Thoughts along the road

24 Monday Apr 2017

Posted by Wasfeeya in Hifdh Diary, Reflections

Tags

haafidh, Haafidha, haafizah, hafidhah, Hifdh, Hifz, huffadh, ijaza, Qur'an memorisation, Quran, Qurʾān, sanad

Bismillah. All praises and thanks are due to Allah, who blessed us with the Glorious Qur’an. Abundant salutations be upon our beloved, Nabi Muhammad SAW.

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you’ll know that I like reaching milestones, and recording them. They are more for myself to look back on than anything else, ’cause I happen to be a rather sentimental being.

So today, despite my bare minimal effort, I completed my 20th juz, by the will and help of Allah, towards my khatm for sanad and ijaza in Hafs ‘An ‘Asim. Alhamdulillah.

But I find myself asking myself what I’m doing. Am I just doing this for the sake of achievement? To gain credibility? Is it really necessary? My tajwīd is good enough Alhamdulillah so why carry on?

Or is Shaytaan trying to steer me off the path I’m on? Am I being tested? Tempted?

Reminder to myself of some of the reasons I’m doing this:

To teach my future kids one day (inShaAllah). (Hopefully the future husband won’t need my help🙈)
To be a better teacher to my current and future students (inShaAllah).
To preserve the qirā-āt and make its knowledge widespread and as common as memorisation by the permission of Allah.

Oh Allah, I beg of You to grant me sincerity of deeds and actions. Don’t take my life until you’re pleased with me. Āmīn.

With best wishes for your worldly and Hereafter success,

Wasfeeya

+27793500024

wasfeeya@gmail.com

Forgetting Qur’an

10 Tuesday May 2016

Posted by Wasfeeya in Advice

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Haafidha, hafidhah, Hifdh, Hifz, huffadh, huffath, memorising Qur'an, Qur'an memorisation, Quran, Qurʾān

Bismillāhir-Rahmānir-Raheem. In the Name of Allāh, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. All praise and thanks are due to Allāh (SWT), who blessed us with the Glorious Qur’ān. Abundant salutations be upon our beloved teacher and role model, the first haafidh, Nabi Muhammad (SAW).

One of my blog followers from Bangladesh asked me a question about hifdh and salaah. I was looking for the following hadith:

Regarding the salaah: The Prophet Muhammad said, “When the Companion of the Qur’ān performs Salah, reciting it by night and day, he retains it and if he doesn’t [use it in] Salah he forgets.”

Source: Silsilah Ahadeeth as-Saheehah no. صحيح – 597 [Sahih]

when I came across this on Islam Q & A and I couldn’t stop myself from sharing it. It is a reminder to myself first!

Undoubtedly forgetfulness is something that is natural in man, and man is only called insaan because of his forgetfulness (nasiy). Usually this varies from one person to another, according to the differences in the strength of the memory that Allaah has created in His slaves.

The Qur’aan “escapes” from the heart if the Muslim does not constantly and regularly review what he has memorized of it.

The reason for this may be that it is a test of people’s hearts, to show the difference between the one whose heart is attached to the Qur’aan and regularly recites it, and the one whose heart is attached to it only whilst memorizing it, then he loses interest and forgets it.

The reason may also be to give the Muslim a stronger motive to recite the Qur’aan more frequently so as to attain the immense reward for every letter that he recites. If it were the case that he could learn it and never forget it, he would not need to read it frequently and then he would miss out on the reward for reciting and reviewing it regularly. Fear of forgetting it will make you keen to recite it so as to gain more reward with your Lord. For every letter you recite you will have one hasanah, and the reward for one hasanah is ten like it.

The Messenger SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) urged us to read Qur’aan regularly lest we forget it. He warned us against being negligent in this regard, as was stated in numerous ahaadeeth, including the following:

1- The hadeeth narrated by al-Bukhaari from Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The likeness of the one who memorizes the Qur’aan is that of the owner of a hobbled camel. If he tends to it regularly, he will keep it, but if he lets it go, he will lose it.” (al-Bukhaari, 5031).

