Marife Turkish Journal of Religious Studies

Abstract

Memorizing the Quran has been regarded as a great value for Muslims throughout history, and in this context, it has always been envied to receive the rank of hafiz (memorization of the Qur’an). However, it is seen that especially in countries where the native language is not Arabic, learning the meaning of the memorized verses is widely neglected among Islamic countries and Muslims all around the world as opposed to the practice in the period of the prophet Muhammad(pbuh).
Training to be a hafiz is as old as the revelation of the Qur’an and one of the most important education fields. Though this training has been mostly carried out by systematic efforts of educational institutions, sometimes individual efforts also contributed to the continuation of it. The training of hafiz, which has never lost its charm in the Islamic world since the first day, has always maintained its importance among Islamic studies, although it has entered a period of stagnation in some periods of history. Undoubtedly, it is understood that the main purpose of the Companions in memorizing the verses by dividing them into groups of ten, is to grasp the meanings of the verses thoroughly, and this proves that memorizing the Quran is not limited to the text, but understanding and applying its verses is as important as memorizing it. But it can easily be said that over time, the training of hafizs in Turkey and generally in Islamic world as moved away from this practice.
The Quran has been sent down in order to be read and understood beautifully, as well as the basic principles it has revealed to be included and applied in all areas of life. In a study conducted in recent years, it was found that 85% of those who completed their memorization of the Qur’an in our country work in other fields other than jobs related to religious education. When this result is carefully considered, it is understood that the labor spent for the training of hafizs in our country is not being transformed into productive results.
The memorization of the Quran is continued in the form of text memorization in accordance with the rules of tajwid, almost without paying attention to the meanings of the verses in the Quran courses. Even though a little portion of the students who want to memorize the Qur’an have prior Arabic knowledge, most of the students without an Arabic language education start their education of merely memorizing the verses without understanding the meaning as a religious duty. However, the ideal in memorizing the Quran should be to put the content of the literal text in the center of life as well as memorization. In this respect, in our country where the spoken language is not Arabic, a method that aims to teach the meaning of the Quran should be developed instead of just the process of memorizing the text of the Quran. In the process of memorization of the Quran, which takes an average of 2-3 years, not only the memorization of the text of the Quran, but also its meaning and content should definitely take its place in the project. It is obvious that memorization made without understanding and without its reflection in life will not be very useful in making sense of life. By the way, it should also be stated that memorizing the text of the Quran together with Arabic language education will contribute to the permanent memorization and awareness of the content of the memorized text.
The most valuable thing to be done in order to advance the quality of the training of hafizs is to increase the rate of working in professions suitable for a hafiz from 15% to 60% - 70%. For this, first of all, it is necessary to increase the quality of the memorization training and to develop both the teacher and the student profile for qualified education.
In order to improve the quality of memorization education, before starting to memorize the Quran, a 2-year program should be implemented by keeping the intermediate and summer holidays very short in the preparation phase. 1.5 years of this program should consist of Arabic language education, 6 months of it must include basic religious knowledge, proper Qur'an reading, talim, tajwid, mahâric-i huruf education and some courses in the curriculum of Imam-Hatip high schools. Although it varies from person to person, the Quran should be memorized in an average of 2 years. In this process, the curriculum of Imam-Hatip high schools should be included in this process and the program should be prepared accordingly. In this way, students who have successfully completed the memorization training program in a total of 4 years, including preparatory education, if they prefer the Faculty of Theology or Islamic Sciences in the exams of the MSPC(ÖSYM) should be transferred to these faculties by giving them additional points.