A Hifz Story That Will Change You
Breaking the struggles, the failures, the feeling of being stuck - Issue #153
Bismillāh al-Rahmān al-Rahīm
Assalāmu ‘Alaykum!
I want to share something that has immense benefit.
It's not about a new memorisation technique or a clever revision schedule—it's about something much deeper.
I recently came across the story of Issa Yahya, a Qur'an teacher and Hāfiz who experienced a complete transformation in his life and Hifz journey through two simple but powerful practices.
What follows isn't just his story—it's a wake-up call for everyone who feels stuck, blocked, or unable to progress despite their best efforts. And in Ramadān—when the gates of forgiveness are wide open—there couldn't be a better time to implement this practice!
🤲 Requesting your prayers,
- Qāri’ Mubashir
The Hafiz Who Couldn't Progress
Issa's story begins with struggle.
He had memorised large portions of the Qur’an but kept hitting a wall. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t move forward.
Years passed. He had 12 different teachers without success. He tried new revision schedules. But nothing worked. his life was falling apart:
He was dismissed from his teaching position
He had no money, no car, no support
His memorisation was deteriorating
He felt spiritually disconnected despite his knowledge
"I tried everything," he says. "Nothing worked. My life was completely blocked."
Does this sound familiar? How many of us have experienced periods where, despite our dedication to the Qur'an, everything seems to be working against us?
The Breakthrough That Changed Everything
After nearly giving up, Issa discovered what he calls "the secret" that transformed his life in less than a year:
1️⃣ Consistent Istighfar – Making seeking forgiveness a daily practice
2️⃣ Daily recitation of Surah Al-Baqarah – Committing to this surah specifically
The results were astonishing:
When he committed to Istighfar and reciting Surah Al-Baqarah daily, he completed his Hifz in just five to six months!!
His student count tripled
He went from teaching 1-2 hours daily to 12 hours
His students began achieving what seemed impossible
Financial blockages disappeared
His own memorisation and recitation improved dramatically
"It was as if a veil had been lifted," he explains. "What I couldn't accomplish in a year before, I now complete in a month."
He isn’t a “Special Case”
Another brilliant, educated student who had been stuck for 10 years, unable to finish, decided to apply this method—and suddenly, in just four months, he completed the Qur’an and began reciting seven Juz’ daily.
A student memorised five Juz’ in three months after struggling for over a year and a half to memorize just ten Juz’
Another student who had financial struggles and couldn't afford proper medical treatment for his ailing mother began persisting in Istighfar—and Allah opened the way for him to get his mother treated at the best hospital in the region
Young children, 13 and 14 years old, who had been weak in Qur’an, but after committing to this practice, they excelled beyond expectation
The one I heard this story from, personally, was close to the Qur’an, teaching it, yet he felt his life was stuck, full of hardship. After committing to Istighfar and Surah Al-Baqarah for just one year, his life completely changed—his rizq (provision) increased, his problems eased, and he found himself able to accomplish things in one month that he previously couldn't in an entire year.
How to Implement Istighfar and Surah Al-Baqarah
✅ Daily Istighfar
Recite "Astaghfirullah" consistently throughout the day.
Set a target of 1000 times daily or whatever you’re able to do.
Do not rush or just say the words—reflect on the meaning and your presence while seeking forgiveness. Move your lips.
✅ Daily Recitation of Surah Al-Baqarah
Ideally, recite all of Surah Al-Baqarah daily.
If that’s too much, split it into two or three parts.
Listen to it regularly, even if you’re not reciting it fully.
✅ Align It with Your Hifz Routine
Before memorisation, recite Istighfar 100 times.
Before starting a new Surah, recite Surah Al-Baqarah, even partially.
Issa says, "If you are feeling blocked, if you are struggling, if nothing is working—commit to Istighfar and Surah Al-Baqarah for 40 days and watch how everything changes."
Share this far and wide this Ramadan!
