Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

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Pursuing Excellence, The Guide to Memorising The Holy Qur’an

Author(s): S.L. Al-Hakim

www.alhassanain.org/english

This text explores the importance of Memorising the Holy Qur'an in light of the Holy Books itself and many traditions of the Holy Prophet (S) and the Pure Imams of the Ahlul Bayt (as). It gives also many practical suggestions that will help anyone who would like to start memorising the Holy Book at any age.

Miscellaneous information:

Pursuing Excellence, The Guide to Memorising The Holy Qur’an S.L Al-Hakim Authors contact Telegram: https://telegram.me/samerhakim Telephone: Islamic Republic of Iran: +98 902 1 505 247 Australia: +61 432 44 11 96 Address: P.O. Box 2051 Rowville VIC 3178 - Australia

Notice:

This version is published on behalf of www.alhassanain.org/english

The composing errors are not corrected.

Table of Contents

Dedication 10

Authors Foreword 11

Beware: Satan’s Whispers 13

Part 1: Why Memorise The Holy Qur’an? 15

Memorisation of the Holy Qur’an in the eyes of the Holy Qur’an 15

Al Qamar 54:17 - Easy To Recite And Remember 15

Al Ankabut 29:49 - In The Breasts Of Those Who Have Been Given Knowledge 16

Al Ahzab 33:34 - Remember That Which Is Recited In Your Houses 16

Al Muzzammil 73:20 - Recite as much as is feasible 16

Memorisation of the Holy Qur’an in the eyes of the Divinely Guided 17

1. Recommendations 18

Narration 1 - It is incumbent upon the believer 18

Narration 2 - It is the best narration 18

Narration 3 - Happiness, Martyrdom, Salvation 18

Narration 4 - The best of the best of you 18

Narration 5 - The trust to His creation 19

Narration 6 - A house of ruin 19

2. Start Young 19

Narration 7 - Infused in to blood and flesh 19

3. The Holy Qur’an Will Complain 19

Narration 8 - Three will complain 19

4. Merits of Recitation 19

Narration 9 - Better than remembrance 19

5. Types of People Who Recite 20

Narration 10 - Three kinds of people 20

Narration 11 - Nobility 20

5. Memorising Through Hardship 21

Narration 12 - Double the reward for hardship 21

6. Don’t Forget What You Learnt! 21

Narration 13 - How I wish you were mine 21

Narration 14 - No sin was greater 22

7. The Holy Qur’an is Your Protection 23

Narration 15 - I fear learning the Holy Qur’an 23

Narration 16 - The fire will not touch it 23

Narration 17 - No punishment 23

Narration 18 - The earth responds 23

Narration 19 - Reduce punishment upon parents 23

Narration 20 - A calamity from the sky 23

8. Implementing the Holy Qur’an is a Pre-Requisite 24

Narration 21 - Two kinds of scholars 24

9. Supplications for Memorisation 24

Narration 22 - Bless me with the memorisation 25

Narration 23 - Hold my heart to the memorisation 26

Narration 24 - Light, Insight, Comprehension 26

10. Be An Intercessor 26

Narration 25 - Intercede on behalf of ten 26

11. Levels of Heaven 27

Narration 26 - Levels in Paradise 27

12. Teaching the Holy Qur’an 27

Narration 27 - A driver and a guide 27

Narration 28 - Rights upon the father 27

Narration 29 - Forgiveness 27

13. Reciting From the Holy Qur’an 27

Narration 30 - By heart or from the book? 28

Narration 31 - Satan’s nightmare 28

14. Measurable Motivation, Immeasurable Strength, Social Status 28

Narration 32 - Annual Income 28

Narration 33 - Societal Status 28

Narration 34 - Strength 29

Narration 35 - Highest status 29

Narration 36 - Pass the Straight Path with the prophets 29

Narration 37 - Most honourable 29

Narration 38 - The standard of Islam 29

15. Memory and Cognition Is Maintained 30

Narration 39 - Faculty of mind 30

Narration 40 - Memory 30

Quick Overview 30

Memorisation of the Holy Qur’an in the eyes of Scholars 31

The First Martyr 31

The Second Martyr 31

Ayatollah Borujerdi 32

Ayatollah Muhammad Taqi Bahjat 32

Ayatollah Sheikh Muhammad Nahavandi 33

Ayatollah Fazel Lankarani 33

Ayatollah Khoei 33

Ayatollah Safi Golpayegani 33

Ayatollah Ja'far Sobhani 34

Ayatollah Ma’refat 34

Ayatollah Hassan Hasanzadeh Amoli 34

Syed Ali Khamenei 34

Summary 35

Notes 35

Part 2: How to Memorise the Holy Qur’an? 39

Strengthening Your Memory 39

First: Hygiene 39

Second: Healthy Diet 39

Third: Strengthening the Soul 40

Fourth: Exercising the Mind 40

Preliminaries to Memorising the Holy Qur’an 40

Pure Intention 40

Will Power and Effort 40

Planning And Consistency 41

Supplication 41

Find A Partner 41

