Ramadan Day 3 – How to connect with the Qur’an through memorisation for busy mums!

And We have certainly made the Qur’an easy for remembrance, so is there any who will remember? (Quran 54:17)

As mothers, we have a lot to juggle, our kids, the household, working life and much more. So how then can we connect with and find time for the Qur’an? I’m going to share tips and advice from my own struggle to stay connected to the Qur’an daily and how I turned this around for myself. For a long time I put the concept of memorising the Qur’an at the back of my mind. But, all along this was exactly what I needed to do to stay connected to the Qur’an daily. So with this in mind, here are my top tips to help you stay connected with the Qur’an through memorisation!

1.Begin your memorisation journey 

As Muslims we should have high hopes of ourselves and that which Allah has blessed us with. Now, memorising the Qur’an seems like a huge commitment. But making the intention to memorise the Qur’an to fill our hearts and lives with the Qur’an is actually a blessing from Allah. What we may see as a mountain to climb is actually a stepping stone towards a more spiritual journey! Not only does it connect our soul to our Creator but keeps our mind active and adds more barakah to our lives. We know there are numerous virtues and benefits of reciting the Quran. Here’s a few to inspire you to begin your journey of memorisation.

High rank in Jannah:

Ibn ‘Amr reported that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wasallam) said: “It will be said to the companion of the Qur’aan after he has entered Paradise, ‘Recite, and rise!’ For every verse he recites he will rise one level (in Paradise), until he recites the last verse with him (i.e., in his memory).” (Aboo Dawood) 

Every letter is worth the reward of ten or more:

The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wasallam) said: “Whoever recites one Word from the Book of Allah will be rewarded for a good deed and ten more like it; and I don’t say that Alif Lam Mim is a letter but Alif is a letter and Lam is a letter and Mim is a letter” (Tirmidhi & Al-Dareemi)

Double reward for those who try hard to memorize:

Aaishah that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wasallam) said: The likeness of the one who reads Quraan and memorizes it is that he is with the righteous honourable scribes. The likeness of the one who reads it and tries hard to memorize it even though it is difficult for him, he will have (at least) a double reward. (Al-Bukhaari, 4937)

The Quran is a healing for us:

And We send down of the Quran that which is a healing and a mercy to those who believe… (Quran, Surah Al-Israa, 17:82)

2.Invest in a Qur’an Journal 

Buy a notebook and keep it as a journal or diary by writing down how you connect with the Qur’an each day. I bought a MUJI notebook and use each page as notes for the week. I write the date and write down how I connected with the Qur’an. Did I listen to the surah I am working on for memorisation? Did I memorise or read a number of surahs? Did I read the translation or tafseer and make notes? (I usually make the tafseer notes straight into my Qur’an Journal). Since I have been doing this, I feel less guilty about missing a few days of no memorisation due to a busy week with guests or with my kids who may have fallen ill. It was this very guilt that drove me to feel like I couldn’t do this in the first place. So if you are taking notes and reminding yourself that you are actually working on your Qur’an memorisation (as every little adds up), then you will feel and see that you are progressing and making this into a habit each day!

3. Make it a daily routine.

Find a part of the day which you can keep for yourself to memorise Quran. It could be straight after a particular salaah or when the kids are in bed. For me I find some days straight after Maghrib salaah works and some days after the kids have fallen asleep. Make the intention to do this daily and not a few days a week. The reason is, if you intend  to memorise a few days a week, you are most likely to fall short of some of those days and reduce the number of days you are connected to the Qur’an. However, if you intend for a more daily routine, each week, even if you fall short once or twice, it still means you connected with the Qur’an 5 days in the week. Now imagine all the progress you can make with memorising 5 ayats of a surah if you only memorised 1 ayat a day! You see where I’m going here? Over time you will see the little you do each day building up to achieving so much more!

4. Get your children involved!

As a parent we want to build the correct Islamic foundations for our children no matter where we live in the world, the learning begins at home! One of the best ways they will learn is by our examples. My girls aged 3 and 5 years have started their own memorisation journey with me at home. Up until a few years ago I never thought this is how they would begin their connection with the Qur’an. For more on how we got started and how you can help your children get started on memorisation of the Quran, click here (http://www.mamateachesme.com/2018/05/03/how-to-get-started-with-teaching-quran-to-your-children-at-home/). I found that as I began my own memorisation journey, my children have become more enthusiastic with theirs. So now straight after breakfast (we homeschool) we all practise our ayaats we need to for the day. It’s very encouraging for me to hear my children picking up on even the surah I am memorising subhanAllah!

5. Have an accountability partner

A teacher, a friend or someone memorising Qur’an too. The way it works for me is once a week I touch base with my friend and let her know my own progress with the surah I am memorising at my pace. At first we did try to memorise a certain number of ayats for the day, but truthfully with my very busy schedules for the week, I found I buckled under pressure and ended up having periods of “I really don’t think I’m cut up for this!” and missed out on weeks of connecting to the Qur’an not just through memorisation! It was Shaytaan destroying the little confidence I had. Now, Alhamdulillah, I find I have a more can do approach and enjoy working on my memorisation as the responsibility is solely on me. Now for some people, the method of having a teacher student relationship will most likely work best. But for those who are like me, try buddying up with a friend who wants to start their memorisation journey as well.

6. Choose a memorisation app that works for you!

I personally use the myQuran app (available free on iphone) and love how it allows me to play the ayat again and again to help me memorise. In fact I can specify how many times to repeat the ayat and the block of ayats I am memorising! I use this app mainly when I am in the kitchen cooking or doing my household chores. listening to these

7. Reward yourself

Reward yourself each month when you look back over your progress and achievement. I think celebrating these achievements is so important and encouraging in order to progress further in our goals and vision to memorise Qur’an. It could be as easy as buying something for yourself or going out for a meal.

Author Bio

Hafsa is a former primary school teacher turned homeschooling mama teaching her 2 daughters, Ammarah (4 and a half) and Hibah (2 and a half) the love for learning through arts, crafts, fun and play. She hopes our blog inspires and helps you on your homeschooling journey! You can find her blogging at Mama Teaches Me.