Many of you will be struggling to memorise Qur’ān. You’re saying it’s too hard! It takes you hours just to memorise 2–3 verses? You want to give up? Don’t!
You must remember that if you’re just starting, you’re still getting used to things. You are on a journey. Never be put off by the amount you learn and in what time frame it takes you to do it. You are in the process of building memory muscle. Stay within your lane and gradually increase. Get comfortable.
Also, remember to recognise your strengths - what type of learner am I? Will using listening, reading, writing, movement, and visuals help me? Sure they will! Try to relax and focus on one word at a time, then a phrase, and then the verse. Extend your matter with a return to Allāh. Ask Him for strength and an opening for your heart. Ask Him to make the Qur'ān the spring of your heart.
Remember why you started.
The Method of Hifz
I want you to consider a method that I like to call “Hifz.”
It’s a method for solid memorisation and review. Why would I call it Hifz? This is because it’s based on the number 3 and 10. The Qur’ān mentions the word ‘Hifz’ 3 times and ‘Hafiza’ 7 times. This gives us a number of 10. The word ‘Hafiz’ also appears 13 times — another 10 and 3.
The majority of those who have memorised using this method are able to recite the Qur’ān without the need of the Mus’haf. There are similar methods that I will share at another point in shā’ Allāh. There are so many methods that we can apply — there are no excuses.
So there’s a story of a man who saw someone reciting the Qur’ān continually without looking at a Mus’haf. The man thought to himself, I want to be able to do the same. Recite whilst I am walking, driving, sitting and waiting etc. He had difficulty in memorising and would always be reminded of this when looking at these individuals. He ended up memorising it a year but he forgot it. He wanted to use something whereby he could now do it properly and not forget it. He learnt of this method and began straight away. He began using this and within 3 years he had done 17 juz’. He finished within 6 or 7 years. He knew it didn’t matter however long it took so long as he did it with quality. He said that Allāh gave him the blessing of using it and after it, he found that he too, no longer relied upon a Mus’haf. Whether you learn a chapter, a few pages, a juz’ or two, you will find the same in shā’ Allāh.
How does it work?
You can begin from either the start of the Qur’ān or the back. Using the 15 lined Mus’haf — the method is based upon maximising repetition that is ideally spaced throughout the day. You’d probably be looking at up to 100x a week. However, the method isn’t based upon the usual page approach.
It’s a week-by-week approach, 3 lines a day, a page a week. Here’s what it will look like.
Day one of every week.
Repeat the page of the week on the first day. This day your focus is not on memorisation, it’s merely repetition. You want to repeat it by looking throughout the day. You’ll want to repeat it as much as possible. Morning, afternoon, and night. Beyond twenty to forty times would be amazing.
This stage is to create fluency and familiarisation. So you can use listening as a tool, visualisation, reading, and writing.
Day two.
Today start memorising the first 3 lines of the page, 1 line at a time throughout the day. Can be morning, afternoon, and evening. Then repeat them altogether from memory.
Day three.
Today start memorising the second set of 3 lines of the page in the same way. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Then combine it with the 3 lines of yesterday.
Remember to use all your strengths to help aid memorisation. Listening, reading (including meanings), writing, movement, and visuals.
Day four.
Today start memorising the third set of 3 lines of the page in the same way. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Then combine it with the other 6 lines.
Day five.
Today start memorising the fourth set of 3 lines of the page in the same way. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Then combine it with the 9 lines of yesterday.
Day six [page complete]
Today start memorising the fifth set of 3 lines of the page in the same way. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Then combine it with the 12 lines of yesterday.
Day seven.
You can move onto the next page or use it for solidification by way of looking, listening, reading, and writing. You may also read it to someone.
You will continue this process until you reach 10 pages. You should reach 10 pages in 10 weeks. These 10 pages will now pass into recent memorisation for review.
Now work in 10's
There are a couple of ways of doing this but get your mind around this concept, think halves. 20 pages per juz’, 10 page sets. You can use a stacking system for effective review and solidification in sets of 3.
Here’s what it will look like…
Circuit one = 10 pages (new).
Week 1 = 1st page memorised and solidified.
Week 2 = 2nd page memorised and solidified + last weeks page reviewed.
Week 3 = 3rd page memorised and solidified + last 2 weeks pages reviewed.
Week 4 = 4th page memorised and solidified + last 3 weeks page reviewed.
Week 5 = 5th page memorised and solidified + last 4 weeks page reviewed.
Week 6 = 6th page memorised and solidified + last 5 weeks pages reviewed.
Week 7 = 7th page memorised and solidified + last 6 weeks pages reviewed.
Week 8 = 8th page memorised and solidified + last 7 weeks pages reviewed.
Week 9 = 9th page memorised and solidifed + last 8 weeks pages reviewed.
Week 10 = 10th page memorised and solidified + last 9 weeks pages reviewed.
The first 10 pages of memorisation are complete. For the next 10 weeks, however, you will re-do the first 10 pages as review in sets of 3 lines with the new 10 pages of memorisation in sets of 3 lines (reaching 20 pages). So that looks like this:
Circuit two = 10 pages (recent) + 10 pages (new).
Week 11 = 1st page + 11th page is memorised and solidified.
Week 12 = 2nd page + 12th page memorised and solidified.
Week 13 = 3rd page + 13th page memorised and solidified.
Week 14 = 4th page + 14th memorised and solidified.
Week 15 = 5th page + 15th memorised and solidified.
Week 16 = 6th page + 16th memorised and solidified.
Week 17 = 7th page + 17th memorised and solidified.
Week 18 = 8th page + 18th memorised and solidified.
Week 19 = 9th page + 19th memorised and solidifed.
Week 20 = 10th page + 20th memorised and solidified.
You have now complete one juz’ and you’ve repeated the first half 3 times. Now you move onto doing the same with the second half of the juz’.
So now, the first 10 pages can be reviewed together as an old portion once a week, the previous 10 pages will be reviewed in sets of 3 lines (from the second 10 pages set that is) with the new 10 pages of memorisation in sets of 3 lines (reaching 30 pages). Just like we did with the first 10 pages and the second 10 pages.
So you see there is a lot of repeating involved. We started with 3 lines but they turn into 10 pages that are often repeated, they become like al-Fātihah in shā’ Allāh.
Circuit three = 10 pages (recent) +10 pages (new) + 10 pages (once a week).
So again in lines of 3…
Week 21 = 11th page + 21st page is memorised and solidified.
Week 22 = 12th page + 22nd page memorised and solidified.
Week 23 = 13th page + 23th page memorised and solidified.
Week 24 = 14th page + 24th memorised and solidified.
Week 25 = 15th page + 25th memorised and solidified.
Week 26 = 16th page + 26th memorised and solidified.
Week 27 = 17th page + 27th memorised and solidified.
Week 28 = 18th page + 28th memorised and solidified.
Week 29 = 19th page + 29th memorised and solidifed.
Week 30 = 20th page + 30th memorised and solidified.
Once every week you read the first 10 pages. You cannot pass 10 days without reading it. Now you have reviewed
This is how this method works. Perhaps I’d need to make a visual schedule for this review system to be truly understood.
There will be another article where I will share a similar method with a quarter approach rather than a half system. Look out for that!
Allah grant success.
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