Tilawah @ IIUM

Every Tuesday night since October 2008, my time has been occupied attending the tilawah class at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). It all started when I realized that my children can recite Al-Quran so much better than me and know tajwid at their finger tips. Furthermore, at that time, Dini already at MTS and has completed hafazan of several juzuk and Faiz and Thaqif have khatam Al-Quran.

I started searching in the internet for tilawah classes for adult and I found one Sekolah Al Quran which is located behind the Sheraton Imperial Hotel but the timing was not suitable for me. So, I decided to join IIUM which offered Tilawah Course For The Public (KUTAQ) under the Institute for Language Advancement (IfLA), Tilawah Division. They offered the courses in stages depending on your fluency in reciting Quran but you need to be interviewed by the panel before they determine a level suitable for you.

The level starts from Asas 1, Asas 2, Kemahiran, Tajwid 1, Tajwid 2, Tajwid 3, Tilawah & Tafsir, Taranum and Qiraat A’syarah. I started from the beginning Asas 1 for one semester followed by Asas 2 and Kemahiran. One semester consist of 18 weeks with 36 hours lessons and the fees is RM360. At the end of the semester, you have to sit for an exam where you will be tested on your recitation. You need to score above 80% in order to proceed to the next stage.

When I started Asas 1 in 2008, Ustaz Nik Saiful Azizi taught me and he continued to teach me when I moved to Asas 2. He is a Kelantanese and was a former student of MTAQ and he happened to know my father-in-law. When I proceeded to Kemahiran, I have to change ustaz as Ustaz Nik had to take study leave to do his Phd. This round, I was taught by Ustaz Idriss.

Ustaz Idriss is from Morocco. He taught us mahraj in Kemahiran class last semester and his classes were conducted in English and little bit of Arabic! Obviously, he doesn’t know how to speak Bahasa! Well, not many have the opportunity to learn Quran/Tajwid in English and we are the privilege ones. He continued to teach me now at Tajwid 1. There will be two more classes before the big exam on 24 July 2010! And this time it is a combination of oral and written exams!! There are seven of us in the class, four ladies and three men with majority of us being senior citizens.

Last Tuesday, one of our coursemate, Kak Halimah was kind enough to treat us. She cooked delicious food, nasi beryani, grill lamb, beef stew, salad and carrot cake. Thank you Kak Halimah for your generosity and the lovely food.

To Ustaz Idriss and Ustaz Nik Saiful Azizi, thank you very much for your patient in teaching me the words of Allah. May Allah bestow his blessings on you and your family. Jazaka Allahu Khairan. To my course mates, good luck in the exam and hope to see you at the next level.

Sabda Rasullullah (SAW) "The best of you are the ones who learn the Qur’an and teach it to others” [Al-Bukhari]

To those interest to know more about the courses offered, please click on http://www.iiu.edu.my/celpad/kutaq/.