Title: Securing the Rememberance

Author: Hafiz Sohail Bengali Saheb [sallamahullaah]

There are 10 chapters in total and then a conclusion. So bear with pateince

This book in your hand is prepared by my friend, Hafiz Sohail from Chicago. I know Hafiz Sohail for the past three years. We have spent some days together in the past two Ramadhaans at Darul Huda, Springfield, Virginia, USA after he would complete his Taraweeh in Chicago.

Alhamdulillah, Hafiz Sohail possesses many outstanding qualities. He is a very good Hafiz with extremely sweet recitation. Hafiz Sohail is an IT Specialist and is doing his Aalim course in his spare time. He is very humble and soft by nature and threads the path of Taqwa to the best of his ability.

This book is an expression of some of his abovementioned qualities. Hafiz Sohail presents ten chapters with thirty points dealing with many issues of memorising the Qur'aan, virtues of a Hafiz, obstacles in becoming a Hafiz, respect to teachers, parent's responsibilities, du'aas for hifz, etc.

I have read the book and it touched my heart. It is my fervent du'aa that Allah accepts the efforts of Hafiz Sohail and I take a good omen on his name (Sohail - easy) that the contents of this book will encourage people to become Huffaaz and assist those who are becoming Huffaaz. This book is a must for every household, parents and Huffaaz. I name this book, 'Securing the Remembrance'.

Ebrahim Desai
Shawwal 24, 1425

Prophet Muhammad {peace be on him) categorically said in one of his sayings that the Quraan is the miracle bestowed on him by Allah Almighty:

Narrated Abu Hurairah: The Prophet (peace be on him) said, "Every Prophet was given miracles because of which people believed but what I have been given is the Divine inspiration which has been revealed to me. So, I hope that my followers will out-number the followers of the other Prophets on the Day of Resurrection.'

In fact, in answer to those who were asking Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) for a miracle. Allah asked him to answer them as follows:

"Is it not enough for them that we have sent down to you (O Muhammad) the book (Qur'an), which is rehearsed to them. Verily in it is a mercy and reminder to those who believe.’

As proof of Divine and miraculous nature of the Holy Qur’aan, two arguments are advanced by Allah Himself:

* the fact that the Prophet was unlettered

‘Those who followed the Messengers, the Prophet who can neither read nor write (i.e. Muhammad) they find written in the Torah and the Injil (Gospel).’

* The testimony of the Qur’aan to the effect that Muhammad (peace be on him) could never have composed the contents of the Holy Qur'an; he could not have been its author:

"Neither did you (O Muhammad) read any book before it (the Qur'an) nor did you write (any book) with your right hand, in that case the followers of falsehood might have doubted."

The Immediate Ayah i.e. verse, states categorically that the Qur'an is the miracle for men of wisdom, people with literary and spiritual insight who are honest to themselves:

"Verily, here (in Qur'an) are signs (miracles) self-evident in the hearts of those endowed with knowledge and none but the unjust shall reject our signs (miracles."

Identifying Allah's Miracle
Five conditions have to be met by an event to qualify as a miracle from Allah.

1. That no one except Allah, the Lord and Master of the worls, is able to do it by Himself or through any of His messengers.

2. That the incident breaks the usual norms and differs from the law of nature.

3. That it serves as a proof for the trust and claim of the messenger

4. That it happened in accordance with the messenger’s claim, and

5. The the event happens through the messenger and no one else.

The stand of Islam on miracles is that it is exclusive for the messengers and apostles of Allah. He honoured them with the ability to perform certain feats by His leave. Apart from messengers and apostles of Allah, certain human beings, at one time or the other, were also honoured to perform wonders similar to the miracles of the messengers of Allah. This is distinguished from magic, whose source is Satan and which is wrought by evil men and women.

Dr. Kamil Kayejo Oloso

Chapter 1

THE IMPORTANCE OF HIFZ

إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَـفِظُونَ

“Verily, We, it is We Who revealed the Dhikr (i.e. the Qur'an) and surely We will guard it (from corruption)” (15:09)

One of the names of the Holy Quran is 'The Remembrance' (Al-Dhikr) and in this verse, Allah U takes the responsibility for guarding this Remembrance (Dhikr).

My teacher, Qari Abdul Mannan (db) says regarding this verse:

“Allah U chooses which hearts to put the Quran into, which hearts to pour this light (Noor) into so that it is safe-guarded against corruption."

Thus the Huffaz are actually chosen by Allah U to be co-guardians of this Remembrance.

So the first reason for memorizing the Quran is to guard it from corruption, and one can gauge that importance by seeing the changes that have occurred with the Tauraah and the Injil over the years.