It is well known that if a camel escapes and runs away, it cannot be recaptured except with a lot of stress and difficulty. Similarly, if the person who memorizes Qur’aan does not regularly review what he has memorized, he will lose it and will require a great deal of effort to get it back.

* Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar said in al-Fath (9/79), in his commentary on this hadeeth: so long as one constantly reviews it, what one has memorized will remain, as is the case with a camel, if it remains hobbled, you will keep it. The camel was singled out here because it is the most likely of domesticated animals to run away, and if it does run away, recapturing it is very difficult.

2 – Muslim narrated in his Saheeh (no. 790 and 791) from Abu Moosa (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Read this Qur’aan regularly for, by the One in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, it is more likely to escape than a hobbled camel.”

3 – Al-Bukhaari (may Allaah have mercy on him) narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah said: the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “It is not right for any one of you to say, ‘I have forgotten such and such.’ On the contrary, he has been made to forget. Try to review the Qur’aan, for it is more likely to escape from men’s hearts than camels.” (Saheeh al-Bukhaari, 5032).

Al-Haafiz said in al-Fath (9/81): Ibn Battaal said, This hadeeth is in accordance with the two aayahs (interpretation of the meanings):

‘Verily, We shall send down to you a weighty Word’ [al-Muzzammil 73:5]

and

‘And We have indeed made the Qur’ân easy to understand and remember’ [al-Najm 54:17]

So whoever strives to memorize it and recite it regularly, it will be made easy for him, and whoever turns away from it, will lose it.

This is what encourages us to constantly review what we have memorized and to keep on reciting it, lest we forget it. The Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Alalah be upon him) gave this example because it is the best way to explain what he meant. He also confirmed it with his oath ‘by the One in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad’, to affirm the importance of constantly reciting the Qur’aan and reviewing what one has learned.

3 – With regard to the report that Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: the Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Alalah be upon him) said: “The sins of my ummah were shown to me and there is no sin greater than that of a man who was given or was helped to memorize a soorah or an aayah of the Qur’aan and then he forgot it.” This is a weak (da’eef) hadeeth which was classed as such by al-Bukhaari and al-Tirmidhi. See Takhreej Mishkaat al-Masaabeeh by al-Albaani, no. 720.

Imaam Ibn al-Munaadi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Mutashaabih al-Qur’aan (p. 52):

The Salaf were always afraid of forgetting Qur’aan after they had memorized it, because this was a shortcoming.

Al-Suyooti said in al-Itqaan (1/106):

Forgetting it is a major sin, as was stated by al-Nawawi in al-Rawdah and others, because of the hadeeth “I was shown the sins of my ummah…”

One of the best ways to help oneself to remember what one has memorized and to make it firmly-entrenched is to recite it in one’s salaah, especially in Qiyaam al-Layl. The Salaf used to recite it during the day and when praying Qiyaam al-Layl.

If you strive heard to review the Qur’aan regularly, there will be no sin on you even if you do forget some of it. The blame is on those who neglect it and fail to review it and read it regularly. We ask Allaah to forgive us.

O Allaah, make the Qur’aan the life of my heart, the light of my breast, a departure for my sorrow and a release for my anxiety. O Allaah, teach us from it that which we do not know and remind us from it of that which we have forgotten, for You are the All-Hearing, All-Knowing.

Source: Islam Question and Answer

Hifdh Diary (2)

23 Saturday Apr 2016

Posted by Wasfeeya in Hifdh Diary, Motivation

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Tags

Haafidha, hafidhah, Hifdh, Hifz, Qur'an memorisation

Bismillāhir-Rahmānir-Raheem

All praise and thanks are due to Allāh (SWT), who blessed us with the Glorious Qur’ān. Abundant salutations be upon our beloved teacher and role model, the first haafidh, Nabi Muhammad (SAW).

I apparently got my “jeems” right! I should’ve been ecstatic! But I didn’t believe my Mu’allimah this morning. I still don’t believe her. Last week I was contemplating giving up this whole reciting for sanad business. I even told my mu’allimah, “I don’t know if I should be doing this.” And then today, look.

Sometimes you have to give yourself the pep talk, like,

“Hello you amazing human being. Don’t give up so easily. You’re doing great. Keep going!”

