As a Muslim parent, my greatest achievement as I raise my children will be how close they are to the Qur’an.
It was narrated that Abu Umaamah al-Baahili said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ๏ทบ say:
โRead the Qurโaan, for it will come on the Day of Resurrection interceding for its companions.โ
Sahih Muslim (804)
If I can raise children who have memorised the beautiful words of Allaah, pondering over them, heeding its lessons and applying it in their life – my parenting has been successful in shaa Allaah. That is my big goal.
Yet for many of us, we get caught up in the worries of the dunya. How well they will do with their math test, what kind of career they can get into and making sure they never feel left out with all the gadgets and entertainment available.
A comment by user @user-zh3iq8iv8v (on the interview video I’m about to share with you) shows us how prioritising the Qur’an in our children’s lives is THE thing that sets them up for success:
“The Quran makes you mature. It teaches you how to act, how to talk, how to walk. Everything. Even if you don’t understand it, it affects how you are as a person. SubhanAllah“
@user-zh3iq8iv8v comment on the video “Memorising the Qurโan in One Year || Qari Younus Rahman #14” by hifdhstatus
This interview by The Hifdh Status Podcast with Qari Younus Rahman has many gems and insights in how to have a household upon the Qur’an and help your children to memorise it in their youth.
I invite you to watch the full episode below. If you prefer reading, I’ve shared the gems I took from this interview underneath:
Brother Younus and his brother are from the UK and were raised by their parents to be huffaadh (memorisers) of the Qur’an, may Allaah preserve them all.
Start your children young
He remembers from a very young age that his environment always had Qur’an being recited or played.
At the age of 4, his parents signed him up for a weekend madrassa for 2 years. Then, at the age of 9 he was enrolled in an evening madrassa that took place after school.
It was shortly after attending this madrassah for the first time that his teacher brought something to his father’s attention. He told him that little Younus was getting distracted.
Get to know the Qur’an teacher
Younus shared how his father appreciated this feedback because in his old weekend Qur’an school, they were not getting any. So now his parents had the opportunity to help him flourish in the new madrassah and help him to focus on his Qur’an studies.
This shows us the importance of having a good relationship with our children’s teachers and investing our own time and energy into their education. It works like an eco system, with supportive parents at home and a good teacher, a child can truly thrive in their journey of memorising the Qur’an, bi’idhnillaah.
Encourage them with healthy competition
As well as attending madrassa to study the Qur’an, Younus was offered the opportunity to take part in a national Qur’an competition.
After doing well in this competition, he started to be invited to lead the prayer for taraweeh in the masjid.
This was a big step in the journey for Younus, “Shaykh Mahmood recommended me to another Shaykh Mahmood who recommended my name to represent UK in the King AbdulAziz competition in Saudi Arabia.”
Imagine the delight, as a young aspiring Qur’an student, to be invited to represent your country in an international competition. This kind of challenge can really inspire children to think big and keep working hard on their Qur’an goal.
When helping your child on their hifdh journey, give them incentives like local competitions or gifts to help them stay motivated.
It is permissible to offer monetary prizes for qur’an memorisation
โIt is permissible to offer monetary prizes to students to encourage them to memorize the Qur’an. However, the students’ attention should be directed to the necessity of making their intentions sincerely for the Sake of Allah with regard to memorizing the Qur’an, with the knowledge that prizes come as a consequence. Accordingly, receiving these gifts should not be the reason for memorizing the Qur’an.
Source – salafi-dawah.com (Link)
May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.โ
The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta’
Teamwork makes the dream work
He said his mother focused on his school education whilst his father focused on his Qur’an education.
If he needed support with school he would turn to mum and for support with Qur’an, he would turn to dad.
This is a beautiful example of parents working together to help their child succeed. It’s good to be on the same page as your spouse to ensure that there is a balance at home so that your child is supported from all angles, “It was a good balance.” Younus says.
Top 3 advices straight from the haafidh
Towards the end of the episode, Younus is asked about the top 3 most significant factors that played a role in his memorisation of the Qur’an. He shares;
- Having the correct intention, Younus says, “Of course, you have to recite for the sake of Allaah and His sake only. Because if you recite for the sake of ‘I want to impress my parents’ or ‘I want to impress so and so’ it will actually demotivate you.”
- A strict timetable, Younus says, “If you don’t have a strict timetable, you will be disorganised. You’ll spend time on pointless things, you’ll find it hard to fit the Qur’an into that time. So you have to plan your time and make sure you fit the Qur’an within that.”
- Consistency, Younus says, “Which is probably the most important one. Because if you’re not consistent, you’ll slowly start to forget. You will not be able to maintain your hifdh.”
May Allaah aid us all in memorising the Qur’an and being the means for our children to do the same, aameen. Have you already started your child’s hifdh journey? If so, what is one advice you can give to another parent who’s about to do the same?
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