Nephew - Hifz Class Start

[hisnameiszzz]

Hi all,

So my 7 year old nephew came to our house last week and told me he had been selected by his teacher to join the Hifz class. He will have to have a test next month and they will tell him whether he would be accepted or not.

I am a Hafez so his Dad told him to ask me if he should join and what it would entail.

What do you think I should say? Any advice? I wanted to be honest and say "don't, it's not as easy at it sounds" but when I asked him what he thought, he was really excited and told me he couldn't wait, and then went onto recite almost a page out of the third chapter off by heart.

Do any of you have any children that want to start Hifz class? What would you tell them?

Thanks all.

 

[AabiruSabeel]

:ma:, that is very nice to know. May Allah :swt: make him a good Hafiz who follows the Qur'an and practices on it.

Narrated `Uthman :ra:: The Prophet :saws: said, "The best among you (Muslims) are those who learn the Qur'an and teach it." [Bukhari]

It was narrated that Abu Dharr :ra: said:
"The Messenger of Allah :saws: said to me: 'O Abu Dharr! For you to come out in the morning and learn one Verse from the Book of Allah is better for you than praying one hundred Rak'ah, and for you to come out and learn a matter of knowledge, whether it is acted upon or not, is better for you than praying one thousand Rak'ah.'" [Ibn Majah]

Narrated Abu Hurairah :ra::
"The Messenger of Allah :saws: sent an expedition force [comprised] of many, and he asked each what he could recite, so each one of them mentioned what he could recite - meaning what he had memorized of the Qur'an. He came to one of the youngest men among them and said: 'What have you memorized O so-and-so?' He said: 'I memorized this and that and Surat Al-Baqarah.' He said: 'You memorized Surat Al-Baqarah?' He said: "Yes.' He said: "Then go, for you are their commander.' A man among their chief said: 'By Allah [O Messenger of Allah]! Nothing prevented me from learning Surat Al-Baqarah except fearing that I would not be able to stand with (in voluntary night prayer).' The Messenger of Allah :saws: said: 'Learn the Qur'an to recite it, for indeed the parable of the Qur'an for the one who recites it and stands with it (in prayer) is that of a bag full of musk whose scent fills the air all around. And the parable of the one who learns it then sleeps while it is in his memory is that of a bag containing musk that is tied shut.'" [Tirmidhi]


Don't worry about it being difficult. It becomes easy as he progresses and the rewards are much more than any difficulty.

 

[hisnameiszzz]

Don't worry about it being difficult. It becomes easy as he progresses and the rewards are much more than any difficulty.

Thanks for your reply. I asked this question on here because I was told to join when I was 9 years old and I went along with it. Well I didn't have a choice because my Dad and my teacher had decided for me already.

At no point did anyone tell me I would have to remember it all for the rest of my life. That is what I am struggling with now. The first 20 chapters are fine and I can remember them. The last 10, not so much. Our class kept changing hands as the teachers kept leaving and we were passed from pillar to post. Trying to remember it all or re-memorise it is easier said than done especially now I am grown up and have responsibilities and work etc. There were 2 other kids that started with me and both of them are in the same predicament. Both can't remember the last 10 chapters. One of them was saying I don't have time to learn it all over again as he is married with 3 children and is a GP.

Hopefully this won't happen when my nephew starts but how is a 7 year old going to understand that he will have to remember it for life?

What age do you think would be a good time to start?

Sorry, I am not trying to put people off, but becoming a Hafez is a big responsibility and I wish they sat children down for a week or two and explained everything instead of just signing them up without telling them.

 

[Raptor]

Make sure his tajweed is on point before he starts hifz

 

[Ummshareef]

:ma:. If he is keen to do it then I would definitely encourage him. Make sure that he is aware of the commitment that it will take and the sacrifices that he will have to make, including throughout his life to maintain it. But above all tell him about the abundant rewards that it will bring in the akhirah. I would also advise him to be careful not to neglect other aspects of learning our Deen, such as fiqh, seerah, etc. My daughter started at about this age and although she found it tough as she had a very strict ustadha who drove her class hard and would not tolerate errors in tajweed, she has never regretted it and is progressing well alhamdulillah! Memorizing the Qur'an makes it so much easier to implement Allah's (Subhanahu wa Ta'alaa) teachings in your own life.

 

[hisnameiszzz]

:ma:. If he is keen to do it then I would definitely encourage him. Make sure that he is aware of the commitment that it will take and the sacrifices that he will have to make, including throughout his life to maintain it. But above all tell him about the abundant rewards that it will bring in the akhirah. I would also advise him to be careful not to neglect other aspects of learning our Deen, such as fiqh, seerah, etc. My daughter started at about this age and although she found it tough as she had a very strict ustadha who drove her class hard and would not tolerate errors in tajweed, she has never regretted it and is progressing well alhamdulillah! Memorizing the Qur'an makes it so much easier to implement Allah's (Subhanahu wa Ta'alaa) teachings in your own life.

Salaam alaikum and many thanks for your response.

Do you think a 7 year old is going to understand what it means when I say you will have to remember it for life? I started when I was about 9 and not a single person (not my Dad or the Molvi who pushed me to join) mentioned that I would have to remember it for life. When I got to Supara 15 and realised I would have to remember it for life, I wanted out but Dad made me to go to the head Imam's house and he persuaded (well forced) me to stay and finish the next half which I did but I struggle now. The first 20 I can remember but the next 10, well, let's not go there shall we.

A very strict ustad is essential. We were in a class where the ustad changed yearly so there was no one to look after us properly which was such a shame. I remember one ustad used to sit and talk about his travels to Barbados and India and various other exotic places practically every day. We used to love him because we wouldn't have to do our sabak supara and dowr, but in hindsight, it's a shame no one reported him that he was not taking our class seriously.

Mashallah to your daughter. Good for her.

PS. I am not saying people should not become Hafez or Hafeza. Go for it, it's a wonderful thing to do, but I genuinely one hundred per cent think that people wanting to join should have a 2 week introduction where everything is explained to them and their parents, so everyone fully understands it's something for life and not just a few years.

Just recently, I bumped into someone who was in my class and we ended up discussing if we did dowr and could still remember. Well he says I can remember the first 5 suparah but that's it. He said he could not sit down and re-learn it all because his life is too busy and he has kids now. I didn't really know what to say to him so conversation just ended after that.