So to all the hifdh students out there, moms of hifdh students and to you, whatever you’re doing, keep at it! Just keep going. Put one foot in front of the other. Breathe. Take it a day at a time. 1795518_715329305165375_791364063_n With best wishes for your hifdh success,

Wasfeeya

Qur’an Goals

19 Tuesday Apr 2016

Posted by Wasfeeya in Inspiration, Motivation

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Haafidha, Hifdh, Hifz, Qur'an memorisation

Bismillāh
All praise and thanks are due to Allāh (SWT), who blessed us with the Glorious Qur’ān. Abundant salutations be upon our beloved teacher and role model, the first haafidh, Nabi Muhammad (SAW).

As I renew my life goals tonight, I thought I’d share some with you to inspire you to write your own. Especially with the month of Qur’an coming up, first up should (ideally) be Qur’an goals, followed by spiritual goals. These are lifetime goals which should be broken up according to one’s ability and preference.

General Qur’an Goals

Learn to recite with tajweed (correct pronunciation)
Ensure your children or family recites with tajweed
Recite the entire Qur’an
Understand the Qur’an
Read tafseer of the entire Qur’an
Memorise suwar Mulk, Waaqi’ah, Sajda, Yaaseen etc.
Memorise the entire Qur’an

Qur’an Goals for Huffaadh

Attain sanad & ijaaza in some or all of the 10 qira-aat (from memory)
Recite the whole Qur’an in one sitting (from memory)
Recite the complete Qur’an in salaah in one night (from memory)
Write down the entire Qur’an (from memory)

Impossible? Actually, I personally know and have read or heard of people who have accomplished these goals, subhanAllah! May Allah preserve, reward and grant them the highest level of Jannah! And may Allah grant us tawfeeq (the ability and opportunity) to follow suit. Aameen!

Simultaneously work on life goals in other areas of your life.

Categories include:

Spiritual goals e.g. go on hajj
Skill-set goals e.g. public speaking
Physical goals e.g. exercise
Family goals e.g. get married
Influence goals e.g. mentor others
Giving goals e.g. charity in cash or kind
Travel Goals e.g. all the continents
Financial Goals e.g. owning a successful business
Experience goals e.g. Mount Kilimanjaro

Once you’ve written these down, read them daily. This is a reminder to myself first.

with best wishes for your hifdh success,

Wasfeeya

What are the Seven “Readings” of the Qur’an?

12 Saturday Mar 2016

Posted by Wasfeeya in Resources

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Haafidha, haafizah, Hifdh, Hifth, Hifz, huffadh, huffath, Qur'an memorisation

Source: Ma’ariful Qur’an, Volume One by Moulana Mufti Muhammad Shafi’

Source: Ma’ariful Qur’an, Volume One by Moulana Mufti Muhammad Shafi’

Source: Ma’ariful Qur’an, Volume One by Moulana Mufti Muhammad Shafi’

Source: Ma’ariful Qur’an, Volume One by Moulana Mufti Muhammad Shafi’

Source: Ma’ariful Qur’an, Volume One by Moulana Mufti Muhammad Shafi’

Extra Special Du’as

14 Sunday Feb 2016

Posted by Wasfeeya in Resources

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Haafidha, haafizah, hafidhah, Hifdh, Hifz, Qur'an memorisation

I have so many du’as that I came across while I was memorising the Qur’an, and compiling them has been on my To-Do List for a while now. My motivation? Today’s mentoring session with one of my mentees. Sometimes we need that push to knuckle down and do something we’ve been meaning to do. However, I won’t be sharing all of the du’as now, else this post would be too long.

NOTE: You do NOT have to recite these du’as in Arabic, and I recommend that you don’t, unless you understand Arabic.

Du’a No. 1

This first du’a is from a hadith recorded in Tirmithi and describing it as BEAUTIFUL is an understatement. In this du’a, we ask Allah SWT to grant us the ability to leave sin, leave what doesn’t concern us and to oblige our hearts to memorise His Book.

