We all try to get some knowledge and learn something new as we live our lives. For me personally, which some of my old posts reveal, it is sometimes overwhelming considering how much there is to learn in Islam. One solution for this is to have a type of schedule and stick to it. And as everyone knows from experience, it is better to do a little consistently than to do a lot in a short period and then get overwhelmed and quit. So here is my advice what you can do which wont take a lot of time but will, if you stick to it, help you alot insha’Allah. And this is just for inspiration, try to find something that works for you and when it comes to daily activities you should obviously try to follow the Sunnah and lead your life as our Prophet sall Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam did in terms of adhkar, the Sunnah prayers, reading the Qur’an, etc. Just follow his guidance sall Allahu ‘alayhi wa ‘ala alihi wa sahbihi wa sallam.
Now, one thing I found out from this video is that a great way to memorize the Qur’an is through having a schedule where you just memorize some ayat everyday (3-5) and stick to that. Then you use a software like www.reciter.org where you again and again repeat the verses you want to memorize (listening to the qari) and then use your prayers and spare time (like for instance when walking to the masjid) for revision. After having memorized a certain amount you then take a break in the memorization process and instead focus on revision and you then start over again. The shaykh in the video suggested using Fridays for revision. If nothing else, make sure to recite what you know of the Qur’an in your daily prayers so that you don’t forget it.
Another things is reading. I want to read Islamic books but again there is so much and just the thought of all the knowledge out there to be gained can make you think “what’s the point”. So instead of trying to read every book out there I decided to make sure to read at least a few pages every day and not let a day pass without doing that if I am able to. What I do is, during the day I read a few pages from one of the avalible e-books (from, for instance www.islamhouse.com) and before I go to sleep I read from one of the books I have in my shelf.
And to add to this one can try to listen to an audio lecture, or parts of it, as many days a week as possible and practical. Here I am not talking about general talks (even though there is a lot of good in them you should listen to them sometimes as well), rather I’m talking about classes where you get more in-depth knowledge.
If you don’t know arabic you can combine your studies of it with general Islamic knowledge at this site:
http://www.mediu.org/eMaahad/eBooks/index.htm
Besides the lessons on grammar etc., you can read ahadith/stories of the Prophet/fiqh-lessons and learn vocabulary at the same time. You can, for instance, read one hadith and the explanation the words and the meaning everyday and try to stick to that schedule.
This was some advice that I hope can be useful insha’Allah. If it is too much (or perhaps even to little for you), you can adjust it so it fits you better just make sure to stick to the schedule as the Prophet sall Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam told us that consistency, even if it is a small deed that you are consistent with, is beloved to Allah.
Here are two good articles:
