As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullaah
The Haafidh of Qur’aan is the best of people
If Allaah `azza wa jall gave every servant a value and a rank, then the people of Qur’aan are the best of people in rank, for the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam) said, as is narrated in Bukhari – “The best of you is the one who learns Qur’aan and teaches it.”
Tranquility descends upon the people of Qur’aan and mercy envelopes them
The Messenger (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam) said, “No people gather together in one of the Houses of Allaah, reciting the Book of Allaah and studying it among themselves, except that Sakeenah (Tranquility) descends upon them, and Mercy envelops them, and the angels surround them, and Allaah mentions them amongst those who are with Him.” [1]
The Qur’aan is the Banquet of Allaah `azza wa jall
It is narrated from Ibn mas’ood (radhillaahu `anhu) that the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam) said, “Indeed this Qur’aan is the banquet of Allaah so learn as much as you can from the banquet of Allaah. Indeed this Qur’aan is the strong rope of Allaah and it is the clear guidance and it is a beautiful cure, a protection for those who cling to it and a salvation for those who follow it. Nothing is bent or corrupted except that the Qur’aan rectifies it, nor deviated but that it reprimands them. Its marvels do not fade nor is the sweetness of it decreased by the frequency of those who recite it. So recite it, for indeed Allaah will bestow upon you ten times the single reward for your recitation of each letter. I do not say for Alif, Laam, Meem is a letter but Alif is a letter, Laam is a letter and Meem is a letter.” [2]
The Qur’aan is your soul amongst the people of the heavens
It is narrated from Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (radhiallaahu `anhu) that he said, “Have taqwa of Allaah because it is the head of all matters and upon you is Jihaad because it is the monasticism of Islaam and upon you is the remembrance of Allaah and the recitation of Qur’aan as it is your soul amongst the people of the heavens and your mention amongst the people of the earth, and upon you is to remain silent except in the truth as you will then over power the Shaytaan.” [3]
Narrated from Jundub that he said, “I advice you with the taqwa of Allaah and I advice you with the Qur’aan for truly it is a light by the dark night and a guidance by the day – act upon it in difficulty and in poverty. If a calamity befalls, sacrifice your wealth instead of your Deen (religion) and if the calamity intensifies, then sacrifice your wealth and your life instead of your Deen for surely the ruined one is he whose religion is ruined and the deprived is he who has been deprived of his Deen. Know that there is no poverty after entering Paradise and no prosperity after entering Hellfire.” [4]
The recitor of Qur’aan is not returned to senile old age
Narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas (radhiallaahu `anhumaa): “Whoever reads the Qur’aan is not returned to senile old age and that is the meaning of Allaah’s Statement, “Then We reduced him to the lowest of the low, except those who believe…” – he said ‘those that recite the Qur’aan” [5]
The Haafidh of Qur’aan is lowered into his grave before others
Just like Allaah `azza wa jall raised the value of the bearer of Qur’aan in this world and made him the most deserving of leadership amongst the people, He has also raised his rank and value in the Hereafter by making him the most deserving of entering his grave first.
Narrated from Jabir ibn ‘Abdullaah (radhiallaahu `anhumaa): The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam) used to gather together two men from those killed in Uhud in one piece of cloth, then he would say, “Which one of them knows Qur’aan more?” If one of them was pointed out to him, he would lower him into the grave first and say, “I am a witness over them on the Day of Judgement.” He would then order for their burial in their blood and they were not washed nor were they prayed over. [6]
Steps and Causes that Aid in the Memorisation of Qur’aan
4 – Seeking Forgiveness
A person forgets all that he has memorised due to his sins and for that reason he should increase in istighfaar (seeking forgiveness). Ibn Mas’ood (radhiallaahu `anhu) said, ‘I reckon a man forgets knowledge that he has learnt due to a sin that he has earned.’ And if a mas’ala (matter) became ambiguous for Imaam Abu Hanifah (rahimahullaah), he would say to his companions, ‘This is not except due to a sin I have commited’ and he would seek forgiveness and perhaps even pray, then the mas’ala would become clear to him.
5 – Cleansing of the soul from bad akhlaaq
Learning the Qur’aan is worship of the heart, prayer in secret and drawing closer to Allaah `azza wa jall, and just like the fact that the prayer is not valid except with outward tahaarah (purity) of the body, clothes and place of prayer… the inner acts of worship – of the heart – are not valid except with the purification of the heart from hypocrisy, deception, filth, malice and envy, enmity and hatred – and those are the impurities of the heart, soul and inner being. The Noble Qur’aan is like a crop/plantation, it does not grow except in good, fertile soil. As for land that is salty or deprived, then no produce will come forth and if some things do come out, then they will not grow and if they do grow, they will not produce fruit and even if they do produce fruit, it will not be of good quality. So the Qur’aan will not grow or produce fruit except in a good, pure and righteous heart. Due to this, it is incumbant upon the student of Qur’aan that he should be clean and pure from these bad characteristics and adorn himself with good, honourable and generous characteristics like truthfulness, honesty, sincerity, and in a nutshell, all that faith requires.