O Allah, be merciful to me by (allowing me to) leave acts of disobedience as long as you keep me alive, be merciful to me that I (do not) involve myself in what does not concern me and grant me a good view of that which pleases You. O Allah, O Originator of the heavens and the earth, O Possessor of Majesty, ennoblement and unattainable might, I ask You, O Allah, O The Very Merciful, by Your majesty and the light of Your essence to bind my heart to memorisation of Your book as You have taught me and grant me to recite it in the manner that pleases You. O Allah, O Originator of the heavens and the earth, O Possessor of majesty, ennoblement and unattainable might, I ask You, O Allah, O The Very Merciful, by Your majesty and the light of Your essence to illuminate my sight by Your book, to release my tongue by it, to give ease to my heart by it, to open my chest by it and to wash my body by it for none other than You can assist me on the truth and none other than You give it. There is no movement or power except with Allah, the Lofty, the Tremendous.

Transliteration: Allahumma ‘rhamni bi tarki’l-ma’asi abadam ma abqaytani wa ‘rhamni an atakallafa ma la y’anini wa ‘rzuqni husna ‘n-nadhari fi ma yurdika ‘anni. Allahumma badi’a s-samawati wa ‘l-ardi dha ‘l-jalali wa ‘l-ikrami wa ‘l-‘izzati ‘l-lati la turam, as’aluka ya Allahu ya Rahmanu bi jalalika wa nuri wajhika an tulzima qalbi hifza kitabika kama ‘allamtani wa ‘rzuqni an atluwahu ‘ala ‘n-nahwi ‘l-ladhi yurdika ‘anni. Allahumma badi’a s-samawati wa ‘l-ardi dha ‘l-jalali wa ‘l-ikrami wa ‘l-‘izzati ‘l-lati la turam, as’aluka ya Allahu ya Rahmanu bi jalalika wa nuri wajhika an tunawwira bikitabika basari wa an tutliqa bihi lisani wa an tufarrija bihi ‘an qalbi wa an tashraha bihi sadri wa an taghsila bihi badani fa innahu la yu’inuni ‘ala ‘l-haqqi ghayruka wa la y’utihi illa anta. Wa la hawla wa la quwwata illa billahi ‘l-‘aliyyi ‘l-adhim.

Du’a No. 2

Imam ibn al-Jazari reports that from his many teachers of Qur’an, there were those who used to say before recital:

O’ Allah! Surely You have revealed it (the Qur’an) with Truth and with the truth it descended. O’ Allah! Enhance my desire for it; and appoint it as a divine light for my eyes; and a healing for my breast; and make it (the Qur’an) that which removes my grief, sorrow and worries. O’ Allah! Through the Qur’an, beautify my tongue (that which I speak), and beautify my face, and strengthen my body, and make my scale of (good) deeds weighty, and grant me the ability to recite it as it should be recited in Your obedience – in the darkness of the night and the ends of the day, and raise me up with the Prophet, Muhammad and his family members – the chosen, the glorified, the purified, by Your mercy. O’ the Most Merciful of those who are able to show mercy.

Du’a No. 3

To be honest, I just came across this du’a, but it’s too beautiful not to share.

O Allah bless Muhammad and his family O Allah I bear witness that this is Your Revealed Book from You, To Your messenger Muhammad son of Abdullâh, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family. And it is Your Spoken Words, through the tongue of Your Prophet, You have made it a guide from You to Your creation, And a connecting rope between You and Your servants. O Allah I have opened Your Covenant and Your Book. O Allah, so make my looking at it an act of worship and my reciting it a pondering, and my pondering over it, a way to derive lessons. [O Allah] include me from those who are advised by the narrations of its advices, and who avoid Your disobedience. [O Allah] do not seal my ears when I’m reciting it and do not place a curtain over my sight, Nor make my recitation a recitation lacking pondering, Rather make me from among those who ponder over its verses and its rules, Deriving the ways to Your religion, and do not make me heedless when I’m looking at it, nor make my reciting a waste. Surely You are the Most Gentle, the Most Merciful.

