الحمد لله الذي بنعمته تتم الصالحات
Ibu & Abah got 1st place this year, Alhamdulillah ❤️
But reflecting back on this hifz journey, it’s important to emphasize and remind ourselves that when it comes to Qur’an, what is most important is that we emphasize on process, not outcomes. Efforts, not results.
The greatest blessings in having being able to participate for memorization (Hafazan) in Majlis Tilawah is in “forcing ourselves” to a corner to prepare for it - by constant repetition of the Book of Allah.
What makes us better isn’t the results of a competition per se, it lies in the hours we spend practicing, revising, and strive to improve our craft, by stumbling to get things right, discovering our mistakes, ironing out the quirks, improving upon them, and mentally preparing ourselves for the challenges that lie ahead. There is much outside of our control which we do not yet anticipate (i.e. how nervous we get when we are actually there in the field) - so what we must do is prepare for what is IN our control: Training and preparation.
The following quote sums it best:
“Champions do not become champions when they win the event, but in the hours, weeks, months and years they spend preparing for it. The victorious performance itself is merely the demonstration of their championship character.” - Alan Armstrong
It's befitting also to emphasize an important detail of the following well-known Hadith of the Prophet ﷺ:
خَيْرُكُمْ مَنْ تَعَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ وَعَلَّمَهُ
“The best of you are those who learns the Qur'an and teaches is (to others)” (Al-Bukhari, Muslim)
The wordings used here are in the active tense - LEARNING & TEACHING. The emphasis isn't on your competency levels. Whether you are a beginner or an expert, as long as you are putting in the effort to learn and share what you know along the way, you could still very well be the best amongst mankind in the sight of the Creator, insha Allah. On the other hand, if one is already an “expert”, but have abandoned learning and/or teaching, then he/she is no longer entitled of such an honor. Process, not outcomes.
Naturally, our 4-year old Muawiyah didn’t win. It was his first time as the youngest contestant in a category with a eighteen little dudes competing together. But the focus wasn't to win. The first goal was to create a mission - a quest - to motivate himself to prepare. For the past 2 weeks, every time I offered him, “jom practice nak?” he would always reply with an enthusiastic “nak!”. And to me, that motivation to practice - the process - in and of itself is a huge win
The second goal was to break the ice in order to help him convince himself that “hey, I can actually pull this off”. Despite not being tall enough to reach the mic, he can put up a pretty decent effort beside the big boys, Masha Allah. When asked if he would want to join again, he answered with a confident, “Yup!”
Well done Little Man, on your first steps. Let’s bring our A-Game and do better next year, insha Allah.
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