"We've pulled out the child from school he's memorizing the Qur'an now, as you konow... he's mentally weak... he can't study"
I'm sorry but that is what I just heard a woman say. I wanted to say something to her but I didn't. Yet I know it is my responsibility to do something about it or I'll be no different from her. So here I am...
Firstly memorizing the Qur'an is a huge responsibility and requires rapt attention and determination. Before the Qur'an was revealed Allah first offered the trees and mountains to bear the revelation but they said they would crumble under the Divine weight, only a human was strong enough to undertake this burden. So surely somebody mentally or even physically weak can not do it. And if someone has memorized the Qur'an, to any extent, they are strong enough.
This is just one case, in other cases, parents want their children to memorize the Qur'an as atonement for their own sins, and they consider this a sacrifice, and they choose their 'weakest' child for this 'sacrifice'. All of this is WRONG! People you need to revise your religion, you need to read and understand the Qur'an before your 'poor' 'weak' child does. 'Sacrificing' your kid can not atone for your sins, yes you will be crowned on the Day of Judgement as promised but remember it was also said that 'actions are judged by intentions'?
You choose your 'weakest' child for this sacrifice. Remember Cain and Abel, why wasn't Cain's sacrifice accepted by Allah? Because it wasn't the best he had. Sacrifice means giving away the best you have. Secondly sacrifice is giving away something without expecting anything in return, but when you make your child a Hafiz you expect to be forgiven, you expect to be crowned, you expect to be known as a wonderful Muslim in the society. So memorizing the Qur'an is not a sacrifice, it is a blessing.
Being a Muslim we all believe that nothing happens without the will of Allah. So even if you remember one verse of the Qur'an it is Allah's blessing upon you. The responsibility of never forgetting that verse lies on your shoulders, you are now keeper of the Divine Revelation, and that is how a Hafiz should feel; blessed, not slaughtered.It is that one verse which will let you climb a rung on the ladder leading to Paradise. A child who memorizes the Qur'an has a greater chance of attaining Paradise, and he is by no means WEAK!
Plus if you believe in Allah, can you ever really believe that He makes someone weak someone strong and will judge them the same way once the time comes? Can it be that He creates two brothers one with a smaller brain and the other with a larger stronger one and leaves them to survive in the same cruel world? No. I understand that no two people are the same but no one is weaker than the other. Those who can not see, can listen and smell much better, they get the same chance at life, NOBODY IS WEAKER THAN THE OTHER, nobody is by no means behind the other. And being parents, being blood relatives of the same children how can you love one more that the other how can you actually believe that YOUR child is mentally weak? And secondly look at our Islamic history, let me remind you of our heroes who were Huffaz and wanted their children to be one too, were they or their children (God forbid) weak?
Conclusively memorizing the Qur'an is not for weak people, being unable to perform well in school is no weakness, memorizing the Qur'an is not a sacrifice and nobody is weak. A Hafiz and his parents should be grateful to Allah for their wonderful rank because the Prophet (PBUH) says 'The best among you is the one who learns the Qur'an and teaches it' (Bukhari) So if your child is a Hafiz he is excellent! He is not a misfit in the society though he may be a stranger to some and I salute these strangers as the Prophet (PBUH) also said 'Islam began as something strange, and it will soon revert to being something strange, so give glad tidings, and salutations to the strangers' (Muslim)
I'm sorry but that is what I just heard a woman say. I wanted to say something to her but I didn't. Yet I know it is my responsibility to do something about it or I'll be no different from her. So here I am...
Firstly memorizing the Qur'an is a huge responsibility and requires rapt attention and determination. Before the Qur'an was revealed Allah first offered the trees and mountains to bear the revelation but they said they would crumble under the Divine weight, only a human was strong enough to undertake this burden. So surely somebody mentally or even physically weak can not do it. And if someone has memorized the Qur'an, to any extent, they are strong enough.
This is just one case, in other cases, parents want their children to memorize the Qur'an as atonement for their own sins, and they consider this a sacrifice, and they choose their 'weakest' child for this 'sacrifice'. All of this is WRONG! People you need to revise your religion, you need to read and understand the Qur'an before your 'poor' 'weak' child does. 'Sacrificing' your kid can not atone for your sins, yes you will be crowned on the Day of Judgement as promised but remember it was also said that 'actions are judged by intentions'?
