Memorise Qur`ān in TWO months. (19 tips to get you there)

Note: This was originally posted on my other blog: A World with Strangers. Since then, I have put that blog to sleep. A sister recently requested for this post, so I decided to put up a slightly edited version here, the original title was:Memorise Qur`ān in TWO months. (18 tips to get you there.)

 I hope everyone can benefit from it.

 

Sheikh Abdul-Qādir al-ʿĀmrī oversees a summer Qur`ān boot camp in Dubai, where children from the age of 13 and above come and spend the entire day memorising Qur`ān and commit the entire Qur`ān to memory in TWO months. They have been running this boot camp for around 10 years and Mashā`Allāh they have had an extraordinary rate of success. And for these people age is NOT an issue, students here start from 13 year olds and the age group goes up to seventy – I kid you not.

These are some of the tips that the Sheikh shared:

1. Intention

Whatever you do, do it for the sake of Allāh, for no one and for nothing else. Do it for the rewards He has promised in the Hereafter and in this Dunya. Do it for His countenance. Purify your intention often. And be careful of falling into Riyā` (hidden shirk) – which is when a person performs a good deed to show off or to please people.

2. Empty your mind

This is how the Sheikh described it – imagine a glass full of water, no matter how much you try and fill it with more water, you won’t succeed. Similarly when you sit down to memorise Qur`ān, you must clear your mind of every tension, of every worry, of every distraction, thought, everything! Forget about what you *have* to do later and concentrate on the task at hand: memorising the words of Allāh.

It would also be ideal if you switch of your mobile phone.

3. Desire to memorise.

You must have a sincere desire to memorise. Why do you want to do it? Is it because it is the summer and you have nothing else to do? Or because you want to please Allāh and gain His love? (This goes hand in hand with the sincerity part). The sheikh especially emphasises on this point. Because many parents forcefully enrol their children and the child has absolutely no desire to memorise. Prior to accepting the child, the centre conducts an interview and only those who really *want* to memorise Qur`ān for the right reasons are accepted into this program.

4. Competitiveness

This program (boot camp) has a strong level of competitiveness and this is one of the main reasons students excel. So if you’re trying to do this at home, try and get someone to help you through it.

5. Time

Dedicate time. Some serious amount of time.

The camp starts at 8 AM and goes on until ʿIshā` (which is around 8 pm), and in between they have prayer breaks, food breaks, and there is a resting period between Ḏhuhr and ʿAṣr, also they have games and other sports available and the students are encouraged to play.

As they are on a very tight schedule, they are very particular about time, and absolutely no time is wasted (this is not contradictory to taking a break to play and rest; your brain needs breaks!).

Set a time frame in which you will be memorising and stick to it!

6. Recite to a teacher

After memorising the bit that you need to memorise, recite it to a teacher. This solidifies whatever that you have memorised, and the listener will be able to point out mistakes you might have over looked.

7. Avoid haram

One of the reasons for the success of this camp is because the students stay clear of anything remotely ḥarām. Because they spend their time with righteous people in a Masjid, they do not see anything ḥarām, nor hear anything ḥarām, nor say anything ḥarām, and this has an amazing impact.

So if you are serious about memorising Qur`ān, then rid your life of every ḥarām, whether it is Music*, movies, idle talk, backbiting, slandering, whatever it is, just get it out of your life.

*Music and Qur`ān cannot co-exist in a person’s heart. If you have one, you cannot have the other. And for Muslims who are considered practicing and are memorising Qur`ān, they might not be listening to pop music and what not, but they might be listening to Nasheeds that have music and music regardless of what it is paired with, it is still considered music.

8. Practice, practice, practice

The sheikh used an interesting analogy to help us understand how to maximise our potential. He says, “Your brain is like a muscle, the more you ‘work it out’ the stronger it will get.”

So practice. 

In the earlier days of Islām, papers weren’t readily available, because of which our scholars used to memorise everything – everything! And their memory reached such an amazing capacity that when they would go out to the market, they would cover their ears because whatever they heard they instantly memorised.

Practice.

9. Duʿā`

Allāh makes the impossible possible. And you need to make Duʿā` to Allāh to help you during this noble journey.

