The Holy Quran is undoubtedly an important part of a muslim's life. It paves the way for muslims and serves as an ultimate guide in the sea of life. Those who hold on to it will not be lost forever.
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him said:
“I have left you with two matters which will never lead you astray, as long as you hold to them: the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of his Prophet.” (sahih)
Notice how the huffaz seem to always be at peace with themselves. They have not a worry in the world as Allah honours them and elevates their status in this life and the hereafter and bestow vast rewards for those who carry them in their hearts. Not only do they reap the benefits, those around them are equally affected as a result of them spending extensive hours memorizing the Quran only to attain Allah's blessings, especially so if he learns it and acts in accordance to it.
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him said:
“Whoever recites the Quran and acts according to what is in it, his parents will be crowned on the Day of Resurrection with a light brighter than the light of the sun in your worldly houses, were it among you. What do you think of one who acts upon this?” (hasan)
Now like everything else, one does not jump into the middle and get on with it. They are stages that one must plough through in order for them to get to the memorization stage and that is to learn how to recite it. Mastering the recitation of the Quran is an entire process on it's own. There are various comprehensive topics one must zero in on to acquire the rightful techniques to reach the acceptable level of fluency. The Tajwid and Makhraj topics are inevitable components of the Quran.
It is not the same as the daily language that was used during a conversation. One must adhere to a specific set of rules when reciting the Quran. Not following them will result in a twist of meaning even in the slightest mistake of reading the strokes or any unintended addition of a letter, for example. Not everyone is able to read the Quran with utmost fluency, especially for those starting out. Therefore, these are 5 simple steps one can do to overcome the difficulty.
(Note: This is just mere thoughts of the writer and it does not necessarily apply to everyone. These are some pointers based on a vast experience of the writer affiliating with Quranic memorization and teaching.)
1. Listen to recitation from reknown reciters
This is so that your untrained ears perks up and get itself familiarized with the holy words of the Quran. Regularly listening to the Quran triggers the brain to register the sounds and acoustics of the recitation, so much so that you will inadvertently memorize and even start to vocalize the words and sentences in the Quran without even you knowing it.
Furthermore, recitation of the Holy Quran is a form of mystical music that contributes to the release of endorphins by stimulating alpha brain waves. Therefore, it enhances the stress threshold, removes negative emotions, and creates a sense of relaxation - a side mental health bonus for the taking!
2. Get guidance from a qualified ustaz or ustaza (religious teacher).
Now of course, getting help from the learned is the easiest way to master anything. The teacher provides, sort of a shortcut, for the student to skip through several years of trial-and-error, in-depth analysis and tutelage under his/her belt.
Not only that, tutoring under a qualified ustaz/ustaza who has received an unbroken chain of recitation from his own syeikh (master) through the passing down of sanad (transmission) that reverts all the way back to our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ attaches otherworldly barakah (blessings) to the learning process, and it facilitates the painful struggle of learning and mastering it altogether.
3. Set up a daily schedule (and stick to it!)
This goes without saying, to attain greatness, one has to commit to his goals and purpose. He should lean over backwards, dedicate a part of his day for this cause so that he could gradually improve himself. Setting up a schedule might assist him in achieving his goals to read the Quran with fluency.
Always start small, one word at a time and eventually reading the whole page as time goes on. Of course, this comes hand-in-hand with the guidance of the ustaz or ustaza, it is better to get consultation from them on parts or segments to read on.
4. Memorize the short suras (chapters).
Once you get hold of the recitation aspect of the Quran. You should challenge yourself to memorize parts of the Quran. The brain will retain the style of pronunciation of the letters, the way they are vocalized and the many aspects of the Tajwid on the whole. Memorizing short suras might give the student an edge and it is easily done in a shorter period of time. The last juz, Juz 'Amma is the recommended section of the Quran one can start out from to memorize.
As a bonus, you may even have extra suras to read during prayers. Other than just the '3 Quls' or Sura-t al-Kauthar to read every single time.
5. Read the translation
It is common observation in any field of studies that comprehensive analysis of things leads to better fathoming of the complex matters and concepts involved under circumstances. Arabic too is a highly intricate and hard to grasp lingo that calls for translation of the Holy Verses of Quran into multiple languages to better understand them.
Hazrat Abu Sa’eed Khudri (R.A) narrates that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him said:
‘That person who, due to excessive recitation of the Qur’an is not able to make Allah Ta’ala’s Dhikr and Du’a, Allah Ta’ala will bestow such a person with more blessings and Ni’mat than even those who make Dzikr and Du’a.’ (Tirmidhi)
Expounding of the Quran's contents, understanding the underlying messages and intrepreting islamic convictions of it far supercede just spending time in the remembrance of Him (Dzikr). Shows how imperative it is and the significance of the detailed study that redirects a human being back to the righteous path.
This way through the understanding of the meanings, one can expedite the learning process by equiping himself with the right tools in figuring out the relation between contents and recitations altogether and ultimately have a better appreciation of it on the whole. This makes it all easier to master the Quran.
So there we have it, 5 simple steps that may help boost your capacity in the Quranic learning pursuit. It all balls down to the amount of effort that was put to ultimately attain Allah's blessing, the more there is, the easier it is to internalize the Quran.
