بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Assalaamu ‘alaykum wa Rahmatullah,

Since the structure & content of The Fee Qalbee Blog is specifically designed for tahfeedul Qur’aan, it is seldom that I blog on current world events. However, the events of recent days are fully related to the world of Qur’aanic memorisation: news broke earlier this week of the sentencing of a mother who beat her son to death for failing to memorise alQur’aan according to her instructions. Yaseen Ege (may Allah grant him the delights of Paradise – amen) from Cardiff, Wales passed away in July 2010. (Click on this link for one of the articles)

Initially numbed by shock, my reactions turned into an outpouring of grief & sorrow. I could not make sense of such merciless actions, and I still cannot. Granted, news reports mention that Yaseen’s mother, Sara Ege (33) had been suffering from severe depression & alleges that it was the Shaytaan (devil) who made her commit this act; yet, I cannot help but feel saddened that a young life was lost at the expense of learning perfection or, as other colleagues have expressed, a precious child who paid the price of learning perfection in a teaching environment devoid of mercy & tenderness.

For more than 15 years, hifdh has been an integral part of my life; a source of inspiration & comfort; an anchor during turbulent times & a perpetual lighthouse of faith.                                                         

As a hifdh teacher, mentor & the parent of a hifdh student myself, this got me thinking about the following:

  • What ambience do we create for our hifdh students?
  • Are our children’s learning routines punctuated with mercy and care, or anger and frustration?
  • Do we shove our own relinquished spiritual dreams upon our children, without acknowledging the different personalities & abilities of each child?
  • Has hifdhul Qur’aan become a race against…? Who, what, why? Why have we placed time limitations on the hifdh journey?
  • Have we personified it as a ticking time-bomb or a thermometer by which to measure our religious devotion?
  • Have we neglected to honour the Prophetic Tradition: The Prophet Muhammad (sallalaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) was known for his gentleness and encouraging gentleness in others: “He who is deprived of gentleness is deprived of good.” [Saheeh Muslim]

Now, by no means am I stating that one should unnecessarily delay or procrastinate hifdh progress, no. What I am encouraging – nay, urging towards – is a balanced, happy & healthy approach to the hifdh journey. Yes to routine, structure and discipline – with flexibility & realistic goals.

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Every child deserves to be honoured with the gift of memorising alQur’aan. But every child also deserves the care, patience, love & mercy that go with preserving the words of The Glorious Qur’aan in their heart. Every child deserves to learn in an atmosphere of love and an ambience of optimism, encouragement and gentleness. Every child deserves to be taught by someone who upholds the honour, dignity & dedication with which The Preserved Scripture ought to be taught.

Yes. As parents & teachers, we all want the very best for our children. We want for them to be spiritually happy & healthy; to nurture their souls in the obedience & consciousness of The Almighty.  We want to be together with them forever in Paradise, in shaa Allah. And hifdhul Qur’aan when taught with love & honour is one of the perfumed pathways of reaching the Eternal Bliss. If only we but knew. Immense respect to the (literally) thousands of teachers & mentors who make the love of Qur’aan come alive in the hearts of the next generation, ma shaa Allah! May Allah make us from amongst them – ameen.

Yaseen Ege, may the noble angels continue to teach you alQur’aan so that you are raised with Ahlul Qur’aan, the Family of alQur’aan on the Day of Gathering.  Paradise, my child, is yours.

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