Inspired by the late Hafidh Ayuba Suleiman Diallo (1701–1773)

“His Memory was extraordinary; for when he was fifteen Years old he could say the whole Alcoran [Quran] by heart, and while he was here in England he wrote three Copies of it without the Assistance of any other Copy, and without so much as looking to one of those three when he wrote the others. He would often laugh at me when he heard me say I had forgot any Thing, and told me he hardly ever forgot any Thing in his Life, and wondered that any other body should.”

Ever since I read about hafidh Ayuba Suleiman Diallo to my children, my admiration for those who write the words of Allah has grown. It is the tradition of many to write what they memorise of His Book as a way to imprint what they learn in their minds and hearts. I remind my children how with hafidh Ayuba, even after being captured and taken away as a slave to Maryland, America, the Qur’an remained with him. It was his memorisation of it that kept his faith alive. And many years later, he was able to rewrite the mus’haf from memory. Three copies actually.

I didn’t learn to write Arabic until I was well into my twenties. I still don’t write it with confidence but I love writing it, especially of verses that I am journaling. I write very slowly, my penmanship of Arabic is nothing like that of English.

Last September I started a new course, this new teacher said every person of Qur’an should have three significant ways of continuously engaging with the Qur’an. Firstly, to have a daily wird (a regular portion we recite). Secondly, to have an amount we reflect and study regularly, and thirdly, Qur’an in the form of writing - our very own writing. As I sat in class and heard this advice, I remember thinking what lofty goals - I knew this wasn’t something I could do, this last goal was for others.

But that advice is stayed with me, brewing away in my mind - and then came this gift from @writethequran in the post last week. An entire Mus’haf to trace. It is an absolute beauty to lay eyes on. So well put together, following the exact pages of the mus’haf I use.

This feels like Allah is telling me that there is hope for that third goal - for me. I may not be able to write out entire pages of Qur’an but I can trace over these pages, as a way to lock what I know of His Book.

I don’t know a great deal of the Qur’an off by heart but this will push me. I want this to be my visual reminder to fill up, as I memorise.

Do you have a story like mine? Maybe you want your children to do this? Or a friend? What a beautiful way to spend time this Ramadan. The pages are stunning and have a large margin - perfect for adding reflections if someone wants to.

Written by instagram.com/gilded_dunya