The many initiatives taken by al-Sayed al-Ajal Shehzada Husain bhai saheb Burhanuddin saheb ^DM ‘Tahfeez al-Atfaal’ is majestic in itself. The Tahfeez al-Atfaal program (later named as ‘Raudat al-Atfaal’) will complete an illustrious period of two decades this year. The vision to expand the domain of hifz al-Quran al-Kareem from Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah to every mumin’s household was manifesting in Shz Saab’s mind from the very first day. For this very reason program ‘Tahfeez Raudat al-Atfaal’ emanated.

The second important reason behind the onset of this program was, to help those aspirants who are eager to join Aljamea to obtain an adequate understanding of hifz which can assist them to excel further. Therefore, Tahfeez al-Atfaal program was the best option to address this purpose and subsequently complete the required curriculum of the school.

The seed for Atfaal tahfeez can be assumed to be planted in 1422 H before it became fully operational in 1424 H. A small group of selected students attended the class in a secluded venue. In this antique photo, 

six students along with their muhaffezeen can be seen. All six completed the memorization of juz al-Salaseen and later they got the privilege to start their memorization of ‘al-juz al-awwal’ at the hands of Shz Husain bs Burhanuddin Saheb ^DM. All students seen in this photo have completed the memorization of the entire al-Quran al-Kareem.

It was always a divine wish of Syedna Aali Qadr Mufaddal Saifuddin ^TUS that the vicinity of the al-Masjid al-Moazzam and al-Mazar al-Saifee should always remain engaged and submerged in tilawat al-Quran al-Kareem and ade’yat shrifa. Aqa Maula ^TUS expressed this wish several times upon his visits to Surat. This hifz program was one of the many reasons to preserve the sanctity of these revered places as wished by Aqa Maula^TUS. And, for the aspirants also, this was the best opportunity to pursue their quest under the pious shadow of these blessed places. When we talk about hifz al-Quran al-Kareem, the first thing flashes in the mind is the countenance of Aqa Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin RA whose revered blessings are the only driving force that converted the imagination of the entire hifz al-Quran into reality. Else hifz was regarded as an unimaginable task for us. Every hafiz will remember Him and His blessings.

Hifz at an early age

Amir al-Mumeneen Maulana Ali ^AS states:

“The knowledge (al-Ilm) acquired at an early age is like engraving on a rock that can’t fade easily”. The same tested phenomenon was implemented on these young aspirants. The Tahfeez al-Atfaal program came into existence during the year 1424 H. During this period there was hardly any program that can cater the students of young age or juveniles. The challenge was high for the muhaffezeen to undertake this stimulating assignment. The age criterion for joining Atfaal was set between eight to thirteen years. The students at this age require special monitoring, and the muhaffiz has to align with the thought process of the students. The situation to handle young minds is arduous. Sometimes, it has been observed that a muhaffiz understands a student’s mental condition more than the parents. Along with young students, management has to consider catering to parents too. However, at this age of the child, parents are anxious about the progress of their child. To conclude we can say that handling young minds is sometimes challenging compared to handling the minds of adolescents.

Extension of Tahfeez al-Atfaal

Recently, responding to fulfill the august wish of Aqa Syedna Aali Qadr Mufaddal Saifuddin ^TUS, several cities organized the hifz drive in their proximity itself. The Tahfeez al-Atfaal now comes under the banner of “Mauze Tahfeez”. The Mauze tahfeez encompasses every tahfeez program organized within a particular city. 

The time and era beckoned that this program should not remain confined to young age students only. It needs an immediate expansion. The expansion resulted in two prominent tahfeez programs in Surat; ‘Tahfeez al-Kibaar’ and ‘Tahfeez al-Sigaar’.

These two programs widened the horizon for every individual willing to fulfill his ambition of hifz, removing the age barrier.

The ‘Tahfeez al- Kibaar’ program started on 27th shehre Zilqada til Haram 1442 H. Any student above the age of thirteen years can join it. Initially, this program established hopes for those who stuck for a prolonged period preparing for ikhtebaar and can’t find any outcome for it. Moreover, this program pushed them to accomplish their quest in a simple and subtle way.  The unique feature of this program is it widened the preferred time options for those who are willing to do hifz, and continue further education simultaneously.

The ‘Tahfeez al-Sigaar’ program jet offed on 17th shehre Moharram al- Haram 1443 H. Students between the age group of four to six years can avail benefit of this program. And within a span of one year, this program has shown remarkable growth. The main objective behind this program is to make hifz a cheerful activity for the child rather than a burden over it. A child is always fascinated by the activities which invoke joy and cheer in him. The objective of this program is to induce affection towards the subject, and not to only focus on the number of pages and ajza a child is memorizing. The results of this program are surprising. Within a span of six months, twenty-two students in Tahfeez al Sigaar completed the memorization of Juz Amma, almost all students started the memorization from surat al-Hamd. Even though they don’t know, how to recite from looking in al-Quran they are taught to memorize by talaqqi method where they learn by hearing from the repetitive tilawat of muhaffiz.

Glimpses of parents applause. 

This method is time tested method and still, it’s operational in al-Qahera al-Moizziyah. Tahfeez al-Atfaal started based on this method only and again it is introduced more precisely after more than two decades.