•.•°¯`•)»Inspiring stories of those who have memorised the Book of Allah«(•°¯`•.•

As salamu alaikum brothers and sisters. In this thread, InshaAllah, I will post my collection of “Inspirational stories of those people who have memorized Quran”. So, here we go:

He memorized the entire Qur’an in 50 days! But there’s more to it…
The true account of Muhammad, a brother who after attending a workshop on memorising Qur’aan and utilising all the available mediums, went on to memorise the entire Qur’aan within just 50 days (i.e 2 months). Within 2 months?!

Yes. Within 2 months. This is his account and he says:

“I declared a state of Jihad upon my soul and put death before my eyes. I made an intention to memorise the Noble Qur’aan. So I abandoned telephone calls and unnecessary visits, and I changed all the negative thoughts associated with hifdh (memorisation) to positive and practical ones e.g. When a thought came to me saying ‘I can’t do it!’ I’d say, ‘I can do it.’ If it said, ‘My memory is weak!’ I’d say ‘I take pleasure in having a great memory.’

I chose the masjid as the place of my hifdh as it preserves three:

  1. The eyes
  2. The ears
  3. The tongue

I followed a specific dietary program consisting of eating dates, fruits and honey - and fasting helped me a great deal in that. I used to wake up before salaat al-Fajr by 2 and a half hours and I slept 2 hours after ‘Isha. I used to wake up for Tahajjud (the night prayer), prolonging my sujood wherein I would call upon Allaah ta’alaa to ease for me my affair. I would also seek forgiveness 100 times.

I began to memorise 5 pages and would recite them in the Sunnah prayers of Fajr. After salaat al-Fajr, I would begin the memorisation of 5 new pages and at the end, I would recite them in the 2 raka’ahs of salaat al-Duhaa, all the time thanking Allaah for easing the memorisation.

I would perfect the recitation of what I had memorised by listening to tapes of one of the recitors. I would read about the qiraa’ah in books or via the Muqaddimah al-Jazariyyah (poem on the ahkam of tajweed).

After salaat al-Dhuhr, I would repeat everything that I had memorised previously beginning from the 1st Juz, until salaat al-’Asr. After the ‘Asr prayer, I would repeat the new portion of hifdh and the juz before. After the Maghrib prayer, I would prepare the recitation of 10 new pages and it was only after salaat al-’Isha that I’d review the Qur’aan with my teacher, may Allaah reward him well.

Before retiring to bed, I would listen to all that I memorised in the day from cassettes and I would be sitting for 6 continuous hours, without any boredom or feeling tired. In the 1st week, I would sit for 6 hours, memorising and revising. In the 2nd week, I would sit for 8 hours. In the 3rd week, it was 10 hours and in the 4th week, it was 12 hours. In the last 10 days, I was sitting for 14 hours memorising and revising.

The hardest times for me were when it came to sleeping and eating. I ardently wished that the period of sleep would end quickly so that I could start my hifdh of the Noble of Qur’aan. Everytime I began to read the Qur’aan and memorise, I felt such delight and enjoyment that I had never felt before. Du’a was an important factor for me before and after hifdh. I would memorise a page whilst sitting down and then repeat it whilst walking. My teacher played an important role in encouraging me, in revision, in correcting me and benefiting me in terms of Tajweed.

In the last week, on the night of 20th Ramadan, only 4 and a half juz remained until completion of hifdh. So I turned to Allaah to open up my way and ease it for me. I went on to memorise it in 6 days with the Help of Allaah.

Laylatul-Qadr came, the night of delight and happiness - it was like a wedding night to me. My completion of hifdh took place between Maghrib and ‘Isha in the masjid with the Imam and those in I’tikaaf. We began the khatma (reciting from beginning till end of the Book). In the end, during the du’aa, my heart opened up greatly and I began to weep like never before. It was the most beautiful hour of my life. Allaah had honoured me with the memorisation of His Book.

