Ottawa residents explain how to become a “hafiz” of the 604-page holy book
During Ramadan, Muslims try to get closer to the Qur’an by reading it more and thinking about what it says.
Most Muslims know some of the Quran’s 6,236 verses, or 604 pages, by heart and read the Arabic words when they pray.
But some people have done the hard work of learning it all by heart, earning them the title “hafiz.”
In Ottawa, CBC met some of the people who have reached this hard but rewarding goal.
Zakaria Mustafa, 1
By the time he was 10, Zakaria Mustafa had learned the whole holy book by heart, right down to how each page begins.
“My parents wanted me to learn the Qur’an by heart by the time I was young,” he said. “But I just wanted to learn something new because it was fun to learn things.”
Mustafa said that he began to think about the idea seriously when he was about six years old. At first, he would read only 10 verses a day. When he got good at that, he started to remember whole pages. At the peak of his study, he was able to remember five pages a day.
He said, “Most of the time, it was my mom who helped me study.”
It would be like planting a tree and then eating the fruit from it.– Zakaria Mustafa, 15
Mustafa was chosen in 2019 to lead the Taraweeh prayers at Ottawa Islamic School during Ramadan. This was because he knew a lot about the Qur’an.
This Ramadan, he will once again lead prayers for people his age and much older than him.
He also teaches the Qur’an to the people he works with.
“I now understand why my teacher, Shaykh, says he’s tired all the time. Sometimes it’s hard to teach, “Mustafa thought.
But when he thinks about what it means to know the Qur’an and teach it as a teenager, he is most interested in the spiritual benefits.
Mustafa said, “It’s like planting a tree and having people eat from it.”
Mahdi Abd, 5
Mustafa was able to do this because of his teacher, Imam Mahdi Abd. Imam Mahdi Abd started memorizing when he was 18, a bit later than Mustafa.
Abd had to spend 10 years going to school, working, and taking care of his family while fighting was going on in his home country of Iraq.
Even though he had to deal with problems, a group of friends and God’s promise of a reward kept him going.
“Allah Almighty gives [people who memorize] the best place in paradise,” Abd said.
Since 1999, Abd, who is also known as Abu Kudus in the area, has helped more than 100 students learn how to say the Qur’an better.
He has also taught the Qur’an everywhere he has lived, such as Iraq, Syria, and, since 2008, Ottawa.
Here, Abd is seen as one of the best experts on the book.
Part of the reason for this is that he is certified in the 10 qiraat, or ways to recite the Qur’an. This means that he can teach people from all cultures in a way that is familiar to them.
“That’s why people in the city know who I am,” said Abd. “People come to me because no one else can teach them.”
Many of Abd’s students can read Arabic, but they don’t understand it. This makes it hard for them to understand a book written in classical Arabic.
Yumna Nummer, 2
The Qur’an was always around Yumna Nummer’s house when she was growing up. As a child, she learned parts of the book at programs after school.
When Nummer was 11, she was asked to join a new program at Ottawa’s Al-Furqan School where students learn the Qur’an in three years.
Even though she had never considered taking on this challenge before, Nummer decided to do it and graduated with five other people.
As part of her education there, Nummer started each day by reading a new page of the Qur’an. First, her teacher showed her how to say it right. Then she said the verses over and over again until she knew them so well that she could say them right without looking at the book.
“I remember that the first year was hard for me because all of a sudden I had to learn a lot more. But it got better, “said Nummer.
Three years later, when Nummer was 14 years old, he became a hafiz of the Qur’an.
She remembers the moving ceremony that was held to mark the success. The last two verses of Surah Al-Baqarah, the second chapter of the Qur’an, were said together by her teacher, her class, and their parents.
“It was very important. But everyone knew that wasn’t the end, since I’m now in charge of keeping the Qur’an safe “she said.
For Nummer, that means she’s committed to spending time with it for the rest of her life, reviewing what she’s learned so it doesn’t slip her mind, and living by what it teaches.
She said, “I really think it’s a guide and I really think it’s healing.”
During Ramadan, that commitment to the Qur’an has a deeper meaning.
“It’s almost like a pit stop for me to look at myself and ask, What have I done with the Qur’an this year?”