The Three Day Hifz Method

New pages excite you. Old pages save you. - #200

Bismillāh al-Rahmān al-Rahīm,

Assalāmu ʿAlaykum!

Subhān Allāh, I’ve reached issue 200. That’s 200 weeks. Approaching 4 years straight! Thank you for being here.

Today I want to speak to you very plainly.

Because a lot of people are tired of forgetting.

They say:
“I memorise… but I forget quickly.”
“My memory is weak.”
“My mind doesn’t hold.”

Let me say this clearly, without softness:

The problem is not your memory.

I have seen people with sharp minds forget everything.
And I have seen people who swear their memory is “like iron” still lose what they memorised.

Why?

Because they memorised the Qur’an the same way they memorised school notes:
page today, page tomorrow, page after tomorrow, then move on.

This is page-turning.

The Qur’an is not a lesson you pass and leave.
It is something that stays with you until you meet Allah.

So the method must match that reality.

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The First Rule: Memorisation Must Be Spaced

Some of our teachers have said:

Two hours spread out are better than four hours in one sitting.

The mind accepts knowledge in intervals, not in one heavy push.

This is how people used to memorise.
This is how memorisation lasts.

If you memorise something today and abandon it tomorrow,
don’t be surprised if you return and find nothing.

That is not forgetfulness.
That is a broken system.

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The Foundation of This Method

Memorisation is not done in one day.

One page is memorised over three days.

This is the foundation.
Everything else builds on this.

This was the way of the people of the Maghrib.
They used the lawḥ — the wooden tablet — which had:

• a new side

• an old side

• and what was memorised yesterday

So at any time, they were dealing with three layers:
new, recent, and old.

This is what makes memorisation deep.

Now listen carefully.

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Day One: Planting the Page

In the morning, when you take your new page:

1. Read it 10 times with your eyes fixed on the page

   • Do not look away.

   • Do not recite from memory.

   • Let the page imprint itself in your mind.

   • Every word. Every letter.

If your eyes leave the page, start again.

This step alone changes everything.

2. After that, recite the page 30 times

   • This is memorisation, not speed-reading.

   • Calm. Focused. Present.

That’s the morning.

3. Later in the day (after ʿAṣr, for example):

   • Recite the same page 30 times

4. At night (preferably after ʿIshāʾ, before sleep):

   • Recite it 30 times again

By the end of Day One:

• You have read the page 90 times

• Plus the 10 focused visual readings

This page is no longer foreign to your mind.

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Day Two: Anchoring What You Took

The next morning, do not start with something new.

You begin with yesterday’s page.

1. Recite yesterday’s page 30 times

Only after that do you touch the new page.

2. With the new page:

   • 10 focused visual readings

   • Then 30 recitations

Later in the day:

• Recite yesterday’s page 30 times

• Recite today’s page 30 times

At night:

• The same again.

By the end of Day Two:

• Yesterday’s page has reached 180 repetitions

• Today’s page has begun settling properly

Notice something important:
You are always carrying the past with you.

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Day Three: Making It Stay

On Day Three, the page from Day One is now two days old.

That morning:

• Recite that first page 20 times

That page is now deeply rooted.

From here on, it joins your “old memorisation”.

This cycle continues.

At any moment, you are holding:

• something new

• something from yesterday

• something older that is being reinforced

This is memorisation with intelligence.
Not pressure.
Not panic.
Not fear of forgetting.

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Why This Works (Even If Your Memory Is Weak)

Because the brain loves repetition over time, not force.

You are not overloading yourself.
You are not gambling with retention.
You are building layer upon layer.

This is why:

• people with “weak memory” succeed

• memorisation becomes calm

• forgetting slows down drastically

And this method is not just for Qur’an.
It works for ḥadīth.
It works for texts.
It works for anything that must stay.

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One Final Word

If you keep saying:
“I forget quickly”
ask yourself instead:

How many days did I actually stay with what I memorised?

The Qur’an does not leave the one who returns to it properly.

But it will not stay with someone who rushes past it.

Take it slowly.
Take it seriously.
And use a method that respects the weight of what you are carrying.

May Allah put barakah in your time,
strengthen what you memorise,
and allow the Qur’an to remain with you until you meet Him.

