Surat Luqman, Qur’an 31: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV

The Prophet ﷺ  (peace be upon him) said in a hadith recorded in Bukhari, related by Uthman ibn Affan:

“.خيركم من تعلم القرآن و علمه”

“The best of you is the one who learns the Qur’an and teaches it.”

The word  تَعَلَّمَ  ta`allam is in a form which means takalluf (effort/exertion), meaning that the person struggled to learn the Qur’an, that their learning the Qur’an required effort and difficulty. Similarly, yesterday we talked about nations before us that struggled to carry the Torah. Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalted is He) uses the word hummilu at-Torah (they struggled to carry it).

خيركم khayrukum means the best of the Muslims. This shows that the success, honor, respect and glory of this Ummah is with the book of Allah (swt). That’s why I encourage our brothers and sisters who become Muslim that, after learning prayer and other basics of Islam, they should focus on the Qur’an. Find someone who can teach you the Qur’an. I meet Muslim brothers who tell me all the bad things about a particular scholar. I ask the brother if he can read Surah Fatiha. I find that he cannot even read the Qur’an properly, but he was able to speak about a scholar of Islam. What kind of Islam is this? When the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ  became Muslim, the first thing they concentrated on was Qur’an and how to pray. Alhamdullilah (praise be to God), I thank my teacher in Oklahoma. He was a large man from Senegal. When I became Muslim he grabbed me and he said, “Listen, learn the Qur’an and learn Arabic. Don’t waste your time with groups.” I remember he told me some stories about Senegal that I want to share with you.

First he said: “In my town in Senegal (St. Louis, which is next to Mauritania) if someone amongst the people of knowledge wants to get married he must first memorize the Qur’an, pray taraweeh with the Qur’an and also memorize the Mu’wattah of Imam Maalik.” Of course this is difficult for us today—we have difficulty memorizing the 40 Hadith of Imam Nawawi, but this criteria shows us the level of their study.

Then, my teacher told me that he finished learning the 10 major qiraat (recitations) of the Qur’an and he learned that from his sister. He said, “My father considered the Qur’an to be a simple pre-requisite that had to be done, and so he didn’t teach it to me. My father was busy teaching usool al fiqh (philosophy of Islamic Law), lugha (language), hadith (traditions of the Prophet ﷺ ) etc. My father told me that for the examination to get the real ijaazah (certification) we would be given empty notebooks. Then we had to write from Surat Al-Fatiha to Surat An-Nas in two weeks. Every day you had to write a certain amount of Qur’an, which would then be given to the Sheikh. They read what you write and if you made even one mistake, you don’t get an ijaazah. Just one mistake. I asked my teacher, “Where is your book in which you wrote the Quran?” He said, “No, we don’t keep it. It is a gift for our Sheikh.”

The third story he told me is about his grandfather who was the Mufti of Senegal. He said one day a group of youth came to his grandfather and told him they wanted to study the philosophy of Islamic Law. He said, “No.” They asked, “Why?” He asked them, “How much Qur’an have you memorized?” They replied, “We’ve memorized twelve ajzaa (parts).” He said, “Start with Qur’an. Forget usool al-fiqh.”

The Qur’an is very important, and we should not neglect it. If you have the time and the resources of people available to teach you,,then you will be asked by Allah (swt) why you didn’t study and make the effort to learn. One of my teachers, Sh. Muhammed Al Mahdi from Al-Jazaair in Egypt, started to teach five subjects every day after Fajr. I stopped going to this class of his, and one day he came to me and said, “I’m going to bear witness against you on the Day of Judgment that you didn’t come to class.” Then, I started to come to class!

How many of us want to be the chosen people of Allah (swt)? The Prophet ﷺ  said,

“.أهل القرآن أهل الله و خاصته”

“The people of the Qur’an are the people of Allah (swt) and His chosen people.”

I was walking amidst worshippers on the third floor of Masjid al Haram. Deep in thought, I was suddenly interrupted by hearing someone’s incredible recitation of the irresistible Qur’an.

