One concern that often crops up in the lives of those who want to achieve but cannot because of an inability to translate their desires and motivation into action is, how does one get out of this rut. A sister recently, may Allāh bless her, penned it so eloquently. I saw myself in her words, as I’m sure many others do so as well. She wrote about her desire to commit the Qurʾān to memory. She has the intelligence, she…
For some weeks, I’ve been working with a classical book of tafsīr. I’ve been reading and re-reading and then repeating the process over and over again in order to understand and hopefully internalise the scholar’s words. It wasn’t until I reached a segment where he had listed some aḥādīth of Rasūl Allāh ﷺ that I found my self subconsciously evaluating myself. I found myself thinking, reflecting and then resolving. …
You can attend Islāmic seminars, talks and conferences regularly but none of it combined will have the same effect as attending a circle of knowledge at the feet of scholars in a house from the houses of Allāh, where the focus is on conveying ʿilm (rather than jokes and light humour with a copious amount of free-mixing *ducks*). You can attend circles of knowledge at the feet of scholars regularly but none of it will have the effect that attending…
Have you every observed students of knowledge? What is that one thing that is monumental in their success? Consider students who are memorising Qurʾān; what ensures that he or she reaches completion? There are so many who start off ḥifḏh, students of varying intelligence levels, of different backgrounds, and those with different limitations in their access to resources. Why isn’t it that ONLY the most intelligent ones succeed? Or only those who speak Arabic well see completion? Or only those who live…
If you are memorising the Qurʾān, is there any sūrah that you especially love reciting? Perhaps sūrat ar-Raḥmān? That’s an ‘easy’ sūrah to recite, isn’t it? The key to what makes it especially easy is that you hear it and recite it so often that it’s well cemented in your memory. Now is there any sūrah that you find particularly difficult and that you don’t look forward to reciting? Maybe if your teacher was to test you, you would secretly…