Selected Quranic Surah memorization Club

[Muhaba]

This Quran study & memorization club is different from all others in that it doesn’t require members to memorize the whole Quran. In this club we choose 1 surah every few weeks / months to memorize. Additionally, you don’t have to memorize all the surahs we are memorizing. You can memorize one surah (or part of it) and then drop out when you don’t have time and then come back later and sign up for another surah when you have the time for it. Insha-Allah this will make it easier to memorize parts of Allah’s Book.

Here is how it works:

Every several months we will choose a surah to memorize. Then every week you will get a few verses (usually 1 page) to memorize. When I post the verses, I will also post its translation and sometimes a brief commentary. After you finish memorizing the surah, you will get a one to two week break before we start the next surah. This way you can use the time to rest, catch up, or revise.

Additionally, you don’t have to memorize all the surahs we memorize. You can choose to memorize one and then not memorize the next. That is, you sign up for each surah that you want to memorize but don’t have to memorize a surah that you can’t memorize due to some reason. So by joining this club, you aren’t permanently committed to memorize all the surahs we are memorizing.

Furthermore, you can sign up to memorize a part of a Surah but if you see that it is too much for you, then you can drop out without completing the surah. There are no penalties for not completing a surah although those who complete a surah will get reps from me! And you are free to rejoin when we start memorizing the next surah.

I hope that makes it easier for people to sign up and memorize parts of Allah’s Book.

What if you drop out after a while but then before we finish memorizing the surah you want to rejoin and continue memorizing the same surah?
In this case, you are free to memorize the surah on your own but can’t re-sign up for the same surah after you’ve dropped out. This is because it will only complicate things.

How to test yourself.

Self-tests: when you start memorizing, try to recite a verse or part of a verse several times until you are able to recite it without looking at it. Then use a piece of paper or bookmark to hide the verse / line that you memorized and then recite it from your mind, lowering the bookmark as you go. In this way you can see how much you know by heart and can correct any mistakes you make. This also helps you see which words/parts you don’t know so you can focus on them. Additionally, this method enhances memorization. You learn better if you recite from your heart (without looking at the verses).

After you’ve memorized the whole page, have someone (a parent, sib, or other relative or friend) test you. Have them mark the points (underlining, etc) where you need to improve, so you can focus on those parts during revision.

Revision: at the end of the week revise the page you memorized several times, before proceeding to the next page. During the next week, memorize a new portion while also revising the previous page. This will help you not forget.

Each week you should recite the whole portion that you’ve memorized so far to yourself (using the bookmark to hide the verses) and also recite it to someone else at least once.

Also, try to recite the portion you memorize in your daily prayers. This will keep you from forgetting the parts you learned.

May Allah help all to memorize His Book.

The first surah we will memorize insha-Allah is Sural Al-Hujarat.
This is a very short surah (only 2 ½ pages long) but very important as it teaches some basic manners.


So who wants to sign up?

 

[Muhaba]

no one wants to join?

here's the plan for the first surah.

Surah Al-Hujarat memorization plan:
Week 1: verses 1 – 8
Week 2: verses 9 – 12
Week 3: verses 13 - 18
Week 4: Revision
Week 5: Break


and some background information:

Surah Al-Hujarat

This is a very short surah (only 2 ½ pages long) but very important as it teaches some basic manners.


Some background information:

Name of the Surah: the surah takes its name from verse 4 in which the word hujarat has occurred.

Period of Revelation: traditions show and the subject-matter of the surah also aupports the same that this Surah is a collection of the commandments and instructions sent down on different occasions, which have been put together because of the relevancy of the theme. Moreover, the traditions also show that most of these commandments were sent down during the final stage of the holy Prophet’s life in Madinah. For instance, about verse 4 commentators state that it was sent down concerning the Bani Tamim whose deputation had arrived in Madinah and started calling out to the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم from outside the apartments (hujarat) of his wives, and according to all biographical books on the Holy Prophet’s life, this deputation had visited Madinah in AH 9. Likewise, about verse 6, a large number of the traditions hadith confirm that it was sent down concerning Walid Bin Uqbah whom the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم had sent to collect the zakat from the Bani Al-Mustaliq, and it is well known that Walid Bin Uqbah had become a Muslim on the conquest of Makkah.

Subject-Matter and Topics: the subject matter of this Surah is to teach the Muslims the manners worthy of true believers.

In the first five verses they have been taught the manners they should observe with regard to Allah and His Messenger صلى الله عليه و سلم .