I stood still, my heart captivated by the recitation. As I slowly sat in my spot, other worshippers came and began to sit near me, whisking out phones to capture the voice. It sounded like this:

As he finished, the man next to him began to explain that this reciter was Shaykh al-Shirbini, an Imam of a masjid in Cairo. Those around him begged him to continue reciting and he politely refused. The crowd got larger, persisting in their demands until he finally continued reciting and then engaged in conversation with the crowd.

His recitation reminded me of the world renowned Abdul Baset Abdul Samad, the Qari (Qur’an reciter) who almost every Qur’an teacher suggests any new student of tajweed (rules of recitation of Qur’an) to follow in order to perfect their recitation. For so long I had wanted to know how to get the same pitch as the great Qari, having heard more than once that it’s attainable even for those who are not born with it. I couldn’t hold my question in any longer.

He told me: Listen to Shaykh Abdul Baset over and over, focusing on smaller surahs (chapters of the Qur’an)to get the tone and inclination. And over time, the more that I listen, the easier his pitch will come.“Excuse me,” I spoke through the crowd, “I have a question!” The Shaykh and the man sitting next to him looked to me with kindness and welcomed my inquiry. “If someone wants to recite like you—with that same tone inclination—how can they do it?” The Shaykh smiled and responded with one word: “Practice.”

I haven’t attained that pitch yet, although I’m sure many readers have. (If you worked on attaining it, please write an article sharing with us tips on how to do so!) Thus, this reminder isn’t about getting down that type of tone inclination. This reminder is about his one-worded reply: Practice.

When I first started memorizing the Qur’an, my voice, my tone, my melody was horrendous. I hated hearing myself. My teacher would recite with a melodious voice and the words of the Qur’an would just enter my heart. And then I would recite and sound like nails on a chalkboard.

One day, I asked her how I could get to her level. How could I recite and actually enjoy what I heard? How could I not sound so…horrible?

She smiled and replied, “You’re just starting. I’ve been doing this for years. As you increase in your memorization, you’ll get your own flow and your voice will begin to fill. Don’t worry, it’ll just take time and practice.”

And that’s exactly what happened. It took time and practice. And that’s the key; you and I may not sound like a famous Qari, especially when we first begin. However, with time and Allah’s help, we’ll start to carve our own groove with our Qur’an.

Many are those who have lamented to me of their inability to recite beautifully, to memorize quickly or to remember what they’ve memorized. Those who’ve almost given up countless times have told me, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me!” The real question, however, has little to do with what may be wrong and everything to do with how hard or consistently one is putting in the effort.

Shaykh al-Shirbini and all of my Qur’an teachers gave me the same advice. Whether it’s the way one recites, the speed with which one memorizes or the strength of the actual memorization and review, all of these rest on one thing after the help of Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalted is He), and that is: Practice.

We all have the ability to attain levels we see in others and wish for ourselves. The real question is not why we cannot get there. The question is: Are we willing to put in the effort and dedicate the time to become like those we wish to be?

For tips on how to memorize the Qur’an read: Part I

For tips on understanding the Qur’an for non-Arabic speakers read: Part III

For tips on how to review what one has memorized of the Qur’an read: Part IV

The Qur’an Series: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX

“Shaykh Moheb, I can’t do this!” I vented to my Qur’an teacher. He had put me on a strict daily Qur’an schedule that included review, memorization and reading. I simply could not find the time to maintain it; I was completing my Master’s degree, conducting research, and working. I could not keep up.

The Shaykh, in his wisdom, listened to my distress and responded by sharing a different method with me in which I could memorize and review simultaneously without feeling overwhelmed.

I have tried numerous methods throughout my years of memorizing. Sometimes I would stop memorizing for months at a time and only focus on review (although this always failed when I didn’t have a teacher who could help me stay on track because I ended up wasting precious months without review or memorization). Sometimes, I would work on reviewing portions of what I had already memorized while continuing my memorization. This method, however, was tedious and would often result in my forgetting what I had reviewed as soon as I moved onto reviewing something new. Shaykh Moheb offered a different strategy—the most effective strategy I have experienced so far.

