Memorizing the Qur’an is a journey like no other. It tests your willpower, your reliance and trust in Allah, your standards, and your determination. It is a journey that will not only change your life, but will change your heart if you let it. The Qur’an is a huge blessing and responsibility. Those who strive to memorize it will be put through tests and trials in order to be taught the lessons that Allah is teaching, for although we have Qur’an teachers, Allah is the One who truly teaches us through the Qur’an.
When you decide to embark on any journey that will change your life for the better, bring you closer to Allah and His words, help you to leave sins, identify and improve your faults and weaknesses, accumulate good deeds, and hopefully help you enter Jannah, Shaytan freaks out and does everything he can to prevent you from taking action. He will do whatever it takes to mess you up, demotivate you, make you feel you’re not good enough or that you can’t accomplish your goals, and it will be a constant struggle. Everyone packs things that they need before going on a journey, and most people never forget to pack what they will need most. There are countless things a person needs on their journey of memorizing the Qur’an, and I believe that most of these things fall under three main categories…something I like to call “The 3 Ds of Hifth Success”.
The “3 Ds of Hifth Success” are things that you cannot do without as you strive to memorize the Book of Allah. While you are fighting yourself and fighting Shaytan, if you can stay strong and use the below points, the Qur’an is above any of these obstacles and will be the greatest thing you’ve ever had in your life.
1. Du‘ā’
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The first and most important “D” is du‘ā’. It is the key to everything. You need it before you start your journey to beg Allah to help purify your intentions. You need it throughout your journey…when you are down and need help, when you are up and need to be grateful, when you think you can’t go on and feel like giving up, to ask for barakah in time and your memory, to seek forgiveness for sins that will prevent the Qur’an from entering your heart…. you need this “D” for everything!
Shaykh Mohammad Faqih once mentioned something that I am always reminded of. He said, “You know those people who you look at them, and everything just seems to work out for them? They set goals and accomplish them and everything just seems very smooth for them? Whatever situation they are in it always turns out well for them. What is it about those people? What is the secret that makes their lives like that? The answer is du‘ā’. That’s the key ingredient that makes all the difference in the world.”
When listening to advice that people give about memorizing the Qur’an, the number one thing it always comes back to is making du‘ā’. There are times when you think you won’t be able to continue, and that maybe your journey will end without completing your hifth. But through du‘ā’ Allah can make a way for you to continue when you never thought it would work out. There will be times when you have a big test and the amount of work you have to do versus the amount of time you have is a recipe for failure, but through du‘ā’, somehow you will be able to do it. There will be times when you are convinced that your intentions are not pure and you will become depressed and unmotivated but Allah can help you through it.
Those who are memorizing the Qur’an may struggle with commitments, responsibilities, family, and balancing life with memorizing and retaining the Qur’an. Du‘ā’ is what makes it all work somehow. When you have a million things to do and just not enough hours in the day and you make du‘ā’ for Allah to put barakah in your time, you’ll often find that somehow you are able to finish your new memorization or review in a short amount of time. The journey of memorizing the Qur’an is of the most blessed journeys one can embark on, and it is a goal that without a doubt will not be reached without du‘ā’!
2. Determination (Also known as, “Don’t give me excuses, give me results!”)
Sure, you may get extremely busy one day, be exhausted another day, have a large gathering to go to one day, be travelling another day…you may have a valid excuse to not do any Qur’an one day, but if you have absolute determination and really want to make it work, you will make a way to do it no matter what…hands down, end of story. You may feel that you are too busy or that you have a genuinely valid excuse, but beware of Shaytan who may make you feel like your excuses are good enough to keep you from the Qur’an. It also could be your way of enabling your own feelings of laziness. To move past this, you have to wage war on yourself and have a “Kapow!” attitude with yourself. Show your nafs who is boss. When you’re motivated and determined you are able to push through obstacles that come your way and stay consistent, all with the help of the first “D” of course.
3. Deadlines
In order to accomplish almost anything, you need goals. They are what keep the bigger picture in sight, keep you working, and keep you motivated. Along with goals and deadlines, you need the second “D” to help you reach those goals. They keep you focused, help you to stay on track, and help you not to get lazy. Countless articles have been written and lectures have been given on how to set goals in memorizing the Qur’an, how many pages to do a day and how much review to do. Working with a teacher to figure out a schedule that works out for you is part of the process.