6 – That he intends to adorn his heart and clean his soul by his learning
It is incumbant upon the student of Qur’aan that he intends by his learning to adorn his heart, clean his soul, purify his inner being and that he intends to draw closer to Allaah, ascend to be with the Noble Angels and join the rows of the Angels, as Umm al-Mu’mineen, ‘Aisha (radhiallaahu `anhaa) informed us of that when she said, “The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam) said, “Verily the one who recites the Qur’an beautifully, smoothly, and precisely, he will be in the company of the noble and obedient angels.” And we all know that the Angels descended to listen to Usaid ibn Hudhayr [7]
7 – Dedicating a specific time for Hifdh
From the things that will aid you in the memorisation of Qur’aan is that you dedicate a specific time towards hifdh and you inform your brothers/sisters that you will be busy during this time so that no-one can disturb you from your hifdh.
_________________________________________
References:
[1] Reported by Muslim [2699]
[2] Narrated by al-Haakim, al-Albani declared it saheeh in ‘al-silsilah al-saheeha [660]
[3] Nuzhatul-Fudhalaa [1/248]
[4] Nuzhatul-Fudhalaa [1/258]
[5] Al-Targheeb wa al-Tarheeb [2/355] – Al-Mundhari said, ‘al-Haakim said ‘its chain is saheeh’
[6] Reported by al-Bukhari
[7] Samaat Taalib Halaqat al-Qur’aan – Ramadan Muhammad Hasan al-Samdeesi [pg. 23 – 25]
JazakAllaahu Khairan
A wonderful read, a wonderful reminder.
Thankyou.
Ameen, wa iyyaakum
As-salaamu’alaykum wa Rahmatu Llahi wa Barakatuhu my dearest sister,
Subhan’Allah. This is such a wonderful post.. jazak’Allah for sharing it with us. Insha’Allah it’s something we can all work on (ie: knowing more of the Qur’an).
Wa’alaykum as-salaam
Love Farhana
Sub7anAllah!
BarakAllahfiki Sister dhuhr i mean fajr.
Wasalamo3alaikumwara7matulahiwabarakatuh
beautiful.
Wa `alaykumusalaam wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh
Wa iyyaakum, baarak’Allaahu feekum
Yes, definitely. May Allaah aid us all 🙂 Ameen
Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakatuh,
Really beneficial article.
Re: the section “Cleansing the soul from bad akhlaaq”.
Is it possible you could mention any evidences where it says that the bad characteristics prevent the actions of the heart from being accepted or that they are considered as major sins?
If possible would you be able to go into this in more detail in the future.
Jazaaki Allaahu khayr
Assalaamu alaykum
Wa `alaykumusalaam wa rahmatullaahi wa baraakatuh
Wa iyyaaka
From the top of my head I think there are many evidences showing that for example, every Monday and Thursday the believers in this Ummah are forgiven so long as they do not involve in shirk or have in their hearts any grudges or ill feelings towards another Muslim. Other actions of the heart are dependent on a pure and clear conscience or heart e.g. intentions, sincerity. And then there’s the hadeeth of the muflis (bankrupt) who comes on the Day of Judgement with many a good deed but loses it all because he slandered one person and oppressed another one, abusing a third and basically showing very bad akhlaaq which causes his ruin.
It actually would be a good topic to write on, inshaa’Allaah if I get time maybe I will. Jazaak’Allaahu khayran
Assalaamu alaykum
sis what exactly does this mean? (Quran is your soul amongst the people of the heavens)
“Have taqwa of Allaah because it is the head of all matters and upon you is Jihaad because it is the monasticism of Islaam and upon you is the remembrance of Allaah and the recitation of Qur’aan as it is your soul amongst the people of the heavens and your mention amongst the people of the earth, and upon you is to remain silent except in the truth as you will then over power the Shaytaan.” [3]
Insha Allah could you please explain that a bit?
Masha Allah your blog is so nice, Jazakallah khayr 🙂
excellent stuff, keep it up inshAllah. may Allah bless you and make you of the leading scholars of the world. ameen
bismillah wal hamdulilah
as salamu`alaykum
Dates for the 3 white days for Rabi’ ul-Awwal are as follows inshaAllah;
thursday 20th March 2008 – 13th
friday 21st March 2008 – 14th
saturday 23rd March 2008 – 15th
Please make the effort to fast or else on the day of Judgement we will stand in REGRET, whilst we stare ahead and see those that did fast recieving their reward from Allah, Most High.