For anyone inquiring about how to maintain their previously memorized portions in the middle of their busy schedules and other commitments, here is a recommended schedule based on Shaykh Moheb’s advice:

1. Count how many pages or parts (ajza, sg. juz) of Qur’an you’ve already memorized.
2. Set a specific amount you will read everyday only from what you’ve memorized.
   • For example, if you have memorized half of juz `amma (the 30^th chapter of the Qur’an), read 2 pages of it everyday. Every 5 days, you’ll begin from the first 2 pages again.
   • If you’ve memorized more, like 3 juz, then make sure to begin by reading half a juz (10 pages) a day.
3. As you maintain your daily reading (wird) you’ll be reviewing all of what you have memorized within the span of a week. Slowly, you’ll realize that your memorization of those chapters is getting stronger and remaining fresh. You’ll find yourself able to recall an ayah (verse) from a surah (chapter) with more ease and speed.
   • Add more slowly as you increase in your memorization
4. For example, once you complete memorizing all of juz `amma, begin reading 4 pages of it everyday. Every 5 days, you should complete  reading all of juz `amma and then starting over again.
   • If you had 3 juz memorized and then finished memorizing another and now have 4 all together, increase the 10 pages by another 3 and begin to read 13 a day. When you complete the memorization of your 5^th juz, you should be reading 16 a day. Finally, once you finish memorizing 6 juz, you should be reading a juz a day. By 18 juz, you should be at 3 juz daily. By 24, you should be at 4. Don’t worry – because you’re building up to it, it’ll go by very quickly. It just takes practice 🙂
   • Continue reading to understand how to review the Qur’an once you’re finished with memorizing all of it.

The idea is to finish everything you’ve memorized from the Qur’an every week. If everything you have memorized amounts to less than 5 juz, then you should finish reading everything you’ve memorized within a 5 day period. Anything above 5 juz, you should finish in 6 days. This leaves only one day left in the week – make it a Friday and read Surat-Al-Kahf and allow this day to be for anything you have to makeup reading from the week.

I know that reading significant portions of the Qur’an everyday sounds difficult and incredibly overwhelming. I had once heard an Imam say that reading a juz a day should take no longer than half an hour. I was shocked. A half hour! It would take me a couple of hours to get through a juz. That’s why I could barely, if ever, even complete one reading of the Qur’an during Ramadan, the month of the Qur’an!

However, once I had memorized a few portions of the Qur’an, I realized the difference between him and me: he was a native Arabic speaker and fluently read Arabic. He had also already memorized the whole Qur’an.

I’m not Arab and reading Arabic was something new; I would stumble over words, make mistakes and get bored and frustrated. It would take me forever. But once it was something I memorized, it became easier to read. The more I listened to the same portion, the more fluid its words were in my brain. The more I practiced, the easier it became. The one juz that used to take me hours can now easily be read in less than 20 minutes. And those much more experienced than my rookie self have shared that it only gets easier and faster with further practice and dedication. The point: ANYONE can get to reading seemingly enormous amounts in very little time. It simply takes practice, consistency and…practice!

Here are a few tips to mitigate the fear of reading a certain amount daily:

1. Build it up
   • Even if you’ve already memorized the Qur’an but completely forgotten most of it because of a lack of review, start with a few pages a day and stay consistent with those for a few weeks. Then after a few weeks, add a few more. Plan to be reading 1 juz a day within a month. Maintain the 1 juz for a month or two and then add another, and so forth. The more you do it, the faster you’ll get at it. It just takes practice and commitment.
2. Read it throughout the day
   • Always keep the Qur’an handy for those “unplanned” times you can get a few pages in (i.e. in a grocery line). That will add up and you’ll finish your portion without even realizing it.
3. Listen to the portion often
   • If you know you won’t be able to read it for that day, listen to it as you take care of other tasks that require your physical attention but will allow for your mind to focus on Qur’an.

