Heba Salama

Memorizing Quran is not the end..

rather it's the start of understanding

She is an amiable, simple and wonderful person as one of her close network\friend describes her. She likes giving and learning new things. She is magnetic to Spirituality and it relieves her. She has insight, cares of details and is extremely organized. You can notice from the first glance her calmness and modesty.

This is Heba Salama, a pharmacy college graduate. She is into the voluntary work because she likes to help people and that passion took her to Life Makers Charity Society  in 2006 to teach orphans in the orphans Team, and at last she joined Shifa' ( healing) health program in the association. Heba also is Hafiza ( memorizer) of the holy Quran ( she has completely memorized the Quran) and she studies Tajweed (rules of recitation) at Preserving Quran Association. Heba likes crafts and cooking because, as she puts it, she makes something from nothing. Sshe abode responsibility of others since her childhood and this raised in her persistence and a productive spirit in life. Her relation with her mother is strong as she states. And now it's time to know more about Heba Salama :)

1- How did your journey of voluntary work start, and did your family play a role in motivating and supporting you?

I have started voluntary work at Raihan Quranic Center in Al-Byader district along with my voluntary work with associations, and through my work in the center I sought to have sufficient amount of knowledge which I can deliver to others, so I held Tajweed courses for children. After that I met sister Rana Ragheb at one of the courses and since that time my journey has started with Life Makers Association. My family did not stand against the idea of voluntary work but conditioned separation and balancing between it and my personal life so none of them could affect the other.

2- How did you manage your responsibilities in your family being the eldest?

I consider this position in the family as a burden and an advantage at the same time. I took the responsibility with my mother at home when I was in the fourth grade, and she kept relying on me for a long time.

3- The slogan of Life Makers Association in Jordan is: " They are young men who believed in their Lord (Allah), and we increased them in guidance "(a verse in Quran),  What can you say about the slogan and how do you find the association after years of working in it?

The slogan of the association is great and it expresses us and what we do. Actually, Life Makers Association is a fabulous and objective idea. The work has started excellently but it is always in need of development.

4- What is your ambition on the personal level and in your current work with Shifa'?

As my memorization of the Holy Quran was a first Khatma (completion), so of course it needs confirmation,. thus my ambition at first place is to confirm my memorization of the Holy Quran and to take the chain of transmission and study thoroughly the modes of recitations. Also I aspire to complete a Masters in administration or any related field.

5- Most of people who worked with you praised your accuracy and your management skills, what is your motivation for that and how did you acquire the managerial skills?

I acquired the managerial skills by bearing the responsibility with my family and the charity work. A colleague of me in the pharmacy field as well had a favor of acquiring such skills for what she has from experience in this field through her work and the management courses she took. So I learned from her how to apply these skills on my life, and as a result my feeling of the importance of this field in life has increased.

The closest Ayah (verse) to my heart is :

" Has not the time come for those who believe to submit their hearts to Allah's reminder and to that which has been revealed of truth "

She says : I like it very much and I feel like yes my Lord it has come.

6-  If you seek knowledge you should meditate on the meanings of the Quran, because it embodies the history of formers as well as the latters. who encouraged you to memorize the Quran and how much that had influence on you?

Spending my first study years in Saudi Arabia was the reason in encouraging me, as the level of the Holy Quran and the focus given to it in Saudi Arabia is very high. Some people noticed that I have a nice voice in reading the Holy Quran so they encouraged me to develop my skills in this field. for that I started Tajweed and  had at the same time the aim of memorizing. it was a wonderful feeling when I was reciting without looking at the Quran, but I have to inform you that memorizing is not the end rather the start of understanding.

7- How long did it take you to memorize the Quran and what are the most notable difficulties you have faced?

It took me 3 years to memorize the Holy Quran. Revision and confirmation were from the difficulties that I have encountered, as when I memorize new thing I find out that I forgot what I had memorized before, so difficulty was represented in reconciling between memorizing the new chapters  and not to forget the old ones. To avoid this problem I recommend to adhere to a person for recitation because relying on yourself in both memorizing and recitation leads to the listlessness of resolve. Besides you should put a program of memorizing and confirmation together as the former without the latter causes forgetfulness.

8- Allah The Almighty has guaranteed to preserve Quran and has commanded us several times to understand, meditate, and consider the Quran. In your opinion, why nowadays we find out that all the efforts go for the memorizing more than the understanding?

Because memorizing Quran has become " prestige" for so many persons as if someone has a Bachelor degree in some specialty and is showing off regardless whether he understands this specialty or not.

9- What is your advice for those who wants their hearts to be attached to the Quran?

To listen to Quran frequently; we see when many reciters read the same Ayah[verse] in different tones, its meaning and impact differ from person to another. Also to have a specific Werd ( specific section or part of the Holy Quran recited every day ) of the Holy Quran. One of the important things that helps us to be attached to the Holy Quran is to make a direct link between life and it. Therefore, when we encounter any problem we look for its solution in the Quran, and in case the same problem occurred again we know that its solution is in the Quran, that's how our hearts spontaneously become attached to it.

Heba Slama explains Ayah :

" From the land that is clean and good, by the will of its Cherisher, springs up produce, (rich) after its kind but from the land that is bad, springs up nothing but that which is niggardly."

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