The Beginning
My path to seeking knowledge initiated many years ago when I was first exposed to Islam as a non-Muslim. A compelling catalyst for me was upon discovering the beautiful, miraculous, linguistic nature and the complete preservation of the Quran. I would spend hours daily in immersion gleaning wisdom in all its forms. Discovering deeper dimensions of faith, falling in love with the divine message of true monotheism eventually led me to taking my shahadah.
Importance of Having a Teacher and an Islamic Environment
Looking back to when I was a new Muslim, I was blessed to have been surrounded by excellent teachers, alhamdullilah, who emphasised the importance of seeking knowledge. Now that the main existential questions were answered with conviction, it became my life mission to redirect my trajectory and traverse the path to Paradise.
Having a teacher upon the correct aqeedah was essential to building a strong foundation and navigating this process in a systematic way with an added ‘human’ element. Being in the company of other helpful, practising sisters also had a positive impact on my Islamic development.
Journey of Quran Memorisation
Several years ago, I committed myself to Quran memorisation after crossing paths with an Egyptian Quran teacher who held an ijazah with sanad who I studied under. I also started to develop a deeper understanding into various Islamic sciences and threw myself into learning the classical Arabic language.
When I hear stories about other hufadh, most completed the memorisation of the Quran as children, with the support of their parents. As an adult embarking on this journey in London alone with online teachers, my experience certainly feels unconventional but I continue to have unwavering optimism as Allah says in the Quran in Surah Qamar:
وَلَقَدْ يَسَّرْنَا ٱلْقُرْءَانَ لِلذِّكْرِ فَهَلْ مِن مُّدَّكِرٍۢ
And We have certainly made the Quran easy to remember. So is there anyone who will be mindful? (54:40)
The Challenges of Seeking Knowledge
The theme of sacrifice has a wonderful way of presenting itself when journeying the path of seeking knowledge; certainly for me when it comes to Quran memorisation. I made a decision to restructure and delegate my business so that it would continue operating whilst I took to seeking knowledge more seriously. A common challenge is the more we commit to memory, the more revision we have to devote our time to in order to retain what we have memorised as well as paying careful attention to the accuracy of each letter.
Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “It will be said to the companion of the Qur’aan: ‘Recite and rise in status as you used to recite in the world, and your position will be at the last verse you recite.’
Understanding and Implementing
Aside from Quran memorisation, I have a deep love for reading and have a desire to build a maktaba in passionate anticipation of being able to one day understand classical books written in the Arabic language. One scholar from the past whose works I have personally benefitted from and continue to peruse his books (albeit the translated version for now) is Imam Ibn al Qayyim رحمة الله. His writing style is uniquely distinctive in its touching address to the heart that has a wonderful way of transferring feelings of comfort, restoration and uplift to the reader.
Purifying Intentions
The journey of seeking knowledge is until our very last breath and the more I learn the more I am humbled by my realisation of how vast the ocean of knowledge is with a never-ending finishing place. I am constantly reminded by the importance of renewing our intentions and implementing this knowledge inwardly and outwardly. At times we may plateau or lose motivation, but we continue to remain faithful to the course, in passionate anticipation for the ultimate reward.
The parable of seeking knowledge for me, personally, is likened to having a guided roadmap that will pave our way to our final destination. Our position in this world is a place of test and seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim in order to pass this test in order to qualify for Paradise.
Narrated Abu Hurairah:
that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Whoever takes a path upon which to obtain knowledge, Allah makes the path to Paradise easy for him.”
May Allah preserve our sincere intentions, increase us in beneficial knowledge and allow this to be a means of us to attain Paradise.