم الفجر]

 

TIPS ON MEMORIZING THE QUR’AN
By Muhammad Alshareef


Notice the young brothers and sisters that memorized the Qur’an in your community, they are already pushed to the front of the congregation by virtue of their accomplishment. They, at this early start, are forced to contribute to the community and live a life of significance. Bi idhnillah. That’s what we all want. The Qur’an can do it for you.

But, these gifts have a condition: the taqwa of Allah. There is one absolute naseeha that will make or break the persons drive to memorize the Qur’an: One must desist from sin! Ibn Mas’ood said, “I feel that indeed someone will forget knowledge they had a acquired because of sins they commit.”

When Abu Haneefah, rahimahullah, was confronted with a Fiqh Mas’alah that he was unable to conclude, he would get up and pray two raka’at in tawbah to Allah. These are people who truly knew the prize to be won. Allah ta’ala teaches us in the Qur’an: "[Be conscious of Allah and Allah will teach you.] This knowledge is from Allah ta’ala, a gift. It makes no sense that someone spends their nights disobeying the gift-giver while awaiting His gifts in the morning.”

Al-Khateeb reported in al-Jaami’ (2/387) that Yahya ibn Yahya said: “A man asked Maalik ibn Anas, ‘O Abu ‘Abd-Allaah! Is there anything that will improve my memory?’ Maalik ibn Anas, rahimahullah, replied, ‘If anything will improve it, it is giving up sin.” Bishr Alhaafee, rahimahullah, said "A servant commits a sin, and is deprived [thereby] of performing tahajjud."

One of the key: if you want your children to be effective in their Deen and their memorization of Qur’an, YOU have to be the one that you want your children to become. Do not let them see a contradiction.

When I was young, I did not want to go to a Qur’an school. Subhan Allah. I went to that Qur’an school, I went to Madinah University, and here I am today. I recently received a beautiful email after giving a lecture to the Canadian Hujjaj, my father’s group. While I spoke, my father had his head up high, smiling and crying during the speech. The brother wrote in his email that he was watching my father during the lecture. It dawned on him that Muhammad is here today giving this speech because of the dua of this man! I had not contemplated it much until I read that email, for indeed it is correct. After the tawfeeq of Allah, it was the dua of my parents for me that helped me become who I am.

Ibn `Abbas (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: The Messenger of Allah (sallalahu aleyhi wa salaam) said, “The heart that has no Qur’an in it is like an abandoned ruined dwelling.” [At-Tirmidhi]. What kind of home would you like your heart to dwell in? Excuses, is a most powerful sickness that keeps people back from accomplishing in life. Excuses. If you interview effective people, you will rarely find them making excuses. If you want to succeed in your memorization, never make excuses. Do what you have to do. I forbid those around me from making excuses. I advise the same for you. Do what you have to do to accomplish. If you cannot, then do not make excuses.

One of the interesting excuses is “I have to completely understand the Qur’an before I memorize it. I have to know Arabic, and Fiqh and Hadith before I start from the source.” Do not look at what a scholar is currently reading or studying. Look at what he did in the beginning. Every single scholar I have ever met started with Qur’an, nothing else. If you want to accumulate massive knowledge of this Deen, you must begin with memorization of the Qur’an. The children in the Hifdh School are well on their way to accomplishing massive accumulation of knowledge of this deen by virtue of their Hifdh. Bi idhnillah.

Let me give you two views, two very different people, and how they look at the challenges of life:

Person 1: “Oh man, that’s a killer. I can’t do that. This time I just give up. Looks like I’m finally whipped. I’ll never amount to anything. I’m tired.”

Person 2: “Awesome, that was the kind of challenge I’ve been waiting for. Yaa Rabb, I am going to make you proud of me. I’m going to give it my best. I’m going to pump 110% of my energy into every part of this challenge!”

Guess which one will succeed in their memorization of the Qur’an. That’s right, the second one. Why? Because the second one has the right attitude.

When I hear someone talking about their attempts to memorize Qur’an, I can usually tell which category they have locked themselves into. It is not the Qur’an. The Qur’an is easy to remember. Allah ta’ala testifies to that in the Qur’an: [And verily we made the Qur’an easy to remember, so is there anyone who will take heed?] If you think it’s easy for you, it is. If you think it is hard for you, it is. It is your attitude that determines it.

I am often asked about my secret to memorizing the Qur’an. They are expecting me to teach them a special ‘south-beach-hifdh-diet’ or something. (I call it tip shopping, they are expecting a specific tip). I say again and again, there is no doubt that there are three ingredients. If you have these three ingredients, you will accomplish what you set out for:

1. Dua, supplication (you must always reflect your desire to Allah).

2. Sabr, patience (it will be a testing path, fill your bags with Sabr powerbars).

3. Taqwa, protecting yourself from sin.
If you do not remember anything from this article except these three ingredients (DST – Dua, Sabr, Taqwa - DST) then, bi idhnillah, it will suffice.

‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin Al-‘As (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: The Prophet (sallalahu aleyhi wa salaam) said: "The one who was devoted to the Qur'an will be told on the Day of Resurrection: “Recite and ascend (in ranks) as you used to recite when you were in the world. Your rank will be at the last Ayah you recite.'' [Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi].

How many ranks will you climb on the Day of Resurrection?
How many ranks would you like to climb?

[نسيم الفجر]

BELOW ARE SOME QUICK TIPS THAT WILL HELP YOU IN MEMORIZING THE QUR’AN:

1. You absolutely must have a teacher.
Do NOT memorize on your own. You must have a teacher who you respect and whom you fear. Don’t ask ‘how’ to memorize the Qur’an. Ask where you can find the best teacher. The teacher will then guide you on the ‘how’.

2. Distractions.
In memorizing the Qur’an, you must free your mind and environment of distractions. Imagine trying to memorize at a football game? Tough, huh? How about a theme park, could you sit down and control yourself to memorize? Probably not. Getting into a Qur’an Hifdh program with a teacher and discipline will assist you in creating the perfect atmosphere for memorization.

3. Memorize through Audio.
A lot of people think they are memorizing the ‘look’ of the Mushaf, but actually you are memorizing the ‘sound’ of Ayat. When I review, I record my recitation on CD and listen to it again and again. The students that read the loudest in class are all the strongest students. Why? Because they can hear themselves the most?
When I was in Qur’an school, the boy beside me read so loud. I asked the teacher to ask him to read more quietly. He said a most powerful statement that became my motto: “No, you read louder!” I did and it benefited me unbelievably.

4. ******** of the Mushaf.
Your eyes follow a specific direction depending on what you are thinking or doing. If you are lying, your eyes go left. If you are remembering something visual, like where you left your keys, your eyes will look upwards.
When you memorize, the direction of memorization is right and left, not downwards. The mistake I see people make is that they put their mushaf low on the ground and then try to memorize. In order to fully harness the power of your mind, you must keep the mushaf at eye level, and not dip your head..

5. Eat brain food.
We’ve all heard the advice of uncles that you have to eat Badams (almonds) to improve memory. Well, I’m here to tell you that the uncles were right! The food you eat, the drinks you drink, directly affect your ability to excel in memorization of the Qur’an.
Do not eat fatty, unhealthy food. Do not drink soda. Eat a nutritious light breakfast, a nutritious light lunch, with almonds for snacks during the day. Subhan Allah, you will find you accomplish much more in your day.

6. Make everyday a victory.
You can move a mountain rock by rock. Enjoy every page you memorize, every Ayah.