Sunday 25 November 2018

Book Review: The Crowning Venture, by Saadia Mian

This is the fourth book I've come across in the last couple of years that captures some of the beauty of the Quran memorisation journey. The book shares the stories of present-day women living in the West who have managed to memorise the Quran; some who have done so earlier in their life and some who have done so later. The book mixes the stories of these women nicely with memorisation tips and it makes a good effort at dispelling a number of myths that prevent many people, women especially, from memorising the Quran. I really hope more people stumble across this book and we start to see a concerted effort in our communities towards getting more girls memorising & engaging with the Quran.

Below are some quotes from the book:
"The hours I spent with the Quran were the most beautiful hours of my life." 
"Sometimes doors open for us because of the effort we put in when we assume we do not have the time to do something... You may not have the most ideal situation time-wise, but if you really want to, you can find five minutes a day to devote to something you care about. Based on your intention and effort, bigger doors may open. But you can only know if you put in the initial effort." 
"Memorising the Quran gave me a heightened awareness of myself and where I needed to be going. It made me want to constantly learn more about the meanings of the Quran and try to live up to them." 
"Whether you are able to go abroad or not, whether you have children or not, whether you are young or young at heart, whether your career is demanding or not, whether you think you have a good memory or not. The Quran is for you and you can be one of those blessed to carry it in your heart."

Saturday 17 November 2018

Best books for memorisers of the Quran

Below is a list of the best books I've come across in the English language – in terms of guidance and inspiration – for anyone who is memorising the Quran, has memorised the Quran or intends to memorise the Quran.
  1. 114 Tips to Help You Finally Memorize the Quran, by Suleiman Hani
  2. 365 Tips to Help You Memorise the Quran, by Ishaaq Jasat
  3. Meadows of the Divine: 40 Prophetic Traditions on the Virtues & Rulings of the Quran, by Alomgir Ali
  4. The Crowning Venture: Inspiration from Women Who Have Memorized the Quran, by Saadia Mian
  5. The Promise of Ten: How an ordinary person can memorise the Quran in 6 months, by Mubashir Anwar