Alhamdulillah, this year I obtained 2nd place (Naib Johan) for Hafazan (memorization) category for this year's Majlis Tilawah Al-Qur'an (MTAQ), PETRONAS.
I would like to take this opportunity to encourage everyone to continuously up their efforts in memorization and the continuous up-skilling of the Qur'an - the most important book in our lives.
Especially to my colleagues working in PETRONAS - participate!
The organization invests a tremendous amount of money and resources to organizing this event: from the cost of logistics, even down to the massive prizes.
Even throughout the tough "bad economy" years during the low-oil-price-crisis when budgets were slashes left right and center, MTAQ still continued and never stopped unlike other events such as Sports, team building, etc.
The prizes alone are actually kind of awesome. Just to put into perspective, this is only my 6th year of participation since I first joined in 2013, and to date, I have won an iPad, two mobile phones, a few watches, an air fryer (!), and cash prizes too ما شاء الله.. اللهم بارك .
All of this investment and dedication signifies the Organization's serious intention and OWNERSHIP of continuously encouraging the knowledge of the Qur'an amongst its employers and family members.
Let us embrace this investment and strive to realize our organization's vision to produce the best of mankind, as was mentioned by the Prophet (ﷺ):
خَيْرُكُمْ مَنْ تَعَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ وَعَلَّمَهُ
“The best of you are those who learn the Qur'an and teach it” (Narrated by Al-Bukhari, Muslim)
Do not be discouraged or intimidated by your current skill level, how much you have memorized, nor feel at a disadvantage for not memorising when you were in school. Whatever your skill level is, just start/continue learning, and don't stop.
Me personally, I only really started my memorization when I started work - well into my adult years. At that point of time, my tajwid was poor and I was struggling to memorize Surah an-Nas to Surah Ad-Duha, the 'basic' portion of the 30th juz (Surah lazim).. Tu pun tak lepas.
But Alhamdulillah as Allah opened my heart in learning Qur'an, I began memorizing bit by bit.. (though initially with no intent of participation in MTAQ: I thought that was nigh impossible for a person of my 'level'). Five years later, when the invitation e-mail was issued for MTAQ 2013 - those bit-by-bit efforts bore fruit Alhamdulillah, and I was at a point where I almost memorized most of the syllabus, and after much internal debate and consideration, I decided to give it a go and registered as an attempt to "push" myself to memorize more and revise more.
And thus began my journey, and I'm glad I took that step.
The format of Hafazan category is – 5 questions at random; 1st question Al-Fatihah, other four questions can be random from any of the specified surah – Al-Kahf, Luqman, As-Sajdah, Al-Mulk Al-Mudathir, Al-Qiyamah, Al-Insan, and Juz 30 (all in all, ~2.5 juz’). Each question requires recitation of about half a page (1.5 minutes each).
Technically, the actual competition takes about 10 minutes only for each person.
So – all that trouble and resources, and over 2+ juz of Qur'an, simply boiled down to just 10 minutes?
Well, it’s not “just” about the 10 minutes – in the same way that an 100-metre Olympic sprinter isn’t just about “10 seconds on the track”: It’s about the effort invested behind the scenes. In the case of Hifz, it is the continuous effort to sharpen the perfection of your memorization: to practice, improve tajwid, continuously repeat, braving the nervous stage fright, etc.
The athlete sharpens his craft day-by-day to strive towards perfection, and when the moment comes – he makes it count.
Winning is a mindset, not the result.
Constable Ahmad Fauzi - my fellow Hafazan competitor who works as security in Kuantan, participating in MTAQ for the first time since 2010 - and Masha Allah - scored a near-perfect 96.5 to earn his top for first place as champion, and winning an Umrah package as prize.. masha Allah Allahumma barik.
According to some insider info, my score difference with first place was only 1.5 - and apparently that difference was only due to marks in "Gaya dan Suara" (Style and voice) - whereas for the other categories - Hafazan (memorization), Tajwid, and Fasohah, both of us scored virtually identical.
Although I "lost" to him, but Alhamdulillah I'm still very happy and satisfied with my own overall performance, that I at least I did relatively well for my hifz and tajwid - which was technically the whole intention of participating in the first place. What this also means is that given the circumstances, it was the best I could have hoped to perform and I was defeated purely due to a subjective category - voice and style.
It is interesting to note that this judging category (voice/stlye) is completely subjective - and thus technically also means that there is no guarantee of 'winning' even if one performs at 100% accuracy. There were participants who have won previous MTAQ, but this time did not get #1. Considering the other underlying psychological factors that may make one nervous and influence one's capability, the element of uncertainty is always present.
Nevertheless, "winning" isn't the ultimate objective - the objective is the continuous improvement in the Qur'an.
