Another Method to Improve Our Memorization

Assalamu’alaikum to everyone, Happy ‘Eid al-Adha al-Mubarak and may Allah bless us during this recent great holy celebration. On this stage right now, I am pretty sure that all of us already memorize many pages of those three particular surahs; Yasin, al-Waqi’ah and al-Mulk. Since this memorization project had been launched at first on early October 2011, we are now in the second month of period of the project meaning that it is already one month passed if we realize it.

            Now, I want to reveal another good method to make sure our memorization is really ‘pasted’ in our long-term memory, that is to repeat the surah from its last page backwardly to its first page as it in the mushaf. It sounds like quite difficult and rarely applied by some people who are fully involved in the course of Quranic memorization (tahfiz al-Quran). The rational of this method is for average people like us can clearly remember each page of certain surah and do know sort of each verse permanently (after many repetitions).

            Let us imagine when we are hiking a mountain and there are many several check points and camp sites along a particular track. We have to follow the right track in order to avoid from lost. After few days we have passing the check points and the camp sites, we finally arrive on the top of the mountain. Then, we have to go down back to the hill through the same track backwardly and to find out every check points and camp sites that we have passed by the days before. After we finished the hiking and going back to our homes, we still clearly remember the expedition and its surrounding when we are telling others about it. Why does this happen? Of course because we were hiking on both directions through the same track; going up forwardly and going down backwardly. Therefore, no wonder if we can clearly share our experience with others.

            Now, what if we do the same hiking for next several times? Fortunately, the condition of its environment can be permanent in our long-term memory and we can still share our experience with our grandchildren later on. So, it is just the same with our case of memorization. For me, we have to do it both directions in order to make it as one of our long-term memory and at last, we will remember it even we are in the golden-age one day. (Alhamdulillah so far I can do all this continuously and perhaps God will make everything easier for us, “Rabbi yassir wa la tu’assir rabbi tammim bilkhair amiin”)