December 2020

When a person is learning to drive, they will stall the car many times. This is to be expected. An instructor should not shout at the student for this. The student signed up for classes because they don't know how to drive.  Many of the women and girls who recite to me will express negative self-talk. "Sorry...." "I'm making so many mistakes..." "Sorry, could I try that again...." "I don't know what's wrong with me...." coupled with sighs of frustration.

I'd make a mistake in my recitation and my teacher would correct it. Instead of fixing it, I'd often make the same mistake many times. I'd feel rubbish about myself and often apologise to her. It's very rare for a person to immediately correct their recitation. The teacher might say: Put your tongue here... Move your mouth like this... All of this is specific feedback, but it takes time for the student to implement.

When you learn to drive, you will stall the car repeatedly.

The reason you hired an instructor is because you don't know how to drive and they do. Similarly, it is precisely because I don't know how to recite that a teacher was sought.

Self-blame and negative self-talk can be detrimental to our learning; I'm less likely to pronounce the sound correctly because I really believe that I cannot do it, and anticipate my mistake. A positive attitude made a better learning environment for myself, but probably for my teacher, too. Instead of saying 'I just can't get it right', I'd say 'Thank you, I'll work on that. If you have any resources, I'd appreciate them.'

To the teacher, negative self-talk may even sound like excuses. "I can't say it" sounds like I'm not going to try, whereas "Thank you, I'll practice that" sounds like a student who is interested in putting in the work outside of class to get it right. Spending some time to make our perspective to learning more positive will be uplifting for both the teacher and student.

A good, honest teacher would not give up on you, as long as you do not give up on yourself.

My teacher said to me.... “I'm willing to help as long as you're willing to learn.” I think that really summarises our teachers' perspective clearly. She will help even the worst of students (me) if I just show up. She puts in a lot of work to help me, although I don't deserve it. She has a lot of patience with me. This is what I was saying to her, when she said that sentence.

It is important to note that one should not take corrections personally. The student would be at fault if they did so. It is from shaytan.

It is because the teacher cares for us that they spend time to think what the mistake is, how to word it to us, explain it to us, and then keep listening until we get it right. The teacher is not obligated to exert so much time and effort in giving you specific feedback - yet they do so. This is out of their love. We must always appreciate them and increase in love for them. The teacher does not 'dislike' you! That is shaytān's whisperings to make you dislike the class and stop showing up (Allāh protect us!). Specific feedback is the hardest to give to you, yet the most effective for your progress in any skill. (See Ultralearning by Scott Young)

If a person is teaching, they have signed up to correct the same mistake again and again. A person who is not patient cannot be a teacher. I began saying thank you instead of sorry. I acknowledged that I am learning to 'drive' (recite) and that's okay. I just need some direction to get my license. If you beat yourself up too much, you may allow shaytan to get the better of you.

When a person is learning, people are kind to them on the road. They are clearly labelled as a learner. People slow down and are more mindful, more accepting of errors and sudden movements.

Sometimes I feel like putting a big sign on my head ― 'LEARNER RECITER' please be kind!

No one would take a learner driver onto the motorway for their first lesson. Just because you've seen so many cars throughout your life, it doesn't mean YOU can drive. Similarly, someone might say: "Well, you've heard this sūrah..." or, "Well, you read this every day..." Yes, but that does not mean I can read it(!)

When you have your license, you forget what it was like to stall the car at the traffic lights, or not understand how to reach the biting point of the clutch. This is a call to empathy. Don't allow someone to talk down to you ― but don't talk down to yourself, either! Just as you progressed from first gear to second, third, fourth and finally fifth (or sixth!), you will learn to progress in your recitation, provided you keep at it. You may even 'overtake' others, if you work hard enough and beg Allah!

We make a mistake when we rely upon ourselves instead of Allāh. Yes, I alone cannot achieve this. But when I trust in Allāh, suddenly, the impossible doesn't seem so unlikely :)

May Allāh make my teacher's patience with me heavy on her scales of good deeds. She will tirelessly correct every ḥarf, without any sense of impatience in her voice, nor any complaint against me as a poor student (which I most certainly am). May Allāh reward her in folds. No matter how many times I 'stall' the car, she will still come to the next lesson, and the next, and the next...

Allah preserve them all!

Note: This was particularly written with converts in mind, or women who haven't recited in some time and are not comfortable reciting aloud.

Resource: A course I thoroughly enjoyed in 2021 was Tajweed in Practice. It was a free course, now available on YouTube. The teacher selected certain verses (e.g. Ayat al Kursi, Surat an-Nas) and explained how to recite every single letter correctly. He then pronounced everything slowly so the students could copy, and provided them feedback. He taught the way a person would teach a learner. Patiently, comprehensively, and without assuming the student already knew something. Highly recommend! Click here to access for free.