Hey Page Turners,
This post is going to be about the materials I use to create my Qur’an journal. The next post will feature which ayah’s I pick and why- will be going into a bit more detail.
I think I will start by saying Qur’an journaling is something I started last year (so it kind of became a Ramadan journal- rather than Qur’an journal- but I decided I want it for both), and it really became a sort of therapy for me. I was actually influenced by someone’s post that I came across on Tumbler/Pinterest and when I visited their blog and saw that they took their favourite ayah’s (verses/lines and/or chapters) and put it in a journal I thought what an amazing idea. At the starting I have to admit I did want to do it because of how pretty and how aesthetic it looks and because of the colours and you can get really creative with it, it’s so much fun. But it wasn’t until I actually started to journal that I realised it is so much more than that. Taking my favourite ayah’s, translating them into English, understanding exactly what each word means, it was just another way I could connect- not only to the Qur’an- but faith as a whole. I don’t get to journal throughout the year because of other commitments but Ramadan is an excuse which allows me to do this and even then, I don’t get to do it as much as I would like to because of other factors. I think I will definitely try to keep it up maybe doing it once/twice a month so I can get into the routine, slowly increasing it so by the time Ramadan comes again it's not like I am starting all over again but picking it up from where I have left of. Anyways this is going to be explored in more detail in my next post for now let me show you exactly what I use!
First a notebook- of course- I got mine from Getting Personal. Because I am extra and love everything personalised. The notebook has plain paper (a4) instead of lined because when working creatively I prefer plain because it allows me to use the whole page, rather than lined where it makes it neater (which I could do with) and kind of more restrictive. It is spiral bound which I love and is pink- my favourite colour. I was actually going to use this notebook for creative writing and taking down notes, but then I used it for my journaling and haven’t looked back. Of course, you could use any kind of notebook, whichever you find comfortable, it isn’t about which book you use or how pretty or how big it is, the book doesn’t matter, it’s about what’s written and what it means to you. And I guess that is what I realised, that this journal isn’t for anyone else, so it doesn’t matter what it looks like or how it looks because you know what it means to you.
I got these Islamic stickers gifted last year, and I thought it would make my opening of journal look pretty and just make it that much special because all the stickers means something to me. And it is just a reminder of what this journal means and why I started it. I would definitely get more Islamic stickers because I feel it just makes it, right?!
These are all the felt pens I use and highlighters. Again something that you don’t have to do, you really can just use a pen/pencil but I feel like colour just brightens your mood, it’s uplifting and it makes you do it with that much more effort and I just love visual stuff, and it just makes the simplest thing look pretty. I actually- apart from titles perhaps- don’t write in felt/highlighters just because its much more neater in pen rather than felt. I have pen felts and the highlighters are Stabilo Boss- they really are my go to when it comes to highlighters. (For annotating or underlining Stabilo is my number one go to). I use the BIC pens, I love how they write and they are just really comfortable. The pink pen is from Poundland- I don’t know if you can get them from their anymore- but I have had them for ages and like the BIC pens they are just so comfortable and easy to write with.
I use washi tape for the borders or if I wanna highlight a word or something just again to make it more visual and pretty-something that you don’t have to do. This picture isn’t the best- not the best photographer- but will take a better pic when I do my next post.
And lastly, I use these clips to pin back a page when I am working on it- or even to remember where I left of.
That is pretty much it, you really could just use a notebook and a pen, but all of these just allow me to make my journal my own, it makes it more enjoyable and meaningful but also once I filled this journal I like the thought of flicking through a page coming across an ayah and having it visual and colourful makes it better to look at.
Thank you for visiting my page and taking the time out to read my posts. I hope this may have inspired you to maybe take up journaling, if not for religious reasons than just full of doodles and quotes, it would be amazing (I mean I doubt it, but if so comment below and/or leave some tips on how I could improve mine.) I want to end this post by saying journaling is not Instagram, it doesn’t have to look the best, most aesthetic, the most pretty, it doesn’t have to be liked for everyone. It is unique to you, you create it however you want with the littlest or most material you like, what matters is you have a journal which you can turn to and look back on and that it’s for you only and I think that is what is important. Having a journal that is for you only and not the whole world.
Stick around for my next post where I give you a sneak peak inside my journal.
With Salaam’s and Dua’s
Fiz@ Every Page She Turns.
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