4 Important Hifz Lessons Learned Over 25 Years

The How To Memorise The Quran Facebook group often welcomes many great Hifz success stories. The story of Raheel Bengali is one of them.

He shared his thoughts and reflections with us almost a year ago and after having shared it with subscribers of the Diary of A Hafiz newsletter, I was asked to share it the articles library on the website.

Raheel shares his Hifz tips and what he learnt from a 25 year journey. Here's what Raheel says:

The Guardianship of the Quran

In the Name of Allah, the Most Loving, the Extremely Loving

All thanks and praise is to Allah, the Lord of all the Worlds. And peace and blessings on our Master Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah SWT.

Alhamdulillah, by the Blessings of Allah SWT, I journeyed to His House SWT and I completed my Hifz of the Qur’ān while in the state of Ihram behind Maqam’e Ibrahim.

It was the most surreal experience ever. To be in the place where it all started, where Wahi and Jibrael AS would come down from that same sky, where RasulAllah SAWS would walk, with the awe inspiring Kaabah towering over me, in that pure state. My dua over and over, hands raised and head down, was that Allah SWT be pleased and happy with me. I am so thankful and appreciative that Allah SWT chose me to be of his servants for this honor.

As if perfectly planned from Allah SWT, the last ayah I had to memorize was the last ayah from Surat Layl. It kept running over and over in my head. “Wa la sowfa yardha.” It’s translation literally is: And for sure very soon you will be pleased!!!

I have been trying to memorize for around 25 years.

It was always my dream to become a Hafiz of the Quran for Allah SWT to be pleased and happy with me. To be raised with the Huffaz on Judgement Day, to be connected in a chain directly to RasulAllah SAWS, to be told to recite and end up in Jannatul Firdaus, and for my parents to receive an incredible taaj/crown.

Some things I learned through the journey:

Becoming a Hafiz is not a piece of cake.

You cannot memorize the Book of Allah SWT without His permission and blessings. It is Impossible to memorize otherwise. Your intention cannot be for worldly benefit or you will fail. This journey will make you cry and make you feel you cannot do it. You will want to quit. If you do it for any reason other than wanting the blessings and love of Allah SWT you will be defeated.

I remember time after time thinking I cannot do this and I should stop. I remember the 3rd page of Surat Nisa and I told my sheikh I cannot do this after reciting to him day after day for a week and not getting it. This is after memorizing Baqarah and Al Imran. I asked the sheikh if I could memorize from the 30th Juz it would be easier than doing Surat Nisa. He said NO, you will get it in sha' Allah. Keep going. I cried a lot that day and made dua to Allah SWT to help me. Allah SWT wants to see how bad you really want this and how much effort you will put into it. He does not give His Book to everyone. If it was easy, everyone would be Hafiz. You have to make the effort, over and over, essentially to the point of desperation and come to the realization that it will not happen without Allah SWT’s permission and when your heart wants it THAT bad it will instantly click like a miracle. You will start to love the Quran. You will dream about it. I literally started having dreams of reciting Surahs I did not even know! You will start seeing and relating daily conversations with an ayah you memorized. It gets REAL.

There is no get rich quick plan.

There is no lose weight fast plan. All of those are gimmicks and you will quit. There are so many “this is how you become Hafiz fast” posts. Everyone is different and has different memories and different techniques. It takes lots of time and dedication, and balancing work, school, family, and all the other responsibilities is not easy. Have it on your phone and computer. Listen to it in the car. Respect it and honor it and it will raise you.

You have to set a schedule and stick to it but not sacrifice your duties and responsibilities to the other parts of your life. Sleep less. Wake up earlier. Go to bed right after Isha. You will always have the excuse I am tired. You will always feel let me wait until tomorrow just skip today. You do not become Hafiz overnight. It takes years as an adult. You either finish it and become Hafiz, or you die while trying to become Hafiz and your Lord is too Generous not to reward you as one.

Learning Quranic vocabulary and tafseer is very helpful in memorizing.

It helps you understand, apply, remember the order or if you get stuck, etc. Having a teacher is very important because reading to yourself is easy. Reading to someone else that is an expert makes you nervous and scared. It is the only way to get the mistakes to come out. Do not be tricked by Shaitan into needing to perfect everything or you will not move on.

You do not need 10 ijazas for tajweed to start memorizing. You do not need to become the Imam of the masjid. You will forget some, then rememorize, then forget more, then rememorize, etc. You will make mistakes in recitation.

Do not stop. I asked my sheikh if I should keep reading a longer Surah to him before moving on, but he advised to keep reviewing it by myself until we get to it again in revision recitation and I should move on to the next Surah. I look back and realize that Alhamdulillah because of this I memorized more and every time I read the old Surahs they get stronger and stronger.

Stay focused on the next goal.

One ayah may seem like a very small step in your Hifz journey. But a few more ayahs and you will have a quarter page done, then half then the full page. The Quarter Juz is coming up, then the end of the Surah. Remember every letter is 10 good deeds. Imagine how many good deeds you got because you had to read the ayah with so many letters so many times to memorize it. In Ramadan? x700?! It’s Infinity. And the more difficult for you the more reward. You cannot lose this deal. If Allah SWT accepts it, you are in Jannatul Firdaus with the highest companions and RasulAllah SAWS in sha' Allah.

This Quran would have destroyed a mountain if it was revealed on one. The Book of Allah SWT is so beautiful and important it was sent down by our Creator through his highest Angel Jibrael AS to the best of creation RasulAllah SAWS. Make intention to start. What an incredible connection you will have in your heart!

Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The Quran will be brought on the Day of Judgement and it will say about the person who used to recite it, O Lord! Adorn him. Therefore, he will be adorned with the crown of honor. Then the Quran will say,. O Lord! Give him more. Therefore, he will be clothed with the clothes of honour. The Quran will also say, O Lord! Be pleased with him. Therefore, Allah will he pleased with him, and it will be said to him, Recite [the Qur'an] and rise to higher degrees. He will be given a reward for every verse he recites. (At-Tirmidhee)

May Allah SWT accept this and our efforts, overlook all our sins and faults, be happy with it, let us see Him SWT, and reward us all with the best in this life and Jannatul Firdaus with RasulAllah SAWS in the next life.

Peace and blessings on our Master Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah SWT. And the final statement is Praise is to Allah, the Lord of All the Worlds.