Finally, once you’ve completed your memorization of the Qur’an and you’ve worked up to reading a certain amount of ajza everyday, you should begin to read 5 juz a day. Reading the 5 daily will help you know the entire Qur’an with the strength that you know Surat-al-Fatiha (Chpater of the Opener, Qur’an 1). I know, 5 juz sounds crazy! Impossible! Overwhelming! Take a deep breath 🙂 Realize – this is once you’re completely finished memorizing and you’ll be working up to it. When I first finished memorizing, I complained to Shaykh Moheb that 5 juz was just too much. I couldn’t handle it!

Shaykh Moheb put me in my place. “Your problem,” he shared, “is that you didn’t build up to it. You didn’t read two juz and then three juz and then four juz and then once you finished, start with five. If you had, it would be easy for you now.”

He was right. He had told me to start from the beginning, but I kept making excuses, justifying that I was busy with a million other commitments. It wasn’t until I was almost finished memorizing that I was reading 2 juz a day. It was hard and time-consuming. I’d read on the bus, during class breaks, in line for food… but within a few weeks, it became easy. As I neared the end of my hifth (memorization) and I compared the 3 juz I had to read to two, it seemed like two juz would take just fleeting moments of my day. However, now that I was finished memorizing, I resolved I would try my best because he told me that the one who reads 5 knows the entire Qur’an like they know Surat-al-Fatiha. He shared:

من يقرأ الخمس لا ينسى

“The one who reads the five does not forget.”

When I first completed my memorization and had been doing 5 juz for some time, I was disappointed that I didn’t know the entire Qur’an like surat-al- Fatiha already. But then I learned that this takes time; at minimum it could take up to an entire year if I do it regularly and possibly longer. But if I’m serious about maintaining it, eventually, I will know it like the back of my hand – and even better.

I can’t always do 5 juz a day; sometimes I simply do not have time and sometimes I get lazy. But I didn’t build up to it the way the Shaykh pushed; so for me, it still takes time. Thus, for all of you who seriously intend to build up to it, glad tidings that reading 5 a day is completely possible – it just takes planning, practice and dedication. And sometimes, there may be lapses (i.e. finals week). During these times, make sure to decrease the amount rather than leave it completely. Pick it back up as soon as you can.

You CAN do this, God willing! Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalted is He) will never fail you when you make a commitment to His Book and you’re sincere about it. We have time for reading articles (hi!), checking email, and updating our statuses on Facebook. For me, reading 5 juz a day helped me realize how much time I really do have that I thought did not exist. The point is to work up to 5 juz throughout your memorization. Work on a few pages, then half a juz, then 1, then 1.5…then 2, then 2.5…then 3, then 3.5…then 4, then 4.5…and finally 5. And yes, it will take time. But it will get easier and faster. And isn’t knowing the entire Qur’an like you know Surat-al-Fatiha worth it?

Allah (swt) is with us as long as we make a sincere and serious commitment to His Book. He (swt) is ready to assist us and help us succeed, but we need to be the ones who make the effort. The question is: Will we be of those who work to show Him that we truly want His Book etched in our hearts?

Note: Please read Part 1 for tips on how to memorize the Qur’an. Please read ‘How Can I Enjoy Listening to the Recitation of the Qur’an in Taraweeh if I Don’t Understand What is Being Recited?’ for tips on understanding the meanings of the Qur’an for those who do not understand Qur’anic Arabic.

Many of us make excuses for why we cannot memorize the Qur’an. Some of us are too busy. Some of us simply feel it’s too insurmountable a task. However, we make these excuses while having many blessings, countless of which others pray to have.

Mu’ath, the young boy in this video, has memorized the entire Qur’an. What’s so unique about Mu’ath? He’s blind.

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (peace be upon him) taught us that there are only two people we should be jealous of, one of whom is, “…A person whom God has taught the Qur’an and he recites it in the day and night, and one of his neighbors hears him and says, “Woe to me! I wish I had been given what he has been given, then I would do what he is doing…” (Bukhari).

