Top 10 memorization (hifz) advice from Mauritanian Scholars

The scholars of the Mahdara in Nabbāghiyyah have recommended the following:

1: Start with حمد (praising Allāh ﷻ) and send ṣalawāt on the Prophet ﷺ for having given you the opportunity and ability to learn.

2: Make the نية (intention) to attain the رضا (pleasure) of Allāh Almighty.

3: التوبة (repentance). True knowledge is نور (light), and the نور of Allāh is not given to a sinner.

4: Choose the calmest time and place. Late night, one or two hours before fajr, and early morning until sunrise are best. Allocate the evening to revising what you memorized in the morning and make sure that in the early part of the evening or the night, you correctly read and study the meanings of the new bites before memorizing them the next morning.

5: Allocate sufficient time to the preservation of what you already memorized and continue to repent always and seek refuge from forgetting.

6: Start with small bites and increase gradually as you become more acquainted. One or two sentences well retained are not too little.

7: Make sure to preserve the prayers in congregation at their prescribed times, with their conditions, and known etiquettes.

8: Develop patience, perseverance, and thankfulness to Allāh ﷻ. Never underestimate the value of any amount of knowledge. A memorized verse, ḥadīth, or a single line, will multiply if you keep thanking Allāh ﷻ for them, as thankfulness is one of the causes of having more. So, thank Allāh ﷻ for the blessing of understanding. Take the habit of sincerely thanking Allāh ﷻ after each lesson, for what you added to your knowledge, and while sending ṣalawāt on the Prophet ﷺ, ask Allāh ﷻ to preserve it for you from being forgotten, so He returns it to you at a time you need it.

9: Ask your teachers and peers to pray for you.

10: Whatever you have learned well, pledge it to help those who have not acquired it. Help them, and Allāh ﷻ will help you.