How To Become An Hāfidhul Qur'ān by Abdullah Ismail At-Torbary (OAU)

The best gift you can give to your parents is to clothe them in a beautiful garments on the day of judgement, unparalleled in this world. Allah Almighty will elevate them because of it. You might ask how that is possible.

عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلممن قرأ القرآن  وتعلمه وعمل به ألبس يوم القيامة تاجا من النور، ضوؤه مثل ضوء الشمس، وألبس والداه حلتين لاتقوم بهما الدنيا، فيقولان:  بما كسينا هذه؟ قيقال: بأخذ ولدكما القرآن

The prophet SAW said: Whoever recites the Quran, learns it and acts upon it, will be given a crown of light on the day of judgement, its radiance like the sun. His parents will be adorned with two garments of which are not found in this world. They will ask: For what reason were we adorned with these? It will be said to them: Because your child took hold of the Quran.Reflect on this: It is not required just to memorize the Quran but to memorize it and act upon it because the Quran was revealed to be acted upon.

كتاب أنزلناه إليك مبارك ليدبروا آياته وليتذكر أولو ألألباب (سورة ص)

Allah says: “A blessed book which we have revealed to you so that they might reflect upon its verses and that those of understanding would be reminded.”

I want to memorize the Quran, how do I start? Where do I start from? It is what a lot of people find difficult because when you don’t know the meaning of something, you are afraid of it. You are quite nervous or anxious. The first thing you must first remember is Allah’s saying:

 "ولقد يسرنا القرآن للذكر فهل من مدكر"

"We have made the Quran easy for you to remember, easy to memorize." 

You must tell yourself this would be easy, and have a growth and positive mindset Sincerity. The first thing you have to pay attention to is your intention (if you intend good thing you will get good). Make sure that the intention you are making is only for the sake of Allah, and to seek his pleasure so that with His mercy, you will be rewarded in the hear-after. It is not to show off in front of others that you have memorized a lot. Sincerity is not a one-time factor rather it’s a continual battle that you always have to renew overtime. Also, engage in Dhikr of Allah and make a lot of Dua. Learn how to recite the Quran fluently and correctly. You must seek a teacher. A lot of people think it is easy to learn the Quran by themselves, It’s impossible, the Quran cannot be self-learned. Once you find a teacher, you recite to him, he recites to you, he guides you through the process which makes the process a lot easier for you.You are not too old or too busy to learn the Quran. Majority of the companions that memorized the Quran were Old. You are 22yrs, 30yrs, 40yrs, 56yrs doesn’t matter, it depends on how you manage your time. Go for it! You are also never busy for anything. If you want to do something you make time for it. Why wouldn’t you make time for the Quran? The word busy is only subjective to that which you make yourself busy for. You wouldn’t be too busy to eat breakfast or dinner. Make the Quran also on that same level.Also, the Quran you want to memorize from should be the one you start with and the one you finish with. Have a personal copy of the Quran. I never changed my Quran. while I was memorizing, why? Because it helps in Visualization of the pages when reciting off hand.How can I beautify my Voice?The prophet SAW said: 

"زينوا القرآن بأصواتكم" 

"Beautify your voice with Quran." 

You need to have the following in place:

The rules of Tajweed:

 You must recite the Quran with these rules before your voice can come out beautiful. Your voice should not be leading recitation, but it should be the rule that lead your recitation. 

Listen to Quran reciters: 

This beautiful voice can be learned. In other for us to learn such sounds, you must be Inspired by it. You take that voice and you make your own unique voice from it. Don’t imitate a reciter to the fullest (100%). That reciter has his own unique recitation, you should also have a unique recitation. Get inspiration from them. The more you listen to different reciters, the more inspirations you get. Recite with the meaning, the voice that comes out when you know the meaning of Quran is always better. When you recite the Quran from heart, the heart feels it. The voice that comes out is always better than the voices you try to develop or force which is perhaps not natural to the way you recite. Once the Quran is conveyed from the heart, it’ll reach the heart.Many people think that once I am done with memorization, I am done. No that’s where its just started. You have to make sure you constantly review or revise it. It is easy to memorize the Quran, but it is easier to forget the Quran. You must stick to it. You have a daily portion of the Quran you revise every day. You could further learning the sciences and the meaning of Quran so that you act upon it. As you are memorizing the Quran, your life must become more Quranic central.May Allah bless us with the Quran, make it an evidence for us on the day of judgement and not evidence against us. Aaamen.

 Written by Abdullah Ismail At-TorbaryDa’awah committee, AMETSA.