As-salaamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh
JazakAllah khayr for the beneficial article and blog, TabarakAllah
Please forgive me if this is the wrong place to ask this question, insha Allah,
A post from this site: http://forums.islamicawakening.com/showpost.php?p=88266&postcount=21
mentions a method of memorising and reviewing the Quran, titled ‘Easiest wat to memorise Al-Quran’.
I am not sure whether I have understood it correctly and I hope you can clarify it for me, if that is okay with you, insha Allah,
1) You memorise a wajh a day, (each ayah to be read 20 times, and then 20 times for the 1-4 ayah, and 20 times for the 5-8 ayah, then 20 times for the 1-8 ayah.
2) The next day, you review the previous wajh that you memorised, 20 times. And then memorise a new wajh using the same method as in 1).
3) This process is carried on until you have memorised 10 ajza’, which after you have a 1 month break for review only
– where you review 8 awjah a day.
4) After the month, you memorise 1-2 wajh a day, and review 8 awjah a day until you have completed memorising 2o ajza’.
Question: Is number 4 right, in that you review 8 awjah a day whilst memorising 1-2 wajh a day? And if it is where do you start the review from, the 1 juz? And when would you review the wajh you have memorised the previous day?
5) After memorising the 20 ajza’, you take a 2 month break where you would review 8 awjah a day.
6) After the 2 month review, you memorise 1-2 wajh a day, and review 8 awjah a day.
Question: When reviewing the 8 awjah[ mentioned in 6)], do you start reviewing from the 1 or 11 juz, and again when would you review the wajh you memorised the previous day.
When it says review, i.e. 8 awjah, does it mean repeat each wajh in the 8 awjahs 20 times each?
And say for example, on your 10th day of memorizing from the 1 juz: you memorise a wajh a day, and do you review all the previous wajhs memorized (9 awjah), or just the one you memorized the previous day only?
Hope you can forgive me for asking too many questions, JazakAllah khayr wa barakAllahu feeki
Wa `alaykumusalaam wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh
Ah! You’ve lost me sister, sorry…
I think you’ve got most of it, the reviews start from Juz 1 all the way through to where you’re at (i.e. completion).
However, we sort of need to focus on the aims of the article. It’s trying to bridge the gap between new hifdh and old hifdh, so that we don’t forget what we had memorised from before.
So, however way you can maintain a balance between constant review and new hifdh, go for it. It might not be necessary for you to repeat 20 times (sometimes 5-10 times is enough), also some soorahs need constant review, others don’t.
Wallahu a’lam, I don’t think reviewing here means 20 times (that was for hifdh).
Sorry, not much help – this isn’t really a method I adopt as I don’t get the luxury of stopping to review… just try to do it at the same time as hifdh 🙂
As-Salaamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh
JazakAllah khayr for the quick response and advice,
Would it be possible if you could tell me the method you use or recommend for hifdh (both memorising and reviewing) insha Allah.
BarakAllahu feeki
Wa `alaykumusalaam wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh
Wa iyyaki sister
With hifdh, I try to take the usual route of memorising a certain portion on a daily basis – this will increase with time. With reviewing then I do it 1 soorah at a time (for the higher ajzaa’). I try to maintain a balance so that I’m keeping both up, but sometimes the balance wavers – e.g. one time, my teacher wanted to move me up to memorising 1 page a day and as a result, revision of past soorahs slowed down.
I guess it really depends on what the best thing for you is. My favourite method of memorising is to listen to the upcoming soorahs a lot (like daily), for example, I used to listen to Soorah Shu3araa’ soo often that when it came to memorising it, alhamdulillah it wasn’t difficult at all (even though it has over 220 verses). Listening to the recitation I find is the best thing for me personally, I feel it gives the greatest strength to my hifdh. As for revision… then I’m working on it lol. Usually I take it a juz at a time or a soorah at a time (for the longer chapters).
Whatever you feel comfortable with ukhti, the main thing is you develop love for the Qur’aan and you connect with it – once this happens, hifdh is no longer an issue 🙂 bi’ithnillaah. Wallaahu a’lam
As-Salaamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh
JazakAllah khayr for the reply sister,
also which recitors do you listen to for your hifdth and/ or reviewing?
Wa `alaykumusalaam wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh
I’m not the best person to ask that question hehe, I listen to many different recitors! For tajweed purposes I’d recommend shaykh Mahmood Khalil Husari , al-Minshaawi or al-Hudhayfi
Personally, I listen to al-Ghamidi, al-Shatiri and al-‘Efasy simply because they adopt a rhythm which I find helps my hifdh and recollection etc. But I’m sure all of the qurraa’ are brilliant masha’Allaah so long as the tajweed rules are applied.
Wa billaahi-tawfeeq.