"According to reports from the Banu Isra'il themselves, the ruler of Rome, Anitos Apifonis got every single copy of the Tauraah burnt until no copy was left. The same happened to the Bible so the original transcriptions became extinct as a result of the attacks of Titus of Rome..." (An Approach to the Quranic Sciences)

Even though time and again libraries of the Muslim world have been burnt and ransacked; scholars and huffaz massacred, the Quran has been preserved as it was revealed and this will continue to be so, Insha-Allah because of the guarantee of Allah U to preserve it.

"Supposedly, if all the written copies of the Quran were to disappear even now there are hundreds of thousands of Muslims who are holding it as a sacred trust within their hearts. If anyone tried to change a single word in it, even small children would find out". (An Approach to the Quranic Sciences)

The Hafiz thus becomes a co-guardian of the Quran by the will of Allah U and is addressed as such, Hafiz being one of the 99 attributes of Allah U.

The second reason for memorizing the Quran, is that it is the bedrock of all Islamic Sciences (Uloom). The proof of this is found from the sayings of our pious predecessors.

Shaykh ul Hadith Maulana Zakariyah (rah) writes:

“According to Imam Abu Hanifa (rah) one should memorize the Quran before becoming a faqih. (Maulana Zakariyah Muhajir Madani, Vol. I).

One of the apparent reasons is that the Quran is the first source from which Islamic Law (Shariah) is derived, the other sources being Hadith, Consensus (Ijma), and Analogy (Qiyaas).

Many of the Sahaba who were Muftis, were also Huffaz.

Some of Sahaba that were Muftis & Huffaz were: Hadrat Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali, Abdullah ibn Abbas, Abdullah ibn Umar, Abu Hurairah, Zaid bin Thabit, Abu Mu'sa Ashari, Abdullah ibn Masu'd, Ubay ibn Ka'b and Hadrat Ayesha y

Traditions establish all of the above Sahaba y as being Huffaz according to Mufti Taqi Usmani (db) in his book "An Approach to the Quranic Sciences"

He also says that there were numerous Sahaba y who had memorized the whole Quran but were not mentioned in the Traditions. In fact he writes:

"This is corroborated by the fact that there had been times when the Prophet r had sent up to seventy recitors for teaching the Quran to only one tribe."

"There are traditions mentioning the martyrdom of seventy recitors from among his Sahaba y in the battle of Bir Maunah, and an equal number of Sahaba y martyred in the battle of Yamamah after the death of the Holy Prophet r Actually, another account places the number of martyred Sahaba y at Yamamah at seven hundred recitors"

The above facts only relate to those Sahaba y who had memorized the entire Quran, so it is easy to estimate that a fairly large number of Sahaba y were Huffaz.

Mufti Taqi Usmani (db) writes:

"Further he r did not teach them only the meaning of the Quran but had them memorize its words as well. The Sahaba y were themselves so keen to learn and memorize the Quran that everyone of them wanted to excel the other."

"There were women who demanded nothing else as mahr (dower) from their husbands except that they should teach them the Quran."

"Hundreds of Sahaba y ridding themselves of all worldly cares, had devoted their entire lives for this purpose. Not only did they memorize it but also revised it in their nightly Salah."

"Sayyidina Ubadah ibn Samit t has stated that whenever someone migrated from Makkah to Madinah, the Holy Prophet r entrusted him to the care of one of the Ansars so that he could teach Quran to the newcomer. So much noise was created in Masjid Nabawi by the voices of the learners and the teachers of the Quran that the Prophet r had to tell them to lower their voices so that there was no confusion." (An approach to the Quranic Sciences)

Shaykh ul Hadith Maulana Zakariyah (rah) also says:

“According to Imam Bukhari (rah) one should memorize the Quran before becoming a muhaddith. (Maulana Zakariya Muhajir Madani, Vol. I)

One reason for this is because hadith is the explanation of the Quran, and it falls under the same protection as mentioned in the verse:

إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَـفِظُونَ
“Verily, We, it is We Who revealed the Dhikr (i.e. the Qur'an) and surely We will guard it (from corruption)” (15:09)

In his commentary of this verse Mufti Shafi (rah) writes:

"And it is obvious that the meanings of the Quran are the same as [that which] the Holy Prophet r was sent to teach as pointed out in the Quran":

لِتُبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا نُزِّلَ إِلَيْهِمْ

You have been sent to explain the meaning of

what was revealed to them"(16:44)

And this is what the following verse also means:

وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَـبَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ
"Teaches them the Book and the Wisdom" (3:164)

And this is why he r also said:

انما بعثت معلما

"As for me, I have been sent as a teacher"

"Now when the Holy Prophet r was sent to explain the meanings of the Quran and to impart education to people he used a set of his sayings and doings as the medium of instruction for his community, and this very set of his words and deeds is known as hadith. In addition to that, the Hadith of Rasulullah r is really the explanation of the Quran and the meaning of the Quran. Their protection is something which Allah U has undertaken himself." (Maarif-ul-Quran, Volume V)

So if one were to undertake the study of hadith, it would be quite beneficial to have secured that Kitab, that Dhikr, that Tanzeel, that Quran of which the hadith are an explanation.

