How Bilal, Ziyad, and a medical student memorised the Qur'an

May 10, 2022

How A Medical Student Memorised Qur’an In Lockdown (3 min read)

I wanted to share this not only to give you a boost but to remind you of what is possible when you put in the effort with the time that you have. He would go to Hospital for work and come back to recite Qur'ān and then start his medical studies.

How Bilal Memorized Qur’ān And Then Forgot It (12 min read)

A few years ago I caught up with Hafiz Bilal Memon (USA), the founder of Quran Academy, and we had a live chat about his memorization journey. Bilal memorized it when he was young and then forgot it twice! He shares what he did.

How A University Student Memorised Qur’ān (7 min read)

A few years ago during the lockdown, I caught up with Hafiz Ziyad Asghar (UK) who recently memorised the Qur’an in 4 years. At the time he was in his final year at university while also studying the Islamic sciences. He shares what he did and how he felt when he memorised.

📖 A JOURNEY WITH QUR'ĀN

Where we learn by watching others memorise. Here's a roundup reporting the progress of three brothers in their pursuit of memorising the Qur'ān. Allāh bless them. You can read the introductions in Issue #1 if you've missed it.

'Abdullāh, the university student

A quick reminder: He started reviewing again after a long period without it and hasn't been memorising since last year. He restarted things in Ramadān and has reviewed everything since (30th, 29th, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd).
What he accomplished last week: He has been in Palestine and has returned to the UK. He recited Qur'ān to someone in Palestine and did some review when he returned but wasn't feeling well last week. He started Surah al-Insān yesterday and will look to progress this week, in shā' Allāh.

Hasnaat, the recent graduate in full-time work

Quick reminder: He also began to review his Qur'ān after so many months of not doing so. He restarted in Ramadān and has made good progress.
What he accomplished last week: Had an 'Eīd break and wasn't able to recite to his teacher last week. He was supposed to start yesterday but never showed up.
These are the ups and downs that Hasnaat had come to be used to over the last two years and is something he needs to work on. Allāh make it easier for him. This is the reality of memorisation for many of us.

Muhammad, trying to start all over again

Quick reminder: Has forgotten what he memorised (half the Qur'ān) and after struggling to start, with a little push, he finally started with the 30th Juz'.
What he accomplished last week: After a break for 'Eīd, he got the courage to book a session with a teacher for 30 mins on Sunday. He explained his situation to the teacher and the teacher said to start from Surah al-Baqarah. So, Mā shā' Allāh, he's started something, and we pray he can continue this momentum!
Challenges he spoke to me about: Following discussions about perfectionist anxiety, and feeling like a fraud and a failure - this week Muhammad spoke about Tajwīd. When he recited to the teacher (who was Egyptian), the teacher stopped him on his Madd and the letter Daad [Ḍād (ﺽ)]. The conversation with the teacher left him confused. The teacher was saying that he was pronouncing the letter from the front teeth making it into a heavy Daal ( د ). Instead, he should be pronouncing it from either side of the tongue. Muhammad though believed it was also correct to recite the letter with pressure at the front of the tongue and so it was okay to pronounce from the front. This, of course, affected him in the session and he began to forget things. This is what perfectionist anxiety can do to you. I explained to him that the letter does use the sides of the tongue alongside the inner faces of the top left and/or right molars and you press the tongue against the hard palate, but it must be directly behind the front teeth, not using the teeth. So just practice this and don't let it pull you down. There are some good videos on it. You visit one with Qari Wisam and Sh 'Abdullah Khadra.

⚒️ TIPS AND TOOLS

Since we're reading about others journeys today, here's a wonderful tweet for some extra motivation!

"subhanallah thinking about when i was in my early days of hifdh, being discouraged from doing it sm that Allah sent me a sign through a dream of the Prophet PBUH.

I was around 10 years old max. that night i remember having many dreams and later in the night in one of my dreams my dad was driving somewhere and he said “aminah i’m going to take you somewhere- to see the prophet Muhammad PBUH.” so we drove until we reached an open space. it seemed like a wudu area- everything was sparkling and marble and on one of the wudu place the Prophet PBUH was sitting. he’d clearly just finished making wudu and water was dripping from his beard. subhanallah when people describe the noor on his face it’s an understatement wallah words cannot explain the beauty on the face of our beloved nabi. he smiled at me and we spoke. he’s just as they describe him, not too tall or too short not fat nor skinny but the only different thing was that in my dream his hair was white. I remember doubting the dream for a while until i asked my ustadh who explained the meaning of that as well. anyways he asked me if i was doing hifdh and when i answered yes he asked me to recite for him. i was on surah sād and i recited for him and i wasn’t nervous atm. just felt more contentment than i can explain while reciting. then he asked my sister if she was doing hifdh and she was on surah yasin and she recited as well. the Prophet PBUH encouraged me saying how good it is that i’m doing hifdh and after we finished speaking he asked, “have you ever seen my masjid?” and when i replied no he told me to come with him and he’d show me and before we left i woke up. he was so easy to talk to. so gentle and kind and the noor radiated off him. may Allah allow us all to see him on our dreams and meet him in the akhira ameen. i remember my parents being so happy when i told them this dream alhamdulillah for their support always may Allah reward them endlessly for supporting me and my siblings in memorizing the Quran."

[Source: Twitter]

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