After being back from Umrah, I feel that I want to learn and get to know more on Quran, and protect it by memorising the ayahs. I also want to memorise as a challenge as I see a lot of people could do it at any age – also a way for me to recite when I got old enough that I could not read or illness could strike that would hinder me from reading Quran. I asked ChatGPT on strategies to do so, so it suggested that I memorise the last Juzuk first or ayahs from 78th to 114th surahs which are a lot. I tried on my own to memorise the verses for a week. Alhamdulillah, it set me up for my actual tahfidz class.
My first class was a bit chaotic, probably the academy wanted to slot me in so that I could fit in February schedule. So my Ustazah wasn’t aware of my enrollment. Anyways all things cleared, I proceeded with my first class on 5th February 2026 – also the birthday of my sister.
First class was okay, and a bit scary cause Ustazah was like asking me to recite all the verses from the last surah backwards as far as I can remember. I stumbled a lot but InshaAllah over time I would be comfortable enough to get used to it. So I managed to recite up to Al-Humazah and she taught me the strategies to memorise the ayahs. My first homework was to memorise the surah until I can recite smoothly without referring the Quran.
Second class, the Ustazah was a lot more prepared. So we discussed a bit what should we do for an hour class. I decided that I want to do a bit of taddabur so that I can understand what the surah or verses are all about, which would help in my memorisation. She tested on my previous homework and we moved forward until surah As-Syarh. I was occasionally leading prayers at school, so all these short surahs were in my head. But that was like 30 years ago. Ustazah wanted to test me on Al-Alaq, she said, can you recite al-Alaq, the first revelation from Allah – I was like, I used to remember, now I couldn’t recall it – she gave me a go to try the first 5 verses, of which I could barely do. It was like a direct pang for me, how could I neglect and not protect all the surahs that I already memorised last time. I felt sad but also grateful that Allah gave me the chance to meet Ustazah and sent her to me to guide me. I am so grateful for being surrounded by good people. So my homework for next class is to memorise surah al-Bayyinah and I am so excited to do it.
After class, I cried again, like big cry of gratitude and how I miss being in Makkah and on how Allah loves me so much. I feel like I am with the right teacher and I am on the right track. May Allah helps me to stay consistent with class and provide me with rizq to continue with classes and all the new commitments that I am into now. Alhamdulillah ❤️