Then they have been given the instructions that it is not right to believe in every news blindly and to act according to it without due thought. If information is received about a person, group, or community, it should be seen carefully whether the means of the information is reliable or not. If the means is not reliable, it should be tested and examined to see whether the news is authentic or not before taking any action on it.

Then it has been told what attitude the other Muslims should adopt in case two groups of the Muslims fall to mutual fighting.

Next, the Muslims have been encouraged to safeguard against the evils that corrupt collective life and spoil mutual relationships. Mocking and taunting each other, calling others by nicknames, creating suspicions, prying into other people’s affairs, and backbiting are the evils which are not only sins in themselves but they also corrupt society. Allah has mentioned all these evils separately and forbidden them as unlawful.

After this, the national and racial distinctions that cause universal corruptions in the world have been condemned . Nations’ and tribes’ and families’ pride of ancestry and their looking down upon others as inferior to themselves and their pulling down others only for the sake of establishing their own superiority is an important factor that has filled the world with injustices and tyranny. Allah, in a brief verse, has cut at the roots of this evil by stating that all men are descendents of the same one pair and their division into tribes and communities is only for the sake of recognition, not for boasting and pride, and there is no lawful basis of one man’s superiority over the other except on the basis of moral excellence.

In conclusion, the people have been told that the real thing is not the verbal profession of the Faith but to believe in Allah and His Messenger صلى الله عليه و سلم truly, to obey them in practical life, and to exert sincerely with one’s self and wealth in the cause of Allah. True believers are only those who adopt this attitude. As for those who profess Islam merely orally without affirmation by the heart and then adopt an attitude as if they had done someone a favor by accepting Islam may be counted among the Muslims in the world, may even be treated as Muslims in society, but they cannot be counted as believers in the sight of Allah.


Note: background information, translation and commentary from the Meaning of Quran by Sayyad Abu Al-Ala Maududi)

I hope some ppl sign up for this great and rewarding endeavor.

 

[SlaveOfGod]

Great idea, Count me in inshallah.

 

[ayesha.ansari]

Yes memorizing Surah Yaseen can be very easy similar to when you read it 7 to 11 times then see how fast you can memorize it and feel excited.

 

[Muhaba]

Glad to see a few ppl signed up. We will be memorizing Surah Al-Hujarat and not Surah Yaseen. insha-Allah we start as soon as we have a few more members, at least 6.
i hope more ppl sign up and we can start memorizing beginning of next month.

 

[ayesha.ansari]

OK i am in this class too. i will memorize this surah too.

 

[Muhaba]

only two ppl signed up so far? c'mon ppl its not so difficult to memorize. it's a really short surah and doesn't take long to memorize. we are only memorizing about a page a week (which is like memorizing just one line per day) although you can memorize much more than that.

insha-Allah we start when we have some more members signing up.

 

[Muhaba]

137 views and only 2 ppl signed up? that is really not a good sign.

 

[Muhaba]

i hope some more ppl sign up so we can start memorizing soon, insha-Allah.

anyone interested?

 

[Muhaba]

no one's interested?

 

[Ali Mujahidin]

Count me in.

 

[ayesha.ansari]

Now how much people are involved in this should we start remembering this surah.

 

[Muhaba]

insha-Allah we start soon. you can start on your own if you like. it will help in remembering what you memorize.

by the way, can someone post the verses (in Arabic) that we will memorize. We will memorize verses 1 - 8 the first week. so someone will have to post the verses each week. i cant do it as i haven't got that much time. after some posts the verses, i'll post the translation and commentary.

the point is to not just memorize but also understand what we are memorizing.

 

[Muhaba]

Insha-Allah, we will start memorizing Surah Hujarat Next Saturday, July 23, 2011.

Here's the plan.
Week 1: memorize verses 1 – 8 of Surah Al-Hujarat
Week 2: verses 9 – 12
Week 3: verses 13 - 18
Week 4: Revision
Week 5: Break

If someone can post the required verses for week 1 it will be great. Insha-Allah I will post the translation and commentary of some verses in the coming days. also, if you haven't read the Introduction to the Surah, you can read it in Post #2: http://www.islamicboard.com/quran/1...anic-surah-memorization-club.html#post1441121

 

[Muhaba]

Memorization of Surah Hujarat (the 49th Surah of the Quran) has begun.

I hope ya'all are still interested.