What truly counts is the journey it takes to get there - the hours of memorization, practice, revisions, knowledge - from striving to be the best of mankind who "learns and teaches the Qur'an", the rewards of every single letter recited from it, and the continuous investment to build passion towards the book of Allah. That effort - the journey alone, is success in an of itself, Alhamdulillah.
Having said that though, to put things into perspective, if - in spite of all that nervous stage fright - one can still consistently recite at 100% accuracy, still maintain an excellent voice and impress the judges, then yeah : you definitely deserve the Umrah package #Respect
Mock cheque only. Value cannot be divided
There is a slight change in syllabus for this year's MTAQ. They added 3 new surah - surah Luqman, Al-Mudathir, and Al-Qiyamah - and they removed 3 Surah - surah yaseen, al-Waqiah, al-Jumu'ah. The rest of the syllabus remains the same - surah Al-Kahf, Al-Mulk, As-Sajdah, Al-insan, and the whole Juz' Amma #30.
Although most of the syllabus remains largely the same (about 80% is identical for the past few years), it doesn't mean that once one has memorised, one has "got it".
The effort of memorizing is a continuous journey - and requires a lot of repetition. Since accuracy is key, its in the details that present a challenge - the vowels, potential mixup with other verses in other verses/surah, etc.
The idea is to repeat enough times for it to gradually get embedded in our subconscious - and flows effortlessly from our heads.
Just like the "songs" we used to memorize when we were growing up. How come, despite years of not listening to them, we can still recall the lyrics so well? Because we repeated them so much that it's "stored" in our long term memory.
The idea and core value to drive this is to develop a passion towards the Qur'an. A passion that comes from within that makes us genuinely want to continuously recite and repeat it without feeling that it is a "chore" or a "burden". The
Think about the "songs" we used to repeat so much, that we just "can't get out of our heads" : is because this is a natural consequence that we "love" these songs.. Not a burden!
The biggest step to developing passion towards the Qur'an is to learn it and be familiar with it, understand it. You cannot love or feel ownership for something that is foreign or alien to you.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said,
تَعَاهَدُوا الْقُرْآنَ فَوَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ لَهُوَ أَشَدُّ تَفَصِّيًا مِنَ الإِبِلِ فِي عُقُلِهَا
"Keep on revising the Qur'an! For (I swear) by Him in Whose Hand my life is, the Qur'an runs away (is forgotten) faster than camels that are released from their tying ropes." (Narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
KONTINJEN ZON SARAWAK
Syabas semua atas usaha anda dalam MTAQ Petronas 2018! BarakAllahu fikum.
Bagi yang tidak mendapat johan untuk kategori anda, keep up the effort and good work.. usahlah rasa kecil hati atau putus asa. Kemenangan sebebar itu terletak dalam ganjaran dan keredhaan Allah atas usaha anda mempelajari kitab-Nya
Rasulullah ﷺ bersabda
خَيْرُكُمْ مَنْ تَعَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ وَعَلَّمَهُ
“(Manusia) Yang terbaik di antara kamu adalah mereka yang BELAJAR al-Qur’an dan MENGAJARKANNYA (kepada orang lain)” (HR Al-Bukhari, Muslim)
مَنْ قَرَأَ حَرْفًا مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ فَلَهُ بِهِ حَسَنَةٌ وَالْحَسَنَةُ بِعَشْرِ أَمْثَالِهَا لاَ أَقُولُ الم حَرْفٌ وَلَكِنْ أَلِفٌ حَرْفٌ وَلاَمٌ حَرْفٌ وَمِيمٌ حَرْفٌ
“Barangsiapa yang membaca satu huruf daripada Kitab Allah, maka baginya ganjaran pahala – dan setiap pahala kebaikan itu digandakan sebanyak sepuluh kali ganda.
Aku tidak katakan “Alif Lam Mim” itu satu huruf, bahkan “alif” itu satu huruf, “lam” satu huruf, dan “Mim” satu huruf” (HR At-Tirmidzi)
Semoga ianya menjadi iktibar kepada kita semua untuk kuatkan azam serta semangat dalam istiqamah atas al-Qur’an. Sentiasa perbanyakkanlah usaha antum dalam belajar dan ulangkaji -
تَعَاهَدُوا الْقُرْآنَ فَوَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ لَهُوَ أَشَدُّ تَفَصِّيًا مِنَ الإِبِلِ فِي عُقُلِهَا
“Sentiasa ulangkajilah Al-QUr’an – kerana Aku Bersumpah Demi (Allah) Dzat yang Jiwaku di tangan-Nya; ianya lebih cepat berlari (yakni dilupakan / hilang) daripada unta yang (lari selepas) dilepaskan daripada ikatannya” (HR Al-Bukhari, Muslim)
Juga ucapan terima kasih kepada AJK kontingen yang banyak membantu kami sepanjang acara. Semoga Allah balas jasa dan kebaikan dalam memudahkan kami sepanjang Majlis.
Semoga berjumpa lagi di tahun-tahun akan datang.
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