Reconnect With The Qur'an.
A guide booklet for anyone who hasn't lost their faith — just their rhythm with the Book.
You haven't lost your faith.
You've lost your rhythm. Here's how to find it again.
Issued by
Ustādh Faris Sharif
As-Sharif Institute · 2026
Hafidh of the Qur'an · Diploma in Arabic Language Teaching, Umm Al-Qura University
A familiar evening.
It's almost midnight. The house is finally quiet. You're lying in bed with your phone, halfway through a video you won't remember tomorrow.
Your mushaf is on the shelf across the room. Same place it's been since last Ramadan. You scroll past a clip of a qāri reciting Sūrah Ar-Rahman. For a few seconds, something tightens in your chest. Not quite guilt. More like seeing an old friend you've been avoiding.
You scroll past it. You tell yourself you'll start tomorrow. You've been saying that for months.
This isn't a faith problem. You still pray. You still believe. You still feel something when the imam recites in Tarawih, and you can almost (almost) catch a word here and there. The bond is still there. It's just buried.
Buried under tabs and deadlines and group chats, and a world that doesn't slow down for anything holy. The West won't hand you a bond with the Qur'an. There is no adhan in the air. No grandfather reading on the porch. No natural rhythm pulling you back to the Book.
It is something we build on purpose. And the longer it sits, the heavier the shelf feels.
But here is the mercy. Allāh is not counting your distance. He is waiting for your return.
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ
“And when My servants ask you concerning Me, indeed I am near.”
Sūrah Al-Baqarah · 2:186
He didn't say near to those who never slipped. He just said near. This little guide is for the ones who want to come back, but aren't sure where the door is anymore. It's right where you left it.
What you're actually missing.
Coming back to the Qur'an isn't about becoming someone new. It's about returning to the One who knows you best.
It is the only voice in your day that comes from your Rabb.
Every app, every feed, every notification wants something from you. Your time. Your attention. Your money. Your peace. The Qur'an is the one voice in your day that didn't come from a person, a brand, or an algorithm.
إِنَّ هَـٰذَا الْقُرْآنَ يَهْدِي لِلَّتِي هِيَ أَقْوَمُ
“Indeed, this Qur'an guides to that which is most upright.”
Sūrah Al-Isrā' · 17:9
It heals what nothing else can reach.
Voices that don't know you are always telling you who you are. Headlines. Coworkers. Strangers online. All that noise leaves a weight on the heart. Allah named the cure for that weight, and placed it inside the Book itself.
وَنُنَزِّلُ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ مَا هُوَ شِفَاءٌ وَرَحْمَةٌ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
“And We send down of the Qur'an that which is a healing and a mercy for the believers.”
Sūrah Al-Isrā' · 17:82
It's the gift you'd want to leave your children. But you can't pass on what you don't have.
Your kids are watching. They learn what a Muslim adult's life looks like by watching yours.
“The best of you is the one who learns the Qur'an and teaches it.”
Four things you're telling yourself that aren't true.
Sometimes what holds us back from the Qur'an isn't a busy life. It's a quiet voice in our own heart, telling us a story that isn't true.
“I'll start when life calms down.”
01Life in the West is built to never calm down. There is no future Tuesday where free time will suddenly appear. It came down in the middle of hardship, in the middle of pushback, even into exile. It was always meant to be heard inside the noise.
“I'm too far gone to come back.”
02There is no “too far.” The Prophet ﷺ said that Allah is more delighted with the return of His servant than one of you who finds his lost camel in the desert. (Bukhārī & Muslim.) Your return is something He is delighted by.
“My Arabic is broken. What's the point?”
03The point is the bond, not how perfect it sounds. Reading with a translation, going slowly, following along with a finger under the words, is a beautiful way to begin.
“I tried before and it didn't stick.”
04It didn't stick because it was carried on willpower alone, with no teacher and no set time. It isn't a willpower problem. It's a setup problem. And a setup can always be rebuilt.
Who's behind this guide?
Ustādh Faris Sharif — Hafidh of the Qur'an, Diploma in Arabic Language Teaching for Non-Native Speakers (Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah), currently a Bachelor's student in Sharī'ah (distance learning, Islamic University of Madinah), certified in Qaidah An-Nooraniyah teaching. Trusted by students across the UK, US, Germany, the Netherlands, and beyond.
How to actually come back.
There's no need to do everything at once. These five steps, in this order, build on each other.
Find a teacher. This is the most important step.
Not an app. Not a YouTube playlist. A real person who knows your name, hears your voice, and is expecting you next week. You're not meant to do this alone. And the beautiful news is, you don't have to.
Tie it to a time, not a mood.
One time. The same time every day. It helps to tie it to something you already do, like after Fajr, before your morning coffee, or right after 'Isha. Moods lie. Schedules don't.
Start very small.
Five ayat a day. That's it. The goal of week one is not progress. It is proof to yourself that you show up. Comfort with the Book comes after.
Read with meaning.
If you don't understand the Arabic, reading it on its own can feel hollow. Pairing each session with a trustworthy translation makes all the difference. You can't connect to what you can't understand.
Become someone who reads Qur'an.
Instead of trying to “read more Qur'an,” become someone who reads Qur'an. What we do follows from who we are. You are a Muslim returning to your Book.
Step i is exactly what As-Sharif Institute is for.If you don't have a teacher yet, that's the one thing we can solve today.
Message us to begin →Your first seven days.
Printing this page, or saving a screenshot, can help. The next seven days are how you show yourself that the door is still open.
| Day | Time I'll read | 5 ayat | What hit me today |
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| Day 1 | |||
| Day 2 | |||
| Day 3 | |||
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| Day 5 | |||
| Day 6 | |||
| Day 7 |
The goal this week is not to understand everything.
The goal is to show up seven days in a row. That's it.
When you do, you've already become a different person than the one who first opened this guide.
Not sure where to start?Begin at Sūrah Al-Baqarah, āyah 1 — or wherever you last left off. A teacher can help you build a proper starting point that fits your level, so you're not guessing.
Has the time not come?
Every year that passes is a year your children didn't see you reading.
A year of du'as made in a language you didn't fully understand.
A year the Qur'an stayed on the shelf while everything else (your phone, your work, your worries) got the best of you.
A year Allah was near, and we were busy.
We don't get those years back.
أَلَمْ يَأْنِ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَن تَخْشَعَ قُلُوبُهُمْ لِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَمَا نَزَلَ مِنَ الْحَقِّ
“Has the time not come for those who believe, that their hearts should be humbled at the remembrance of Allah and what has come down of the truth?”
Sūrah Al-Hadid · 57:16
This ayah was sent down for believers who had grown distant. Allāh is asking us.
Has the time not come? It has.
Not next Ramadan. Not when life calms down. Not when your Arabic is better. Tomorrow. Five ayat. The same time. With a teacher who is expecting you.
“After these lessons I have been able to finish Sūrah al-Kahf for the first time in my life. My relationship with the Qur'an has gotten way stronger.”
Berkay · Netherlands
Ready for Step 1?
You'll study with Ustādh Faris Sharif — Hafidh of the Qur'an, Diploma in Arabic Language Teaching for Non-Native Speakers (Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah). Tell us a little about yourself, and here's exactly what happens: we talk through your goals and level, agree a plan and price together, then your first lesson is booked — 30 minutes, one-to-one, on a platform you already know.
We'll reply personally, usually within a day · trusted by students across the UK, US, Germany, the Netherlands, and beyond.
P.S. If you only remember one line from this guide, let it be this: Allāh is not counting your distance. He's waiting for your return. Message us tonight — that's all Step 1 takes.