I used to be of the people who sat back and complained, those who were jealous of others who had memorized the Qur’an, those who but didn’t seriously apply themselves to learning it. I would watch videos like this and think, “Man. This kid has been blessed by God. I have it all—health, technology, time…” and instead of working, I’d sit back, think about how jealous I was, how much I wished I could be like them, and then continue wasting time with unproductive habits. But finally, I made a commitment and Allah (swt) helped me accomplish one small step in that continuous goal.

We do not have to watch this young boy, who memorized the Qur’an while blind, and simply say, “Wow. Ma sha’ Allah (what God wills). He’s blessed.” WE can be of those who follow in his footsteps. WE can be of those who are blessed, if Allah grants that to us—if we show Him we want it.

Do we want to be of the Companions of the Qur’an? Do we really? If we do, what are we going to do to become one of them?

Translation of the video [Please note: this video was translated in general to reflect the meanings of the interview through the translators’ understanding of the conversation]

Shaykh Fahad: When you would go to the Shaykh, and you had something to review with the Shaykh—a juz [1/30th of the Qur’an], for example—and you made a mistake—I mean, this long way you would go, this travel you’d make to go…

Hafidh Mu’ath [the young boy]: Yes, yes.

Shaykh Fahad: [Explaining to the audience] Shaykh Muath travels to the Shaykh—he is the one who goes to him. The Shaykh is not right next to his house to come to him.

Hafidh Mu’ath: Yes, yes.

Shaykh Fahd: He travels a long distance just to memorize.

Hafidh Mu’ath: Imagine, I used to go the Shaykh, [when memorizing] the first part of the Qur’an, do you know how many days?

Shaykh Fahad: How many days?

Hafidh Mu’ath: Three days.

Shaykh Fahad: Three days a week?

Hafidh Mu’ath: Only three days a week. And at first, he would only let me come two days and I fought with him until he let me come three days. He would stop me and have me focus on the meanings very intensely… Sometimes, he would only give me one verse.

Shaykh Fahad: Only one?

Hafidh Mu’ath: Only one.

Shaykh Fahad: With this whole distance [that you’d travel], he’d only give you one verse?

Hafidh Mu’ath:  I swear to God, he used to do that [just give him one verse to memorize.]

Shaykh Fahad: God is the Greatest.

Hafidh Mu’ath: Somedays, I would not play at all.

Shaykh Fahd: Yes, but I’ve heard you’re quite active 🙂

Hafidh Mu’ath: All praise is due to God, He has given me a great blessing, and that is that He has taken from me my eyesight. And this is a great blessing. When I pray, I don’t beseech God to give me back my eyesight.

Shaykh Fahad: You don’t want Allah to return your—

Hafidh Mu’ath: [Cuts him off] [Do you want to know] Why?

Shaykh Fahad: Why?

Hafidh Mu’ath: Because it could be a witness against me on the Day of Judgment…so that perhaps He lightens for me some of the punishment.

Shaykh Fahad: [Begins to cry]

Hafidh Mu’ath: And I stand, in front of Him, scared, fearful, and He asks me: What did you do with the Qur’an? So I hope He will lighten it for me and He enters whom He wills into His Mercy. But He has blessed me with the Qur’an. And I, all praise and thanks be to God, if I want to go anywhere, I go on my own—I go all by myself and no one is with me…but my dad, he gets scared for me.

Shaykh Fahad [thinking to himself]: I thought in these moments about the situation of many Muslims, those who are able to see, who have become lazy with regards to memorizing the Qur’an. Ya Allah. What will be their excuse with Allah?

Hafidh Mu’ath: So all praise and thanks be to God in all situations.

Shaykh Fahad [to Shaykh Mua’th]: Ma sha’ Allah, I’ve heard you have a rule from Ibnul Qayyim.

Hafidh Mu’ath: Yes.

Shaykh Fahad: What is this rule?

Hafidh Mu’ath: Ibnul Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said, “Allah does not close one door for His slave out of Wisdom except that He opens two doors (for him) by His Mercy.”

Shaykh Fahad: So you never get upset when you’re with your friends that you don’t have the ability to see?

