How to Stay Consistent with Hifz Hifz, or memorizing the Quran, is a noble yet challenging endeavor. While beginning the journey with enthusiasm is easy, staying consistent with the routine of revision and memorization can be difficult. However, with some planning, discipline, and motivation, developing a lifelong habit of dedicating time to hifz is certainly achievable. This article Qiratul Quran discusses various tips and strategies to help you stay consistent with hifz.
Create a Realistic Plan The first step to sticking to any goal is to make a realistic plan that you can follow. When making your hifz plan:
Set a Reasonable Daily/Weekly Target
Decide how much time you can set aside for hifz for kids every day without feeling overburdened. Start with as little as 15-30 minutes if you are new to hifz. Slowly increase the duration over weeks and months. Additionally, set a weekly or monthly target for how much you want to memorize. Avoid being either too lenient or too stringent with targets.
Schedule Your Hifz Sessions
Fix times for your hifz routine and try to stick to them. For instance, decide that you will memorize for 30 mins after Fajr prayers daily. Scheduling sessions ensures you don’t keep postponing hifz for adults & kids other tasks.
Plan Revision Cycles for Hifz Consistency
Along with memorizing new verses, allocate time to revise old verses so you retain what you have learned. Having a revision plan, e.g. revising previous day’s verses after Zuhr, helps structure your schedule.
Be Flexible to Keep You Hifz Flexible
While consistency is key, be prepared to tweak your plans if needed. For instance, reduce targets temporarily if you are busy with exams. The idea is to realistically assess how much time you can give.
Develop Key Habits for Consistency Along with a schedule, inculcating certain habits goes a long way in staying consistent with hifz. Some helpful habits include:
Make Dua for Istiqamah in Hifz
One of the best productivity hacks for any good deed, including hifz for Ladies, is to pray for istiqamah. That is, the ability to remain dedicated with firmness and consistency. Make it a habit to pray for istiqamah in your daily duas.
Always Carry Your Mushaf
Get used to keeping a pocket mushaf with you whenever possible. Use small breaks between tasks or while commuting to revise verses. Having easy access to the Quran allows you to maximize your hifz in free moments.
Memorize After Salah
One way to drive home a habit is to attach it with an existing habit. For beginners aiming to memorize small chunks daily, memorizing just 3-5 verses post each obligatory salah helps achieve a lot without overwhelming yourself.
Memorize at Best Times
Understand when your memory works best, usually mornings for most people. Memorize new verses during peak mental performance hours. Use evenings and nights for easier revision of old verses. Optimizing productivity for different hifz tasks goes a long way.
Review Day’s Progress Before Sleep
Some scholarly accounts relate that a practise of pious predecessors was to recall their deeds at night and assess how their day went. Do the same for your hifz progress so you feel a sense of achievement and are motivated for the next day.
Have Accountability Partners Staying consistent with any habit is challenging without accountability. Seek accountability partners and systems to help motivation flag when discipline dips now and then.
Hifz Halaqas
Joining hifz peer groups where students memorize individually but review collectively promotes consistency. Listening to others revise motivates you to keep pace. Local mosques often host halaqas.
Best Hifz Quran Teachers
Regular classes with experienced Hifz Quran teachers in Qiratul Quran gives commitment levels a boost by having an expert monitor progress. Feelings of responsibility also prevent skipping sessions. Seek a teacher offering reasonable, flexible timings.
Have Inspiring Role Models When motivation lags, having inspiring examples boosts consistency. Some role models to consider:
The Sahaba’s Passion for Quran Hifz
While the initial generation of Muslims sacrificed everything to protect and propagate Quran, even 2-3 hours a day for hifz seems trivial. Derive motivation reflecting on how much Quran meant to the sahaba.
Quran Champions
Learning about those who dedicated their entire lives to hifz and set world records for memorization can ignite inspiration. Their extraordinary feats make smaller targets seem achievable.
Family Role Models
For converts especially, having close family members who encourage hifz by doing it with you or reminding about sessions helps consistency. Their involvement enables accountability.
Over time, consistently dedicating some time for hifz using the tips above results in memorizing substantial portions of the Quran. Despite occasional lapses, use motivation boosters to help get back on routine. With sincerity and perseverance, the lifelong habit of staying connected with the Quran through hifz becomes second nature.