You choose your 'weakest' child for this sacrifice. Remember Cain and Abel, why wasn't Cain's sacrifice accepted by Allah? Because it wasn't the best he had. Sacrifice means giving away the best you have. Secondly sacrifice is giving away something without expecting anything in return, but when you make your child a Hafiz you expect to be forgiven, you expect to be crowned, you expect to be known as a wonderful Muslim in the society. So memorizing the Qur'an is not a sacrifice, it is a blessing.
Being a Muslim we all believe that nothing happens without the will of Allah. So even if you remember one verse of the Qur'an it is Allah's blessing upon you. The responsibility of never forgetting that verse lies on your shoulders, you are now keeper of the Divine Revelation, and that is how a Hafiz should feel; blessed, not slaughtered.It is that one verse which will let you climb a rung on the ladder leading to Paradise. A child who memorizes the Qur'an has a greater chance of attaining Paradise, and he is by no means WEAK!
Plus if you believe in Allah, can you ever really believe that He makes someone weak someone strong and will judge them the same way once the time comes? Can it be that He creates two brothers one with a smaller brain and the other with a larger stronger one and leaves them to survive in the same cruel world? No. I understand that no two people are the same but no one is weaker than the other. Those who can not see, can listen and smell much better, they get the same chance at life, NOBODY IS WEAKER THAN THE OTHER, nobody is by no means behind the other. And being parents, being blood relatives of the same children how can you love one more that the other how can you actually believe that YOUR child is mentally weak? And secondly look at our Islamic history, let me remind you of our heroes who were Huffaz and wanted their children to be one too, were they or their children (God forbid) weak?
Conclusively memorizing the Qur'an is not for weak people, being unable to perform well in school is no weakness, memorizing the Qur'an is not a sacrifice and nobody is weak. A Hafiz and his parents should be grateful to Allah for their wonderful rank because the Prophet (PBUH) says 'The best among you is the one who learns the Qur'an and teaches it' (Bukhari) So if your child is a Hafiz he is excellent! He is not a misfit in the society though he may be a stranger to some and I salute these strangers as the Prophet (PBUH) also said 'Islam began as something strange, and it will soon revert to being something strange, so give glad tidings, and salutations to the strangers' (Muslim)
This is such an important issue that most people don't even realize. How can people be so ignorant as to say that just because a child is not doing well in school, he is mentally weak, and so he should just do hifz instead. I think this attitude somehow degrades the value and importance of hifz. As you've mentioned, even the trees and mountains were unable to bear the weight of the Quran, so how can we call a child who has memorized the Quran 'weak'? After all, he must be stronger than us, or his parents and siblings who haven't memorized the Quran! Also, I love the way you've argued that each person gets an equal chance in life and no person is weaker than another.
ReplyDeleteYour concluding paragraph is also very powerful as you have added a couple of quotes and ended with a wonderful note on how the society may view these people as strangers, but these strangers should be saluted.
You really should write and post more often. I'm looking forward to more of your writings. :)
Thanks for being my audience Fatima, u keep reading i'll keep writing Insha'Allah
DeleteYou're welcome. Yes, please do keep writing and posting.
DeleteWhat an amazing piece of writing! I completely agree with your perspective; our society really needs to change the way it treats Hifz, it should be considered a blessing, not a burden. And to say that a Hafiz is mentally weak is also such a wrong thing to do (your article conveys this message so well!), we need to appreciate Huffaaz and the strength with which they carry the Divine Message in their hearts... Another point I strongly believe in is that choosing to memorize the Qur'an should be a child's own decision; parents shouldn't be forcing their kids to do Hifz. What they SHOULD be working on is to develop in their children an urge to internalize the Quran's message in themselves, which is so much more important than simply memorizing it (my opinion). :)
ReplyDeleteNot to mention, I love the title of your article, 'Blessed, Not Slaughtered'. It totally sums up your point of view! :D
hey, there's a typo in your opening paragraph (you've mistakenly typed 'know' as 'konow'.) Just informing you, in case you haven't noticed. :)
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