IQRA is pleased to announce a new blog and newsletter series featuring our students entitled, ‘Student Spotlight.’ With such a rich variety of students from all over the world and unique stories and accomplishments we wanted to share their stories with you.

Today we shine the light on Omar Abutaleb, 20 yo, college student studying Chemical Engineering at University of Arizona.

Read on to learn when he started, how he chose IQRA and his method for studying!

Q:Are you a native Arabic speaker?
I was born in the United States, but I speak Arabic.

Q:When did you start your journey to memorize Quran?
I started in February 18, 2019.

Q:How much Quran did you know before joining IQRA?
I memorized half of Juz ‘Amma on my own.

Q:Before joining IQRA, what other ways did you try to learn?
I tried on my own, just listening and trying to memorize with audio. I do not recommend that!

My teacher is Sheikh Bhaa. He would always advise me to take it easy on myself while revising so I stay motivated.

Q: How else did Sh. Bhaa help in your memorization?
He told me the advice of our Prophet Muhammad (saw) when he said, “Do good deeds properly, sincerely, and moderately, and know that your deeds will not make you enter paradise, and that the most beloved deed to Allah is the most regular and constant even if it were little. [Bukhari, 6464]

Q:Students want to know, what was your schedule?
I took classes for 6 days a week (6 hours total), and only took Fridays off. When I wasn’t in class, I would do revision by myself.

Q: Mash’Allah, that is dedication and discipline! What was your revision method?
I would revise 1 juz per day, and every 5 days I would revise those previous 5 ajaza. I would then continue revising those 5 until I completed another 5 ajaza, and so on. I practiced and was able to finish the Quran every 6 days during revision.

My advice for students memorizing the Quran is to find someone you can practice reciting with as much as possible. It’s better to recite with a teacher who can correct your tajweed. Set small goals for yourself to stay motivated and don’t overburden yourself with goals that are too big and make you want to quit.

Omar was generous enough to share his calendar revision:

Jazak Allah Khayir Omar! May Allah reward you. Ameen! We have no doubt you will be successful in all your ventures.