“Say (O Mohammad), ‘It is a great item of news.’”
The Holy Qur’an is Allah’s strong rope, His shining light, and His wise words. It is the right path revealed by Allah as His light, guidance, and illumination to protect people from going astray, and to take them out of ignorance. Thus, it has been made a leader for pious people and a proof against the disbelievers.
The Holy Qur’an is the greatest gift from Allah (exalted His name). it is also His choice and selection as Allah says in His Holy Book, “Them we have made the Book as an inheritance for those we have selected from our slaves.” (Fater Chapter)
The Messenger of Allah (Peace Be Upon Him) said, “Allah has His own folk from people.” Sahaba Said, “Who are they?” he said, “They are the people of Qur’an, the special folk of Allah.”
Learning the Holy Qur’an is a lifelong journey:
Learning the Holy Qur’an is a lifelong journey which begins through selection from Allah, besides guidance, blessing and a great good luck. Then Allah endows the person with good intention, they work to begin the blessed journey.
The Holy Qur’an is the only book which is characterized by a special method of reading and recitation governed by strict rules. This method has passed on, over generations, and with high degrees of relation, oral speech and reception of the reader through his sheikh (teacher), and through the latter’s sheikh till they reach our reverend prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah Be Upon Him).
I, personally, set off on the journey of learning the Holy Qur’an when I realized that we read it in a way not matching its greatness and sublimity as the words of Allah- like reading a book or a newspaper. When I listened to the recitation of Sheikh Mahmoud Khalil Al Hosary, and that of Sheikh Mostafa Ismaeel, I heard sweet recitation. Hence, I knew how negligent and rude we were in learning the appropriate way of recitation- a point of view reinforced by hearing the Qur’anic verse: “ولقد يسرنا القرآن للذكر فهل من مدكر” سورة القمر”
Here I knew that there is no reason for not kicking off the memorization and reasoning of learning the Holy Qur’an. At this point, one must have sincere intention and determination to learn the Qur’an, so they must begin studying under a sheikh (teacher), male or female (in accordance with the learner’s gender).
First Stage: Learning the rules of Tajweed
Before beginning the memorization process, you must learn the rules of Tajweed, simultaneously with listening to Sheikh Al Hosary and continuous practice to master Qur’anic recitation properly. Some of those starting to learn will face a little difficulty, at this point, struggling to utter each letter from its proper place of articulation. Therefore, one must seek refuge in Allah, Almighty and ask Him for facilitation and guidance while repeating the Qur’anic verse: “وما توفيقي إلا بالله عليه توكلت وإليه أنيب.”. Consequently, they will feel differently, a mixture of fluency and eagerness to learn armed with determination to struggle and overcome whatever spoils or damages this great thing.
Second Stage: Qur’an memorization
After mastering the rules of Tajweed, the great part begins- memorization.
Memorizing the Holy Qur’an requires a strong will and putting the Holy Qur’an on top of all priorities. Firstly, the learner must select a clear printed copy of the Qur’an, preferably only one copy, so that the mind can photocopy the page. In addition, the learner must maintain a certain amount of memorization as much as they could.
To memorize properly, there are some steps and basics to be followed:
– read the verses intended to be memorized before going to bed to make the mind ready for the Qur’an memorization process.
– improve your performance by reading under the supervision of your teacher so that your mistakes decrease.
– begin the memorization process and, to make this step easy, research the interpretation.
– repeat the assigned verses several times trying to link the meaning of the verses to the memorization process.
Example:
I would like to memorize Al Fatiha (Surah/ Chapter), I start repeating the first verse, then I go on to the second, connecting the previous verse to the present.
Writing the verses is another technique of Qur’an memorization to test the mind’s ability to remember the verses and this is a good way reinforcing the memorization process. The technique of writing the verses is perfect for memorizing long verses, and to make the process easier, one must memorize line by line, linking the two lines together, and so on.
When facing difficulty in Qur’an memorization, it is recommended repeating the verses several times while listening to them without memorization. In this way, we prepare the mind for memorization later. After the preparation stage, memorization will be easy as the mind is used to listening and repeating the verses.
The wonderful thing about Qur’an memorization is that you will be eager to memorize the next chapter after you have finished the previous till you are blessed by Allah with completing the memorization of the whole Qur’an. You will feel over the moon when you have finished memorizing the last verse of the Qur’an. It is a much greater moment that the whole world, especially when feeling the blessings of Allah, Almighty, and the rebirth and the new life.
Allah says: قُلْ بِفَضْلِ اللَّهِ وَبِرَحْمَتِهِ فَبِذَٰلِكَ فَلْيَفْرَحُوا هُوَ خَيْرٌ مِّمَّا يَجْمَعُونَ “سورة يونس 58”
On the other hand, the learner must stich to a continuous revision so as to maintain the verses in the mind. By authority of Abu Mousa Al Ashari, our Prophet said: “تعاهدوا هذا القرآن، فو الذي نفس محمد بيده لهة أشد تفلتا منن الإبل في عقلها.”
Third Stage: Ijaza (licence) of Hafs reading
Proceeding with the memorization to get the Ijaza (licence) of Hafs reading, the first method of reading one must master before going on to the other readings.
Each stage of studying and learning the Holy Qur’an is more difficult and greater than the previous one, so it requires renewal of intention relying on and seeking assist for Allah, Almighty.
The Ijaza (licence) of learning the Holy Qur’an is a continuous chain of teachers passing on proper reading from one to another till you reach the first teacher, our Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him).
The stage of studying to get the Ijaza is the stage of mastering reading and recitation, so it necessitates a good amount of practices, for the learner will be authorized to read and recite the Qur’an following a reading passed on from the Messenger of Allah (Peace Be Upon Him). hence, it is a great responsibility which needs effort and patience to reach that goal.
When having true intention, one must rely on Allah, consequently all the hinderances will be eliminated. Personally, my journey of learning the Holy Qur’an to be awarded the Ijaza took me eight years of hard work.
From the very beginning, one must know that science has its own charity, because each letter from the Qur’an a person learns must by taught to another to get abundance of blessings from Allah.
As for me, I began my career by teaching children in minor places and in some mosques. Then, after many years of hard work, I revised my reading under the supervision of a Palestinian teacher, who in turn recommended to work in a KSA organization. After that, I was recommended to work as a voluntary teacher in the Islamic University of Minnesota, USA, then as a teacher in an Islamic organization in the UK. So I prayed to Allah to gather this long years’ work experience in one project to help both children and adults.
At this point, it struck my mind the idea of establishing an online school for teaching the Holy Qur’an, an idea supported by my university major, which is business management and accountancy, and this helped me to plan and start the blessed work.
Putting the idea into effect came during COVID-19 period, and I am trying hard to apply all my experience to the students of our school (Al Iman Online), which is a seed for a proper educational entity, and a training place for teachers.
We seek guidance and good luck from Allah.
Through my blessed journey of learning the Holy Qur’an, each letter changed my personality to the best. And every time I get closer to Allah, a bad habit or behavior of mine is rooted out and replaced by patience and wisdom in tackling life matters, and the most important thing, avoiding whatever wasting my time and making use of it in a useful way.
Therefore, I advise parents to support their children and pray for them to be guided to and by the Holy Qur’an. They should also show their children the importance of this Holy Book in our life, without forcing them to learn it as this would turn them stubborn.
Finally, I pray to Allay to guide our youth to the right path. I also advise them to make use of their time and not to waste it, reminding them that the Holy Qur’an is the words of Allah, and the best thing to do is to learn and teach it, which is a great blessing endowed by Allah.