During the du’aa, I remembered a dream I had more than 10 years ago… I was a Mu’adhin of a mosque and after Fajr salaah, I sat remembering Allaah in the mosque. I felt sleepy so I took a nap in the middle of the mosque, and behold! I found myself amidst a gathering. A powerful ray of light descended from the sky down to the middle of the masjid. From that light came many angels and between them were 2 big Angels. One of them turned towards me and took me to the light. I entered along with the 2 angels. I then found myself on top of a large green tree - I began to climb it in the companionship of the 2 angels. We found angels standing by the door of the 1st heaven. They said to me ‘Where are you going?’ They opened up a book and said, ‘We don’t have your name with us, so climb onwards to the top.’ And likewise, all the time (through each heaven), they said the same thing to me.

Upon arriving at the 7th heaven, we reached the end of the tree. I found angels standing at the door and they said, ‘Are you Muhammad?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ They said, ‘Enter, for the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam) wants you.’ I said to the 2 angels that were with me ‘Come in with me.’ They said, ‘We can’t enter. But we will wait for you.’ So I entered Jannah and behold, I saw therein what no eye has seen, no ear has heard and had never entered in the heart of Man. Angels were surrounding me and there was a door, on top of it was written لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله. جنة الفردوس (There is no God but Allaah and Muhammad is His Messenger. Al-Firdaws Paradise).

The Angels opened the door and I entered. Before me was the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam) sitting at the top end and beside him were men, some that I recognised and some that I didn’t. In front of him were a very large group of men, women and children. They wore white clothes, and they were so many that they had a beginning but no end. All of them were reciting Qur’aan.

The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) called me and I went up to him. He got up and made some space for me. I kissed him and he sat me down besides him. I asked him ‘Who are these people O Messenger of Allah?’ He said, ‘These are the people who have memorised the Book of Allaah azza wa jall.’

Inshaa’Allaah ta’ala, the dream ended in truth. I never spoke to anyone about it until the night that I completed the memorisation of the Qur’aan.”

*Transcribed and edited from the audio (Arabic) ‘When will I see you as a Haafidh?’ by Shaykh Yasir Salamah, one of the leading Imams and recitors of Egypt. *

May Allah ta’aala give us all the tawfiq to read, memorize, and practice the Qur’an… no matter how long it takes. Ameen.


…and may peace and blessings be upon the Beloved of Allah.

An Interview with Umm Saalih - A Grandmother Who Completed Memorizing the Qur'aan at Eighty-Two Years Old** ******
by Dr. Saleh as Saleh

Al- Hamdulillaah (All-Praise is due to Allah), the One Who said (what means): "And in truth We have made the Qur'aan easy to remember; but is there any that will remember?" Surah 54: 32

Many all over the world memorize the Qur'aan, and it is not strange to see the youth memorizing the Noble Qur'aan and an early age. Al-Hamdulillaah, the One who made the Qur'aan easy for remembrance, had made it easy for Umm Saalih, age 82. In an interview with Umm Saalih, she was asked the following questions:

Q1: "What was the reason that drove you to memorize the Qur'aan after so many years?" She said, "I always hoped to memorize the Qur'aan from the time I was young. My father always used to invoke Allaah for me to become one of the memorizers of the Qur'aan, like himself and like the elder brothers of my family who memorized it. So I memorized in the beginning about three parts and then after I completed the age of thirteen, I got married and became busy with the household and the children. After I had seven children, my husband died. They (the children) were all young so I took the time to raise them and educate them, and then after they grew up and got married, I had more time for myself. Therefore, the first thing I directed myself to focus upon was the Qur'aan.

Q2: "Tell us about your journey with the Noble Qur'aan." She said, "My younger daughter was going to high school and she was the closest of my children to me and the most beloved, because she stayed with me after her older sisters got married and got busy with their lives, and because she was a quiet girl,upright, loving, and good. In addition, she was interested in learning the Noble Qur'aan, and her teachers encouraged her. Furthermore, she was very enthusiastic and always told me of many women who were driven by this great motivation to memorize the ur'aan, and this is where I started."

