Are you giving up?
Here's what's at stake - Issue #154
Bismillāh al-Rahmān al-Rahīm
Assalāmu ‘Alaykum!
We’re quickly approaching the last ten days of Ramadān, may Allāh grant us increase!
I’ve not been well for the last 3-4 days and I’ve had time to reflect on a lot of things. Today, I want to remind you about things that are possible.
🤲 Requesting your prayers,
- Qāri’ Mubashir
Keep Trying, Keep Going
I was reflecting over all the vast experiences that I’ve come across today, all the stories, people from all walks of life. One thing sticks out - all of them have one thing in common (amongst many other things). That’s persistence.
Do you know that many famous voices of Qur’ān recitation that we hear today also went through struggles?
Such a voice is Nasser al-Qatami, he says his memorisation was unusual because he memorised when he was in high school. As a child, he used to run away from anything connected to the Qur'ān. His father tried to have him join classes but he would hide in the closet, he went to Hifz school but couldn't memorise nor complete his Hifz. He tried multiple times as a child, but he couldn't do it. We always hear that as a child, it's the best time to memorise, and it is but some of us are very resistant at that age and run away just like Nasser al-Qatami.
Out of nowhere, he felt a desire to go to the Masjid. His trigger? An elderly man with a limp walking distances to the masjid and he would always greet them with a smile and as them to come to salah. Then Nasser al-Qatami started memorising alone. He was then advised by an uncle that he can't memorise alone, he needed a teacher. He started and did 3 juz' but wasn't consistent until he fully committed during high school. He memorised under a teacher from Pakistan. He would memorise for some hours every day and practice in salah.
Take another voice, Saad al-Ghamdi, he memorised when he was 22 during university. He would dedicate his evenings to memorisation and he would do it alone. Until he realised he needed to do it again under a teacher.
Take another voice, 'Ali Al-Hudhaifi, he completed his Hifz after the age of 30, but he is proficient and hardly makes mistakes. He was once asked about the strength of his memorisation, and he said: 'I recite with the people when leading the prayer as the Imam, short surah, but when I pray the Sunnah prayers, I recite in each rak’ah a Hizb.' - that is, ten pages. A student said: I waited for Shaykh Al-Hudhaifi after the Maghrib prayer to ask him, and when he got up to perform the Sunnah prayer, he remained praying for 40 minutes, during which he read a complete Juz' of the Qur’an. The Shaykh completes the Qur’ān every ten days without looking.
There are many such examples but why am I sharing this with you today? I'm reminding you that this path requires a level of persistence, a level of action, a level of consistency, a level of effort, and that anything is possible.
This is not a path of regrets.
Think about how much a blessing and an honour it is that Allāh has granted you the ability not only to recite the Qur'ān but to memorise it. Think about how Allāh, the Most Loving, has given you the blessing of establishing a relationship with His Word. I always say, the honour today is not being able to recite whatever you can from memory wherever and whenever you can. Anyone can do that!
The true honour is to be able to recite, memorise, understand, love, and live the Qur'ān in an age where everyone around wants nothing to do with it. Keeping your connection alive in such an age contains many secrets. The Qur'ān is a Light and is given to whoever approaches it with a desire for it. You have been chosen to engage with the Qur'ān for a reason. Make your foundations firm in seeking its Light.
Allāh granted you time and opportunity to form a relationship with His Word, embrace it. You will see wonders. You will see tests but you'll still be on the path.
If you’re memorising and trying for the last 5, 10, 15, 20 or 25 years and are still on the path, don’t look at it like I’ve been trying for X number of years, instead, look at the honour of saying, ‘Alhamdulillah, I have spent X number of years with the Qur’an so far and I ask Allah to grant me many more years’.
Read more 🔗 Read This Now If You Feel Like Giving Up Hifz (12 mins)
This is not a path of regrets.
Your continued sincere connection with the Qur'ān is something to rejoice! Despite thousands of hours of struggle, not one person before you (or after you) ever regrets trading his or her time with the Qur’ān.
Keep the connection alive.
Read more 🔗 Keep Your Connection With The Quran Alive (5 mins)
📖 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
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 37 and has been the most consistent of our diaries despite continued struggles.
What he accomplished last week (Year 2 Week 29 complete):
“I have been repeating the 8th juz’ and trying to recite as much of the Qur’ān as possible each day, routine and fatigue makes things difficult.”
🧕🏼 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 31:
“This week I read and listened to Quran. It was difficult though since I had more unexpected family situations come up, but I'm glad I was able to balance it all.
Next week, I plan to return to madersa and slowly start revision again inshAllah.”
🧕🏼 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 & 18:
“I have been very busy with Ramadan , twice forgot to update my completion in the Tikrar app and forgot to send the hifz diary last week , I hope today I make it in time.
Alhamdulillah I've been revising Juz 1 to surah Yusuf according to the tikrar schedule, now on my 4th round of review alhamdulillah , I'm reciting it in tahajjud and taraweeh , this has definitely been very helpful and I can see the difference, I've been making leaser mistakes and getting fluent alhamdulillah.
May Allah ease all our affairs.”
👉 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
📢 📢 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.
📌 Quick Feedback: How Did You Find This Post?
🔥 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!