HD 1: Why Hifdh Diaries?

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Bismillah Alhamdulillah

Why am I keeping an online Hifdh Diary?

To start off, one little-known fact about this blog is that, although it started off as something meant to help those who visited it, it quickly became just a way for me to organize articles and lectures that I had read/watched/listened to, etc. I used it as a safe place to keep all of these things, so that I could return and easily sift through the blog to find what I needed. So, it was primarily for myself, but I realized that whatever was benefiting me, could also benefit others, if they only exposed themselves to it, i.e. if they only read it.

These Hifdh Diaries are similar (something primarily for me, that can also benefit others insha Allah)– however, I am publicizing something that I usually privatize. Allow me to explain. I generally do not like to comment much on my journey towards completing my hifdh of the Qur’an. Furthermore, I don’t like to tell people what I’ve memorized because of a fear of them becoming amazed (they are too easily amazed, because trust me, I have a long way to go, wa billah it-tawfeeq) and a fear of my own arrogance and insincerity.

However, I am hoping that due to the fact that I remain anonymous (except to a few people, who I can count on one hand) I will be able to share things of benefit, so that this small effort may one day help someone else in their journey to the completion of hifdh of the Qur’an.

And the very first thing that I would like to share is: you should have your own Hifdh diary. Just go out and buy a fresh, new notebook (I love the smell of a crisp, new notebook!) and use it for tracking your hifdh and review. Since you should be memorizing and reviewing every single day, you should also be writing in this book every single day.

As usual, I should not advise you towards something that I do not care to fulfill so alhamdu lillah, I also have my own book. Actually I’ve had a few books (lol) but now I have only one that I will use for memorization/review purposes only.

I split it into about 2 sections.

(1) In the front, I track myself. (2) And in the back I do my Qur’an homework (this involves writing everything that I am newly memorizing, and more).

In the Tracking Section:

You need a chart, and the columns are as follows:

• Date: This includes the Day of the Week and the Month/Date/Year
• Memorized: How many lines memorized, which specific surah and ayaat, how much time it took, when did you memorize (can include specific timings, or just the general time of day)
• Reviewed: Which pages did you review, when did you review it, how long did it take?

Other options:

• How much time you feel like you wasted that day in total
• How many hours you slept, how many naps you took
• How difficult it was for you to memorize a certain page, and what the reason behind it may be. For example, page 31 was one of my most difficult pages, not because the ayaat are difficult, for truly they are easy ayaat. It was simply because of a sin that I had committed. That was what was keeping me from that sacred knowledge.
• You can also track your eating habits (eating healthy vs. fried foods)
• Whether or not you were fasting when you memorized/reviewed
• How lazy you’ve been feeling, the list goes on.

You can also jot down little reminders and anything that motivates you to memorize. Maybe you met a really inspiring person, record the experience in your Hifdh Diary and re-visit it when you are feeling low on motivation.

Take note of when you become lazy and what it’s usually preceded by. For example, I noticed that when I became lazy towards memorizing Qur’an, it was usually because of 1 of the following 3 reasons:

1. When I feel like it’s becoming difficult for me.
2. When I feel guilty (thinking that I may have wronged someone or committed a sin)
3. When I feel arrogant (like “Whew! I’m awesome, I think I’ll take a break.”…It disgusts (I know it’s a strong word, but it does) me to even type it but it happens and I hope this will be a warning to others. Don’t be offended, but you’re not that awesome, and neither am I.)

You can also track the pages of Tafsir that you’ve read. It was recommended to me, by another memorizer, to read 30 pages a day. If you feel like you can do more and benefit/retain it, then do that.

In short, track yourself. It’s always good to get things down on paper, because as a memorizer of Qur’an, you should already realize, your memory is not as strong and perfect as you think, therefore, whenever we can, we should write things down. Another benefit of this is that you get to see your progress and this is one of the best encouragements. This is the type of encouragement that no one else can give you/tell you about, you see it for yourself. And if you ever become low on motivation, remind yourself of how much you are progressing, and how quickly that can un-do itself if you allow it to.

That’s it for now. Happy Memorizing!

“And We have certainly made the Qur’an easy for remembrance, so is there any who will remember?”

Suratul Qamar, ayah 17