3 Steps to Reconnect with the Qur’an in Ramadan After a Year of Disconnect
Last updated October 4, 2021
It happens. We all make goals in Ramadan to have a plan to read/memorize/study the Qur’an, and within a few weeks, we fall off the wagon. Then we look up, and suddenly it is Ramadan again. We’re wracked with guilt because we realize it has been months since we had a meaningful relationship with the book of Allah.
Let’s not belabor the point. Ramadan is around the corner.
How do we do to reconnect?
You need to enter the month with a singular focus on the Qur’an. For purposes of this article, we will break that down into the following categories: Reading, Listening, and Memorizing.
Before proceeding, you need to ditch all other goals or resolutions you had for the month. We’re focusing on the basics only.
Reading
Your goal is to complete a cover to cover reading of the Qur’an during Ramadan.
Don’t agonize over how many pages to read after each prayer, and how far behind schedule you might get when its the middle of Ramadan. Keep pushing. You might have a day where you only read one page - make it up with another day where you read 35.
Don’t let yourself off the hook by lowering the goal to something like reading half of the Qur’an. Push yourself.
*The obvious exception here is if you are not yet able to fluently read - in which case, push yourself to read as much as you can.
Listening
Find one recitation of the Qur’an and do your best to listen to it all the way through. That means no podcasts, music, or audiobooks this month. Devote your listening time to the Qur’an.
If you don’t know where to start, here’s one recommendation.
If you have not had any relationship with the Qur’an since at least last Ramadan, I would recommend stopping here. Dedicate all your time and energy to completing the Qur’an once by reading and once by listening.
Memorizing
Do your best to memorize some portion of the Qur’an this month, even if it is a little bit.
If you’re not sure where to start, set a goal that is small and aligns with one of the sunnahs associated with reciting a particular part of the Qur’an.
For example, your goal could be to memorize the last 2 ayaat of Surah Baqarah, which is a sunnah to read every night. For something a bit tougher, memorize Surah Mulk.
Please note, the goal is not to memorize a certain amount daily or have an audacious goal like memorizing 5 juz. Set a small goal of a couple of lines or a couple of pages at most.
If you haven’t memorized anything new over the past year, even 2 new lines will be an improvement that will help you build momentum for doing more once the month ends.
Use these tips to let your heart fall back in love with the Qur’an.
‘Abdullāh ibn Masʿūd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said, “No person (“no believer” in another report) suffers any anxiety or grief, and then says: O Allah, I am your slave, the son of your slave and the son of your maid-slave. Your command over me is forever executed and Your decree over me is just. I ask you by every Name belonging to You, which You have Named Yourself with, or revealed in Your Book, or You taught to any of Your creation, or You have preserved in the knowledge of the unseen with You, that You make the Qur’ān the life of my heart and the light of my chest, and a departure for my sorrow and a release for my anxiety) except that Allah will remove his sorrow and replace it with happiness.”
