How can a Ḥāfiẓ make his Qur'ān stronger once memorised? Today I share with you three methods for strengthening what you've memorised.
These are for those that have memorised a large portion of the Qur'ān or memorised the entire Qur'ān (the Ḥāfiẓ).
The Akhdari Method
This is a method taught by Shaykh Ibrāhīm al-Akhdarī al-Madanī. Shaykh Ibrāhīm was born in Madīnah al-Munawwarah in 1944 and has held many positions most notably being an Imām for the Haramayn (Masjid al-Haram, Makkah and Masjid al-Nabawī). He spent 9 years at Masjid an-Nabawī (the Prophet's Mosque).
He decided to make a group among his friends to create a class to memorise the Qur'ān. One of those friends was a Ḥāfiẓ (completely memorised the Qur'ān), and so they asked him to help teach. He wasn't relatively young himself, he'd been abroad in Italy studying. When he returned to Madīnah, he began memorising with this group until he reached Sūrat-ul-Isrā'. At this point, he met Shaykh Hassan Ibrāhim ash-Shā'ir, the shaykh of the reciters at Masjid an-Nabawī. When he met him, he was asked about his memorisation. Shaykh Hassan asked him to recite and then discovered that he didn't know Tajweed. Those who assume that Arabs recite correctly should note that it is not the case. Everyone needs to learn and practice. So Shaykh Ibrāhīm ended up going to him the next day to learn Tajweed. After this, he stayed with him and memorised the Qur'ān in the seven narrations.
Shaykh Ibrāhīm al-Akhdarī teaches a method rooted in repetition. He swears by this method to really make your Qur'ān strong after completion. These are three levels:
Level one
Recite the first 3 ajzā' (pl. of Juz') for 30 days. Recite each Juz' loudly, by looking. Move on to the next 3 ajzā' for 30 days. Then move on to the next 3 ajzā' and so on. In this way, you'll complete a khatm (completion) in 10 months.
In total, you would have recited each Juz' thirty times, and so make a complete recital thirty times.
| Month | Amount to do (aloud, looking) | From which Juz'? |
|---|---|---|
| One | 3 Juz' | 1st, 2nd, 3rd |
| Two | 3 Juz' | 4th, 5th, 6th |
| Three | 3 Juz' | 7th, 8th, 9th |
| Four | 3 Juz' | 10th, 11th, 12th |
| Five | 3 Juz' | 13th, 14th, 15th |
| Six | 3 Juz' | 16th, 17th, 18th |
| Seven | 3 Juz' | 19th, 20th, 21st |
| Eight | 3 Juz' | 22nd, 23rd, 24th |
| Nine | 3 Juz' | 25th, 26th, 27th |
| Ten | 3 Juz' | 28th, 29th, 30th |
Level Two
Now start another round of completion in the same way (with a set of 3 Juz') but for 20 days. So you're repeating a set of 3 daily for 20 days each. This means you will finish in 6.5 months and would have completed 20 complete readings, with each Juz' 20 times.
| Day sets | Amount to do (aloud, looking) | From which Juz'? |
|---|---|---|
| First 20 days | 3 Juz' | 1st, 2nd, 3rd |
| Second 20 days | 3 Juz' | 4th, 5th, 6th |
| Third 20 days | 3 Juz' | 7th, 8th, 9th |
| Fourth 20 days | 3 Juz' | 10th, 11th, 12th |
| Fifth 20 days | 3 Juz' | 13th, 14th, 15th |
| Sixth 20 days | 3 Juz' | 16th, 17th, 18th |
| Seventh 20 days | 3 Juz' | 19th, 20th, 21st |
| Eighth 20 days | 3 Juz' | 22nd, 23rd, 24th |
| Ninth 20 days | 3 Juz' | 25th, 26th, 27th |
| Tenth 20 days | 3 Juz' | 28th, 29th, 30th |
Level Three
Now start another round of completion in the same way (with a set of 3 Juz') but for 15 days. This is a period of almost 5 months. You're doing 15 repeats per Juz' and so 15 complete readings of the Qur'ān.
