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THE BRUNEI TIMES | Friday, 27 September, 2013

She Began Memorising Quran

at Age 37
Rayhanah Omar al-Hafizhah

Picture: BT/Md Asdeny Yakub

RS Iffath Hasan, over 55 years old, is originally from Hyderabad, India. She first moved to Canada with her husband before settling down in Chicago, United States. This mother of two sons has not just memorised the Quran, but she also teaches young girls memorisation of the Quran and the Arabic language at the Institute for Islamic Education in Chicago. Here she shares her productive tips on how to stay focused on the goal of memorising Al-Quran. Hafidzah Iffath, when and how did you begin memorising Al-Quran? I began at the age of 37. Generally, during difficult situations in our lives, we happen to connect with Almighty Allah. So this was one of those situations that I was going through, and I really wanted Allah to answer my prayer. I would wake up for Tahajjud and make my heartfelt doa. With the barakah of Tahajjud, Allah granted me my wish. Then I said to myself How can I stop performing Tahajjud, when it was through Tahajjud that Allah granted me my wish? Alhamdulillah I was able to continue my Tahajjud. After a couple of months, I felt that night after night I would only reciting the same few long surahs that I knew. So I felt I should memorise three or four juz for some variety in my Tahajjud, and that is how it all got started. Allah Almighty says in Al-Quran Surah al-Baqarah verse 216, But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah Knows, while you know not. In my case, the disliked situation became a source two of the greatest blessings: Tahajjud and hifdz. Who inspired you? I have a friend who is a Hafidzah. I always used to admire her, but I had never thought of ever memorising the Quran myself. Then, when I got started

she was there to help me, giving me ideas and tips on how to follow the process of memorisation. Allah Almighty has promised His special help especially in the matters of deen: And those who strive for Us - We will surely guide them to Our ways. And indeed, Allah is with the doers of good. [Al-Quran Surah Al-Ankabut <29>: 69] How did you manage your time? Everything will fall into place when we work towards a goal, which, for believers, is seeking Allahs pleasure in every moment of our lives. When we are focused on achieving this goal, time management becomes easy. We will be able to keep track of time, we will realize that there is no room for haram or makruh things in our lives, and we will only want things that are allowed. Through this, we are also able to sort out important from unimportant, and that is the key to having the barakah (blessings) in our time. We need to value our free time and make the most of it. Time is our life. When we waste time, we waste our lives. Realisation of the importance of time is very important. We should always remember that this is one of the first things we will be asked about on the Day of Judgment. How long did it take you to complete the hifdz? It took me one year to memorise the first ten juz. Until then, I had not thought of memorising the whole Quran. At that point, I said to myself, Allah has made it so easy for me, how can I stop now? Alhamdulillah, I was able to continue with more enthusiasm and was able to complete the hifzh in two years. And the challenges facing you during the process? I had to fulfill my responsibilities as a wife and a mother of two, and run the household smoothly. I had to make the most of my time when I was by myself. People do ask me about how many

hours I used to spend during the day for memorisation. During the morning hours I had a few hours to myself, but even in between I used to make the most of whatever time I got. And the second challenge was my migraine headaches, which used to be quite frequent in those days. And once I fall sick, there is nothing I can do (i.e. I cant memorise). Yet, that challenge in itself again became another blessing for me, because it made me really value my time, so I would try to make the most of it when I was not sick. I am sure Allah gave barakah in my time. And what motivates you? My motivation every single day comes to me through the realization of the great gift Allah has blessed me with. Every single day I weep, because I am out of words to express my gratitude for the best possible gift I am blessed with after iman. With this realisation it becomes easy to do my review every single day, because I know I cant afford to lose it. Also, I just love doing it. In fact, I look forward to doing it everyday as soon as I possibly can. Any advice for those striving to memorise Quran? As we know this is a unique thing in itself, we need to make a life long commitment to review a portion of the Quran regularly every single day. That portion should be one seventh of the Quran. I call it a seven day cycle. No matter where we are, this shouldnt get disturbed. And besides that, we should be able to recite a juz or so in our daily Solat. These two things have really helped me and I do emphasize on these when I am asked for advice. And to keep on feeling motivated? First we need to fall in love with our Creator. This can be achieved through realizing all the blessings He has bestowed on us, the greatest of which is iman the key to Jannah. He didnt just create us, He also gave us a beautiful

manual through which we are guided to lead a safe, secure, and peaceful life in this world of corruption and confusion.
When Allahs love becomes intense, it will be expressed through our connection with His Book. We will never have enough of it. We will recite it with love and reverence for this best possible gift for mankind. Then, we will also learn to focus on understanding it, and we will then live our lives in accordance with its teachings. When we are constantly living with the Quran in our daily lives, we have made a very strong connection with our Lord. We also know that this is the only book where, when we read one word of it, there are ten hasanah (good) for every letter. How is it then that we will not want to recite it more and more? When this happens, the next stage will follow. We will have an urge to at least memorise some of it, that will In sha Allah lead us to memorising all of it. We will do it because we want to and not because we have to. My advice to those who want to memorise but feel that they dont have the time, is to get started even if it is just two lines a day and be consistent with it. Allah will give them barakah and they will be amazed on how much they are able to achieve just through being consistent with whatever little they are able to memorise. The key is doing with sincerity and consistency. Being on the state of Wudhu (the believers weapon against Satan) all the time is a tremendous blessing. Through this we have a special connection with Allah Most High, and we dont become an easy target for Satan. Also, we are able to reach out for the Quran whenever we have any free time. This will Insya-Allah speed up the process of memorisation. *The interviewer, Rayhanah Omar, is an award-winning radio personality and media consultant at Fee Qalbee. She is currently based in Malaysia. Productive Muslim

al-Syafiii (rahimahullah) said: If you find out that the content Imam al-Syafii of my books contradict the sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassalam, then hold on to the sunnah and abandon my opinions.
(Ibn Qayyim al-Jauziyyah, Ilam al-Muwaqqiin)