Q3: "Tell me about your way of memorization." She said, "We assigned ten verses (meaning her and her daughter who was going to high school). So each day after Asr, we used to sit together. She reads and I repeat after her three times. Then she explains the meaning to me, and after a while, she repeats that three times. On the next morning, she repeats them to me before she goes to school.

She recorded also the recitations of Ash Shaykh al Husary, Rahimuhullaah, repeating each verse three times and thus I continued to listen most of the time. Therefore, the next day we would go to the next ten verses if my memorization was good.Otherwise, we would postpone taking additional verses until the day after. Moreover, we assigned the day of Friday to review the memorizations of the entire week. And this was the journey from the beginning."

Then she said, "Over four years and a half, I memorized twelve juz" according to the way I described to you. Then this young daughter got married. When her husband knew of our task concerning the memorization, he rented a house close to me, close to my house, so that he could allow the continuation of the memorization. In addition, he, May Allah reward him used to encourage us and sometimes sit with us listening, explaining and teaching.

Then after three years of her marriage, my daughter got busy with the children and the household and our schedule was interrupted, but that did not make her give up. To the contrary, she sensed that my eagerness for the memorization was still established so she looked for a special good teacher to continue the journey under her supervision. So, I completed the memorization by the success of Allaah and my daughter is still working to finish the memorization of the Glorious Qur'aan. She has a little left, In Shaa Allaah Ta'aala.

Q4: "This motivation of yours, did it have an effect on other women around you?" She said, "It really had a good strong effect. My daughters and stepdaughters were all encouraged and worked on learning and teaching the Qur'aan to their children and learning it themselves.

Q5:** "After finishing the Noble Qur'aan, don't you think about working on memorizing hadith?"** She said, "Now I have memorized ninety hadith and In Shaa Allaah I will continue the journey. I depend,in my memorization, upon the tapes and upon the Qur'aan radio station. At the end of each week, my daughter comes and checks for me the memorization of three hadith, and I am trying now to memorize more.

Q6: "Over this period of memorization of the Qur'aan, did your life change? Was it affected in one way or another?" She said, "Yes, I went through a major change and I tried always, all praise is due to Allaah, to obey Allaah before I started the memorization.

However, after I started the task of memorization, I began to feel a self- comfort, a great self-comfort and all worries began to move away from me. I even reached the stage of freeing myself from all these excessive worries concerning fearing for the children and their affairs, and my morale was boosted. I had a noble objective to work for and this is a great Ni'mah (Favor) from Allaah . upon me, since we know that some women, when they get old and they do not have a husband, and their children got married, may be destroyed by the empty time, thoughts, worries, and so forth. But, AlHamdulillaah, I didn't go through this and I made myself busy with a great task and a great objective.

Q7: "Didn't you think at one point, to join one of the circles focusing on teaching the Noble Qur'aan?" The answer was, "Yes, some of the women suggested this to me, but I am a woman who got used to staying at home, and I don't like to go out everyday, and Al Hamdulillaah, my daughter sufficed me from all difficulty and I was so happy while I was learning from her. My daughter had set an example in goodness and righteousness which we rarely find in our days. She started this task and journey with me while she was an adolescent and this is a critical age many people complain of. She used to pressure herself so that she could have spare time to teach me, and she used to teach me with kindness and wisdom. Her husband was a good help to her and he exerted a lot of effort. I ask Allaah . to give them success and to bring their children up on uprightness."

Q8: "What do you say to a woman of your age who wishes to learn and memorize the Qur'aan yet she is worried about it and feeling unable to?" She said, "I say to her there their shall be no despair with the firm, sincere and truthful determination. Begin with sincerity, firm determination and dependence on Allaah at each time. And remember that at this age you should have the time for yourself. However, do not use your time to only go out or to sleep and so forth. Rather, busy yourself with righteous work.

Q9: "Now what would you say to a woman who is still young? What would you advise her?" She, may Allaah preserve her, said: "Preserve Allaah and He will preserve you. Make use of the favor of Allaah bestowed upon you from health and ways and means of comfort. Use that to memorize the Book of Allaah. This is the light which enlivens your heart, your life and your grave after you die. And if you have a mother then exert the effort to teach her, and there is no better favor upon a mother than one of her righteous children aiding her to be close to Allaah."