Use a Guide and Mentor 41

Choosing Your Holy Qur’an 42

Selecting a Translation 43

Selecting a Reciter 43

Necessary Skills and Sciences 44

Recitation Skills 44

Tajweed 44

Conjugation and Syntax 44

Translation and Interpretation 45

Understanding the Fundamentals of Memorisation of the Holy Qur’an 45

Conditions of Initiation 45

What Age Is Suitable To Start? 45

Memorisation During Gestation? 46

Best Years 46

How Long Will It Take? 47

Best Time 48

Prioritise Tasks 48

Body and Mind Attentive 48

Pavlovian Training 48

Serenity 48

Best Place 48

Simplicity 48

Holy Places 49

Consistency 49

Continue Regardless 49

Kinds of Memorisations 49

Sequential Memorisation 49

Thematic Memorisation 49

Selected Surahs 50

Methods of Memorisations 50

Audio Only 50

Prompting 50

Writing 50

Repeated Reading 50

The Eight Step Method of Memorisation 50

Step 1: Translation and Understanding 50

Step 2: Listening to Reciters 51

Step 3: Recitation 52

Step 4: Subdivision and Repetition 52

Step 5: Connecting the Dots 53

Between Sentences of an Ayah 53

Between Ayahs 53

Step 6: Strengthening and Finalising 53

Step 7: Writing from Memory 53

Step 8: Repetition and Passage 53

Sample Memory Chart 54

Target Number of Chapters for Daily Passage 55

Tips for New Ayahs 56

Group 56

Focus 56

Scansion 56

Experience 57

Imagination 57

Rest 57

Exercise 57

For The Younger Ones 57

Tips for Parents 57

Memorising Ayah Numbers 58

Pros 58

Cons 59

Methodology 59

Notes 61

Appendices 62

Appendix 1: Holy Qur’an Memorisation Tracker 62

Appendix 2: One Month Daily Memorisation Chart 63

Appendix 3: Target Number of Chapters For Daily Passage 64

Appendix 4: Points of Interest 65

Overall Word Qur’anic Statistics 66

Surahs of Obligatory Prostration 66

Names of Prophets (as) Mentioned in the Holy Qur’an 66

Note 66

Bibliography 67

Dedication

Dedicated to

Syeda Fatima Massooma (s.a.) in Qom, heart of Islamic knowledge and sanctuary for The Purified Household (as).

Written for

Our Children

For the desire is for the new generation of our Nation to live with and by the Holy Qur’an, and not be in the despair and regret I find myself in when compiling this booklet because of my self-inflicted negligence and failure, of years gone past that could have been used with more wisdom.

And special thanks,

and request for prayers, to my

parents.

Authors Foreword

قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم :

إني تارك فيكم الثقلين: كتاب الله وعترتي أهل بيتي، وإنهما لن يفترقا حتى يردا علي الحوض

I leave behind amongst you two weighty things: The Book of Allah and my Progeny - The Purified Household, and never shall these two ever separate till they return to me by the Pool (of Paradise).

The Prophet of Allah (S)

The Prophet (S) has stated in narrations that are agreed upon by both major schools of thought, in multiple ways and at multiple times, that he leaves with us two significant and invaluable resources, which are inseparable. In another similar narration, he states that we shall never go astray if we hold fast on to these two weighty things.

This undisputed tradition, and others like it, cement in place the importance of both the Holy Qur’an and the etiquettes and teachings of The Purified Household (as).

That we cannot separate one from the other, nor can we hold on fast to one, but not the other. It is a confirmation that if we wish to climb the spiritual journey in pursuit of perfection, our prescribed goal, we must adhere to both weighty things. And to neglect one ultimately leads to neglecting both!

A bird, after all, can only fly with two wings.

In Surah Ibrahim, the Holy Qur’an states:

كِتَابٌ أَنْزَلْنَاهُ إِلَيْكَ لِتُخْرِجَ النَّاسَ مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِمْ إِلَىٰ صِرَاطِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَمِيدِ

A Book We have sent down to thee that thou mayest bring forth mankind from the shadows to the light by the leave of their Lord, to the path of the All-mighty, the All-laudable. (Ibrahim 14:1)

No doubt, the Holy Qur’an is the key to ascension from the darkness of the bottomless pit of the lowly world to the spiritual heights that can be reached by every human being.

Familiarity with the Holy Qur’an is one of the most important and significant requirements of every Muslim. It is a guide, protector and answers all the necessary questions to reach the perfection for which mankind was created for.