بَلْ هُوَ ءَايَـتٌ بَيِّنَـتٌ فِى صُدُورِ الَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ الْعِلْمَ

Nay, but it is (Quran), the clear Ayat, (preserved) in the breasts of those who have been given knowledge (29:48)

Hafiz Ibn Kathir (rah) also mentions a similar observation regarding this verse:

“Meaning, this Qur'an is clear Ayaat which indicate the truth, commands, prohibitions and stories. It is memorized by the scholars for whom Allah U makes it easy to memorize, recite and interpret.” (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

He goes on to say: “According to the hadith of `Iyad bin Himar, recorded in Sahih Muslim, Allah U says:”

إِنِّي مُبْتَلِيكَ وَمُبْتَلٍ بِكَ، وَمُنْزِلٌ عَلَيْكَ كِتَابًا

لَا يَغْسِلُهُ الْمَاءُ، تَقْرَؤُهُ نَائِمًا وَيَقْظَانًا

"I am testing you and testing others through you, revealing to you a Book which cannot be washed away by water, which you recite while you are asleep and while you are awake.''

“This means, if the manuscript where it is written were [it] to be washed with water, there is no need for that manuscript. This is because it is preserved in the hearts and is easy on the tongue (i.e., is easy to recite), and is controlling people's hearts and minds. It is miraculous in its its wordings and in its meanings. In the previous Scriptures this Ummah was described as carrying their holy Books in their hearts.” (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

The third reason for memorizing the Holy Quran is because of the verse:

وَلَقَدْ يَسَّرْنَا الْقُرْءَانَ لِلذِّكْرِ فَهَلْ مِن مُّدَّكِرٍ

“And indeed, We have made the Qur'an easy to remember;

then is there any that will remember”(54:17,22,32,40)

Shaykh ul Hadith (rah) writes:

“The author of Tafseer Jalalayn writes that the interrogatory clause in this ayah is in fact an imperative one. Thus Allah U has stressed over and over again the importance of memorizing the Quran.” (Fazail-e-Quran)

If there were no other reason for memorizing the Quran, this verse alone would justify the importance of hifz.

In addition, the fact that it is easy to memorize can be quickly ascertained by knowing that hundreds of thousands of huffaz who are not familiar with the Arabic language and yet are able to recite a Kitab that has no equal in eloquence among Arab and Ajam alike.

Chapter 2


SINS


Imam Al-Zarnuji (rah) writes in Ta’lim al Mutallim quoting Imam Shaafi (rah) :



شكوت الى وكيع سوء حفظى

فارشدنى الى ترك المعاصى

فان الحفظ فضل من الهى وفضل اللّه لا يهدى لعاصى
I complained to Waki' of my bad memory

So he directed me to cease from evil doing;

For verily memory is a benefit from Allah U

and a benefit of Allah U is not given to one who sins.



So the first principle in committing the Quran to memory, is that before even taking the first lesson, one should make an intention (niyyah) of leaving sins. By Allah's U will the light (noor) of the Quran, coupled with one's niyyah of leaving sin will Insha-Allah protect the hafiz-to-be and increase his capacity to memorize and retain the verses.

ARTIFICIALITY

Hafiz Ibn Qayyim Al Jawzi (rah) writes:

“The Heart, in its journey to Allah U is like that of a bird: Love is its head, and fear and hope are its two wings. When the head and two wings are sound the bird flies gracefully; if the head is severed, the bird dies; if the bird loses one of its wings, it then becomes a target for every hunter or predator.” (Madarij us Saalikeen)

Similarly a person who does hifz is also on a journey. In this journey, he is also like a bird. Sincerity is its head, while commitment and dedication are its two wings. When the head and two wings are sound the hifz will Insha-Allah be completed. If the head is severed, then disaster will ensue because if hifz is not done with a sincere purpose one will never attain the sweetness and the pleasure that Hifz brings. Artificiality, that is memorizing the Quran to impress others, etc. will bring about ruin for one in this life and in the hereafter.

In retrospect artificiality should be avoided at all costs, because while hifz will make a person eligible for Heaven, artificiality and insincerity in this will make a person eligible for Hell.