Presented on the 1st of Muharram 1426, Feb 10th 2005. Originally published in Ad-Da'wah Magazine, no.1552, 17th of Rabee' Al-Awwal 1417,corresponding to Aug 1, 1996.

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The first Mexican haafizh!


A first hand account from the well-known family advisor in the Middle East, Jaasim al-Mutawwi' on meeting a man of Spanish original from a nominal Christian background having moved to Mexico ten years ago and fifteen years after having accepted Islam.

Having been disillusioned with Christianity, he was initially of no religion and decided to live a primitive life on a mountain in Spain as a hermit. He once had a dream of a circle of men in white with a small green tree in the middle.

He then thought more and realised that a creator must exist and eventually embraced Islam albeit with some lack of conviction. It was only after making hajj did his life and ambition change dramatically. His primary goal was now for his son to be a *haafiz *of Quran, so he sent him to Morocco where he memorised the Quran completely and then he established a school in Mexico where he made his son manager of a group of other teachers and students. Their new goal now is to learn the Arabic language.

This is a story of someone with clear ambitions and vision for himself and familiy for the sake of da'wah.

Somali girl wins Koran recitation
**A girl has won a Koran recitation award in Somalia for the first time.

**Amina Abdul-Majid, who is 16 years old and blind, was one of 60 children who took part in the competition in the capital, Mogadishu, and won $500.

Religion Minister Omar Mohammed said she had broken the mould by winning an award which had been exclusive to boys for decades.

Amina lost her sight when she was hit by a bullet in factional fighting during Somalia's 14-year civil war.

A transitional parliament and government, sworn in last year, has failed to end the anarchy.

The competition takes place across the country during Ramadan and children have to know the entire Muslim holy book by heart as they are asked to recite different passages on demand.

Religious scholars judge the style, intonation, accuracy and grammar of the recitations.

The winner is announced on the last day of Ramadan, before the festivities of Eid al-Fitr, and is feted as a celebrity in Somali society.

Amina says she will continue her education as she would like to become a prominent Islamic scholar.

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Mother of Six Memorises Quran in Year after Returning to Islam**
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Quote:
Assalaamu alaikum,

I just came back from a women's gathering. My mom's friend was asked to speak about how she memorized the Qur'aan. Let me give you a little background about her. She was not a "practicing" Muslim for most of her lifetime. After having six children, Allaah guided her to begin praying regularly and to wear hijaab,etc. **As soon as she began understanding the purpose of her life and Allaah's pleasure became her goal, she decided that she must memorize His book. **In one year, she had it memorized from cover to cover, and I mean really, really well. After that she went on to studying more and more about Islaam and, alhamdulillaah, is now a very knowledgeable sister. So you can see why everyone was eager to know her "secret".

I see her often, but hearing her give "advice" after a "formal" request had a different effect on me. She began by saying that any seed you want to plant must be planted in fertile soil. She said in order for the Qur'aan to live in your heart, your heart and body must be "alive". **She briefly mentioned the spiritual aspect but then began talking about the physical aspects. When she began memorizing Qur'aan, she says, her body was physically ready for it. She had been on a **low meat (almost none), high fruit/vegetable diet **with some whole grains for a very long time. She **exercised regularly and she slept for no longer than three continous hours. She slept **for more than **three hours a day, but it was never a continuous sleep. There's a lot more to her lifestyle, of course, these are just examples. She said she had based this lifestyle on "Western" books on health. She didn't have a clue that many of her practices were actually part of the Prophet (SAS) lifestyle. Only after she began reading into Islaam did she see the connection. Her yoga is now substituted by long hours of prayer and she still maintains her healthy lifestyle, wa lillaahil hamd.

The reason I mention all of this, is that hearing this one talk which brought together the importance of 1)sleep patterns, 2)eating habits, in relation to the 3)memorization of Qur'aan from the mouth of this beloved haafithah really affected me. When I keep hearing the same message everywhere I go, I feel like Allaah is trying to guide me (wallaahu a'lam) to something that will truly be good for me... something I need to start NOW.