Of course, reciting the Holy Qur’an once twice a year is not going to find any form of the intimate familiarity and in-depth understanding being sought, but only a cold, distant, and perhaps even mundane glimpse at shallow words.

Reciting it and understanding the terminology is only a first step, and an ever so important one… but further steps are needed to help find intimacy.

One of the best ways in which one can be familiar with the Holy Qur’an is its memorisation. This requires effort, dedication, time, and motivation. Like anything of great value and worth, it takes years and a constant review of one’s own reasons and methods for memorising the Holy Qur’an, renewing and realigning intentions to suit the best and most perfect of intention - the intention of seeking nearness to Allah .

Familiarity is gained because to memorise, one needs to constantly review and repeat the verses until they become engrained in the heart. Like your mother language, or your own name, it will be an unforgettable and everlasting part of your flesh and blood and the heart will beat to the tunes of the Holy Qur’an with every pulse, eyes with every blink, and lungs with every breath.

In the Islamic world, the need for those who carry the Holy Qur’an in their heart is growing ever so strongly as the influence of materialism and capitalism strains our relationship with the Creator, and our love for the deceptive glitz and glamour of the world grows. To distance the faithful from their religious scriptures, those with differing world views have, and are, sparing no effort and no cost to detach people from the only source of true perfection and completeness that humans can reach, the Holy Qur’an.

It is with this view that we present a small contribution presenting the importance, significance, benefits, and proven method for memorising the Holy Qur’an, while dispelling some of the myths surrounding this important subject.

S.L Al-Hakim

Ramadhan 1438

Beware: Satan’s Whispers

A common argument is that there is no point in reading, let alone memorising, the Holy Qur’an if we do not understand it, and that the language is foreign to us. This, of course, is one of many forms of demotivating sophistries by the master of fallacies, Satan. Subtle, yet convincing. Plausible, yet fallacious. Imam Khomeini, may his soul rest in peace, states that

We imagine that recitation without insight has no effect -this is the whisper of Satan.

Had it not been for worship and piety, Satan would have been amongst the noblest, and behind the Divinely Guided (as), Satan would be most knowledgeable of creations in all forms of sciences. With that knowledge, and having sworn to be the enemy of mankind, the tools at the disposal of Satan, the cursed, is far greater than imaginable, and he should always be expected to be waiting in ambush for the next opportunity.

قَالَ فَبِمَا أَغْوَيْتَنِي لَأَقْعُدَنَّ لَهُمْ صِرَاطَكَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ ثُمَّ لَآتِيَنَّهُم مِّن بَيْنِ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِمْ وَعَنْ أَيْمَانِهِمْ وَعَن شَمَائِلِهِمْ وَلَا تَجِدُ أَكْثَرَهُمْ شَاكِرِينَ

Satan Said, 'Now, for Thy perverting me, I shall surely sit in ambush for them on Thy straight path; then I shall come on them from before them and from behind them, from their right hands and their left hands; Thou wilt not find most of them thankful.' (Al-A’raf 7:17-18)

Be on guard!

Always. Even at times when one feels that finally they have started to climb the mountain of spirituality. For it could be an illusion, a decoration of our deeds, a deception of the time, and one that can lead to a greater loss. And we must also be on guard that the actions we think are pious and good, and performed in the name of religion, may not be according to the commands of the Creator. We must always question our actions lest they be decorated in a way that makes us believe something which is not.

وَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ أَعْمَالَهُمْ فَصَدَّهُمْ عَنِ السَّبِيلِ وَكَانُوا مُسْتَبْصِرِينَ

…and Satan decked out fair to them their works, and barred them from the way, though they saw clearly. (Al-Ankabut 29:39)

فَلَوْلَا إِذْ جَاءَهُم بَأْسُنَا تَضَرَّعُوا وَلَـٰكِن قَسَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ

..if only, when Our might came upon them, they had been humble! But their hearts were hard, and Satan decked out fair to them what they were doing. (Al-A’nam 6:43)

Is it a wonder why so many narrations confirm the need to start any task in the Name of Allah, reciting the first Ayah of the Holy Qur’an.

بِسْمِ اللَّـهِ الرَّحْمَـٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. (Al-Fatiha 1:1)

Yet, when wanting to recite the Holy Qur’an, we must first seek refuge from the cursed Satan?

فَإِذَا قَرَأْتَ الْقُرْآنَ فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ

So when you recite the Qur'an, [first] seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the expelled [from His mercy]. (An-Nahl 16:98)

Satan will do everything to take you away from reciting the Holy Qur’an, finding every excuse, and showing you every temptation. Phones will ring, messages start coming in on social media, and lucrative deals and opportunities will be put before you.

Take heed, this is the work of Satan, the Cursed one, tempting us away from the duty on hand.