“The 3 Ds of Hifth Success” are crucial things that you need while memorizing the Qur’an. Not only will it help you to know them from the beginning, but often times you will find that you need to be reminded of them countless times throughout your journey. The Qur’an is not only a living miracle, but it is our living miracle. It contains stories for us to learn from, examples to follow, answers to our questions, warnings to heed, blessings to recognize, ayahs of hope to get us through tough times, and barakah to flood our lives with and change our hearts. All we have to do is take the first steps and answer Allah’s question for us in the Qur’an, “We have certainly made the Qur’an easy for remembrance, so is there any who will remember it?”
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Zaheer
October 14, 2013 at 9:33 AM
As-salaamu ‘alaikum
JazaakAllah for this helpful article.
As someone considering attempting hifth, I was wondering what your take on “self-learning” is. As in, doing hifth without the supervision of another haafith, or some hifth institution. I know many people have done so in the past, and the Sahaba (r.a) would memorize the verses at any opportunity, without needing a mentor. However, they did have the fortune of being in the presence of the Nabiyy (s.a.w.s), and many other huffath, so could easily confirm whether their hifth, and more important, its quality, was good.
So just wondering what your take on it is. Any hifth and hifth scholars/supervisors who wish to give their take on it – feel free, I look forward to your input, Insha-Allah.
Once again, good, general tips – I think these three things are essential for anyone to succeed in hifth, regardless of the which particular method they use.
Saad
October 14, 2013 at 11:50 AM
As a person who is currently memorizing right now I would really recommend a teacher even if it is a part time teacher. No matter how well you can read Quran you are bound to make mistakes and your are going to need a teacher to help you find them. Secondly a teacher is important because he/she will keep you motivated, the days/weeks you are having trouble memorizing your teacher will encourge to keep going and not give up. Lastly I would recommend a service that is very cheap and easy. There are many hufaaz teaching online over skype, this is very convenient for people that do not have the time to memorize full time as it is very easy to take out half an/hour 45 minute memorize and then recite to the teacher couple times a week or so.
Hope this helps
Nadya Aweinat
October 14, 2013 at 12:40 PM
Wa alaikum assalam,
Like Br Saad mentioned, I agree that having a teacher is very important. It’s very common to make mistakes and memorize things wrong, and you need to be reciting to someone to catch those mistakes. A teacher will also help you to stay serious because you have someone to answer to. A good teacher will help you stay motivated and teach you many important lessons about the Qur’an, whether by teaching and reminding you directly, or simply by learning from their character.
That’s awesome that you’re considering doing your hifth mashaAllah. May Allah make it easy on you and make you among the preservers of His words.
ABDULWAHAB
October 14, 2013 at 10:16 AM
May Allah bless u my Shakh.
when i read dis i fell guity, pls Shakh pray for people like us who have the intention to memorise the Qur’an but, the zeel is not there.
ilabanieh
October 14, 2013 at 12:46 PM
Just FYI the person that wrote this article is a sister not a brother
Mohammed
October 14, 2013 at 10:25 AM
WoW subhanAllah one of the best motivational article I’ve ever read. JazakAllah khair.
Masoud
October 14, 2013 at 11:53 AM
السلام علیکم
my dear brothers and sisters.
If anyone want the do hifth, just listen to the best recitations as much as you can. and after you listened to it a lot, it becomes easy for you to Imitate it. then open the Quran and start Imitating it. and whenever you want to recite. just recite as you are learned from imitation of hafith.
that is it. you don’t need to waste the time. start finding a medium speed recitation of your favorite reciter (hafith) like Abdurrahman Sudaise, Mohammad Ayub or any other, and start listening. and then try to understand the verses with the meaning, it makes it easier for you to remember and imitate.
remember the most expensive thing in our life is Time. spend your time in the cause of Allah (swt) by listening Quran and then memorizing it by its imitation.slowly slowly….
and
if you feel shame for your voice. just do it silently with yourself and when you became flaunt. you can do it loudly. and don’t forget to for advice of our brother.
The 3 Ds.
Jazakallahu khairan
ilabanieh
October 14, 2013 at 12:47 PM
you mean don’t forget the advice of our sister* :)
Masoud
October 14, 2013 at 8:01 PM
oh, sorry dear i didnt know that…Ok advice of our sister.
Said Hasan
October 14, 2013 at 3:44 PM
The three Ds are the key to achieving anything. Thanks for sharing. In sha Allah I will start memorizing the Qur’an. May Allah make it easy for me and every one else. Ameen.
Masoud
October 14, 2013 at 8:05 PM
May Allah give the rewards of our good opinions, Thanks for your good opinions my dear brothers and sisters. anyways it all our opinions and asbabs. but it is Allah (swt) who helps.
may Allah swt help us to memorize quran and act upon it.
ameen
Sabrina
October 14, 2013 at 9:52 PM
MashaAllah spot on.
