Hifz Journey Take Two

-

 Wow keeping a blog isnt as easy nowadays compared to previously. I used to come back from class and type away everyday but now I just cant find the time to.


So anyway, my Hifz journey take two began just after Ramadhan. I'm always full of determination after Ramadhan. One of my post Ramadhan goals was to memorize the Quran again. This time I was going to really focus on my revision and not move on from a surah until I got it perfect and fluent. So I began rememorizing the surahs and set a limit of about 2 lines a day. Some days I could go more but I read other hifz blogs that you should always memorize just a bit less of what you think you can do daily. And revise, revise, revise. Even when I got so bored of reciting the same verses over and over again-- I still persevered. 

2-3 weeks into my Hifz journey I started hunting for a teacher. I was so torn over this, half scared half excited. Scared that I couldnt commit to Hifz for the rest of my life and to be scolded by the teacher. But my desire to want some proper structure in my Hifz was stronger. So I bit the bullet and starting searching for one. It wasnt long until I stumbled upon Imtiaz Academy, which was a Quran teaching centre established by an Egyptian teacher that is run from Kelantan. It has both Malaysian AND Egyptian teaching staff and teaches Quran recitation, memorization, tajweed and arabic. I was a bit skeptical at first because it's Kelantan based (LOL) but when the admin offered me an egyptian teacher I was set. 

My first class I was introduced to Ustazah Heba. She looked motherly with a lovely smile. I was a bit confident having already prememorized half of Juz Amma by then. What a mistake that was, I couldn't even get past Auzubillah and Bismillah without being corrected like 10 times. In fact every single line I recited , Ustazah Heba will correct on my makhraj or tajweed so much so that I would forget the verse altogether. And she is scary! Nothing escapes her ears.

Initially I was a bit disheartened but eventually with repeated corrections, my recitation improved and she corrected me less and less. I was still scared of my weekly classes with her though but the good kinda scared. Completion of each class was an achievement. And the rest, as they say, is history.

I'm so glad I found myself a teacher because let me tell you this, memorizing alone is just not it. It may be okay temporarily but if you want to progress, it HAS to be with a teacher. Someone to correct your recitation, check on your past surahs, keep you accountable. I highly highly recommend finding a teacher. 

Another useful thing for Hifz revision is the Tarteel app. On days you dont have class or your Quran buddy is busy, revision with Tarteel is the best. It detects your mistakes in makhraj/tajweed and even gives you clues for the next verse. To this day I cannot revise without Tarteel it's now a part of my everyday routine.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Starting Hifz

-
 I am nowhere near completing my Hifz. I'm still very much a beginner. So technically I have no place to offer advice to those starting out or thinking about starting Hifz--so let's just call this sharing. In case there are people who's reading this who are thinking about starting their own journey.  Things to consider when first starting Hifz: Intention. The intention to start memorizing Quran has to be for the sake of Allah alone. Not to show off. You will have to recheck your intention regularly to make sure it is still for Allah. Use the same Mushaf and dont keep changing. Believe it or not, while most mushafs appear the same, theyre not. Even if theyre both 15 line mushafs, they will differ in verse spacing and placement. The madinah mushafs differ to other mushafs (dont believe me, try compare madinah mushafs to the standard translation ones). If you keep changing mushafs, your brain will have difficulty to picture the verse. I made the mistake of changing mushafs dur...
Read more

Background Story: Part 2

-
  So yes in the next 21 years. Dunya seeped in and made no room for the Quran in my heart. Yikes that was really scary. One year before the Covid pandemic, everything changed.  Allah opened up my heart to start taking care of my prayers and to pray on time. And I during that Ramadhan I picked up my very dusty Quran and just read ONE surah in that month. Then I closed it and never came back to it that year. My recitation was slow and many many mistakes were made. My makhraj and tajwid? Gone. Enter Covid 2020. The fateful pandemic that put everyone in lockdown. Time to sit and stew and contemplate the meaning of life. That was life-changing for many, including me.  That Ramadhan I read more Quran than the year before, and I continued reciting and reading the meaning for months after. I had to relearn how to recite, how to pronounce the letters. How to read with tajweed (back then I thought tajweed only meant the Nun rules. Never thought that tajweed spanned way beyond that)...
Read more

First Failed Attempt

-
 My first attempt at Hifz was circa mid 2023. I was on a roll, working hard to perfect my recitation, listening to famous reciters and trying to emulate their pronunciation and tajweed. I was reading the meaning and understanding the backstory of these surahs for the first time. But something was missing.  I felt like I couldnt get enough, not tasting the sweetness of the Quran like how other people were describing it.  Then I started to watch youtube and instagram videos of people talking about their Hifz journey. The struggle and the feeling of accomplishment. I was envious and instantly knew that I wanted to revisit my long forgotten Hifz days.  It took me 3 months to complete Juz Amma and 2 surahs into Juz 29. I felt good, finally tasting the sweetness of the Quran. Memorizing new verses everyday after Maghrib. I practiced the verses in my prayers. I thought I had it.  Major Major Mistakes I made this round was.... I DID NOT REVISE REGULARLY. I skipped days....
Read more