Every parent wishes to raise their children in righteousness and with upright morals. Understanding and memorising the verses of the Almighty is the best way to achieve this goal. This article discusses age-appropriate and effective ways to support your children in memorising the Quran.
Ways to help your child memorise the Holy Quran:
Experts differ in their opinion on the right age for children to begin memorisation of the Holy Quran. Some determine that seven is the right age, while others believe it is up to the parents to know when their child is ready to begin this work.
Reading the Quran aloud: Reading the Quran aloud in front of your child encourages them to try to imitate your actions and recite the Quran for themselves.
Repetition: This is one of the best methods for memorising the Quran. Children internalise repetition early, even before they learn to read and write. Repeating recitations daily, at least three times for each surah, helps them to internalise the words and meaning.
Start with short surahs: Short, east surahs like the Surah Al-Fatihah and Al-Kawthar are ideal for starting your child’s memorisation journey. Achieving these surahs will give them confidence in their abilities and spur them to learn more.
Listening regularly to the Quran: Does listening to the Quran help with memorisation? Hearing Quran chapters regularly, especially short ones, helps your child memorise the Quran without even realising they are doing so. It is essential to take note of fluency, tone, and speed while reading the Quran to support memorisation.
Attending the mosque: One of the most traditional ways of learning to memorise the Holy Quran is attending the mosque. Memorisation circles or Katateeb are effective ways of improving interactions between children, forming a Quranic background and Islamic culture, and encouraging learning through competition.
Creative ways to support children in memorising the Quran:
Memorising the Noble Quran is not the only goal. We must also encourage children to memorise with love and understanding suitable for their age. Doing so enables a lifelong commitment and desire to memorise better, learn, and understand the teachings of the Holy Quran. Other ways to achieve this include:
Providing praise and reward: While learning and memorising the Quran is rewarding, children, especially younger children, require something more immediate and tangible. Appropriate verbal praise for learning and correct recitation of the surah is an excellent place to start. You can provide more encouragement through special treats, foods that the child enjoys or a small toy for learning and memorising more difficult surah or putting in extra effort.
Teaching through play: You can encourage Quran memorisation and recitation and recite through play. By sharing recitation with other children, you can encourage them to identify mistakes, provide correction, and then praise or reward. Competition is a fun and effective way of learning, but it must remain fun for it to be effective.
Record your child’s recitation: Encourage them to record their voice while reciting the Quran. Recording their recitation allows your child to listen back to themselves and correct mistakes by themselves. This approach improves confidence and self-reliance.
Celebrate your child’s achievements: Sharing achievements is one of the quickest ways to encourage children to learn. When your child learns a new surah, share and celebrate this with your family. The praise your child receives with spur them on.
Read stories from the Quran: Children love hearing and telling stories. The Holy Quran is full of valuable and interesting stories. Tell your child Quran stories in an easy way to attract their attention and interest in reading further themselves. Stories make the Quran more relatable and easier to memorise.
Tips for supporting children in memorising the Holy Quran
You must follow some basics if you are to encourage children to memorise the Quran and not be put off by its nuances and complexities. Here are some further tips to help:
Start with yourself: Have you memorised the Quran? Do you read and recite it often? Are you committed to the teachings of the Holy Quran? Children learn from those around them. The first step in teaching them is to be good role models and model the behaviour you wish to see in your children. If your recitation skills need work, get support from an experienced recitation teacher.
Choose the most appropriate education method: As a parent, you are best positioned to know how to motivate your child to learn and how to keep them focused while they memorise the Quran. How does your child learn best? Some learn by reading, others by listening.
Change your approach: Keeping the same method or routine can cause boredom. Change your teaching method or praise and rewards if your child is losing interest or needs to be more focused.
Supporting non-Arabic speakers in learning the Holy Quran
Mastering Arabic spelling is considered the best method for memorising the Qur’an for non-Arabic speakers. From here, it is recommended that you start with short surahs, use your sense of sight and hearing with daily practice, and ensure you use the correct tone and intonation in your recitation.
Ways to teach children to love reading the Holy Quran
There are numerous ways to help children memorise the Quran, including:
- Delegating the task to an experienced sheikh.
- Providing a high-quality copy of the Quran and not changing it during the memorisation period.
- Following up on what the child has memorised and revisiting surahs they have learnt.
- Communicating with your chosen Sheikh to share progress and discuss any problems.
- Setting aside time every day for memorisation.
- Teaching children to supplicate after every prayer and to ask God for help to preserve and reconcile.
- Exposing children to the best recitation voices and memorisers so that children have role models they want to emulate.
Here are further tips to help you and your child learn and memorise the Quran:
- Create an appropriate memorisation plan and ensure you dedicate enough time to learning.
- Work with others to overcome challenges, apathy and laziness.
- Keep a small Quran in your pocket to read and recite it in your spare time.
- Follow the imam in the prayers out loud.
- Begin your learning with the easier surahs and those of special virtue, like Surat Al-Kahf and Surat Al-Mulk.
- Own a single drawing of the Mushaf, like the Mushaf of Medina.
- Do not give up; keep going until you have mastered your memorisation.
- Link the beginning of each surah to the previous one rather than taking a fragmented approach.
- Participate in the Holy Quran competitions.