Transliteration:

Allaahumma innee ash-hadu anna haad’aa kitaabukal munzalu min i’ndika a’laa rasoolika muh’ammadabni a’bdillah s’allallaahu a’layhi wa aalihee wa kalaamukan naat’iqu a’laa lisaani nabiyyika ja-a’ltahoo haadiyan minka ilaa khalqika wa h’ablan muttas’ilan feema baynaka wa bayna i’baadika allaahumma innee nashartu a’hdaka wa kitaabaka allaahumma faj-a’l naz’aree feehi i’baadatan wa qiraa-atee feehi fikran wa fikree feehia’- tibbran waj-a’lnee mimmanit-ta –a’z’a bi-bayaani muwaa-i’z’ika feehi waj-tanaba ma-a’as’iyaka wa laa tat’baa’-inda qiraa-atee a’laa sam-e’e wa laa taj-a’l a’laa bas’aree ghishaawatan wa laa taj-a’l qiraa-atee qiraa-atan laa tadabbura feehaa balij-a’lneea tadabbaru aayaatihee wa ah’kaamahoo aakhid’an bi-sharaayi-i’deenika wa laa taj-a’l naz’aree feehi ghaflatan wa laa qiraa-atee had’araa innaka antar ra-oofur rah’eem

I hope that these du’as benefit you. If you’d like more tips to stay on track or tools to keep motivated or even be mentored along your hifdh journey, you’re most welcome to contact me.

With best wishes for your hifdh success,

Wasfeeya

Holiday Highlights

16 Saturday Jan 2016

Posted by Wasfeeya in Hifdh Diary

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Haafidha, Hifdh, Hifz, memorising Qur'an, Quran

Bismillāhir-Rahmānir-Raheem

All praise and thanks are due to Allāh (SWT), who blessed us with the Glorious Qur’ān. Abundant salutations be upon our beloved teacher and role model, the first haafidh, Nabi Muhammad (SAW).

Living in Cape Town, we get to be tourists in our own city, subhanAllah! My holiday started the day after my tamat (hifdh graduation) and apart from my ‘umrah journey a while ago, I had the most amazing holiday everrr, Alhamdulillah! For the past three years I was in and out of mild depression and dreading going back to school after every holiday, so this year was different. I came alive. I am back. I’m told there’s a brightness in my face that wasn’t there before and I feel like there’s a spring in my step. I capture this holiday of mine in this post for myself to look back on in years to come, and to show that being a haafidha isn’t boring and doesn’t mean that you have to be in-doors reciting all day. My intention is not to show off in any way and I humbly ask of you that you don’t feel even a tinge of jealousy, but have good feelings towards me, and maybe even spare a du’a for me – I promise the angels will make du’a right back for you! In no particular order, here goes:

Hifdh Mentoring

The point that I’m at now feels like the moment Allah (SWT) speaks to Musa (A.S.), when, after He tells him his life story, He says, “And I have prepared/produced you for Myself.” (Qur’an, 20:41). I feel like I’m fulfilling my purpose through this and what could feel better than that? (Apart from feeling close to Allah through other ‘ibaadah of course.) Read more about my first session in my blog post.

Meeting my potential Mister

Day one of my holiday (or holidays?) started with an anticipated meeting with a potential mister. (We had waited months for various reasons.) Meeting for marriage the right way actually isn’t uncomfortable and awkward as some might think – maybe we were just lucky, or blessed; what do you think? Whether he’s The One, Allahu A’lam, but it was a really enjoyable evening getting to know him for the sake of Allah, Alhamdulillah.

for those who are lost, these are conjuctions that only make sense when paired together.

Just clarifying, there was no proposal but this is spot on!

Being featured on VOC

I am intending to host a show some time this year in-sha-Allah, but in the mean time I got an opportunity to be featured on Evening Live on VOC, 91.3fm. It was so much fun. I love being live on radio. I enjoy the spontaneity of the impromptu questions. I hope to post the recordings in future.

Breakfast on the Beach

Some of my friends and I were planning on going to Muizenberg beach but I overslept (embarrassed face), so it was too late to go but we ended up having our brekkie on Sea Point beach instead.