In 1981, Shaykh ul Hadith (rah) visited the Dar ul Uloom Al Arabiyah Al Islamiyyah in England for the Bukhari Graduation, a graduation ceremony when students become Alims.

In his address he said:

"Imam Bukhari (rah) commenced his book of with the Prophetic statement, ‘Actions are according to intentions’. And completed it with the Hadith, ‘There are two words which are dear to the Most Beneficent and very easy for the tongue to say, are but very heavy in the balance. They are: ‘Subhan Allahi wa bihamdihi’ and 'Subhan Allahil Azim.’"

“[In doing so], he indirectly conveyed a very profound message to the Ummah which amounts to this: - "There are only two things to be done in this world, 1. To be sincere in the heart and 2. To praise Allah U with the tongue."

If the fact that Shaykh ul Hadith (rah) had experience teaching Bukhari Shareef for 45 years is kept in mind, one can well realize with what profound insight he was speaking.

Since the Quran itself is a Dhikr, one can understand the two step process gained from the statement above: Sincerity of Heart and Praising Allah U is the correct approach to the Quran since the Quran is also Dhikr.

Shaykh ul Hadith (rah) writes:

“The Quran altogether is a dhikr of Allah U in the sense that no ayaat of the Quran is devoid of remembrance and attention towards Allah U.” (Fazail-e-Quran)

“It can be concluded that repeated recitation of the Quran will result in the reader being influenced by the qualities of the Originator of the verses and in developing a natural affinity with Him.” (ibid)

As we progress to the third thing which is detrimental to the one doing hifz, keep in mind, the intended message conveyed by Imam Bukhari (rah) that there are only two things worth doing in this world: Sincerity of Heart and Remembrance of Allah U.

ATTACHMENTS

When many instances of social events, visiting friends, or other such activities crowd the calendar then one can well appreciate the message of Imam Bukhari (rah). In this respect, lets look at the advice of a great scholar: Imam Abu Hanifa (rah):

Imam Abu Hanifa (rah) besides being a Hafiz, Alim, Sufi Mufti, Faqih, and Mujtahid was also a very successful businessman. His days were spent in teaching Fiqh and nights spend in Tahajjud. With all the constraints on his time, he would be the perfect guide on time management. Rightly so, here is an incident from his life:

"Somebody having asked the Imam what could aid one in learning fiqh, he answered "Peace of mind." "How to acquire it?" asked the man. "Reduce your attachments," replied the Imam. "How can one reduce one's attachments?" asked the man further. "Take what is essential and leave what is not," counseled the Imam. (Sirat-e-Nauman)

The same can be applied to hifz. It is not attained but by reducing one's attachments, as much as possible. The most important consideration should be that as much as possible social activities, mixing with friends and the like should be restricted as much as possible. This might seem harsh, but hifz is a monumental undertaking.

If the advice of the respected Imam (rah) is not convincing enough then let us look at the life of our Beloved Prophet r about whom Allah U states in the Quran:

لَّقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ

Indeed in the Messenger of Allah you have

a good example to follow (33:21)

Let us examine his r blessed example in regards to the preference for the Quran over other obligations:

Maulana Yusuf Kandhalwi (rah) writes:

“Aws bin Huzaifah Thaqafi stated: In the Thaqif’s delegation we came to Rasulullah r. So the Ahlafi gentlemen stayed with Hadrat Mughirah bin Sh’obah t and his holiness r put up the Malikiyin in his own tent. After the Isha prayer his holiness r used to come to us and would talk so long that owing to standing for long, he r would change his steps, and often in these talks with us he r complained against the Quraish. He r used to say: ‘We had been considered weak in Makkah. Then, when we went to Madinah we got revenge on the community; the mode of fighting sometimes turned out to be favorable to us and sometimes to them. The narrator says that ‘one night he was delayed in coming to us the way he used to come to us. Then, when he came to us, we said: ‘O Rasulullah r, Tonight you have come late to us in that part of the night in which you used to come’. So he said ‘As it was time to recite the fixed portion of the Quran I used to recite, I thought it better, not to stir out until I had recited it’ or he said ‘until I completed it…’”(Hayat-us-Sahabah, Volume III)

“Hadrat Mughirah bin Sh’obah t said: a man sought permission to come to Rasulullah r while the latter was between Makkah and Madinah. So Rasulullah r said: ‘Tonight I have missed the reciting of my portion of the Quran and I can’t give preference to anything over it.’” (ibid)

This is the example of our beloved Rasulullah r whose responsibilities included: inviting others to the Deen of Islam, judging cases, training the Sahabah, administrating the Dar-ul-Islam, being a husband, a father, and so much more.