📖 THE DIARY OF A HĀFIZ
This is where we try to learn by watching others memorise. A roundup reporting the progress of our brothers and sisters in their pursuit of memorising the Qur'ān:
👳🏼♂️ Muhammad, 36, founder
Background: After forgetting what he memorised (half the Qur'ān) and kept struggling to start again. So he decided to share his diary and mission with us. After 19 weeks of struggle, he finally started. It took him a few months to do a few Juz’. He’s a few months away from having a years diary complete.
What he accomplished last week (Year 2 Week 28 complete):
“Ramadan has made things difficult in way of time for Hifz, so for this week I have been repeating the 8th Juz’ and then reciting a Juz’ a day.”
🧕🏼 Aaliya
Background: I'm 28 and I started memorizing full time about 2 years ago. I have almost 17 Juz memorized Alhamdulillah. I go to a masjid hifz class everyday and I'm trying to increase my daily revision to 2-3 juz. I'm hoping recording weekly diaries will motivate me to be more consistent and inshAllah help others who read it too.
Week 30:
“Alhamdulillah for Ramadan. Listening to the beautiful taraweeh recitations made me think about my broken Quran recitation before I started memorizing. Even though I was slow and it required so much effort to read the Arabic, it reminded me of how much I loved reading the Quran.
However, now that I am memorizing, I have been struggling so much lately, feeling frustrated and hopeless. The taraweeh recitations made me realize that I need to regain my the love for the Quran again. To replace the negative feelings surrounding the Quran with positive ones.
So for next week, I'm allowing myself a break from memorizing and revising. Instead I will focus on reading from the mushaf and engaging and connecting in taraweeh prayer.
Ya Allah, thank you for putting this love of the Quran in my heart. Please increase us all in love of the Quran and understanding of it.”
🧕🏼 Aisha
Background: I am a 36 yr old, mother of 6 kids. I memorised 20 juz in a madrasa but got married and although completed my hifz on my own , my revision was poor and I couldn't recite anything properly except for 5 or 6 juz. It's been 12 years of ups and downs trying to rememorise with little success. Alhamdulillah I found Qari Mubashir’s website that answered so many of my questions and took me out of self doubt, I discovered the tikrar program, downloaded the app and Alhamdulillah my path to rememorise has finally been made possible by the grace of Allah. I started on the 20th of June and so far have completed 8 juz , currently doing the 9th . I also gave my first test for juz 1 - 6 last month and passed it Alhamdulillah. I am looking forward to completing hifz, with a solid revision this time, bi iznillah.
Week 17:
“Not heard from her today, we pray all is well.”
👉 If you have any questions, just drop a reply to me and I'll feature the questions and answers in relevant issues. If you want to join the diaries, get in touch also!
Allāh grant us all success and ease on this path!
⭐ COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS & UPDATES
What’s new / recent
I’m now working on updates for the tools, and Hifz camp.
Busy with Tarawih and daily talks I’m doing.
📢 📢 Requests
I’d love to know what would support you best on your Hifz journey right now.
1️⃣ My request is also on-going, share your usual hifz schedule with me. Please fill in the Form. (I have had several which I will add online soon)
2️⃣ Those of you that are teaching or have an institute can get listed on the Teachers directory.
3️⃣ Finding My Half has now around 40+ profiles, it needs a push, would you mind sharing it?
4️⃣ If you have anything to add, have hifz stories, want to share your own journey, have advice, have teachers, have anything you want to add to the weekly emails, do let me know. Especially if you have any questions for me to address through the weekly newsletter.
5️⃣ If whatever advice, motivation, strategies I have shared have helped you memorise please, check out Impact and share your thoughts.
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🔥 Reply & let me know what helped you most today.
🔥 Have a Hifz question? I’ll answer in next week’s post!
📩 Your Turn!
💬 Reply & Tell Me: What’s your biggest struggle in Hifz right now?
🚀 Keep going, and may Allah bless your Hifz journey!
Will try this Inshallah
There's a fellow writer on here who shares her own story of Surah Baqarah and she encourages everyone to make it a dailt practice. I started and then stopped. It's not easy, that's for sure (I'm a hafiz btw so I don't have any excuse of not being good with reading etc). I need to start again.