Babysitting

Babysitting Mlm. R and Ml. K’s three gorgeous girls (ma-sha-Allah) is so much fun! Aged one, two and three, they can be a handful at times, but I’d do it for free any day. After swimming, jumping on the trampoline and playing on the jungle gym, I’m exhausted when I come home, but full of grattitude. Grateful for the life that I lead, that I don’t (yet) have those responsibilities, for the opportunity to help out my Mu’allimah, for her family and her life that I get to be a small part of, for my health and fitness (barely) and whatever else I can think of. Alhamdulillah.

Their pretend jungle gym

Mingling with monkeys

I spent the last day of last year at the World of Birds. We went specifically to visit the “Monkey Jungle.” Those monkeys were so adorable I wish I could adopt one!

Kirstenbosch Gardens with my MSA sisters

What a beautiful afternoon it was! I was running late (embarrassed face, again!) so we went later than planned and got there on the waqt of Dhuhr. We made salaah in such pure tranquility – we wish every salaah could feel like that. Catching up with the girls was memorable.

Hiking!!!

Freshly made coffee and jaffles at the waterfall in Cecilia Forest with awesome company – need I say more?!

The full-moon, after Fajr hike up Lion’s Head was another memorable experience, Alhamdulillah.

Did you know – it’s sunnah to say Allahu Akbar while ascending and subhanAllah when descending?

Swimming!!!!!!

There’s something about swimming that I can’t even try to explain. Being enveloped by the water, I swim without thinking about it; my mind filled with different thoughts. I make dhikr in-between as well. I went every Tuesday except one, when I went cherry picking with my family (which wasn’t all exciting unfortunately but the cherries were delish). I’m grateful for the ladies-only time slot. I can only go in my holidays so I always make the most of it! For me, swimming needs to be in a 25m pool, otherwise it’s just splashing around. My dream mahr (dowry) would be my own 25m pool with just 2 lanes.

LongStreetBaths02_small

Splashing Around and Chilling

This is just a splash pool but it was needed on that hot day nonetheless. I spent the day with my older sisters – friends I made when I first started studying deen. Those friends are truly friends for life, even if I don’t often see or speak to them. All of my friends are older than me and almost always have been in the past as well.

Black BB Bold 9900 415

Meeting my three R’s

I went to visit one of my first tajweed teachers, Haafidha R, then met up with the inspiring Mu’allimah R – a mother seven amazing children, ma-sha-Allah and later visited Aunty R, one of my mother’s friends who is on a different path but who has touched my life. It was an incredibly inspiration-filled day and I felt a deep-found contentment at the end of it. I’m blessed to have so many amazing women in my life, Alhamdulillah.

Catching up with friends

I met up with absolutely ALL of my friends. I went to their houses or we went out for lunch. I try to remember to make the intention that it’s for His sake, so that the time spent may be blessed and rewarded, in-sha-Allah.

Hifdh Mentor Diary #1

06 Wednesday Jan 2016

Posted by Wasfeeya in Hifdh Diary

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Haafidha, Hifdh, Hifth, Hifz, Qur'an memorisation, Quran

Bismillāhir-Rahmānir-Raheem

All praise and thanks are due to Allāh (SWT), who blessed us with the Glorious Qur’ān. Abundant salutations be upon our beloved teacher and role model, the first haafidh, Nabi Muhammad (SAW).

My normal hifdh diary posts might start again once I begin my further hifdh studies in-sha-Allah, but I’ve now moved on to hifdh mentoring so here’s a look into my life. This post will especially enlighten you if you are still unclear about what exactly hifdh mentoring is, in-sha-Allah, as I take you through my client’s session. (I have updated my past post on hifdh mentorship, so check that out too.)

So I had my first client of the year yesterday morning, Alhamdulillah The night before I was really excited and I thought about a quote I came across looong ago in one of Paulo Coelho’s books:

We always know we are close to our true mission on earth when what we are doing is touched with the energy of enthusiasm.

Allah (s.w.t.) provided me with an office about ten minutes before I started. My mother was busy in our living room and wasn’t prepared to move so I used my scrapbooking-room-turned-my-brother’s tuition-room-turned-guest-room, which had been neatly cleaned and prepared for our past holiday guest.

My home office

My client arrived and I began with reciting my favourite du’as, (out loud for her to benefit from too).

