THE B.E.R.D. METHOD

Start with an ayah.
Let that be enough.

Open the Quran and read the ayah. If you want to keep reading, keep reading. If you want to reflect, reflect.

You don’t need to fill a page or have something grand to say. B.E.R.D. gives you a place to begin when you want to go a little further.

How to B.E.R.D. ↓

WHY I CREATED B.E.R.D.

A place to begin.
Room to grow.

A few words can be a beginning.

When I started the MBJ Ayah a Day challenge, I received a lot of questions about how to journal and what the rules were. My answer was simple: open the Quran and read the ayah. If you want to keep reading, keep reading. If you want to reflect, reflect.

I created the B.E.R.D. Method to make that next step feel less overwhelming. A full page of paper can make you feel like you need something grand to say. Benefit, Explanation, Reflection, and Dua give you a place to begin. You can write a few words, take your time, and let your page grow from there.

A GUIDE WHEN YOU WANT TO GO FURTHER

Four starting points.
Your own pace.

You can use these prompts to organize what you learn and what you want to carry into your life. You don’t have to complete every part in one sitting.

Read the ayah first. Then begin with the part you feel ready to write.

Try a reflection →

Benefit

Begin with the ayah itself. Write the ayah you’re reading, along with its surah and ayah number.

Explanation

The explanation is the tafsir of the ayah. Read a reliable tafsir, then record its explanation and include the source.

Reflection

You’ve read the ayah. You’ve read the tafsir. Now how do you feel? What are you thinking? What did you learn?

Dua

The possibilities are endless, and Allah is capable of all things. Your dua can relate to the ayah and what you’ve journaled, or be about something completely different. Ask Allah for what you need.

YOUR NEXT PAGE

Keep it simple.
Make it yours.

Use a journal, a notebook, or the reflection space here. The B.E.R.D. labels can help you organize your page, but you can begin with what you already have.

FROM MY OWN PAGES

B.E.R.D. in practice.

Here are a few of my own pages, handwritten and digital. They show different ways I use the method. Your first page can be a few words; it doesn’t need to look like mine.

Remembering AllahOpen this journal page ↓