Here it is important to understand that no matter how much one explains to his friends the time required in memorizing Quran and reviewing it (especially if one is doing Hifz part-time) they will rarely understand. This is because the demands of Hifz can only be understood by one who is engaged in it.

Hadrat Abdullah Ibn Masud t observed:

“It is proper for a hafiz of the Quran to recognize (the value of) his nights when the people may be sleeping, and take care of his day when the people may be eating and drinking, and recognize his sorrow when the people may be rejoicing, and keep weeping when the people may be laughing and keep silent when the people may be causing confusion and employ his fearfulness when the people may be showing pride. It is proper for a hafiz of the Quran that he may be a weeper, melancholy, prudent, forbearing, knowledgeable, and quiet. It is not proper for a hafiz of the Quran to be hard-hearted, negligent, clamorous and noisy.” (Hayat-us-Sahabah, Volume III)

Allah U has made Hifz easy but to give social events preference over the work at hand will certainly not help one’s progress, in fact it will ruin whatever progress that has been made.

Chapter 3

WHAT IS BENEFICIAL IN HIFZ

TEACHER

Mufti Taqi Usmani (rah) has quoted an Arabic maxim:

لكل فن رجال

“There are men for every art”

“…which means that one has to go to a master to learn. If, for example, it is a question of fiqh, we have to approach a Mufti, who knows the answers.” (Spiritual Discourses)

Similarly in hifz one has to naturally approach a Hafiz who is well acquainted with the rules of recitation (Tajweed). A teacher is essential and quite beneficial because he will prevent the student from memorizing incorrectly, control the flow of how much he memorizes, develop the pronounciation, and help him in keeping a disciplined and rigid schedule.

In fact, a teacher might as well be compared to a faucet, where one just has to find it and water becomes accessible as compared to digging a well, which is what one will be doing if he decides to go it alone.

The teacher is not only the faucet, but the fountain by which the rivulets of the body, mind and soul are replenished. One word of encouragement from the teacher is enough to renew one's resolve and courage in hifz. This is of particular importance because laziness is often a factor between those that start and finish hifz and those that start and never finish their hifz.

As in every walk of life, a coach or a mentor is needed, so in hifz also a teacher is needed. His task is to develop one's ability and fortify one's strengths, identify weaknesses and work on them.

A case in point is of the famous Imam Abu Hanifa (rah) who was a silk merchant by profession and was going to see another merchant when Imam Sha'bi (rah) stopped him and asked him whose lessons he attended. When the Imam (rah) replied "No one", the person who was to be one of his teachers in hadith advised him to seek knowledge because he saw signs of wisdom on the Imam (rah).

Another example is related in Talim al Mutallim when Imam Bukhari (rah) reportedly came to Muhammad ibn Al-Hasan (rah) to learn fiqh, the latter advised him to study hadith. Generations have past and Imam Bukhari's (rah) name is still synonmous with hadith and his book Sahih al-Bukhari is considered as the most authentic compilation of hadith.

Hence, the foresight and experience of teachers is another reason they are of such importance, and they can assist and recommend the amount of memorizaton one should begin with by observing the individual, his time constraints, etc.

QURAN TAPE/CD SET
Although recitations of the Quran are available online, in cassettes, CD's, mp3’s and various software programs, they will never be a substitute for a teacher.

The best way is to memorize with a teacher, and to use the Quran recitation tapes/cds in a supporting role, to strengthen one’s daily lesson, and to review what has already been memorized.

Among the best reciters are: Shaykh Sa’d Al-Ghamdi, Shaykh Ali Al-Huzaifi, and Shaykh Saud Ash-Shuraim. Their recitations are widely available, not too fast nor too slow, and have a clear, lucid quality which enables one to follow along with ease.

However, if a particular reciter is preferred over those mentioned above, one should listen to him instead because the voice of the reciter is a factor in listening to him, and the more one likes the reciter, the more one will listen to him.

Frequent listening to the Quran being recited by fluent and capable reciters will enable one to develop a proper tone of one's own when reciting the Quran. It will also assist in inculcating a beautiful and melodious voice that is specific to the Quran and which does not resemble a song.

The listener will observe that when the Quran is being recited in a proper manner and sweet tone, each of its verses will exit the mouth like a pearl on a necklace, one by one following each other in a rhythmic cadence.

The above is necessary because reciting the Quran in a beautiful and melodious voice and in the tone of the Arabs [while observing the laws of Tajweed] is from amongst the adaab [etiquettes] of the Quran according to Maulana Qari Ismail Ishaq (db) in his book Tajweed for Beginners.