Definitely have a teacher. Like the brothers have said, they can pick out any mistakes and keep you motivated. Also be sure to get tested on each juz after completing it. This reinforces your memorisation and helps you to become sharper.
Definitely listen to a lot of recitation, preferably by the same reciter. This will improve your listening skills. This also helps you become more fluent, helps you build your own style of recitation and helps you memorise easily.
You have to recite out loudly, this will help improve your reading and listening skills. By reciting out loudly you will develop your own style of reciting. You will improve on your own listening skills and learn to know when you have pronounced and/or recited something incorrectly.
Also listen to other people around you reciting Qur’an. This will again improve your listening skills and help you to become sharper – can you recognise where they’re reading from? Are they reciting correctly? What’s the next verse going to be?
When doing hifdh, it’s not just about you and the Qur’an. It’s about you, the Qur’an and others. You have to learn how to incorporate the reciting and listening of the Qur’an in every aspect of your life, whether it’s by reading the text daily, listening to a reciter on your phone/car/TV, etc, hearing other people recite it, hearing it being played in an Islamic store, etc. Wherever you hear it, your ears and mind and heart learn to sharpen and listen attentively to it.
It truly opens up all the faculties of your heart and mind. I know it has opened up mine. And I am so truly grateful to Allah SWT. You will not only excel in your Qur’anic studies but in all aspects of your studies and life. Alhamdulillahi rabbil ‘alameen.
Sabrina
October 14, 2013 at 9:59 PM
Forgot to mention, definitely definitely make du’aa.
When I did hifdh before each lesson I would always read the Qur’anic and masnoon du’aas for seeking knowledge. And I would always make a little du’aa that Allah makes my work easy for me and easy for everyone who’s learning to memorise the Qur’an and easy for everyone who has a task to do. It was just something automatic I would do. I was 13/14 yrs old at the time and studying in Pakistan, what did I know of the world and people’s arduous tasks? I think it was truly a tawfeeq that Allah gave me at the time to make that du’aa and I think it was through that du’aa that Allah’s Help would come to me.
Hasbunallahu wa n’imal wakeel!
Amina Edota
October 16, 2013 at 4:35 PM
Very Inspirational!
Hifdh is definitely a life changing journey. A journey on which you know your Creator better, become more conscious of His Creations and know yourself better.
The journey is rewarding – spiritually, mentally and emotionally; yet challenging. The 3Ds will surely serve to make the journey smoother & more fulfilling.
And yes, ‘Determination’ is much needed for this special journey. Its only with determination that one can keep up with the Duas and even Deadlines.
May Allah grant all those on this special journey the tawfeeq to keep with the blessed task.
Amna
October 16, 2013 at 8:55 PM
Asalamou alekoum, great advice! Personaly I like to set goal of one juz at the time. I only memorize 4 lines per week, but I keep steady and im now in my second juz! Not so long ago I coulndt even read arabic letter so im greatful for that. If u dont intend to become hafiz, i think its still very valuable to go slowly but surely in your memorization, and Allah knows were the journey will lead you (InchaAllah if I reach 65 years old I will be hafiz too!!!) Another advice is to not spend to much time on muslim matters and delay your study!
Nadya Aweinat
October 17, 2013 at 1:44 AM
*(InchaAllah if I reach 65 years old I will be hafiz too!!!)”
I loved this comment. It’s often that people get demotivated because their memorization is taking too long or because they keep setting deadlines and not meeting them and having to push them back. While there may be other issues at play, it’s also good to not worry too much about when you will finish. If it takes you 1 year, that’s amazing. If it takes a few years, that’s normal. If it takes 30 years of your life, what an amazing way to have spent your life!
Nadya Aweinat
October 17, 2013 at 1:36 AM
Ameen to all of the dues!
Nadya Aweinat
October 17, 2013 at 1:38 AM
*to all of the duas!
Melita Rahmalia (@MelitaRahmalia)
October 17, 2013 at 6:14 AM
‘Show your nafs who is boss’ – thats a great line!
Samia
October 17, 2013 at 10:58 AM
I decided to do surah baqarah and was halfway through Alhamdulillah … until my med exams showed up.
THIS was exactly what I needed to get remotivated and start it or actually restart over again. :)
JazakAllah Khayr sister :D much love :)
Nadya Aweinat
October 17, 2013 at 2:45 PM
MashaAllah, may Allah make it easy on you! Wa iyyaki! :)
Marhamah
October 23, 2013 at 4:41 AM
Masha Allah Laa QUWWATA illah billah….may Allah bless u
Abdullah
November 2, 2013 at 10:42 AM
SubhanAllah, this is a really good article. These tips are very crucial to memorize the Qur’an…