8 Comments

1. 

   Mirza Yawar Baig

   July 15, 2024 at 8:22 AM

   Excellent article and very important points to note and consider. I’ve seen too many ‘mistakes’ at the expense of the poor child leading to him/her leaving the Quran totally.

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2. 

   Umm Abdullah

   July 16, 2024 at 10:21 AM

   Though the many of the author’s points are valid, I feel the title is unnecessarily provocative and negative.

   A title like, “Don’t Consider Hifdh the End Goal,” or “Points to Consider if Pursuing Hifdh” would be much better.

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3. 

   Samir Hussain

   July 18, 2024 at 11:36 AM

   By author: Just a note, I didn’t choose the title.

   Reply
4. 

   Spirituality

   July 18, 2024 at 1:03 PM

   As Salamu Alaikum,

   Agreed that apart from the unfortunate title, the article presents many great points. I guess the counter argument is that memory is the best when young, and youngsters have (arguably) a lot more time on their hands.

   That being said, as the article mentions, its imperative we give the Quran its due; which means being its companion (frequent recitation), understanding it, and reciting it correctly, and in context of making sure we have an overall basic knowledge of our Deen. Memorization and advanced grammatical analysis are not requirements unless one wants to be a scholar.

   Memorizing the Quran without reciting the Quran correctly makes no sense, which many have done or attempted to do (I am guilty here!). Imam Wisam Sharieff relates that he memorized the Quran while relatively young, without learning Tajweed. He then went to Egypt for more advanced learning, and when he recited, he was told that ‘he hadn’t ‘really’ memorized the Quran.’

   My own experience is that I tried to memorize Quran; I had gotten around 3 1/2 Juz when I decided I better improve my Tajweed first. Unfortunately, my initial pronunciation was so bad that as I changed (corrected) my pronunciation, I could no longer rely on my old ‘muscle memory’ and lost much of what I had ‘memorized.’ I am gradually relearning. But reciting Quran with improved Tajweed is so much more rewarding!

   I do really, really hope to memorize the entire Quran one day, though. What is better than having guidance of Allah in your head, accessible at all times?

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5. 

   Mother of student

   July 24, 2024 at 12:10 PM

   Asalaamualaycoum,
   I appreciate the warning for parents. It’s heartbreaking to hear that children lose their deen through the process of Quran memorization. However, I would like to offer another point of view; as memorization being the beginning of their Quran journey- not the end (inshaAllah.) At younger ages, kids have a lot more free time, stronger memories and are literally language sponges. I personally don’t believe you need to be on a scholarly journey to memorize Quran or to memorize any number of surahs. Although I’m sure there are some very negative experiences with memorization, and my heart goes out to those children, there are a great number of positive and uplifting experiences as well. I think, like with any activity or skill, parents need to check in with their child if he or she want to continue with the program and accept their decision if they don’t- inshaAllah for the best. As parents we need to purify our intentions which is important for any endeavor but especially when it comes to our children and seeking the pleasure of Allah. I resent the characterization of parents of huffadh as feeding their own egos, although I don’t doubt that may be the case for some especially if their child no longer wants to continue. A strong Islamic education starts at home and I would say even if one receives the best Islamic schooling Allah guides whom He wills. We know even some prophets were not saved from having disobedient, disbelieving children. With that said, I pray those children who have rebelled perhaps in a misguided effort to regain some autonomy and control over their life, will return to Islam through the love and guidance of Allah swt and the patience and duas of their parents. Thank you for this article as it is eye opening but I do believe there are other experiences and happier journeys with Quran that shouldn’t be dismissed.

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6. 

   Muslim

   August 12, 2024 at 4:40 PM

   if the author agrees that the title is provocative, it should be changed.

   unhappy with the disrespectful language: how dare you call encouraging children to memorise Quran as “putting them through hell”

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7. 

   Hudhaifa

   August 13, 2024 at 8:31 AM

   The title is very unfortunate, to put it mildly. Every effort should be made to connect our children to the Qur’an. There are too many virtues to list here for the memoriser, and the parents and family of the memoriser alike. It is a great privilege to be able to memorise the Qur’ān. Hence, the title of the article should, and must be ammended to avoid misunderstanding its purport and intent.

   That said, i fully agree that students of hifz should and MUST receive proper instruction in tajweed, fiqh, history and aqeeda, together with spiritual guidance to right-living the islamic way.

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8. 

   MW_M

   August 18, 2024 at 3:12 PM

   First time I’ve heard a Muslim refer to memorizing Qur’an as “hell”.

   Reply