Here's the arabic text and translation of the first 8 verses which we will be memorizing this week, insha-Allah.

سُوۡرَةُ الحُجرَات
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

​

يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لَا تُقَدِّمُواْ بَيۡنَ يَدَىِ ٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦ*ۖ وَٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ*ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ۬ (١) يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لَا تَرۡفَعُوٓاْ أَصۡوَٲتَكُمۡ فَوۡقَ صَوۡتِ ٱلنَّبِىِّ وَلَا تَجۡهَرُواْ لَهُ ۥ بِٱلۡقَوۡلِ كَجَهۡرِ بَعۡضِڪُمۡ لِبَعۡضٍ أَن تَحۡبَطَ أَعۡمَـٰلُكُمۡ وَأَنتُمۡ لَا تَشۡعُرُونَ (٢) إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَغُضُّونَ أَصۡوَٲتَهُمۡ عِندَ رَسُولِ ٱللَّهِ أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱمۡتَحَنَ ٱللَّهُ قُلُوبَہُمۡ لِلتَّقۡوَىٰ*ۚ لَهُم مَّغۡفِرَةٌ۬ وَأَجۡرٌ عَظِيمٌ (٣) إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يُنَادُونَكَ مِن وَرَآءِ ٱلۡحُجُرَٲتِ أَڪۡثَرُهُمۡ لَا يَعۡقِلُونَ (٤) وَلَوۡ أَنَّہُمۡ صَبَرُواْ حَتَّىٰ تَخۡرُجَ إِلَيۡہِمۡ لَكَانَ خَيۡرً۬ا لَّهُمۡ*ۚ وَٱللَّهُ غَفُورٌ۬ رَّحِيمٌ۬ (٥) يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓاْ إِن جَآءَكُمۡ فَاسِقُۢ بِنَبَإٍ۬ فَتَبَيَّنُوٓاْ أَن تُصِيبُواْ قَوۡمَۢا بِجَهَـٰلَةٍ۬ فَتُصۡبِحُواْ عَلَىٰ مَا فَعَلۡتُمۡ نَـٰدِمِينَ (٦) وَٱعۡلَمُوٓاْ أَنَّ فِيكُمۡ رَسُولَ ٱللَّهِ*ۚ لَوۡ يُطِيعُكُمۡ فِى كَثِيرٍ۬ مِّنَ ٱلۡأَمۡرِ لَعَنِتُّمۡ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ حَبَّبَ إِلَيۡكُمُ ٱلۡإِيمَـٰنَ وَزَيَّنَهُ ۥ فِى قُلُوبِكُمۡ وَكَرَّهَ إِلَيۡكُمُ ٱلۡكُفۡرَ وَٱلۡفُسُوقَ وَٱلۡعِصۡيَانَ*ۚ أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ هُمُ ٱلرَّٲشِدُونَ (٧) فَضۡلاً۬ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَنِعۡمَةً۬*ۚ وَٱللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ۬ (٨

Week 1, verses 1 – 8

Verses:


Translation:
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Verse 1: O you who have believed, do not go in advance of Allah and His Messenger, and fear Allah: Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.

Verses 2-3: O you who have believed, do not raise your voices above the Prophet’s voice, nor speak to him loud as you speak loud to one another lest all your works be rendered void, while you do not know. Those who lower their voices in the presence of the Messenger of God are, in fact, those whose hearts Allah has disposed to piety. For them is forgiveness and a great reward!

Verses 4-5: O Prophet, those who call out to you from outside the apartments, most of them have no sense. If only they had had patience until you came out to them, it would be better for them. Allah is All-Forgiving, All-Merciful.

Verses 6-8: O you who have believed, if a wicked person brings you some news, inquire into it carefully lest you should harm others unwittingly and then regret what you have done. Know it well that the Messenger of Allah is among you. If he were to obey you in most affairs, you would certainly be in trouble. But Allah has endeared the Faith to you and made it seem fair in your hearts and made disbelief, wrongdoing, and disobedience abhorrent to you. Such are those who are rightly guided through Allah’s grace and Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.

 

[Muhaba]

And here's the commentary:


Verse 1: O you who have believed, do not go in advance of Allah and His Messenger, and fear Allah: Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.