Before we looked into goals regarding hifdh, I coached her to formulate vision and mission satements. She’d like to be a good Qur’an teacher. She would like to teach adult ladies to recite the Qur’an with proper tajweed. I needed to know these so that I could link her desire to memorise the Qur’an with a greater purpose, in order to increase her motivation and driving force.

I asked her to choose one or two ahadith that would be her strongest motivation. She actually chose an ayah: “But they are clear verses in the chests of those who have been granted knowledge…” (Qur’an, 29:49). See my post on Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan’s hifdh motivation for more on this aayah.

I got her to make an inspiration board. It helps that I used to do scrapbooking, so I still have some pretty goodies to use. The aayah was the focal point, surrounded by her vision and mission statements. She didn’t get to finish it due to time constraints, but I hope to update this post with a pic of it in-sha-Allah.

Now to get to the actual hifdh:

I asked her how much she has memorised and whether she’s aiming to complete the whole Qur’an. Yes she is! Bi-ith-nillah.

The plan I formulated is for her to first memorise her new lesson after Fajr, followed by her recent new lesson. Then, her back lesson will be done later in the day, ideally after ‘Asr.

I provided her with a program to be filled in:

Date	Day	Back lesson (Juz)	Time	Recent Back Lesson (Juz)	Time	New Lesson	Time
		¼30 (First ¼ of juz 30)		29 – L (Beginning of juz 29 until current lesson)		2 to 3 lines	30 – 45 mins (record beginning & end times here)
		2/4 30		29 – L
		¾ 30		29 – L
		4/4 30		29 – L
		¼ 30		29 – L
		2/4 30		29 – L
		½ 30		29 – L
		¾ 30		29 – L
		4/4 30		29 – L
		2/2 30		29 – L

I’ll be checking up on her via WhatsApp on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. In the mornings after Fajr, I’ll send her a reminder and at night I’ll check whether she learned and revised her lessons for the day. We’re scheduled to meet again in three to four weeks time to assess her progress in-sha-Allah.

Please feel free to reach out to me with any queries or concerns. I welcome your questions and look forward to your feedback. May Allah place Barakah in all of our endeavours, grant us the best of success and keep us sincere and steadfast. Aameen.

“The more you give to the Qur’an in recitation, comprehension, and implementation, the more the Qur’an will give you in Light, guidance, protection, and happiness.” -Imam Suleiman Salem.

With best wishes for your hifdh success,

Cape Town Haafidha

Hifdh Diary: The Finale

01 Friday Jan 2016

Posted by Wasfeeya in Hifdh Diary, Inspiration

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Tags

Haafidha, Hifz, Qur'an memorisation

Bismillāhir-Rahmānir-Raheem

All praise and thanks are due to Allāh (SWT), who blessed us with the Glorious Qur’ān. Abundant salutations be upon our beloved teacher and role model, the first haafidh, Nabi Muhammad (SAW).

“We always know we are close to our true mission on earth when what we are doing is touched with the energy of enthusiasm.” – Paulo Coelho.

i was really looking forward to

This is one post that really should have been posted last year already! It’s been a month since I tammatted (graduated), subhanAllah.

The morning arrived of D-Day, the Crowning Glory, the Finale. I overslept for suhur and tahajjud – I had put off my alarm and went back to sleep. Like, really now?! (embarrassed face). At least I made Fajr in time and renewed my intention that I’d be fasting (regardless of suhur). I made two raka’aat of salaatul haajah and got ready.

I felt really anxious because I didn’t feel prepared enough but there was nothing I could do at that point but trust Allah. Before I left, my aunty recited and blew over me, and advised me to recite the du’a of Nabi Musa (A.S.). It helped a little bit, Alhamdulillah.

When I entered the door of the masjid and greeted one of my friends/students of deen, I just burst into tears and cried. I chunked – as I would say in the more expressive language of slang Afrikaans. I cried for many reasons at once. I was overwhelmed and was trying to keep myself together but seeing her triggered deep emotion in me. I felt so honoured that she had made the effort to be there for me when I hadn’t even personally invited her. It was also a reminder of how far I have come since my Jahiliyyah days, subhanAllah.