May Allaah guide us and help us to do all that pleases Him. Aameen.

Contemporary Scholars who Memorised the Quran during Manual Labour

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A frequently cited reason for an inability to memorise the Quran is work. Here are first-hand accounts by Dr. Yahya al-Ghouthani of contemporary authorities of Quranic recitation who memorised the Book of Allah during manual labour.
*Shaykh 'Abd al-Ghaffaar al-Duroobee *(b. 1338/1919 Homs, Syria), currently residing in Makkah al-Mukarramah.

He memorised from the beginning of the Quran to Soorah al-Furqaan (25) - approximately 18 juz` - whilst working as a weaver. He would perch the Quran in front of him and read a verse a whilst at rest and then repeat it to himself when operating the machine.

He learnt the ten modes of recitation initially from his father, Shaykh 'Abd al-Fattaah and then Shaykh 'Abd al-'Azeez 'Uyoon al-Sood. He migrated to Makkah where he became a professor in the field at Umm al-Qura university and offers his services for free at the Masjid al-Haram holy sanctuary.
Shaykh Husayn Khattaab (1918-1988 Damascus, Syria), former head of recitors in Damascus.

He memorised the Quran whilst working as a coppersmith in his youth.

He learnt the ten modes of recitation via the route of al-Shaatibiyyah and al-Durrah from Shaykh Ahmad al-Halwaanee Snr., and also via the route of al-Tayyibah from Shaykh 'Abd al-Qaadir al-'Irbeenee.
*Shaykh Abu al-Hasan al-Kurdee *(b. 1912, Damascus, Syria), one of the foremost authorities in recitation in Damascus

He memorised the Quran whilst working as a butcher. He learnt the ten modes of recitation from Shaykh Mahmood Faayiz.
(Student of) Shaykh 'Izzee, one of the recitors of Damascus, gave his time to aid a collection of manual labourers and professionals to memorise the Quran, many of whom became proficient *huffaaz *in their own right. From them a baker who memorised the entire Quran during his work in front of the oven.
Finally, it is noteworthy the many reciters in history who has a *laqab *(cognomen) showing their profession such as al-Najjaar (carpenter), al-Bazzaaz (texile merchant), al-Bazzaar (seedsman) and so on.

Prepared by abumuqatil(at)islamicnetwork*com
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The Illiterate Farmer's Son

In 1927 in the semi-desert town of Qaseem, Saudi Arabia (before the nation's modernisation) an illiterate farmer of bedouin stock has a son. At the age of six the boy begins his formal education of that time in the traditional kuttaab learning reading, writing and basis arithmetics before starting memorisation of the Quran. Aged seven, the boy contracts smallpox and loses his eyesight, yet his father is insistent that his son continues and puts him under the charge of a local sheikh. The boy then finishes his memorisation at thirteen and with precision when fifteen.

In his senior years, the illiterate farmer's son was asked about the role of his father in his developmemt, he answered:-
My father - may Allah have mercy upon him - was illiterate, able to only read the Quran and didn't memorise it. He was keen for me and this was obvious after I had lost my eyesight, he worked hard to get me to memorise the Quran. In fact, he would make me memorise my alloted part every day before sending me to the school. Then he sent me to Riyadh to complete my studies and education. May Allah have mercy upon him and forgive him.
In Riyadh this young man was to become a very close student of the great scholar and previous Mufti of the land, Sheikh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Aal al-Sheikh (may Allah have mercy upon him) to the extent of memorising his lessons.
My father had great effort put into my upbringing and education. He - may Allah have mercy upon him - was keen that I became from the students of knowledge.
This boy grew up to be no less than the eminent and brave scholar Sheikh Hamood bin Uqla al-Shuaybi - fearless in speaking the truth and an example for all scholars - may Allah have mercy upon him and his father, the illiterate farmer, for setting an example for all parents in ensuring an Islamic upbringing for their children despite their own limitations.