Commentary:
O you who have believed, do not go in advance of Allah and His Messenger

This is the foremost and basic command of the Faith. If the person who regards Allah as his Lord and accepts Allah’s Messenger as his guide in leader, is true in his belief, he can never have the attitude that he should give his own opinion and view precedence over the decision of Allah and His Messenger, or should adopt an independent opinion in the matters, and pass his own judgments without caring to find out whether Allah and His Messenger have given any guidance in those matters or not, and if they have given it, what it is. That is why it has been said: “o believers do not go ‘in advance’ of Allah and His Messenger.” That is, “do not go ahead of them, but follow behind: do not precede them but be subordinate to them.” This command is, in its application and effect, a step further to verse 36 of Aurah Al-Ahzab. There it was said: “it does not behove a believing man and a believing woman that when Allah and His Messenger have given their decision in a matter, they should exercise an option in that matter of theirs,” and here it is said that the believers should not decide their matters themselves by their own initiative, but should look for guidance in Allah’s Book and His Prophet’s Sunnah concerning those matters.

This command is not confined only to individual matters of the Muslims but it also applies to their collective affairs. Whis is in fact the fundamental article of the Islamic Law, which can neither be set aside or ignored by a Muslim government, nor by a Muslim parliament, nor by a parliament. A tradition has been reported in Musnad Ahmad, Abu Da’ud, Tirmidhi, and Ibn Majah with authentic chains of transmitters, saying that when the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم was sending Hadrat Mu’adh Bin Jabal to the Yaman as a judge, he صلى الله عليه و سلم asked him: “By what will you decide the matters?”Hadrat Mu’adh bin Jabal replied: “By the book of Allah.” The Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم said: “if you do not find the Command concerning a matter in the Book of Allah, what will you turn to? He replied: “To the Sunnah of Allah’s Messenger.” The Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم asked: “If you don’t find a command in this also?”He replied: “Then I shall exert and find out a solution by myself (through ijtihad).” Thereupon the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم placed his hand on Hadrat Mu’adh’s chest and said: “Thank God Who has helped His Messenger’s deputy to adopt the way that is approved by His Messenger.”

This giving of precedence t the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger over one’s own exercise to find a solution and to turn to them first to obtain guidance is the thing that marks the distinction between a Muslim judge and a non-Muslim judge. Likewise, in the matter of legislation also there is absolute consensus that the first and foremost source of the law is the Divine Book and after it the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah. Even the consensus of the entire Ummah cannot go against or remain independent of them, not to speak of the individual Muslims’ reasoning and endeavour to interpret the law.


and fear Allah: Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing

That is, “if you ever adopted an attitude of independence as against Allah and His Messenger, or gave priority to your own opinion and view over their Command, you should know that you have to deal with that God Who is hearing whatever you utter and is even aware of your secret intentions.”

 

[Jalal~]

Al-Tirmidhi (2914) and Abu Dawood (1464) narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “It will be said to the companion of the Qur'an: Recite and rise in status, recite as you used to recite in the world, for your status will be at the last verse that you recite.” This hadith was classed as sahih by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 5/218, no. 2240

ill give it a go; dont expect much from me though. and btw dont worry about how many people are in the club, wouldn't you rather have a few committed members who actually learn something than a lot of people who just join and pretend to do something? i mean i'll seriously try my best, but if i come up short, i'll let you know.

 

[Muhaba]

Al-Tirmidhi (2914) and Abu Dawood (1464) narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “It will be said to the companion of the Qur'an: Recite and rise in status, recite as you used to recite in the world, for your status will be at the last verse that you recite.” This hadith was classed as sahih by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 5/218, no. 2240

ill give it a go; dont expect much from me though. and btw dont worry about how many people are in the club, wouldn't you rather have a few committed members who actually learn something than a lot of people who just join and pretend to do something? i mean i'll seriously try my best, but if i come up short, i'll let you know.

welcome to the Quran study & memorization club! and thnks for the advice. i hope some ppl memoirize the Surah and those who aren't memorizing will benefit from the translation and commentary. it's a really small surah, only 2.5 pages but a really important one as it teaches some basic manners.

 

[Muhaba]

Verse 2-3: O you who have believed, do not raise your voices above the Prophet’s voice, nor speak to him loud as you speak loud to one another lest all your works be rendered void, while you do not know. Those who lower their voices in the presence of the Messenger of God are, in fact, those whose hearts Allah has disposed to piety. For them is forgiveness and a great reward!



