Three “Ps” for hifz al Quran al Kareem.

In this article I will try to discuss three topics which are required for Hifz al Quran al Kareem.

1. Proper Planning
2. Seeking an experienced mentor (Muhaffiz)
3. Religiously following instructions given by Muhaffiz.

Let’s start with the famous quote of Abraham Lincoln…

“Give me six hours to chop down the trees and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe”.

The first four hours mentioned by Lincoln can be expressed in another way, as adequate planning before any beginning. What people often miss for successfully accomplish any task is perfect planning.

The ratio explained by Lincoln for planning is 66 percent, and for performing the task is 33 percent. It’s quite evident from the above saying how important planning is. Rather than jumping directly to perform it’s important to create a blueprint of it.

Studying criminal psychology keenly, we can find enough evidence which shows, how criminals invest more energy in planning compared to performing. The investigating agencies always get amused by the planning carried out by criminals. They always find the criminal a mastermind individual.

In the Spanish web series “Money Heist” where a professor who was the head of the heist group executed the heist considering every angle during his planning. He even jolted the exit plan if anything goes against the intended plan.

The criminals are afraid of failure more than anything else. Their lives are at stake, while others who are planning to do any good deeds are less worried about the failure. Therefore, they lack proper and sufficient planning. They can get a second chance if they fail, while criminals get only one chance.

As my goal is to write an article for planning on murajaat the above attributes stand as the pillars for planning a successful journey towards hifz al Quran al Kareem.

During my initial stage of Hifz I planned to memorize two to three pages per day and finalized deadline accordingly for the entire memorization of al Quran al Kareem.

When I revealed my plan to my mentor Janab Sk Murtaza bhai Qaari,

he told me to keep aside the plan and advised me to memorize half-page per day, and if I could successfully complete it for two weeks, he told me to meet him once again for further planning.

His words were discouraging for me but gradually I realized after one week that my planning to memorize two to three pages every day was guaranteed failure for me. Janab’s capacity to analyze the student from case to case is astounding in itself.

Here comes the second point after planning.

Seeking assistance from a well-experienced mentor (muhaffiz). Proper guidance is necessary for proper planning. It shapes thought and gives an appealing result.

I still come across many students who don’t seek appropriate assistance from experienced teachers to conquer their quest.

Any, sport either team sport or individual sport requires a coach or a mentor. Each player is handled, treated, and managed according to his abilities and weakness.

Every student intending to memorize the Quran requires special treatment. The same and standardized framework can’t be applied universally for every individual. Identifying and selecting a dynamic lookout for every individual is done by a mentor.

The last and foremost important point comes after planning and selecting a mentor which is following instructions.

Some students don’t follow the tips advised by their mentor. Their mind is already conditioned to hear the tips which are already framed in their mind. If anything is advised apart from what that they don’t consider important they unconsciously deny accepting and continue following what they already conditioned for them. The most devastating part of this framework is it destroys energy and time.

Again I would like to cite the example of my mentor in this regard. He always insisted to work hard on murajaat during weekdays, and weekends should be the rest day. Here somebody might feel that it’s detrimental to waste the weekend so why not utilize it? The answer is simple that to keep the momentum going in the coming week, rest during the weekend is utterly necessary.

It’s said that Chandragupta Maura blindly followed his master without keeping prejudices even if he was not personally pleased with his acharyas decision. In the current era where all the information is available by pressing a button, it’s important to understand the role of the mentor who can give the prescription which differs from case to case. While Google can provide abundant information and expert tips but sometimes it can’t differentiate on case to case basis. Let’s wait and see how artificial intelligence can combat this problem in the future.

Best of luck to all aspirants who are willing to complete the memorization of  the entire al Quran al Kareem.