When I calmed down, I walked futher into the masjid and saw my fellow tamatees (graduates). I was the last to arrive and was actually a little late. I missed the naseeha session our ustadh had with them. When I greeted him and asked him to fill me in, he said, “Allah chose you to be here and Allah won’t disgrace you.” Those words were enough for me and gave me the confidence that I needed.

While I was waiting for my turn to be tested, my eyes were tearing and I kept needing to wipe my nose. I think everyone thought I was going to cry and mess up my exam, but I knew I was going to be fine, bi-ith-nillah. When my turn came, I spoke to Allah. I made my niyyah that I’m reciting sincerely for His sake, and that I’m reciting to Him the way I do in my salaah.

Lo and behold, the moment I started reciting, I physically felt everything lift off me -the anxiety, the overwhelming emotions and all, Alhamdulillah. I made mistakes but I didn’t lose my train of thought, so I remained composed.

I was blessed that there was a break scheduled straight after I was done, so I could greet everyone and everyone could come to greet me right after I was done.

Afterwards, I felt the biggest relief I ever felt in my life. I’m grateful that I went through this experience and achieved what I thought I couldn’t, with the help of Allah (SWT), my teachers, parents, family and friends.

I’ll leave you with the advice I got from my Egyptian teacher who I ran into at Canal Walk: Ask Allah to accept, constantly, at all times, always.

With best wishes for your hifdh success,

Wasfeeya

A message someone sent me after my tamat:)

Hifdh Mentorship..?

28 Monday Dec 2015

Posted by Wasfeeya in Resources

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Tags

Haafidha, Hifdh, Hifz, Qur'an memorisation, Qurʾān

Bismillāhir-Rahmānir-Raheem

All praise and thanks are due to Allāh (SWT), who blessed us with the Glorious Qur’ān. Abundant salutations be upon our beloved teacher and role model, the first haafidh, Nabi Muhammad (SAW).

The concept of ‘Mentorship’

Hifdh Mentoring is about motivating and encouraging the hifdh student to consistently achieve their hifdhul Qur’an aims and goals.

Every mentoring session is unique, as it is structured around the requirements of the individual hifdh student.

A mentor will:

help her mentee to stay on track and reach her goals
offer encouragement
discuss possible solutions to difficulties
share her experience and knowledge

Some benefits for mentees:

raised achievements and aspirations
improved self-confidence and self-esteem
increased motivation

I’m excited to be formalising my hifdh mentorship program, in-sha-Allah. Despite being very informally mentored, I feel that I wouldn’t have completed if it wasn’t for my mentor, by Allah’s Permission and Decree, of course. I’d like to offer others the opportunity that I had; to pay it forward and make a difference in the lives of hifdh students across the world bi-ith-nillah. Alhamdulillah, I have the background, capability and personality (I hope) to fulfil this role in-sha-Allah, especially after doing Sh. Dr. Yahya Al-Ghawthany’s “How to memorise the Qur’an in 56 Days” course.

This is one of the responses from one of my blog-followers all the way in Bangladesh:

“Your suggestions were extremely extremely helpful, way more than I expected. Jazakallahu khairan. I made a routine of my own with some slight changes to the one you gave and I’ve been following it for just over 1 week. It’s going great alhamdulillah. Just taking a bit of time but in sha Allah I’ll cope with the new pattern soon. Now I can understand where I went wrong in my revision method… I had been starting from the longest surah and going one by one till I reached the strong memorizations.. So it took really long, and by the time I reached the end I forgot the weaker memorizations. So it was like a cycle. Alhamdulillah after reading your mail I started revising multiple parts simultaneously. This is much better. Barakallahu feeki ukhti! :)”

So what are you waiting for? Book your first session now!

I welcome your questions and look forward to your feedback. May Allah place Barakah in all of our endeavours and keep us sincere and steadfast. Aameen.

With best wishes for your hifdh success,

Cape Town Haafidha

Wasfeeya Altalib

~ Welcome to my blog, where I'll be sharing diary posts, bios, motivation & resources. | For hifdh mentorship, contact me on 0793500024 or email wasfeeya@gmail.com.

Tag Archives: Haafidha

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