Oh Allah accept it from us – the focus this ramadhaan

Let the focus this month be on two things;

1- Revision

2- Dua for acceptance

Alhamdulilah it has been a good few years since my initial hifdh and this ramadhaan in particular my focus is on revising it all properly bi’ithnillah and with the help of Allah. Revision can be in different ways; through looking and reading from the mushaf, reciting with a recording, reciting as much from memory as possible, revising and reciting with a friend, reciting in salah or reciting half and way with the mushaf.

The point is to be productive and to actually be reciting something everyday or as much as possible during these blessed days in shaa Allah. We should aim to do as many khatams as possible to refresh our memory and strengthen what we have memorised. So this is my focus and in different stages i.e. one khatm with the aid of the mushaf, then without it and also in salah.

The second thing is making dua for Allah to accept all of our efforts. This is really important and a huge focus for me in particular this month. So many blessings have come relating to the Book of Allah and much time has been spent but what use is all of this if it is not accepted? It is one of my biggest fears to have my efforts thrown back at my face and for it to be rejected which is why i am making abundant dua for Allah to accept all of this.

So make dua for Allah to accept your efforts and your reciting and attending classes and revising and worrying and intentions for His Book and to make you amongst the people of the Quraan, the special people of Allah. May Allah make us of them allahumma ameen.

Completed my hifdh in the riwaya of Warsh from Nafi’

باسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

What an emotional, spiritual and incredible journey. This evening marks the end of my Warsh class and is the day I complete my hifdh in the riwaya of Warsh from Nafi. The eyes flood as I write this but it is the best way to capture raw emotion as I write on my completion today. I have to say tho that this is firstly and foremostly down to Allah Swt alone, Allah alone and no one else first and I mean that. I always remember who I am and that is no one. What makes me different to those I grew up with? Nothing. I have had the same experiences as many people around me yet the way my life has turned out and the blessing Allah has given me of the Quraan makes me feel so grateful. So this is all thanks to Allah and I ask Allah to keep us on the Quraan and to accept it from us ameen.

The way I feel now is similar to how I felt when I completed my first memorisation in Hafs but this one carries more because I have always always always wanted to learn and memorise the riwaaya of Warsh. Why? Well because this was the riwaaya I fell in love with when I first heard the quraan and when Allah instilled the love of His Book in my heart. I have always wanted to memorise in Warsh which is why it is something special for me.

I ask Allah to honour us and elevate us through the quraan ameen. What a great blessing and what an incredible feeling this is. Whilst I was reciting juzz Amma I didn’t feel that I was officially completing just yet but it hit me as soon as I went to Surah At-Teen. That is when I realised “this is it” and I was holding the tears and emotion throughout my class until me and sheikh parted. I put my head straight onto the floor and bawled my eyes out to the one who made this all possible. The tears just flowed before my words and thoughts could come out. I guess this is how the heart speaks.

After my gratefulness to Allah I wiped my tears, washed my face and went downstairs to my mum. I was holding back my tears but also had to let my mum know that I completed my hifdh in warsh with my sheikh because this is good news that I shouldnt hold back from my mum. When I told her we hugged and the tears came out (as they are coming out now). There’s always something emotional and special when it comes to mums and tears but I tried to pull my tears back but I couldnt. She also cried and made so much dua and the truth is this is for her and my dad in shaa Allah, for them, from me to them, the only thing I can bi’ithnillah do for them which will make a difference.

Let this hifdh and these classes and this effort be for my parents for whom Allah will reward. Let this be my gift to them as their daughter for I have nothing else to give. I always think of looking after their aakhira before their dunya so ya rabbi please accept this from me to my parents and give them the benefit of this in dunya and aakhira moreso ameen. Let this be their sharaf, let them be surprised and crowned and clothed on that day where we will be running away from each-other ya rabb.

~Saturday 11^th October 2014 – Sunday 22^nd May 2016~

1 year and 7 months it took. May Allah accept it from us all ameen. It hasn’t been a walk in the park but it was worth it and now I hope to teach it and pass it on so my sheikh gets the reward.

Allahumma ya rabbee, ya Allah please accept this from us, ya Allah make it a sharaf for us in dunya and aakhira, make it a hujja for us in dunya and aakhira, make it a noor in our hearts, remind us of it when we forget, forgive us when we neglect it, grant us the ability to preserve it properly and to act upon it ya Allah. Ya Allah make us of your special chosen people, the people of the Quraan and make our children and offspring amongst the inheritors and people of the Quraan too ya rabb.

We are getting closer, much closer than we think

It’s been over a year and in shaa Allah i am coming to the finishing line very soon with my warsh memorisation alhamdulilah and the feeling is similar to when i first memorised the quraan. A mixture of excitement, fear and nervousness.

Excitement because it is my favourite riwaya and i have been hoping and waiting to learn this riwaya since Allah put me on the journey of the Quraan and i am almost there. Fear because this is an amaana and a responsibility on my shoulders which i will be held accountable for and also because this will be my first official ijaza for quraan recitation which also makes me nervous.

How has it been? I was told that it won’t be too difficult learning a new riwaya if you have already memorised the quraan and to be honest alhamdulilah it wasn’t. I wouldn’t say it was easy because of having previously memorised the Quraan but more because i love reciting in warsh and have always wanted to do so which made it that bit easier as i was a lot more mentally and spiritually prepared.

May Allah accept it from me and all of those who love the Quraan and are on the journey with the Quraan and may Allah forgive and pardon us for every time we neglect His Book or don’t give it its due right and i also ask Allah to make us of the people of the Quraan, the special people of Allah allahumma ameen.

Care about your teachers – act on what they teach you

Care about your teachers by making dua for them and acting on what they teach you. Let it be a form of sadaqah jaariyah for them by being the student who teaches what they have been taught and acts on it.

May Allah grant our teachers the highest ranks in both dunya and aakhira and accept from them all they have taught us and continue to teach us ameen.

محاضرة تجويد القلب الشيخ أيمن رشدى سويد