Regarding the preference for reciting the Quran in a beautiful voice is the following riwaayah in Muntakhab Ahadith:

"Bara t narrates that Rasulullah r said: Embellish the Quran with your voices, for indeed a beautiful sound (voice) enhances the beauty of the Quran" (Mustadrak Hakim)

In addition to a proper tone, listening regularly to audio of the Quran will also help in correctly placing the makhaarij, thereby quickening the pace at which one learns Tajweed.

MUSHAF
A Mushaf is a copy of the Quran from which one will memorize. It is available in 13 lines, 15 lines, 16 lines etc.

This is a matter of personal taste and one should choose whatever one is comfortable with. Care must be taken however not to choose a mushaf that is rare, because if it needs to be replaced, or if one needs a second copy then it will be difficult to obtain.

Another scenario is if one stops in a masjid, has some time and wishes to memorize or review, then that Quran might not be available in the masjid.

Once a Mushaf has been chosen, and memorization has begun from it, it shouldn't be changed because it causes difficulty in the placement of the verses when one goes back to review that which has already been memorized.

One should look for a Mushaf where the verse ends at the end of every page. This is easier for taking lessons.

Those Mushafs that do not have glossy pages tend to be easier on the eye and therefore easier to memorize from. Often light reflects off glossy pages in a sharp manner thereby hindering the sight. Hence, soft and muted colors of the pages that are not glossed over are preferred for this reason. This is also one of the possible reasons for the renowned prowess in memorization that is the hallmark of scholars from Shinqit (Mauritania).

Abu Umar Abdul Aziz writes in an article on the memorization techniques of the Mauritanians that they memorize off of a lahwah, a small wooden board of tan/brownish color.

"Allah knows why, but if you try memorizing in a similar manner, it will become easier for you. Perhaps it is the tan-brown color of the board that is relaxing to the eyes as opposed to the sharp color of white paper. Allah knows best." (Methods of memorization in Mauritania)

Qurans whose pages are of a soft, muted color and are unglossed are widely available. Qurans from the Haramayn Sharifayn, with their subdued light yellowish background are also nice and the verse ends on every page thus making it easier to take one's lesson in an organized format.



No one is replying. Plz state your opinion ppl

Mashah'Allah. That is excellent information you have posted up. I have read chapter one now and am going to read the other chapters later Inshah'Allah.
Jazakallahkher Fe Dunya Wal Akhira Dear Brother of Islam.


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http://hstrial-besmail.homestead.com/islam.html

Chapeter 4

WHAT SHOULD BE ACQUIRED FROM THE TEACHER

ADAB

Unfortunately I myself have not fulfilled the rights of my teachers as I should have. It is easy to advise others but hard to put into practice on one's own. Insha-Allah the advice will benefit both the writer and the reader.

Adab is one of the hidden treasures of doing hifz because it enables one to learn it (Adab) directly from the teacher. In western institutions there is often a disregard for this, if not a total lack of it.

In Islam, one should always be mindful of the teacher, and associate with him in a respectable manner otherwise one will not be able to benefit from him.

Although in reality Adab is only learned by associating with the teacher, by way of introduction, following is some pertinent advice regarding Adab from Hadrat Ali t:

“It is the right of a teacher that you do not put too many questions to him and do not put him to the hardship of answering. Don’t insist upon him when he avoids (answering). Don’t clutch his clothes when he may be feeling tiredness. Neither gesture towards him with hand nor wink at him. Don’t put to him a question in his majlis nor seek his disgrace. Should he commit a lapse, give him time to retract and accept his retraction. Don’t tell him that such and such a person has said contrary to his statement. Don’t disclose his secret and don’t backbite against anyone before him. Guard him in his presence and in his absence. Salute all the audience and salute him particularly and sit before him. Should he need anything, make yourself ready to serve him earlier than all other men…” (Hayat-us-Sahabah Volume III)

Adab is generally looked upon as servitude by an unfortunate few who have been inculcated with the mannerisms of the West. If they were to glance at the glorious history of Islam they would find even crown princes striving to serve their teacher.

Maulana Maseehullah Khan (rah) writes:

“All are familiar with the name of Khalifa Haroon Rashid. His kingdom stretched from the Sea of Sindh to Spain. His two sons were acquiring knowledge from the Arabic grammar master, Farraa. On one occasion when the Ustaadh arose after having imparted the lesson, both sons of the Khalifa rushed to put in position the shoes of their Ustaadh. Both reached the shoes together and a dispute developed between them who was to have the honour of bringing the shoes to the Ustaadh. Finally, they resolved the dispute. Each carried one shoe so that both may obtain the honour of having rendered service to the Ustaadh."

"The palace spies immediately notified the Khalifa of this incident. The Ustaadh was called to the royal court."

Haroon Rashid asked: “Who today on earth has the highest rank and is the most honored, Farraa?”

