How to Stay Consistent with Hifz After Ramadan
Ramadan is over and suddenly all our good habits slowly but surely slips away, our hifz (memorization) routine, our sunnah prayers and going to the masjid. You’re not alone. The real challenge isn’t during Ramadan but rather how we continue after Ramadan.
Why does consistency drop after Ramadan?
We’ve all heard of the famous hadith of the Prophet (ﷺ) “When the month of Ramadan comes, the gates of Paradise are open and the gates of the Fire are closed, and the devils are chained.” We know that during the blessed month of Ramadan everything feels easier. But this also means we can’t use the end of Ramadan as an excuse to drift away from our ibadah. Allah (ﷻ) says “Allah does not burden a soul with more than it can bear” (Surah Baqarah ayah 286), this means that whatever we’re going through, we’re capable of pushing through it.
Start Small, But Stay Consistent
Many of us have tried to increase our ibadah only for it to completely stop after a couple of weeks. This is because we take on too much at once. Rather than learning a page a day of the holy Quran only to quit after a week, we should try with something we can keep consistent with for a longer period. The Prophet (ﷺ) said “Take on only as much as you can do of good deeds, for the best of deeds is that which is done consistently, even if it is little” (Sunan Ibn Majah 4240).
This hadith gives us a clear principle to follow; it’s better to do a small amount consistently rather than a large amount that we can’t sustain. So instead of overwhelming yourself, focus on what you can actually maintain. Ask yourself, “What is the smallest amount of hifz you can do each day without failing no matter what?” Start there, no need to overwhelm yourself.
Simple Habits to Improve Your Hifz
There are many practical tips that will in shaa Allah help you with your hifz but I’ll only talk about three of them. The first one is dua: Sadly, we neglect doing dua when we need something, yet Allah (ﷻ) says “I respond to one’s prayer when they call upon Me” (surah Baqarah ayah 186). A dua that I try to keep consistent with is Allahumma yaserli hifz al Quran, translating to: O Allah ease my memorization of the Quran.
Reciting what I’ve learnt in salah and before sleeping was truly a game changer for me. Rather than reciting short surahs during fajr, maghrib and ishaa we should strive to recite a little more if we are capable. Reciting during prayer has been extremely helpful for me to remember the new ayahs I’ve learnt as well as previous surahs I’ve learned.
The last tip is to have a clear structure for your learning. Instead of deciding what we should memorize the same day, we should have a proper hifz and muraja plan based on our goals. When you have a plan in place, you remove confusion, make it easier to stay consistent, and won’t be relying solely on motivation.