IMAM WISAM SHARIEFF

5 TIPS TO
NEVER
FORGET
Quran
AGAIN

1
 a little
PREFACE
Quran memorization requires us to firmly set our in-
tention and consistently put in the days, hours, weeks,
and months needed to get it done. However, most of
us come to memorization as an objective, something
we are going to do. We consider it to be a process of
doing as opposed to a journey of receiving our gift of
revelation.

The five tips below will help you memorize and retain
your Quran. As you learn and apply these memori-
zation tools, remember that what you do opens the
door for what you will receive. So, enter the process in
a state of gratitude and peace.

2
 1
Find a comfortable, quiet place to sit

BUILDS
or lie down.

BRAIN
Take a regular breath.

CELLS
3
Now take a slow, deep breath.
Breathe in slowly through your nose.

“
Pay attention as your abdomen rises.
As long as you are 4
breathing there is more right Holding your breath, pause for a
with you than wrong with second or two.
you, no matter what is wrong. 5
---Jon Kabat-Zinn, “Mindfulness for Be- Slowly breathe out through your
ginners: Reclaiming the Present mouth. Pay attention as your
Moment--And Your Life” abdomen goes in with exhalation of
breath.
It turns out that centuries of meditation 6
and mindfulness masters were onto Do this several times until you have a
something. Research has shown that calming rhythm.
focused breathing affects levels of nor-
adrenaline, a natural brain chemical mes- If you are still reading this e-book, you are
senger. Noradrenaline enhances your likely one of two types of students; either
attention to detail and improves overall you have not started your memorization
brain health by promoting the growth of and you are preparing for the journey, or
new neural connections. There is also a you have already begun memorizing and
correlation between controlled breath- you are looking for ways to maximize
ing and increased brain size, specifically your efforts. For the newcomer, take the
in areas associated with attention and first step and conquer a single breath in
processing of sensory input. order to retain a single verse. For the vet-
eran memorizer, ask yourself where you
The true traveler on the path to retention can introduce breath work into your rou-
will dedicate energy to breath work. tine.

3
 PREDICTS
PERFORMANCE
Do you really think about your posture
or the way you are sitting when you
are memorizing? Or, do you find a
guilty association of “I am not sit-
ting respectfully enough to read
the Quran”? What if you could
think of posture as a component
of the retention process—would
it change your mindset and ap-
proach? All those times a parent,
teacher, or elder said, “sit up
straight,” well they were right!
“Visualize yourself sitting
to receive revelation. See
yourself as the container
that wishes to be filled with
the words of Your Lord.”
--Imam Wisam Sharieff
A healthy posture has open shoul-
ders, free and fluid joints, and con-
tinuous flowing breath. When you
slouch, you compress the space for
your lungs, reducing their capacity.
That means less oxygen can get to
your brain. (Oh wait, we were just
talking about breathing, weren’t we?)
Sitting up straight may actually help
your brain function better, as well as
help you think more clearly
because you feel calmer and
more confident. But, where
does confidence come in? Well,
research has shown that posture
can also affect how you think about
yourself. If you sit up straight, you
end up convincing yourself and feel-
ing more confident just by the pos-
ture you are in.
“Motion creates emotion.
Changing your physiology
means changing your men-
tal state and breaking your
negative patterns. Great
physiology therefore, leads
to great emotions, and
that is one of the keys to
getting unstuck. This can
be something as simple as
standing up straighter and
changing your posture or
something more intensive
like going on a jog to loosen
up.”
- --Tony Robbins, “The Tony
Robbins Blog: Mind & Meaning - Are
you stuck?”
4
 MEMORIZATION
MAKES
Muscles
Everyone knows that you cannot just go to the gym once and sud-
denly develop muscles. Nor can you follow some haphazard pattern
of exercise and expect to achieve the promised results. You have to
start slow and grow incrementally, or you risk failure. And, even if
you workout daily or follow a set schedule, you still need consistent
and continuous exercise to maintain that muscle.

“ Just as there are no shortcuts to building your

physical strength and muscles, there are no
shortcuts to retention.
--Imam Wisam Sharieff

You probably cannot memorize a page by looking at it once (well,

maybe some of you can…). And you definitely cannot retain that
memorized page over the long-term without ongoing effort. In order
to build memorization you need consistent steps and in order to fa-
cilitate retention you need continuous effort.