Do your part and work hard but don’t forget the most important bit: seeking Allāh’s aid.

 

This is most of what the Sheikh advised. I decided to write down some more tips that I have picked up over the years from scholars and through experience:

10. Use one Muṣḥaf

Muṣḥaf is the copy of the Qur`ān! 🙂 When you are reading over and over again from the same Muṣḥaf, the pages are imprinted in your mind and thus it is easier to recollect later on. If you get stuck at an āyah, you will know the exact place of that āyah on the page and with a little more prodding on your part, you will easily recollect, bi`idhni Allāh taʿālā.

Scholars always recommend Muṣḥaf Al-Madīnah (the copies printed for the Ḥaramayn) because of the clarity of the writing and other important reasons.

11. Technique

You must develop a technique that works for you. You know yourself, and you know how much you can take in and what your capabilities are so work with them.

Many people start of by memorising 3 āyāt in one sitting, then they graduate to 5 and then to a page. But whatever you find easiest. Although, I personally highly recommend starting with a few āyāt then building on, especially if you are new to this.

Read the portion that you intend to memorise, whether it is 3 āyāt, 5 or more, at least 10 times. Then recite it to yourself, if you get stuck, read the part where you got stuck 5 times. Then recite it to yourself again. If you manage to recite it correctly until the end of your portion, a few times, then open your Muṣḥaf again and read that part 20 times (as a starter!) whilst paying attention to every word and every symbol. But if you want it to stay in your long term memory, you need to read and recite dozens of times more.

12. Revision

You will forget if you don’t revise. Then you’ll be back to square one. (Trust me, you don’t want that.)

Set a time, preferably separate from your main ḥifḏh hour. Perhaps 20 minutes after each Ṣalāh? Your call. But revise! 

13. Organise

If you intend to finish memorising Qur`ān then set a time limit by which you want to finish memorisation, be it a couple of months, a year or more. And stick to it.

14. Tahajjud

The best way to ensure that whatever you memorise really stays with you is to get up and pray tahajjud.

(Coincidentally, this is also the best time to ask Allāh to help you through this process).

15. Tafsīr

You are more likely to remember what you understand, thus if you try and learn some tafsīr it would make the process easy for you. If you don’t have time for tafsīr then at least read the translation.

16. Tajwīd

Many people generally overlook this point.

What is more important than memorising the Qur`ān is reciting it correctly. And many of us cannot recite the Qur`ān like it should be recited.

If you can’t find a qualified teacher then take the help of a learned sister who can guide you.

But you must implement the rules of Tajwīd as you memorise. 

17. Listen to Qur`ānic Recitation

Over and over again.

To aid in improving recitation, there are two reciters that are vouched for by almost every Qur`ān teacher: Khalīl al-Ḥuṣrī and al-Minshāwī.

18. Don’t Rely on “Osmosis”

As our school teachers used to (sarcastically) say, ‘Placing your books under your pillow at night won’t help you pass that exam’.

Point is, make the effort to memorise. It won’t happen simply because you *really want to memorise*, you need to actively work for it.

19. Persistence

Starting this journey is easy. You are on an īmān high, you have watched tonnes of documentaries of little children memorising Qur`ān, you’ve watched tonnes of motivational clips about ḥifḏh and you want to do it too. So you start.

But then comes The Slump. When you forget what made you start, when the initial exhilaration and motivation wears off, when life gets in the way. You wean off.

DON’T.

Persist.

It is going to get intense, trust me, but that is when you need to work harder and push yourself – physically, emotionally and spiritually.

This emphasises the need to work in groups, because when you slack off, there will be others who can push you.

 

Finally remember, the rewards for those who memorise Qur`ān and act upon it are unimaginable, let this be your motivation to see you through this noble process.

[And We have certainly made the Qur’an easy for remembrance, so is there any who will remember?] Sūrah al-Qamar:17, 22, 32, 40

 

 

Disclaimer: I am not associated with the centre that I mentioned above. I do not have their contact, nor am I in contact with them, and thus I will not be able to answer any questions pertaining to that centre.

Bārak Allāhu fīkum. =)