| Day sets | Amount to do (aloud, looking) | From which Juz'? |
|---|---|---|
| First 15 days | 3 Juz' | 1st, 2nd, 3rd |
| Second 15 days | 3 Juz' | 4th, 5th, 6th |
| Third 15 days | 3 Juz' | 7th, 8th, 9th |
| Fourth 15 days | 3 Juz' | 10th, 11th, 12th |
| Fifth 15 days | 3 Juz' | 13th, 14th, 15th |
| Sixth 15 days | 3 Juz' | 16th, 17th, 18th |
| Seventh 15 days | 3 Juz' | 19th, 20th, 21st |
| Eighth 15 days | 3 Juz' | 22nd, 23rd, 24th |
| Ninth 15 days | 3 Juz' | 25th, 26th, 27th |
| Tenth 15 days | 3 Juz' | 28th, 29th, 30th |
After going through these levels, you would have done each Juz' 65 times, and completed 65 complete readings of the Qur'ān. All of this within 1 year and almost 8 months. If you factor in days that you might not be able to do the 3 Juz' in a day due to unforeseen circumstances, just push the whole process to 2 years.
Is this to be done alongside your regular daily revision?
It's not clear whether it is or not but remember this method is purely for strengthening your memorization. In my opinion, it should be done alongside a regular daily revision that you do off memory. This should be a minimum of a Juz'.
Akhdarī Based Alternatives
There are two alternative spin-offs to the Akhdarī method.
The first of them is where you will take 3 Juz' daily but with more rounds of recitation. the second is where you will take 2 Juz' instead of 3.
Again, you're reciting out loud by looking.
Alternative One
| Days | What to recite | Juz' to recite |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 Juz' | 1st, 2nd, 3rd |
| 2 | Next 3 Juz' | 4th, 5th, 6th |
| 3 | Next 3 Juz' | 7th, 8th, 9th |
| 4 | Next 3 Juz' | 10th, 11th, 12th |
| 5 | Next 3 Juz' | 13th, 14th, 15th |
| 6 | Next 3 Juz' | 16th, 17th, 18th |
| 7 | Next 3 Juz' | 19th, 20th, 21st |
| 8 | Next 3 Juz' | 22nd, 23rd, 24th |
| 9 | Next 3 Juz' | 25th, 26th, 27th |
| 10 | Next 3 Juz' | 28th, 29th, 30th |
| Duration | Round 1 for 1 month Round 2 for 3 month Round 3 for 6 month Round 4 for 1 year | Round 1 completes 2 khatm Round 2 completes 6 khatm Round 3 completes 12 khatm Round 4 completes 24 khatm |
Alternative Two
| Days | What to recite | Juz' to recite |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 Juz' | 1st, 2nd |
| 2 | Next 2 Juz' | 3rd, 4th |
| 3 | Next 2 Juz' | 5th, 6th |
| 4 | Next 2 Juz' | 7th, 8th |
| 5 | Next 2 Juz' | 9th, 10th |
| 6 | Next 2 Juz' | 11th, 12th |
| 7 | Next 2 Juz' | 13th, 14th |
| 8 | Next 2 Juz' | 15th, 16th |
| 9 | Next 2 Juz' | 17th, 18th |
| 10 | Next 2 Juz' | 19th, 20th |
| 11 | Next 2 Juz' | 21st, 22nd |
| 12 | Next 2 Juz' | 23rd, 24th |
| 13 | Next 2 Juz' | 25th, 26th |
| 14 | Next 2 Juz' | 27th, 28th |
| 15 | Next 2 Juz' | 29th, 30th |
| Duration | Round 1 for 1 month Round 2 for 3 month Round 3 for 6 month Round 4 for 1 year | Round 1 completes 3 khatm Round 2 completes 9 khatm Round 3 completes 18 khatm Round 4 completes 36 khatm |
The Shātrī Method
Shaykh Abu Bakr ash-Shātrī suggests another method.
When you’ve memorized the entire Qur’ān, you must have a fixed amount daily. This should be between 1 to 3 ajzā’ daily. You should aim to complete the Qur’ān every 10 days.
