Memorizing The Qur’an (Becoming A Huffaz)

A huffaz is someone has memorized the whole Qur’an (30 Juzuk, 114 Surah). Some tried but

only a few succeeded. Most of us, at one time or the other, just wish that we are able to become

one but we never did make an attempt to it. “Ohh, it will be so difficult” would be one of the

excuses, “It must be time-consuming and I just do not have the time” would be another one.

Yes, we hear it all the time whenever the subject of becoming a huffaz is being mentioned.

Did we ever wonder that we could recite the Fatihah so easily, while at the same time doing
some other work. It just flows out instinctively without any moment of thought. It has withstood
the test of time whereby we do not need to refresh the memory by looking the Qur’an itself.
Sure we can quickly memorize a short surah but can we recite it back in a month’s time?
Perhaps that’s the key…how could we have done it with Al-Fatihah? Let’s look at this
phenomenon and figure out how can we apply it to the whole Qur’an.

Certainly, We have made this (Qur’an) easy in your tongue, in order that they may remember.
(Ad-Dukhan, Chapter #44, Verse #58)

And We have indeed made the Qur’an easy to understand and remember; then is there any one
who will remember (or receive admonition)?
(Al-Qamar, Chapter #54, Verse #17)

We have been taught Al-Fatihah since we were kids, repeating them a minimum of 17 times
daily, which amounts to more than 450 times in a month!. Is that the key? Repetitions? Kids
in Mauritania (north-west of Africa) have been known to repeat 1000 times daily during their
memorization of the Qur’an and/or Hadith. Before that, let’s establish some useful numbers.
Looking at a typically normal Qur’an, it is divided into 30 Juzuk and each Juzuk is covered in 20
pages. And each page contains 15 rows of ayats.

 Let’s start small, say we hope to memorize 3 rows of the Qur’an daily. On the 1st day, recite the
3 rows 300 times.(for ease of reference, we will label this “A”)

 On the 2nd day, get to the next 3 rows and recite them 300 times as well (we will label this “B”).
Once completed, recite “A” 150 times.

 On the 3rd day, get to the next 3 rows and recite them 300 times as well (we will label this “C”).
Once completed, recite “B” 150 times and recite “A” 75 times.
 On the 4th day, get to the next 3 rows and recite them 300 times as well (we will label this “D”).
Once completed, recite “C” 150 times and recite “B” 75 times and recite “A” 35 times.

 On the 5th day, get to the next 3 rows and recite them 300 times as well (we will label this “E”).
Once completed, recite “D” 150 times and recite “C” 75 times and recite “B” 35 times and recite
“A” 15 times .

 On the 6th and 7th day (will be Saturday and Sunday if you started on Monday), you will need to
reconcile the whole page (yes, it’s a whole page of 15 rows) by repeating each page 100 times
daily.

By now, you would have realized that most of it comes almost naturally, albeit a few glitches
here and there. Surprised? Feels good?

Effectively, you will be reciting each set of 3-rows for 300 + 150 + 75 + 35 + 15 + 100 + 100
= 775 times!!!

And repeat the following weeks accordingly. You will soon get the hang of it and the process
becomes easier as the weeks passed by. You will be tempted to increase the number of rows
daily…just DON’T. Get a few Juzuk under your belt and progress in small steps. Once you have
completed a Juzuk (in 20 weeks), take the following week by just reciting the Juzuk daily.

Again, let’s re-visit the numbers. The Qur’an contains 30 Juzuk and each Juzuk contains 20
pages. That brings us a total of 600 pages for the whole Qur’an. By sticking to the above
program, you will become a Huffaz in 11 years. What? No worries, as you make those small
progressions, you will accomplish it in 3-5 years, insyaallah.

Note: Get a standard copy of the Qur’an (mushhaf) and use it throughout your journey. It will
breed familiarity.

Work hard, istiqomah (consistency) and make du’a. Allah shall make it easy for us to
remember!!!