Assalamualaikum

[Humblepie6]

I am a middle aged mother, trying to memorise Surah Baqarah. Im about half way there ( just over a year later!) but im beginning to lose heart. Any help or advice for me out there?

[greenhill]

Welcome to the forum.

I have been memorising the shorter surahs over the past few years. Looking at the longer ones are really daunting.

Don't give up is all I can say. You have invested a year already and half way there. What a waste to stop.

Wishing you a good stay.


:peace:

[MuslimInshallah]

Assalaamu alaikum Humblepie,

(smile) Welcome to this Forum. (smile) And I like your username, incidentally.

I think I understand your feelings. I, too, have tried to memorize the Qur'an, and find it tends to slip away from my memory. Curiously, what I memorized many years ago is still there clearly, but what is more recent is more fuzzy. If I hear it, I remember what it means, but if I don't hear it, I can't recall the words.

(twinkle) And it isn't just the Qur'an that seems to slip out of my memory these days… (smile) Fortunately, I can remember the outlines of what the Qur'an is telling me, and where I can look it up to refresh my memory… and Allah has Provided such great tools for us, like search engines, to help us access His Gift of Guidance. Alhamdullillah!

Anyway, I thought the following hadith might cheer you up (smile. It cheers me up!). Essentially, it's the intention and effort that Allah judges us by. (twinkle) And if it is hard for us to do something, so that perhaps we can't do it as well as we would like… we get an even greater reward! SubhanAllah!

May Allah, the Grateful, Help us to understand His Kindness.





'Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) reported:
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "The one who is proficient in the recitation of the Qur'an will be with the honourable and obedient scribes (angels) and he who recites the Qur'an and finds it difficult to recite, doing his best to recite it in the best way possible, will have a double reward."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].





وعن عائشة رضي الله عنها قالت‏:‏ قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏:‏ ‏ "‏الذي يقرأ القرآن وهو ماهر به مع السفرة الكرام البررة، والذي يقرأ القرآن ويتتعتع فيه وهو عليه شاق له أجران‏"‏ ‏(‏‏(‏متفق عليه‏)‏‏)‏‏.‏

Sunnah.com reference	: Book 9, Hadith 4
Arabic/English book reference	: Book 9, Hadith 994
	Source: http://sunnah.com/riyadussaliheen/9/4

[BeTheChange]

They always say the things which are worth striving for doesn't come easy but comes with hard work, inner struggle and determination.

Find the inner strength in yourself and don't give up because you are now a middle aged woman.

When i was at university i saw 50 year old studying for their undergraduate degree - if people can pursue a worldly degree surely we can strive harder and outperform our perceptions of ourselves?

Also maybe this will help? When i was preparing for my exams i used to memorise a sentence each day - keep reciting what you know every day so you don't forget what you have learnt and then add a new sentence. You can continue with household chores and errands and recite at the same time! We women are meant to be good at multi-tasking :shade: or so they say lol.

May Allah swa keep you strong and successful Ameen!!

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[Muslim Woman]

:sl:

[Insaanah]

:salam: sister,

:ma: that's an amazing achievement, to know half of the longest surah by heart. Now though, you mustn't get disheartened at lack of progress. As a minimum, keep revising the half that you know, and don't let that go. It happens when you're memorising, our motivation doesn't always stay the same.

Possibly it may be the hardest surah to memorise, because this surah has virtues against magic and against shaytan, and shaytan would love for us to get disheartened, so this one needs extra effort. Don't go for speed, but go for what you can easily do. Even if, for now, you think you can only memorise an ayah or two a week, then do that. Other times, you might feel motivated to do more, and then you can do more. Just don't let it go, and don't stop, and don't lose heart.

May Allah make it easy for you, and grant you it's full reward, it's application and understanding ameen.

I'll just add a few ahadeeth about the virtues of Surah al Baqarah to give you some motivation :ia:

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying: "Do not turn your houses into graveyards. Satan runs away from the house in which Surat Al-Baqarah is recited."

Sunnah.com reference : Sahih Muslim Book 9, Hadith 28
Arabic/English book reference : Book 9, Hadith
http://www.sunnah.com/riyadussaliheen/9/28

Abu Umama said he heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) say:
Recite the Qur'an, for on the Day of Resurrection it will come as an intercessor for those who recite It. Recite the two bright ones, al-Baqara and Surah Al 'Imran, for on the Day of Resurrection they will come as two clouds or two shades, or two flocks of birds in ranks, pleading for those who recite them. Recite Surah al-Baqara, for to take recourse to it is a blessing and to give it up is a cause of grief, and the magicians cannot confront it. (Mu'awiya said: It has been conveyed to me that here Batala means magicians.)

