Assalamualaikum everybody.
On March I applied for an interview with Darul Quran and Alhamdulillah I was called for the interview. So here I will be sharing my experience in this blog. So that other applicants in the future may prepare themselves well for the interview.
So the interview was on Thurday, 11th april. The interview was held at Darul Quran Jakim, Kuala Kubu Baru. Which is a 2 and a half hour journey from my home. We left at 5.00 in the moring and arrived around 7.40. There are other venues for the interviews as well, so don't worry if you're not from Selangor.
At 8.30 the registration started. You just have to sign your name. Then they direct me to a hall and there we took an objective test which consists of 80 questions. (There were around 250 people or more)
30 of those are arabic questions which consist of nahw, sorof and balaaghah. Which I can honestly say was harder than SPM and I believe I did very poorly in that section. Another 30 questions is on Tajweed and it asks about all the tajwid stuff including about Makhraj and sifaatul huruuf. I think I did okay in that section because my ustaz gave us a crash course and finish the whole tajweed text book in two weeks haha. and another 20 questions was called psychology, which I believe was made to see how well prepared and how much passion and how much the student wants to enter Darul Quran.
Some of the questions asked that I could remember were.
'Darul Quran sama baik dengan IPTA'
'Saya tidak akan mengubah keputusan yang saya telah lakukan'
'Saya akan memberi tumpuan yang lebih kepada Al-Quran'
The options given were only yes or no.
After the test, we went to another building which was like their classrooms. And the room was empty and there will be one panel from Darul Quran in there.
When I was called I went into the room and there was an ustazah who was very warm and friendly. And she told me to open page 352 (everyone have to recite the same page as well) and recite the whole page within an hour. She advised to look for a remote place to recite it.
Then I went downstairs and took out a chair and sat on the corridor with my body facing the wall to avoid any distractions.
I managed to recite the whole page in 45 minutes or so and used the rest of the time to repeat it. I'm not really used to reciting that much amount of verses within that period of time. I usually take it really slowly by reciting one verse at a time, repeat it 40 times and repeat the verse and the four previous verse along with it for another 40 times. And I would read the verse properly and not speed things up. My ustadh advised me to recite that way. and it is SLOW I'm tellin ya. I usually will just get one verse within an hour and sometimes it takes 2 hours to get one verse. But the good thing about that is that, the verse is going to stay permanently in your brain and in your heart InshaaAllah. So reciting one page in an hour for me is kind of crazy. But the human brain is capable of so many things and if you put your trust in Allah, InshaaAllah you can do it.
So at that time I remembered it pretty well, but it wasn't very smooth though. Sometimes I got confused about the baris haha. But when I went in to tasmi' with the ustadhah. Everything went wrong sadly. I was shocked by the echo of my voice and I got stuck probably like 7-9 times. It was SOO BAD!
After I finished tasmi' the ustadhah said 'Result SPM bagus, mungkin awak lebih sesuai bidang lain' and I told her that was two years ago, that I am older then the rest of the other prospect students here, I couldn't apply anything anymore, I was rejected, now I am taking STAM, I really want to take on Islamic studies, bla3.
And the ustadhah felt sorry for me because she knew I want to study in Darul Quran pretty badly based on what I wrote on my application and based on what I said to her. And she told me, in Darul Quran usually they recite 2-3 pages per day and they would recite it very smoothly. I remembered her exact quote 'baca macam air' and she told me 'jangan mengharap sangatlah, banyak saingan yg lain lagi' (she said it very nicely btw) and she said 'kalau saya bantu pun saya takut awak rasa rendah diri dengan kawan2 lain' to which I replied 'Xpe, saya lagi suka kalau rasa rendah diri, lagi kita akan berusaha betul2' and she asked me some other questions. And that was the end of it.
I have a feeling I'm not gonna get it. The result for the interview is this 22nd april. Who am I kidding? I'm not fit for Darul Quran. The students there are like really amazing and disciplined. I don't know, the way the ustadhah responded sends me a message that I will not fit there. But it's okay. I'll be okay with anything that might happen InshaaAllah. I've dealt with rejection before, and I've learnt that Allah knows what's best for you :)
I hope that was helpful. If you are applying for an interview or anything of the like that you want really badly, and you're not yet sure about the result just remember that whatever the result is, it is the best for you. Because that is what Allah wants for you.
Salaam Kayah,
ReplyDeletei have been following you blog for quite a while plus i have you on Facebook too.I just started memorizing too but not with a sch,i have teacher online that i recite to and she corrects me.InshAllah i want to complete memorization and study the Quran in depth. Dont be discouraged,just keep making dua and make use of whatever opportunity you have online and in person.I go to uni full time(want to be a surgeon) i am using my free time.I am registering for this program,and you might consider it too.
http://www.alhudaonlinecourses.com/english-courses/quran-certificate-evening-course-english-2013
Sorry for the long comment
Waalaikumussalam wbt. Jazakillah for your words of encouragement and the links you gave me. May Allah make it easy for us to understand His words in shaa Allah ameen
DeleteSalam Khodijah :) Nama saya Maryam Nabeelah. I saw a friend, Aneesah, Liking your post on Facebook, and here I am. It's really thoughtful of you to share your experience here :D Was this the diploma interview?
ReplyDeleteWaalaikumsalam Maryam Nabeelah ^^
DeleteYup this was the diploma interview.
All the best, then! And Allah knows what's best for you :) Menghafaz Al-Quran is a lifetime commitment, a beautiful job but a huge responsibility. So whether DQ offers you a place or not, be happy. The Qur'an and its treasures aren't restricted to those who memorise it, kan?
DeleteYou might also want to check out http://www.islamiconlineuniversity.com/
ReplyDeleteSalam alayk sister,
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I regret the fact that I found this entry only today. I wonder if you have already found an institution to pursue your Hifz and Islamic studies...
Nevertheless,if you are interested, I'd like you to pay a visit to this blog : http://madrasahalhikmah.blogspot.com/
How do you like the idea of doing Hifz and Islamic studies at a madrasah? This madrasah uses English as the primary medium of instruction. They have both Tahfiz course as well as the higher level of Islamic studies.