How Huffaz Who Forgot the Qur’an Got It Back — 8 Habits
Some didn’t touch the Qur’an for years. But they came back. Here’s exactly how they did it. - Issue #159
Bismillāh al-Rahmān al-Rahīm
Assalāmu ‘Alaykum!
Last week, I told you the story of Muhammad — an amazing story of a man who lost his voice…
Forgot the Qur’an, and then recited all of it in a single session, without a single mistake!
It resonated.
We’re all going through something. We say, “I’ve memorised before… but I’ve forgotten,” “I’m too far behind,” and ask “Is there a way back?”
There is.
Today, I extend this discussion based on a rare meeting. This meeting was of Huffāẓ with decades of experience — from senior teachers to those who had once forgotten their Qur’an, and came back to it.
They spoke from the heart. They spoke with honesty. And they shared 10 very practical, very doable pieces of advice. I want to share those with you today.
🧠 Powerful Insights from Huffaz: How to Retain and Reclaim Your Hifz
From 37 years of experience, to struggling Huffaz, to advice for beginners — this rare discussion was packed with golden insights on memorising, reviewing, and reviving the Qur’an. This included Huffāz that memorised the Qur’ān without any revision (recent and past) as part of their memorisation journey.
📊 1. Use a Rukū’-Based Memorisation System
The Qur’an has 558 rukū’s (sections).
Set a plan: 1 rukūʿ per day, repeated 40–50 times, until solid.
Recite that same rukū’ in all your prayers that day (especially Sunnah and Nafl).
After 4 rukūʿs, you’ve memorised a quarter; 8 for half; 16 for the full portion.
This method allows steady, review-rich progress.
Do this especially for the ones you do not know well.
🕋 2. Make Salah Your Review Space
Don’t switch to short surahs in Sunnah or Taraweeh.
Repeat your current memorised portion across all 5 daily prayers.
Use Salah as a review mechanism — not just recitation.
This turns prayer into reinforcement, not routine.
🔁 3. Use Repetition & Listening as Review Tools
Recite a rukū’ at least 20–50 times, aloud.
Pair listening to high-quality Qur’an recitation (e.g., best reciters) with reading.
Listening improves flow, tajwīd, and confidence.
Even if you're not actively memorising, daily listening keeps the Qur’an alive in your heart. Listen to a Qārī. Then try to recite it yourself — with the same tone, same tajwīd, same flow. This strengthens your hearing, fluency, and confidence.
There are people who recite the Qur'ān on a daily basis by looking and they even correct Huffāz in Ramadān despite not having memorised the Qur'ān. You have to give the Qur’ān time.
Read: Memorise by listening
🧍♂️ 4. Revive Forgotten Hifz Through Group Review
Multiple huffaz who had forgotten their Qur’ān regained it through:
Early morning group recitation (4am)
One person reads a rukūʿ, the next person the next, and so on
Repeat the same rukūʿ multiple times together
Sessions lasted from 1.5 to 10 hours, depending on commitment
Consistency for 1 year brought complete revival
Sometimes, it’s not about you. It’s about who you struggle with.
📖 5. Keep the Qur’an Open While Revising
One hāfiẓ revised his hifz by reading 3 times daily with the mushaf open.
Eventually, the verses entered his ears and heart again — even after years of forgetting.
Reading aloud while seeing the mushaf allows visual + auditory reinforcement.
The 2 month method: Spend 2 months reading 3 ajzā’ daily by looking. Then start to revise for 2 months. Then spend 2 months again reading by looking. Then again without, etc.
🕋 6. Practice Night Review After Maghrib & Nafl Salah
After Maghrib, recite your intended Taraweeh portion in Nafl.
If you make a mistake, check the mushaf and correct it before Isha.
By the time Taraweeh comes, you’ve already “rehearsed” the portion.
This method builds night-time confidence and prevents public error.
⏱️ 7. Morning Focus = Night Confidence
Some huffaz said: “I don’t sleep peacefully at night until I’ve reviewed my destination (assigned portion).”
Aim to complete your revision as early as possible.
⏱️ 8. Hafiz Training Begins Early — But Sacrifice Matters at Every Age
One Qari recalled how, as a child, he used to listen to Qur’an on tape through headphones, every night — even after Taraweeh.
That small act of sacrifice turned into lifelong blessing.
Allah opens unimaginable doors from small, sincere habits.
“The Qur’an is like a camel. If you loosen the rope, it runs wild.”
Tie it back. One verse at a time.
🤲 Requesting your prayers,
- Qāri’ Mubashir
📖 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.
Year 2 Week 34:
“I stepped backwards this week, missed a few days and that set me back. The struggles continue, but I will keep going as always!.”
🧕🏼 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 35 & 36:
“As-salamualiakum, sorry I missed last week's diary. This week wasn't much different from last week, I haven't made any real progress with revision. I also haven't gone back to madersa yet. At this point, it’s been more than 3 months since I've been to madersa and I'm just ashamed that it’s been that long. A lot happened during that time that was out of my control and I had to step back from my madersa routine, but I'm ashamed that I let go of it completely. But I also know that I can't get back on track unless I go to madersa and just start again. So next week, inshallah, I plan to go back to madersa, even for half a day and recite something.”
🧕🏼 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 23:
“Assalamualaikum warahmatullah,
Alhamdulillah , last week went well , all praise belongs to Allah alone !
New: Memorising Surah Ibrahim, less than half remains. Connection: Juz 13 till sabaq .
Still not perfect but alhamdulillah I'm trying to revise it in small portions to make it easier .
Revision: Daily 2 ajzaa , from juz 1 to 12, have been reciting in prayer.
I also had a session with my Tikrar teacher , recited the 10th juz to her and she tested me in Juz 2 to 9 .
I'm glad that it went well because every month I feel anxious about reciting and being tested but Allah makes everything easy . She was happy with my performance, I was delighted to receive positive feedback from her .
May Allah shower us with His blessings and forgive our shortcomings, grant us steadfastness in deen and His Riza!!”
👉 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
🚨 Website & Communities
1️⃣ WhatsApp communities
- Alhamdulillāh, a lot of you (particularly our sisters) have now read the proposed new setup and direction for the groups. In shā’ Allāh, things will progress from here.
2️⃣ Website & updates
- Updates are still ongoing, so watch this space.
- If anyone has any specific feedback or ideas, you are most welcome.
- If you want to get involved in the project, please get in touch. Devs, designers, community builders, content creators, etc!
3️⃣ Other matters
- Those that want to try some memorisation methods I mentioned in the chat, I have an idea, I’ll be in touch soon. In shā’ Allāh.
- The Hifz Buddy Finder has been updated with new profiles.
- The Teachers Directory has also been updated with further additions.
Your Turn!
💬 Reply & Tell Me: What’s your biggest struggle in Hifz right now? Reply to this email and let me know—I’ll try to feature your question in upcoming posts.
🚀 Keep going. Allah bless your journey and make every step easier than the last.
📌 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!
Jazakallahu khairan
This is awesome. So many practical tips! Jazak Allah Khayr!