Retaining your memorization comes from creating a solid pattern in

the memory by working out the memory muscles through routine and
repetition. And this is why you need a retention system that builds
blocks, one on top of another, until the memorization becomes one
packet that you have ingrained in your memory. Retention comes
from receiving, reciting, repeating, and writing, consistently and con-
tinuously, as you grow the muscle of memorization.

5
WRITING IS
Retaining
Memorizing something usually entails
reading it, then looking away from the
text and testing your memory. Do you
already see the flaw in this? It is an over-
ly simplistic approach to long-term re-
tention. If you want to retain a memory
would you be working passively or ac-
tively? This is where writing enters, as
a physical (kinesthetic) component of One of the most important steps of re-
memorization. Writing your lesson is go- tention is writing. Writing is the step that
ing to change the way your brain receives requires the most time and patience; it
and retains memorization. is the ultimate reflection. The writing in-
cludes a combination of steps that aids in
Studies show that writing helps us more breaking down lines into multiple layers,
deeply encode information that we are so that you can build them back up into
trying to learn because there is a direct one retention mechanism. The multiple
connection between our hand and our layers of the writing system help you to
brain. In fact, there is a distinct neural engrave the lines into your memory.
pathway that is only activated when we
physically draw out our letters. In other
words, writing by hand increases memo- “Committing knowledge to writ-
ry retention and understanding. ing is an act of reflection. It is
the thoughtful gathering and
“Memorizing the Quran is a organization of what we have
phrase you probably learned learned. Reflection is not about
in childhood. It is time to leave perfection; it is about growth.”
those relics behind and recog- --Imam Wisam Sharieff
nize that Retention is what you
are seeking.”
--Imam Wisam Sharieff
6
 H a b i
HELP YOUR
t s
HIFDH
Many want to memorize the entire Quran, but very few recognize that maintenance
is required to retain that memorization for a lifetime. And, that is the science of re-
vision. But, what is even more important and even less understood, is the types of
habits, routines, and rituals that are needed to make revision and retention a part of
your lifestyle. Let’s take a moment to talk about habit loops, triggers that make you
want to recite, and setting up the long term rituals once you have completed your
memorization of the Quran.

Author James Clear posits that small, incremental, everyday routines compound
into massive, positive change over time. In other words, habits can have an atomic
effect if implemented correctly.

“Standardize before you optimize. You can’t improve a habit that

doesn’t exist. Success is the product of daily habits—not once-in-
a-lifetime transformations.”
--James Clear, “Atomic Habits”

The habits needed for retention are simple and straightforward: reading one Juz/
Para a day, maintaining regularity in your daily prayers (Salah), practicing healthy
eating and sleeping behaviors, setting aside time for meditation and calmness. It is
the routines and rituals that support these habits that are paramount to success.
Designate a time and place for your daily reading; this ritual will lead you to fol-
lowing the daily routine. Create a mood and feeling for your Salah; have a favorite
outfit, prayer rug, perfume/scent that inspires you. Eat and sleep at regular times,
allowing your body to rely on a schedule. Begin your revision with a few moments of
breathing to focus the mind. All of these triggers will consciously and subconscious-
ly encourage you to keep going.

7
 Concluding
REMARKS
Retaining the Quran is the ability to transform your heart into a vessel of remem-
brance and guidance. Through this medium, you connect not only with your soul,
but also with the Lord of the worlds. When you recognize that memorization is just
an objective, but retention is a journey of receiving the Book of Allah, only then will
you be prepared to learn and retain the words of Allah with proper discipline, eti-
quette, and ease.

Imam Wisam Sharieff is the Founder & CEO of AQL

(Advocating Quranic Lifestyle), an institute focused on
educating people and communities on how to bring the
Quran into everyday life, through reading, recitation,
reflection, retention, and practice. He is the creator and
director of Memorise Mentor, an innovative, first-of-its-
kind program that brings together Quran memorization
and personal development in a holistic and balanced
approach to retaining the book of Allah.

Imam Wisam has had the unique opportunity to teach

thousands of students around the world, both in per-
son and online. Driven by the single vision to bring the
Book and Message of Allah to people around the world,
he has made Quranic recitation and memorization ac-
cessible to every man, woman, and child. He is currently
working on several new projects, including recording the
entire Quran both
8 in video and audio format.