Hafidh Mu’ath: No, no…well, when I was younger, I’m not going to lie to you, I used to get upset sometimes. But now, all praise and thanks be to God, I don’t get upset. This is what God has willed.

Shaykh Fahad: Yes. The Prophet ﷺ says, “Whoever Allah tests by taking away two things beloved to him (i.e. his eyes) and he is patient, Allah will replace them for him with Paradise.”

Hafidh Mu’ath: We ask Allah to make us of the inheritors of the highest Paradise.

Shaykh Fahad: Allahumma ameen (O God, amen).

Answer:

In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful

As-Salamu Alaykum,

There are a few things that one should do when trying to learn the Arabic language:

1. Understand that this is the language of revelation. Thus, it’s study should be taken very seriously. The signs of this understanding are the following:

1. A checked intention; meaning, constantly observe your inner state. I’ve seen a lot of Western students show off their latest understanding of tamyiz, hal and ‘alam. Beware of this quality because the Prophet, peace and blessings upon him, said about this type of person, “The Fire! The Fire.”

2. Have a lot of patience. Ibn Malik, Allah have mercy upon him,the great scholar of grammar, began his famous book Alfiya (a thousand line poem on grammar) with the line, “Kalamun Lafdhun Mufidun Kastaqim.”

“Kastaqim.” Means to be firm and upright. He opened his blessed poem with that line to say to the student, “Istaqim upon the learning of this language.” In other words Arabic, if you really want to grasp its secrets, is not hard, but takes time. The Ulema used to say, “The entrance to Arabic is hard and it’s exit is easy.” Thus, don’t try and over-do things. Once a man had studied for 19 years. He said, “I’ve failed to become a scholar.What have I learned?” Finally, he decided to leave being a student of knowledge and went back to his village. He sat on a stone well and noticed the rope that held the bucket had warn its way through the stone well.

Suddenly he realized something and said to himself, “Seeking knowledge is like this rope. It takes time, but with patience and focus, a rope can rub through stone.”

3. A lot of supplication: Allah says, “He (Allah) taught men expression.”

Thus, you must beg Allah to give you this language. Remember that learning this language is a means of improving your servitude to Allah. Thus, implore Allah to give it to you.

4. Learning Arabic has a few components:

1. Grammar (Nahw) , Rhetoric (Balagha) and Morphology (Sarf) (these are the internal organs of the language), however, know, may Allah have mercy on you, that learning these sciences will give you a technical understanding of the language. Especially if you learn from the classical texts (mutun) in the begining. Thus, most teachers advise students to start with more basic books, which are current in content, and then later move on to the mutun.

2. Speaking, writing and expression: This is usually the last thing to come.

But, once one has it, they should praise Allah in abundance because they are expressing themselves in the language of the Qur’an, the language of the Prophet, peace and blessings upon him, and the language of Ahl al-Janna.

I would advise our brother to began and communicate with others as often as possible. Although you’ll make mistakes, and we all do, keep trying. Once, I was sitting with a group of Malaysian students from Al-Azhar. The were very strong in the Arabic and I noticed that they only spoke Arabic. I asked on of them, “Mashallah, what is going on with you brothers?” He told me, “We love to make mistakes in Arabic more than speaking our own language correctly.” Thus, you must practice, practice, practice. What you fail to use, will fail you when you need it.

As per your study I would do the following:

1. Leave the classical books until you can understand them and read them with a teacher. The best books I’ve found for learning how to talk are, believe it or not, children’s books. Their language is always great and there are a lot of conversations which will serve as a great assistant for you in the future.

2. Use a common text book that teaches Arabic such as Kitabul Asassi, the University of Medina series and many others.

3. Try to study in a center in an Arab country. It is very important to remember that a language is a culture. Thus, while living in the culture you will learn the expression of the language in its natural state.

4. Work hard

Finally, I would try and memorize some Qur’an and Hadith. Both, and the Qur’an more so, are a means of giving you eloquence (fasaha).

Allah knows best