Bismillah
As salaamu alaikum (May the peace of paradise be upon you)
With the name of the Most Gracious, Most Merciful Allah. Where to begin? I first learned to read arabic when I was 6. My parents made sure to give us good Islamic education and good academics. So I definitely never went to public school. My relationship with the Qur’an has been an up and down battle, with more mountains that hills, and more hills than valleys. But through all the Qur’an summer camps and spending weeks on the same three lines of one sura (chapter), I never quite gave up the dream. I always imagined that one day I would be hafiz (preserver of Qur’an). I always hoped that I could teach Qur’an to my children and the children of whatever community I would be a part of. But as I got older and entered my late teens I put my dreams in a safe place somewhere in the back of my mind. I took them out every now and then and imagined all the things I could do if those dreams were realities. And when I was finished looking at them and dreaming about them I returned them to that same safe place not knowing if they would ever be fulfilled.
Well, as you could have guessed, my dream for being hafiz didn’t stay in the safety box. But that doesn’t mean the dream floated down a passive stream and I just scooped it out as it passed me either. It took two years and about a quart of tears before I reached a point of commitment and contentment that could not be shaken. When it gets hard I no longer want to give up. I just take a break and restart later. I’ve got two juz (section) down and 28 to go. So Bismillah…