O you who have believed, do not raise your voices above the Prophet’s voice, nor speak to him loud as you speak loud to one another

Commentary: This is the etiquette that was taught to the people who sat among the audience of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم or came to visit him. Its intention was that the believers should treat the Holy Prophet with the highest respect and reverence when visiting him and taking to him. Nobody should raise his voice louder than the Holy Prophet’s voice: The people should not be unmindful of the fact that they are addressing the Messenger of Allah and not a common man or a person of equal rank. Therefore, there should be a marked difference between one’s tone of conversation with the common people and one’s tone of conversation with the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم, and no one should talk to him in a voice louder than his.

Although this etiquette was taught for sitting in the Holy Prophet’s assembly and its addressees were the people who were living in his time, the people of later ages also should observe the same respect and reverence on the occasion when the Holy Prophet’s name is mentioned, or a command of his is stated, or his sayings are explained. Besides, this verse also points out what attitude the people should adopt when talking to persons of a higher rank and status than themselves. A person’s talking before the men of a higher rank in a way he/she talks before his/her friends or the common men, is in fact a sign that he has no respect for them in his heart, and he does not recognize any difference between them and the common people.



lest all your works be rendered void, while you do not know.

This shows what high position the person of the Holy Prophet occupies in Islam. No one beside the Holy Prophet, whatever his rank and status, has a position that unmannerly behaviour toward him should deserve in the sight of Allah the same punishment which is, in fact, the punishment for disbelief. In respect of ordinary people it is at most a sort of rudeness, an uncivilized conduct, but in respect of the Holy Prophet a little lack of reverence is such a grave sin as can destroy all the services of one’s lifetime. For the reverence of the Holy Prophet is indeed the reverence of that God Who sent him as His Messeger and lack of reverence for him amounts to lack of reverence to God Himself.



Those who lower their voices in the presence of the Messenger of God are, in fact, those whose hearts Allah has disposed to piety.

That is, “only those people give due reverence to the Messenger of Allah who have passed successfully through the tests and trials set by Allah and proved by their steadfastness that their hearts indeed possess taqwa (piety).” From this it follows automatically that the heart which is devoid of reverence for the Holy Prophet is, in fact, devoid of taqwa, and a person’s raising his voice louder than the Holy Prophet’s is not only an uncivilized act outwardly but also a sign of the absence of taqwa in his heart.
-----------------------------

Note: to help you memorize better, listen to an audio recording of the verses that you are memorizing over and over again until you have memorized the verses. Try to use a recitation that has tajweed like Qari Al-Afasy. You can find Quran recitation online if you search for them.

 

[Muhaba]

Verses 4-5: O Prophet, those who call out to you from outside the apartments, most of them have no sense. If only they had had patience until you came out to them, it would be better for them. Allah is All-Forgiving, All-Merciful.



O Prophet, those who call out to you from outside the apartments, most of them have no sense. If only they had had patience until you came out to them, it would be better for them.


The people who in the blessed time of the Holy Prophet had received training in Islamic etiquette and manners under the Holy Prophet himself had a full regard for his person. They fully realized how busy he remained in performing the mission entrusted to him by Allah; they also understood full well that during those tiresome activities he must necessarily have some time for rest, time for his important occupations and also time for attending his domestic affairs. Therefore they would come to visit him only at the time when he was available outside his house, and if ever they did not find him outside his living quarters among his Companions, they would sit and await his emergence and would avoid giving him the trouble of coming out of his house unless there was a special need for it.

But many a time it so happened that the people from far flung areas, who had no opportunity to receive training in good manners, would come to visit the Holy Prophet with the idea that the one who invited others to Allah and was working for the reformation of the people had no right to have rest at any time, and they had the right to visit and see him any time they pleased in the day of night and it was his duty that whenever they happened to arrive he should be ready to receive them. Some of these people who came to see the Holy Prophet from different parts of Arabia, were so uncouth and impolite that they would not take the trouble to inform him of their arrival through some attendant, but would start shouting from outside the apartments of his wives to call him out. several such incidents have been reported by the Companions in the Hadith. This sort of behaviour troubled him much but he was tolerant on account of his natural clemency (leniency). At last Allah had to intervene. He (Allah) reproved the people for their uncivilized behaviour and gave this instruction: whenever they came to see the Holy Prophet and did not find him, they should wait for him patiently until he came out to them himself, instead of shouting to call him out, from the house.


Allah is All-Forgiving, All-Merciful.


That is, “whatever had happened until then will be overlooked and forgiven by Allah and He will not hold those people accountable for the trouble they had been causing His Messenger on account of His mercy and kindness, but they should not repeat such behaviour in the future.