Have Baby - Will Study

Have Baby - Will Study

Fatima Barkatulla

Many of us are worried that when a baby comes along, our knowledge seeking endeavours will disappear into oblivion...but do they really have to? It is true that our study methods will need to be adjusted and it'll be a time to concentrate on certain subjects over others – but with a bit of preparation, we can enrich our minds and keep our Iman sky-high at that crucial time when many women experience the 'Baby Blues'.

Here are some top ways to keep the juices of knowledge flowing:

1. Qur'an CDs or MP3 recordings of Surahs that you are memorising or revising ready on your mobile phone or other device and set them up in a place that'll be easy for you to relax and breastfeed whilst listening and absorbing the words. Baby will be soaking up the barakah of the Qur'an too!

2. Arabic lectures are a great learning aid if you have been studying Arabic language. Improve your command of the language by having CD or MP3 lectures in Arabic about subjects that you are already familiar with, like the stories of the Prophets. Listen to a CD once and jot down some of the new vocabulary to look up in a dictionary later. Then keep listening to it again and again - by the third time you listen you'll be amazed at how much more you understand and your overall command of Arabic and its expressions will vastly improve.

3. Listen to or watch on-line lectures on your laptop, phone or iPad while you breastfeed. Explanations of important treatises and books are all available to download on-line. Alhamdulillah.

4. Keep a journal, instead of writing formal notes which might be difficult, you could have it by your side and jot down any amazing thoughts about the things you've been listening to. Motherhood itself opens a whole new vista for us, giving us insights we never had before.

5. Revision cards and diagrams are worth preparing before baby. Summaries each subject you have studied in the past and have them on easy to read revision cards or on a giant diagram or even stuck around the house. If you have been studying classical texts which summarise a particular subject (mutoon) then you could revise by reading them.

6. Find a private tutor to come to your house weekly, when things have settled down a bit, to memorise Qur'an or study Arabic or a text with.

7. Weekly Skype lessons with a Qur'an or Arabic tutor or even a friend who will listen to your memorisation. That way, you can do things from the comfort of your home at a time and pace that suits you.

A good feeding pillow is indispensible at this time and I would stress that it is only a good idea to start thinking about studying once baby is feeding well and thriving and you have recovered from the birth. Once baby settles into a routine, try to study a little every day or every other day and be careful not to let the watching and listening become addictive - baby needs your attention most of the time! But be sure to take advantage of the world of knowledge that has been made accessible to us through the internet. You'll be astonished at what's out there, waiting to be discovered and baby will benefit from having a mum that is keeping the remembrance of Allah alive in her life. After all, you'll be passing all that wisdom down to her too!

An edited version of this article appeared in SISTERS Magazine.