And remember me in your duʿāʾ.

وَصَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَىٰ سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَىٰ آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلِّمْ

— Qāri’ Mubashir

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📖 THE DIARY OF A HĀFIZ

I share these not to impress you, but to normalise the struggle. These are not ideal journeys. These are real ones. If you see yourself in them, that’s the point.

Here’s a roundup reporting the progress of our brothers and sisters this week:

🧕🏼 Aaliya

Background: I'm 29 and I started memorizing full time about 3 years ago. As a child, I had only memorized the last few surahs of juz 30. But as an adult, I started reading the Quran everyday and slowly began memorizing. Now I go to a masjid hifz class everyday and I have memorized 22 ajza so far Alhamdulillah. 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.

Year 2, Week 25:

“Alhamdullilah I completed surah Yasin. But I am having a hard time with surah Saffat. I need to increase the number of repetitions for it. I’m on my break now so I am just listening this week.

For revision, I had to redo juz 20th a couple of times, but Alhamdullilah it is stronger now. I also recited 11th, 12th, 1st and 2nd. And I recited 22nd juz daily.”

🧕🏼 Umm Sulaym

Background: I’m 22 years old and I’ve spent over 2 years on the journey of memorizing the Quran. I started on my own, then I had a teacher who helped for over half a year and then back to myself for about some months. All of these times, I didn’t have a particularly consistent routine or pattern, I just wanted to keep going. After close to 2 years I had memorized about 8 ajzaa but I was stuck, I hadn’t prioritized revision, The amount of memorization I had accomplished feels more than a number than the wordings itself, I can hardly remember much. Now, I’m on journey - while keeping to moving forward (I’m on currently my 10th juz) - to put intense effort to revising or re-memorizing as it applies my previous memorizations and then begin a consistent pattern to memorizing and revising.

Week 16:

“Assalam’alaykum,

Still on the memorization of Al-‘ankabut, I haven’t put enough care into repeating the portions I’m memorizing.

On the revision of Juz Dhariyaat is going quite well for most part, Alhamdulillah.” 

🧕🏼 Aisha

Background: I’m a 37 yr old, mother of 6 kids. I memorised the Qur’an in madrasa initially and completed it on my own after marriage. Lack of proper revision, haste in reaching the end line and not prioritising Qur’an due to responsibilities led me to forget my hifz. I’ve been rememorising since a year and completed 17 juz so far with a goal to complete hifz again with regular revision ... and carry it till death , Insha Allah.

Year 1, Week 12:

“Assalamualaikum warahmatullah,

The past week was a rough one with health issues and I ended up not memorising anything new, I’m quite upset with how I’ve been performing lately. For now , with only two weeks left for Ramazan I decided to halt new sabaq instead of dragging it and focus solely on muraja’ah Insha Allah.

For the revision part , Alhamdulillah I’ve started revising the 14th juz page by page , and recited in prayer as much as I could, it wasn’t a juz per day because I was in my weaker ajza but for all that has been happening with my health I’m glad and grateful that I didn’t abandon this part , may Allah grant steadfastness and humility in His path.”

👳🏼‍♂️ 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 38 and has been the most consistent of our diaries despite continued struggles.

Year 3, Week 22:

“I have been struggling again, hopefully, up to and during Ramadan, I can revive this relationship.”

👉 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! It’s easy, I just need a bio, your goals, and then an update weekly.

Allāh grant us all success and ease on this path!

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⭐ COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS & UPDATES

• Launching in Ramadan (next month). There are now hundreds of you waiting for Hifz Camp. In shā’ Allāh, it will open. I know it’s been a long while now.

• I’m in the middle of currently updating a number of tools for you too including a new Hifz Tester.

• My apologies. I have been sifting through emails and getting back to you many of you, some of you still await, in shā’ Allāh, I will get back to you.

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P.S.

f you returned today — even with one āyah — reply and tell me.

Not to report progress.
But to mark a return.

💬 Reply & tell me: What’s your biggest struggle in Hifz right now? Have a question? Reply to this email (or answer the question below) and let me know—I’ll try to feature your question in upcoming posts.