82year-old grandmum memorises the Qur’an

[سنرايز]

An interview with Umm Saalih, a grandmother who memorised the entire Qur’an at the age of 82. As Read by Dr. Saleh as Saleh
Al-Hamdulillaah (All-Praise is due to Allah), the One Who said (what means): “And indeed, We have made the Qur’an easy to understand and remember, then is there any that will remember (or receive admonition)?” (Surah Al-Qamar: verse 32)
Many all over the world memorise the Noble Qur’an, and it is not strange to see the youth memorising the Qur’an at an early age. Al-Hamdulillaah, the One who made the Qur’an easy for remembrance, made it easy for Umm Saalih at age 82. In an interview with Umm Saalih, she was asked the following questions:
Q1: What was the reason that drove you to memorise the Qur’an after so many years?
A: I always hoped to memorise the Qur’an from the time I was young. My father always used to invoke Allah for me to become one of the memorisers of the Qur’an, like himself and like the elder brothers of my family who memorised it. So I memorised in the beginning about three parts and then after I completed the age of 13, I got married and became busy with the household and the children. After I had seven children, my husband died. They (the children) were all young so I took the time to raise them and educate them, and then after they grew up and got married, I had more time for myself. Therefore, the first thing I directed myself to focus upon was the Qur’an.
Q2: Tell us about your journey with the Noble Qur’an.
A: “My younger daughter was going to high school and she was the closest of my children to me and the most beloved, because she stayed with me after her older sisters got married and got busy with their lives, and because she was a quiet girl, upright, loving, and good. In addition, she was interested in learning the Noble Qur’an, and her teachers encouraged her. Furthermore, she was very enthusiastic and always told me of many women who were driven by this great motivation to memorise the Qur’aan, and this is where I started.
Q3: Tell me about your way of memorisation.
A: We (Umm Saalih and her school-going daughter) assigned 10 verses target daily. So each day after Asr, we used to sit together. She read and I repeated after her three times. Then she explained the meaning to me, and after a while, she repeated that three times. The next morning, she repeated them to me before she went to school. She recorded also the recitations of Ash-Shaykh al-Husary, Rahimuhullaah, repeating each verse three times and thus I continued to listen most of the time. Therefore, the next day we would go to the next 10 verses if my memorisation was good. Otherwise, we would postpone taking additional verses until the day after. Moreover, we assigned the day of Friday to review the memorisations of the entire week. And this was how the journey began.
Over four and a half years, I memorized 12 juz according to the way I described to you. Then this young daughter got married. When her husband knew of our task concerning the memorisation, he rented a house close to my house, so that he could allow the continuation of the memorisation. In addition, he, may Allah reward him, used to encourage us and sometimes sit with us listening, explaining and teaching. Then after three years of her marriage, my daughter got busy with the children and the household and our schedule was interrupted, but that did not make her give up. To the contrary, she sensed that my eagerness for the memorisation was still established so she looked for a special good teacher to continue the journey under her supervision. So, I completed the memorisation by the success of Allah and my daughter is still working to finish the memorisation of the Glorious Qur’an.
Q4: This motivation of yours, did it have an effect on other women around you?
A: It really had a good strong effect. My daughters and stepdaughters were all encouraged and worked on learning and teaching the Qur’an to their children and learning it themselves.
Q5: After finishing the Noble Qur’an, don’t you think about working on memorising hadith?
A: Now I have memorised 90 hadith and Inshaa Allah I will continue the journey. I depend, in my memorisation, upon the tapes and upon the Qur’n radio station. At the end of each week, my daughter comes and checks for me the memorisation of three hadith, and I am trying now to memorise more.
Q6: Over this period of memorisation of the Qur’an, did your life change? Was it affected in one way or another?
A: Yes, I went through a major change and I tried always, all praise is due to Allah, to obey Allah before I started the memorisation. However, after I started the task of memorisation, I began to feel a self-comfort, a great self-comfort and all worries began to move away from me. I even reached the stage of freeing myself from all these excessive worries concerning fearing for the children and their affairs, and my morale was boosted. I had a noble objective to work for and this is a great Nimah (Favour) from Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala upon me, since we know that some women, when they get old and they do not have a husband, and their children got married, may be destroyed by the empty time, thoughts, worries, and so forth. But, Al Hamdulillaah, I didn’t go through this and I made myself busy with a great task and a great objective.
Q7: Didn’t you think at one point, to join one of the circles focusing on teaching the Noble Qur’an?
A: Yes, some of the women suggested this to me, but I am a woman who got used to staying at home, and I don’t like to go out everyday, and Al Hamdulillaah, my daughter sufficed me from all difficulty and I was so happy while I was learning from her. My daughter had set an example in goodness and righteousness which we rarely find in our days. She started this task and journey with me while she was an adolescent and this is a critical age many people complain of. She used to pressure herself so that she could have spare time to teach me, and she used to teach me with kindness and wisdom. Her husband was a good help to her and he exerted a lot of effort. I ask Allah to give them success and to bring their children up on uprightness.”
Q8: What do you say to a woman of your age who wishes to learn and memorise the Qur’an yet she is worried about it and feeling unable to do so?
A: There shall be no despair for the one with firm, sincere and truthful determination. Begin with sincerity, firm determination and dependence on Allah at each time. And remember that at this age you should have the time for yourself. However, do not use your time to only go out or to sleep and so forth. Rather, busy yourself with righteous work.
Q9: Now what would you say to a woman who is still young? What would you advise her?
A: Make use of the favours Allah bestowed upon you: health and ways and means of comfort. Use that to memorise the Book of Allah. This is the light which enlivens your heart, your life and your grave after you die. And if you have a mother then exert the effort to teach her, and there is no better favour upon a mother than one of her righteous children aiding her to be close to Allah.

gulf times

[ashraf3h4]

may Allah b;less you
thanks for this meaning ful topic
may Allah make it for you a guidance at the end of time
memorizing Quraan has no age
we can do it even if we are so old
may Allah accept us