How to memorise the Quran easily? 15 steps

“And We have indeed made the Qur’an easy to understand and remember, but is there any that  will remember?”
[al-Qamar: 17]

Indeed, reciting the Qur’aan and memorising it has benefits that cannot be counted. There are causes and reasons that aid us in memorising the Qur’an. The following are the most important ones:

1- Du’aa
Du’aa is from the greatest causes that will aid you in memorisation because as the beloved, the chosen one (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam) has said, “Du’aa is worship.” And ordered us to have (certainty) that the du’aa will be answered. He said, “Call unto Allaah in certainty and know that Allaah does not answer the heedless and inattentive heart.” So, increase in du’aa – that Allaah `azza wa jall makes you from the people of Qur’aan, because as it is said, ‘whoever persists knocking at the door, it’s bound to open for him.

2- Cleansing of the soul from bad akhlaaq
Learning the Qur’aan is worship of the heart, prayer in secret and drawing closer to Allaah azza wa jall, and just like the fact that the prayer is not valid except with outward tahaarah (purity) of the body, clothes and place of prayer… the inner acts of worship – of the heart – are not valid except with the purification of the heart from hypocrisy, deception, filth, malice and envy, enmity and hatred – and those are the impurities of the heart, soul and inner being. The Noble Qur’aan is like a crop/plantation, it does not grow except in good, fertile soil. As for land that is salty or deprived, then no product will come forth and if some things do come out, then they will not grow and if they do grow, they will not produce fruit and even if they do produce fruit, it will not be of good quality. So the Qur’aan will not grow or produce fruit except in a good, pure and righteous heart. Due to this, it is incumbent upon the student of Qur’aan that he should be clean and pure from these bad characteristics and adorn himself with good, honourable and generous characteristics like truthfulness, honesty, sincerity, and in a nutshell, all that faith requires.

3- Dedicating a specific time for Hifdh
From the things that will aid you in the memorisation of Qur’aan is that you dedicate a specific time towards hifdh and you inform your brothers/sisters that you will be busy during this time so that no-one can preoccupy you from your hifdh.

4- Have a companion to assist you in continuing the hifdh
It is upon you to choose a righteous companion to help you in memorising the Qur’aan and create an honourable competition in hifdh between you and him until your goals reach a high rank and you start to feel that there is someone competing and preceding you in this good act.

5- Reading the Tafseer of the verses you wish to memorise
From the things which assist you in hifdh is that you read the tafseer (exegesis) of the verses that you want to memorise because understanding its meaning will give concrete to it in the mind.

6- Gradual progression in hifdh
You must have gradual progression in hifdh al-Qur’aan, and not to hasten in memorization until you are able to do so – so do not burden your soul with more than it can take. Rather you must choose a portion which you are able to memorise every day and do not go over that limit.

7- Adhere to a proficient Shaykh with whom you memorise
This is an extremely important matter so that you can memorise Qur’aan without mistakes. Were you to memorise the Qur’an on your own then perhaps you might err in the recitation of some verses and were you to memorise it like that (with those mistakes), then it’s difficult to correct them.

8- Adhering to one mushaf (copy of the Qur’aan)
From the things that will aid you in hifdh is sticking to one specific copy of the Qur’an that you read and memorise from until you remember the position of the verses and chapters.

9- Pray with what you have memorised
It is upon you to strive with your utmost to pray the sunan and nawafil (superogatory) prayers with what you’ve memorised on that day and what a delight it would be were you to also pray the mandatory prayers with it, so that you can give ground to your hifdh.

10- Qiyam al-Lail (the Night Prayer)
The night prayer, particularly in the last third of the night, is at a blessed time wherein Allah `azza wa jall, descends to the lower heaven in a manner befitting His Majesty and He calls to His slaves – as is reported in the Sahihayn – ‘Who will call upon Me so I can answer him?
Who will ask Me so I can give him? Who will seek My forgiveness so I can forgive him?’ So ask your Lord, `azza wa jall, to forgive your sins and to honour you with memorisation of His Book.

11- Do not prioritise anything over the Qur’an
If you embark on seeking knowledge, start first of all by reviewing the portion of Qur’an which you’ve memorised, then after that, busy yourself with the rest of the sciences so that you do not prioritise the sciences of the Deen (Islam) over the noblest of sciences which is the sciences of the Qur’an.

12- Penalise yourself for shortcomings
If you fall short from your memorisation or daily recitation of Qur’an, then penalise yourself with something from the mubahaat (permissible) for example by fasting, night prayer and charity.

13- Do not start memorisation except after learning the rules of recitation
Never embark on memorisation of the Qur’an until you have proficiency in recitation and perfection in the rules of tajweed (art of recitation) so that when you do memorise, your memorisation will be free from mistakes.

14- Know that hifdh al-Qur’an is the first step to seeking knowledge
A Muslim can never attain knowledge of any science from the sciences of the Shari’ah without Qur’an, for the Qur’an opens up for you the doors to knowledge – indeed it opens up for you the doors to all goodness in this world and the Next.

15- Envision the delights of Paradise and the Punishment of the Hellfire
If you knew that the Qur’an is a cause for your salvation from the punishment of the grave and a cause for your salvation from the punishment of the Hellfire… rather if you knew that on the Day of Judgment you will rise and ascend through the ranks of Paradise with the
Qur’an, then this should urge you to memorise the Qur’an from start to finish so that you may reach the highest levels of Paradise. May Allah make us and you from the people of Qur’an.

Beloved brothers and sisters, Learn the Qur’an before it’s lifted from the Pages and the Hearts.

Source: the book (causes-that-aid-in-the-memorization-of-the-qur-an) in short.

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