“Who can be more honourable than Ameerul Mumineen” the Ustaadh replied.

“No! He is the most honorable, over whose shoes even princes dispute.” Haroon Rashid replied.

The Khalifa, in gratitude and happiness awarded each son ten thousand silver coins for their high moral character and ten thousand silver coins to the Ustaadh for the beauty of his instruction to the princes.

Another story is told about how a crown prince was sent to be tutored by Al-Asmai, a famous grammarian. During their studies the Khalifa stopped by and found his son pouring the water for ablution (Wudu) while Al-Asmai washed his own feet. When the Khalifa saw this he said: “I have sent him to learn Adab also so let him hold the water with one hand and wash your feet with the other.”

If the Khalifa of the then Islamic empire saw it as imperative for his sons, the heirs to his throne, to learn Adab by serving their teacher in this manner then what about the average person?

May Allah U enable all of us to serve our teachers in a like manner. Ameen.

TAJWEED

Learning Tajweed is obligatory whether one does hifz or not, because it prevents from reciting the words of the Quran incorrectly. One letter mispronounced can vastly change the meaning of the Quran.

Take for example قلب (heart). If the ق is changed to ك, the result will be كلب (dog). Since both ق and ك are pronounced alike by many people, a common mistake is that the heart is changed to a dog or vice-versa.

There are many other examples like this, so its important, that regardless of whether one does hifz or not he should atleast fix his Tajweed. This way their reading (Nazirah) of the Quran is corrected.

Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi (rah) writes:

“Tajweed is that science by which one pronounces the letters from their correct articulation points (makhaarij) while observing the characteristics of each letter.” (Jamal-ul-Quran)

My sincere advice is that tajweed should be started immediately, even if one intends to begin hifz a couple of months later. This is because if one is from a background which is not Arabic-speaking it will take a while for one to correctly pronounce the letters from their correct articulation points (makhaarij).

I narrate my own example as a case of what not to do. When I started hifz it was Monday through Thursday, at a house in Skokie where Maulana Akbar (db) came to teach. He immediately impressed upon me to learn Tajweed. My response was: “What is Tajweed?”

That was the first time I had heard of the word. Due to the small amount of time he had, and his obligations to other students in teaching them reading (Nazirah), he was unable to teach me. However I continued to memorize the first juz under him and then in the the summer he directed me towards the Jamia Masjid where a full time hifz class was in session. There the Ustaadh would have more time to teach me Tajweed.

Summer came and I went to the Jamia Masjid. There I met Maulana Qari Abdul Mannan Saab (db) who was to be my future hifz teacher and under whom I am presently doing the Alim course. When I recited to him my first juz it was pretty solid, and I was clearly hoping to hear how impressed he was, that I had managed to memorize one whole juz part-time in two months.

His response was: “I can't even understand what you are reading,” he paused “You will have to learn Tajweed”. Its very difficult for a Qari to listen to somebody make so many Tajweed mistakes. I look back upon this incident and think, he was extremely patient in listening to me although I felt very embarassed at the time.

Well after this wake-up call, I practiced Tajweed a lot. Even at break time, I used to practice with the other students. I even wrote down the rules in the back of my Quran to review when I was free from memorizing.

Tajweed is hard work, and much like a language. It requires constant practice. Patience is key also. Making Tajweed a top priority when beginning hifz can save a lot of time and frustration.

REPUTATION

Building a reputation with the teacher is very important and necessary for the teacher to regard the student as being serious. This is because the teacher recognizes that hifz is not a thing to be taken lightly, and from his own experience of doing hifz understands the sacrifices that need to be made in order to complete it.

The best way to build one's reputation is to be punctual with the schedule that one has set. One cannot expect the teacher to have much confidence if the student doesn’t even show up regularly. Once it is demonstrated that the student is serious, then the teacher will also take his task of teaching seriously.

In addition, time must be spent outside of class memorizing the new lesson (Sabaq), and reviewing what one has previously learnt. This will keep one’s Quran solid, and demonstrate to the teacher one's willingness to sacrifice time at home in order to have his lesson ready for the teacher to listen to.

The result of a good reputation with a teacher creates an ideal atmosphere of memorizing. The teacher will show interest in the student’s hifz and go beyond his responsibilities as a teacher to assist the student in successfully completing his hifz. This is because teachers are never jealous of their students, rather they see them as an extension of themselves, and if a student were to surpass his teacher it would only make the teacher happier.

When the student sees the teacher interested in his progress he will respond with increased enthusiasm also, and the process of hifz will become much, much easier.