Reference : Sahih Muslim 804 a
In-book reference : Book 6, Hadith 302
USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 4, Hadith 1757
(deprecated numbering scheme)
http://www.sunnah.com/muslim/6/302

An-Nawwas bin Sam'an (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying, "The Qur'an and its people who applied it, will be brought on the Day of Resurrection preceded with Surat Al-Baqarah and Surat Al-'Imran arguing on behalf of those who applied them."

Sunnah.com reference : Sahih Muslim Book 9, Hadith 2
Arabic/English book reference : Book 9, Hadith 992
http://www.sunnah.com/riyadussaliheen/9/2

Ibn 'Abbas (May Allah be pleased with them) reported:
While Jibril (Gabriel) was sitting with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), he heard a sound above him. He lifted his head, and said: "This is a gate which has been opened in heaven today. It was never opened before." Then an angel descended through it, he said: "This is an angel who has come down to earth. He never came down before." He sent greetings and said: "Rejoice with two lights given to you. Such lights were not given to any Prophet before you. These (lights) are: Fatihah-til-Kitab (Surat Al-Fatihah), and the concluding Ayat of Surat Al-Baqarah. You will never recite a word from them without being given the blessings it contain s."

Sunnah.com reference : sahih Muslim Book 9, Hadith 32
Arabic/English book reference : Book 9, Hadith 1022
http://www.sunnah.com/riyadussaliheen/9/32

Abu Mas'ud Al-Badri (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
I heard the Prophet (ﷺ) saying, "He who recites the two Ayat at the end of Surat Al-Baqarah at night, they will suffice him."

[Al- Bukhari and Muslim].

Sunnah.com reference : Book 9, Hadith 27
Arabic/English book reference : Book 9, Hadith 1017
http://www.sunnah.com/riyadussaliheen/9/27

In some ahadeeth, the companions of the Prophet :saws: call him, as a title, "The one to whom al-Baqarah was revealed"

"'Abdur-Rahman bin Yazid said:
"I saw Ibn Masud stone Jamratul 'Aqabah from the bottom of the valley, then he said: "This - by the One beside Whom there is no other God - is the place where the one to whom Surat Al-Baqarah was revealed stood."'"


Reference : Sunan an-Nasa'i 3072
In-book reference : Book 24, Hadith 455
English translation : Vol. 3, Book 24, Hadith 3074

http://www.sunnah.com/nasai/24/455

The five daily prayers and the last verses of Surah al-Baqarah are counted among the things given to the Prophet :saws: on the Mi'raaj.

And this is a nice read too: http://www.islamicboard.com/qur-an/1...hlight=baqarah

[OmAbdullah]

I am a middle aged mother, trying to memorise Surah Baqarah. Im about half way there ( just over a year later!) but im beginning to lose heart. Any help or advice for me out there?

Assalamo alaikum wa rahmatullah,

I am older than you and I studied in an Islamic university after I was 50. Surah Al-Baqarah was in my course in first year. I had to memorize it both with tajweed and understanding. I had to give two exams in Al Baqarah, one was to recite it by heart and with tajweed, the second exam was in writing. Alhamdulillah, I got above 90% marks, but later I forgot it. Then I tried again to memorize it but again I forgot it. At least 3 times I have memorized it fully, but very sad to say that I forgot it again and again. There were other many surahs like Al-Aaraaf, Al Anfaal, Maryam, Taha and... I am very sad that I am forgetting them but recitation in prayers is very good.

The last juz (30th part) is my regular recitation in the morning prayers. I recite one or two long surahs of the last juz in every fajar prayer, so Alhamdulillah, I didn't forget it. But the rest I am repeatedly trying to refresh them in my mind. Although I fear a lot from Allah's anger, but I want to keep one hujjah (excuse ) with me that I was trying to revise those surahs again and again.

I told you my sad story to relieve your grief. But reciting parts of surah Al Baqarah in prayers will insha Allah help you to succeed.

[Insaanah]

But reciting parts of surah Al Baqarah in prayers will insha Allah help you to succeed.

:salam:

Yes, this is also a very good way to revise.

The sister could work out how many rakats she prays in a day that need a recitation after Surah Faatihah, and divide up what she knows into portions and read each portion in a rakat. It isn't necessary to do it over one day, it can be done as a rota over two or more days if she doesn't have time to read longer portions. But care needs to be taken as to where she stops so as not to disrupt meaning flow.