As-salaam wa-alaikum, brothers and sisters.
This is a bonus episode of the 17 Verses podcast. I’ve still released a Qur’anic recitation for today so feel free to download that episode as well.
But after doing over 200 episodes, I wanted to share some of my impressions on this journey. I am also grateful to each and everyone who has downloaded a podcast or shared feedback.
If you enjoy the podcast, HELP SPREAD THE WORD! Tell your friends and family, subscribe in iTunes or Stitcher and write us a review.
This project, to create a podcast and do a daily recitation of the Qur’an, is not my first attempt to finish the good book. So I’m not unfamiliar with it. I first finished the Qur’an in 1996 at the age of 16. It had probably taken 2 years of on/off reading to get to that point and I remember almost skimming the last one hundred or so pages. I just wanted to get done!
Since then, it’s usually taken about 1.5 years for each finish, done in fits and starts. When I first started the podcast, I would record a few days at once, take a couple days break, record a few days at once, etc. Because I went out of town for Thanksgiving, I once had to record 8 episodes in one-go and schedule them in advance. But I’ve found that recording almost every single night has made the biggest difference. Not from a programmatic/production standpoint; but a regular daily reading has proven to be best from a learning and spiritual growth standpoint. It lets me think, everyday, about what I’ve just recorded. And then I listen to the recordings themselves, sometimes at the gym or on the bus from/to work. Yes, I listen to my own podcast; more so just to make sure it sounds alright.