Alongside your daily fixed amount, take a portion that you are weak in to look at as well. You should repeat that 7 times (looking and from memory). For example, you’re revising juz’ 1 but you also look at a quarter of Sūrah Hūd 7 times. Repeat it in your salāh (especially at night) as well. The next day, you’re doing the next juz’ for example, and the next quarter of Sūrah Hūd. If you do a quarter alongside the usual daily portion, you create a supplementary revision tool to strengthen everything.
For example:
| Day | Amount to recite (from memory) | Review (looking and off memory) |
|---|---|---|
| One | 1 to 3 Juz' (whatever you can do) | Review 1st quarter of 1st Juz' 7 times and repeat it in every salāh (or in Qiyām al-Layl / Tahajjud) |
| Two | 1 to 3 Juz' | Review 2nd quarter of 1st Juz' 7 times and repeat it in every salāh (or in Qiyām al-Layl / Tahajjud) |
| Three | 1 to 3 Juz' | Review 3rd quarter of 1st Juz' 7 times and repeat it in every salāh (or in Qiyām al-Layl / Tahajjud) |
| Four | 1 to 3 Juz' | Review 4th quarter of 1st Juz' 7 times and repeat it in every salāh (or in Qiyām al-Layl / Tahajjud) |
| Five | 1 to 3 Juz' | Review 5th quarter of 1st Juz' 7 times (or next 2nd Juz' 1st quarter if you're using the non-'Uthmānī) and repeat it in every salāh (or in Qiyām al-Layl / Tahajjud) |
| Six | 1 to 3 Juz' | Review 6th quarter of 1st Juz' 7 times (or next 2nd Juz' 2nd quarter if you're using the non-'Uthmānī) and repeat it in every salāh (or in Qiyām al-Layl / Tahajjud) |
| Seven | 1 to 3 Juz' | Review 7th quarter of 1st Juz' 7 times (or next 2nd Juz' 3rd quarter if you're using the non-'Uthmānī) and repeat it in every salāh (or in Qiyām al-Layl / Tahajjud) |
| Eight | 1 to 3 Juz' | Review 8th quarter of 1st Juz' 7 times (or next 2nd Juz' 4th quarter if you're using the non-'Uthmānī) and repeat it in every salāh (or in Qiyām al-Layl / Tahajjud) ... |
For the Mutashābihāt, Shaykh Abu Bakr says it is imperative that you know the meanings. For example, Allāh says in Sūrah Āle ‘Imrān:
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ تَوَلَّوْا۟ مِنكُمْ يَوْمَ ٱلْتَقَى ٱلْجَمْعَانِ إِنَّمَا ٱسْتَزَلَّهُمُ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنُ بِبَعْضِ مَا كَسَبُوا۟ ۖ وَلَقَدْ عَفَا ٱللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌ حَلِيمٌ
Indeed, those ˹believers˺ who fled on the day when the two armies met were made to slip by Satan because of their misdeeds. But Allah has pardoned them. Surely Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Forbearing. (3:155)
Most people would think it would end with Raheem instead of Haleem. Here it is Haleem because when they were made to slip, Allāh had overlooked them and so Allāh was Forbearing.
The Duraid Method
Duraid shares schedules for those that have completed memorisation or have forgotten a lot of it.
5-week review schedule after you have complete your Hifz
You can find the 5 Week Schedule and find the full table.
30-week schedule for those who have forgotten large portions or more
You can find the 30 Week Schedule and see the full table.
Some notes on this one.
- You should have a desire to complete a khatm once bi-weekly on a medium paced recitation. Pay attention to pages, letters, words, etc. Familiarise yourself with the pages once again.
- Listen to the Qur’an more.
- You’ll find yourself improving year by year.
- Listen to yourself (if you’re alone).
- Complete what you know in your salah.
- Listen to the completed surahs while travelling, in times of leisure and before sleep.
- Pray for success and opening of your heart!
Here is a video explanation:
The Takrar Method
Another method is to use the Mastery courses used in the Takrar method. For this approach, you will either do 3 or 4 pages daily. This can be done without having a routine alongside it.
What are the recommendations for those that have complete their memorisation goals?
Whether you have memorised the entire Qur'ān or have complete your goal, the following are basic things to keep your Qur'ān strong:
May Allāh grant ease and blessing!
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