If however, the student does not do so, the teacher will come to disregard him which will result in the student feeling slighted. Then Shaytaan and his Nafs will intervene and cause the student to stop coming to class, and this process will continue to build up until he will not only stop hifz but stop it with the thought that it was his teacher’s lack of attention that brought an end to his hifz. That will be a very harmful stage, because one will then entertain unfounded suspicion about a person who is 1.) Muslim 2.) Hafiz and 3.) His teacher.

Regarding suspicion, Allah U says:

إِنَّ بَعْضَ الظَّنِّ إِثْمٌ

“Indeed some suspicion is sin” (49:12)

In addition, one can well imagine what that will do to his future educational endeavors in any field of Islam, because Shaytaan will now have a loophole to derail the student from the path of Knowledge (Ilm).

Chapter 5


Allah U has created everybody with different capacities in terms of memory. Some have a photographic memory, others have an average memory and so on.

Besides the memory of each individual, there are also external factors which though they do not affect memory, affect the ability to memorize. As a result somedays it is easier to memorize, somedays it is difficult, and somedays it seems well-nigh impossible.

Tiredness can be a factor, incidents from work, school, or home can be a factor, and on some days just the passion to memorize is not there.

When tiredness or the passion to memorize is a factor, the best thing to do is to take a break and return a while later, or perhaps if one is tired of reading, then he should listen to his lesson (sabaq) by means of a tape/CD or take a quick nap to refresh the mind.

When distractions from work, school, or home are a factor such as an argument, or impending work, then in the latters case it is best to attend to the work at hand if one cannot divert his mind from it.

If an incident occurred, such as an argument, it is best to resolve it as quickly as possible (which is not always easy) because one cannot fight a two front war. Shaytaan and Nafs are already allied and waging their offensive, if a third army is added to this group, the battle will be lost for that day, week or however long that incident continues to affect the mind.

Where individual memory is concerned, Allah U in his Infinite Mercy and Blessings upon this Ummah has chosen to reward us even when our memory is not the best.

“Mulla Ali Qari has reproduced from the riwayat of Tabrani and Baihaqi that one who cannot memorize the Quran well and yet persists in learning it by heart gets double reward. Similarly, one who cherishes a longing for memorizing it and does not possess the ability to do so, but does not give up his efforts either, will be reckoned by Almighty Allah U among he huffaz on the Day of Resurrection.” (Fazail-e-Quran)

While there are many methods for increasing the memory, the following have been selected for their ease of application and proven effect:

RECITATION OF QURAN

The first thing that will increase memory is recitation of Quran. By continuously memorizing, one’s ability to memorize more and more will increase along the way. In the beginning one may only be able to memorize one verse or two verses daily, then after memorizing one juz or two juz that capacity might increase to four verses daily and so on. What seemed difficult in the beginning will seem very easy later on, because the mind has become adapted to memorizing.

Mufti Ebrahim Desai (db) has stated:

“The most important thing is to train the mind to memorize and remember. There are many people in the world with weak memories but are also Hafiz of the Quran. That was also due to training the mind to remember.”

DHIKR/DARUD

Another advice that he renders is:

“Recite Durood as much as possible and place one’s right hand on the forehead after each Fardh Salaat and recite ‘Yaa Qawiyyu’. This has been tried and tested to be beneficial”

The benefit of Durood in increasing memory is also corroborated in Talim al Mutallim, Chapter of what increases Memory:



A lot of Salawaat should be sent on Rasulullah r

since verily he r is a mercy for the worlds.

MISWAAK

A third factor in increasing memory is the use of a miswaak. A miswaak is a ‘natural toothbrush’, essentially a twig of certain specific trees such as an olive tree, a walnut tree, etc.

Kitaabut-Tahaarah mentions that the use of a Miswaak at the time of recitation of the Quran is a Sunnah.

Hadhrat Ali t said: 'Verily, your mouths are the pathways of the Quran (i.e. you recite with your mouth), therefore cleanse your mouth with the Miswaak thoroughly'. (Ibn Majah)

A miswaak is quite beneficial for cleaning the teeth and it also clears the voice. A clear voice assists in making the recitation of Quran pleasant and clear which in turn enables the one reciting it to better hear and remember his own recitation.

Further, according to Ali t Miswaak increases the memory. (Kitaabut-Tahaarah). A similar view is also cited in Talim al Mutallim.

By way of diversion, a story about the memory of a Quranic commentator, Kalbi is being mentioned here:

"Kalbi himself used to say, I have exhibited the excellency of my memory as nobody could have done, and also that of my forgetfulness as nobody could have done. The example of my memory is that I had memorized the whole Quran in six or seven days. And the case of forgetfulness is that one day I held my beard in my fist to trim it below the fist but through forgetfulness I cut it off above the fist." (An Approach to the Quranic Sciences)