KINIGUIDE | News of the death of 11-year-old Mohd Thaqif Amin Mohd Gaddafi, a student at a tahfiz institution in Kota Tinggi, Johor, was met with grief and outrage.

The boy had already had his legs amputated after the blood cells and tissues were destroyed by bacterial infection, from severe injuries due to alleged physical abuse.

Thaqif was also initially scheduled to have his right arm amputated - a few hours before he died yesterday afternoon - but the procedure was reportedly cancelled as his heart rate and condition were not stable.

It has also been revealed that the 29-year-old assistant warden who reportedly assaulted Thaqif had a previous criminal record, and served a jail sentence of 30 months for theft three years ago. He is currently under remand to facilitate police investigations.

The incident has raised questions over administration of Islamic religious schools, or tahfiz institutions, in Malaysia.

We take a look at the history of tahfiz schools in Malaysia and their modern-day practices.

What does tahfiz mean?

Tahfiz is an Arabic word which means “to memorise” or the process of, reading, listening and reciting in order to learn something by heart.

In this case, the process specifically refers to a tradition of memorising all 114 surah (chapters) and over 6,000 verses in the Al-Quran, divided into 30 parts.

Any boy or man who completes the process will also be known as Al-Hafiz (the one who memorised) while any woman or girl who does so is known as Hafizah.

How did the tradition start?

Muslims believe that verses in the Al-Quran were verbally revealed to the Prophet Muhammad SAW over a period of approximately 23 years.

Several companions of the Prophet had served as scribes responsible for writing down the revelations.

Upon his death, the companions who memorised and wrote down the revelations compiled the early texts to eventually form the Al-Quran, as it is known today.

Why would one aspire to memorise the Al-Quran?

Muslim scholars cited a saying of the Prophet Muhammad SAW, as narrated by Al-Bukhari: “The best of you are those who learn the Quran and teach it”.

Also narrated by Al-Bukhari: ”A person who recites the Quran and has memorised it, will be with noble scribes (Angels/Prophets, in Jannah)”.

There are also other narrated sayings of the Prophet on rewards in the hereafter for parents whose children have successfully memorised the Al-Quran.

So how does one learn to memorise the Al-Quran?

From a young age, the process can begin at home through guidance of parents or individual teachers.

Older people can choose to learn on their own or with the guidance of a religious teacher.

There are now various resources available both in print and online to assist the process.

A tahfiz school, at least in Malaysia, aims to provide formal academic guidance to students from the age of 13.

How many tahfiz schools are there in Malaysia?

According to Gabungan Persatuan Institusi Tahfiz Al-Quran Kebangsaan (Pinta), the exact numbers are unclear and available figures were only based on estimates.

Pinta president Mohd Zahid Mahmood Al-Hafiz said his organisation is currently in the process of creating an official database of all tahfiz schools nationwide.

In January last year, Department of Islamic Development director-general Osman Mustapha reportedly said that there were 547 tahfiz schools registered with state religious authorities nationwide.

Mohd Zahid, however, said the total number is estimated to be as high as 1,000 schools, and the latest registered total to date is 680 schools.

How many students are enrolled in tahfiz schools?

In the same January report, Osman quoted a figure of 36,736 students being taught by 3,340 teachers in schools registered with state religious authorities.

Meanwhile, Mohd Zahid said that his organisation had gathered 20,000 students for a gathering with Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak at Masjid Negara in March last year.

The students also came from tahfiz schools that have yet to be registered with the state religious authorities.

Who are the authorities in charge?

There are several authorities in charge but it depends on the type of schools.

According to Mohd Zahid, his organisation is in the process of engaging with all private tahfiz schools to be registered with state religious authorities.

Specifically, the tahfiz schools must be registered under a state's Control of Islamic Religious Schools Enactment.

There are also government-funded religious schools, known as Sekolah Agama Bantuan Kerajaan or Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama. These are registered with the Education Ministry.

Jakim, through its Darul Quran institution, also offers a Diploma in Tahfiz Al-Quran for students aged between 17 and 21.

What do these tahfiz schools look like?

Traditional pondok institutions were named as such due to their literal set-up as village houses, either owned by the teacher or donated by a wealthy individual.

However, the modern-day private tahfiz institutions operate on a larger scale, including in rented shoplots or private properties.

Can a tahfiz school operate under the radar?

Technically, yes. Since the times of the traditional sekolah pondok, Islamic religious schools have been independently set up and operated by local scholars.

They either adopt a local syllabus or use curricula from the Middle East.

The government has since offered grants only to private Islamic schools that adopt a government-approved curriculum and have agreed to allow government supervision.

What else is being done?

Prime Minister Najib had in March last year, at the Masjid Negara gathering with 20,000 tahfiz students, announced that the government would draft a National Tahfiz Education Policy - meant to register and streamline the various types of tahfiz institutions.

On Wednesday, Najib handed an allocation of RM80 million to all registered pondok schools, Sekolah Menengah Agama Rakyat (SMAR) and tahfiz institutions.

He said the allocation under the Special Fund for Improvement and Maintenance of Schools, as announced in Budget 2017, was aimed at empowering and strengthening religious education institutions to guide them towards excellence.

Of this amount, RM30 million was allocated for coordinating and developing tahfiz education through the National Tahfiz Education Policy (DPTN).

This instalment of KiniGuide is compiled by Alyaa Alhadjri.