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Qur’an Memorizers and School Education
Question asked by Saba Qadir.
Posted on: Tuesday, July 15, 2008 - Hits: 836

Question:
I am in the field of education and have met several people who have pulled their children from main stream schools at grade seven and sent them for hifz (memorizing the Qur’ān) for two years and then put them back in mainstream school. This seems an ideal situation. What are two years in a child’s life? In reality it is a life changer and not necessary a good one. Schools are asked to take the student back in mainstream schooling at grade eight though he should be in grade ten. The problem is this child is not of the age group of the rest of the class. He/she is much more mature and aware than the rest. He cannot or should not be taken at this level. If he is taken various problems arise in that class. Putting an over age student at the teenage level in a younger age group class is a very dangerous and risky thing.

My question is: Is it necessary to put children through this we as parents and adults are burdening our children with a vast responsibility a choice they did not make. Should it not be a choice of an adult especially when it just does not stop there. You have to revise to remember at the same time and catch up on your other studies. If a child decides he does not care to remember all the Qur’ān, can he do that? After all, it was not his choice. How much is the child responsible for a decision which was taken for him when he was not old and mature enough to decide for himself?

Answer:
If the process of memorizing the Qur’ān is spread over the whole schooling period of about 11-12 years, then perhaps some of the problems you have alluded to can be resolved.

I am personally not in the favour of pulling children out from their education for some years for hifz purposes. It does effect their psyche negatively in the society we live in and also creates the problem of age difference in the class, as you have pointed out. Hifz can easily be accommodated if the process is extended till high school education. Children generally have good memories at younger ages.

As far as the fact that the decision of memorizing the Qur’ān is done by the parents is concerned, we must not forget that we take many decisions for them for their well-being when they themselves are not able to. For example, we send them to school at a young age. They have not taken this decision themselves. But children seldom regret this decision taken by their parents. This is because of the utility it carries for them.

One can say that parents by virtue of their relationship with their children do have a right to take such decisions. However, they must be wise in selecting which of their children is suited for this cherished task. Moreover, if the children are not pulled out from school and the task of memorizing is spread out to their whole schooling, I am quite sure that most of the children would honour the decision of their parents. Another measure which will endear them to the message of God is to make them go through a good translation of the Qur’ān so that they have an idea of what they have in their hearts. If they are able to learn Qur’ānic Arabic, then this is even better.

wassalam
Shehzad Saleem

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