Top Tips to Memorising the Quran
The Quran is memorised by millions of Muslims, of various ages, across the world, many of whom do not even know the Arabic Language. Everyone has different methods, speed and duration when memorising the Quran. Some people find it easier than others whilst some find it harder. However, the rewards of memorising the Quran help a person persevere and have patience to complete memorising with the guidance of Allah. The best reward for memorizing the Qur’an is that the more you memorise, the higher your status in Paradise.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “It will be said to the companion of the Qur’an: Recite and rise in status, recite as you used to recite in the world, for your status will be at the last verse that you recite.” [Al-Tirmidhi and Abu Dawood]
Here are some Top Tips to help you memorise the Quran:
Top 10 Tips to memorise an Ayah
- Find a suitable environment
Find a quiet space. Eliminate anything that will distract you, i.e. phone, tv or anything that will attract your attention. - Time yourself
An average of 20-30 minutes is around the perfect time to complete an ayah, obviously the exact time may vary depending on the length of the ayah. - Designate a study partner
Try to motivate or persuade a sibling or friend to memorise with you. This will motivate both of you to continue, test each other and help each other to memorise. - Start with shorter Surahs
If you are a beginner at memorising, start at the end of the Quran (Juz’ Amma), since they tend to be shorter, after completing Surah Al-Fatihah which is compulsory since it is recited in every prayer. - Study the meaning of the Ayah
Learning the meaning behind the ayah can help greatly in memorising, since it will give you an overview of what Allah is saying, so it becomes a way of marking the ayah in the surah. Remembering the meaning can also help you recollect the ayah. This will have the added benefit of helping you memorise the surah since you’ll be able to rely on the sequence of the passages as opposed to simply memorising the sounds.
This is also important since the Quran was revealed so that we can act upon its words and take heed of what Allah has sent to us. - Listen to the Quran
It is always recommended to listen to reciters of the Quran before memorising. This is a great help for those who do not know the Arabic Language since you can always slow the audio down and slowly recite after. This helps in the pronunciation of the letters correctly as well as with the proper recitation techniques called Tajweed. This is also recommended even to those who master the Arabic Language, since Tajweed is particularly important in correctly reciting and memorising the Quran. - Recite the entire Ayah before memorising it
Try to recite the whole ayah aloud first, after listening to the audio, to make sure that you have mastered the pronunciation and Tajweed rules. - Do not divide the Ayah
Do not create your own pauses and stops when memorising the Quran. The Quran has certain stops and pauses in the ayah, if you change them you may end up changing the meaning, therefore, having knowledge of the stops and signs in the Quran is beneficial. - Repeat
Practice makes perfect. Repeat the ayah over and over again until you internalise it. First, repeat the ayah whilst looking at the Quran. Try to slowly raise your head away from the Quran and let your memory take lead. Do this continuously whilst looking back and forth at the Quran if you get stuck. When you feel like you have memorised the ayah, after repeating it enough times, cover the ayah and try to say it from memory. - Record Yourself
Record yourself once you have memorised the ayah. Look at the Quran whilst listening to your audio and compare it to the reciter’s audio. Try to pick out any mistakes you make and continue until you perfect the ayah.
Top Tips to memorising the Quran
- Make a schedule
Make a schedule for memorising AND practicing the Quran. You don’t want to just focus on memorising and then looking back realise you’ve forgotten everything because you’ve put all your effort in memorising. Practice what you have memorised hand in hand with what you’re memorising.
Don’t exaggerate when making the schedule and go at a reasonable pace so that you will be sure to stick to this schedule. - Try to implement what you have memorised in your prayers
Consider practising the surah first thing in the morning. This way you can work on reciting it during your daily prayers. This is a great way of regularly repeating the surahs so that you don’t forget them. We have 5 prayers; you could set a schedule on what surah you will recite in which prayer. It’s important to also memorise with the intention of practising and implementing it in your daily life, to help you increase your memory and help you in memorising the Quran, so that Allah gives you rewards for your intentions. - Start from the beginning
When you’ve memorised a part, start reciting what you’ve memorised from the beginning. This will help you remember the surah chronologically and soon you will find yourself reciting the words of Allah automatically from your heart and not from your head. After you memorise an individual ayah, repeat the entire surah up to the point that you’ve just memorized. Do this after every ayah that you memorise, so that you can commit the order to memory at the same time that you’re memorising the individual passages. - Recite to Someone
It’s always best to repeat what you’ve memorised back to someone else. This way, you could get direct and immediate feedback, and they would catch some mistakes you may have missed whilst listening to your recordings.
Tips to Practise to Help Increase your Memory:
- Exercise regularly
Exercising helps increase the blood flow to the whole body. Increased blood supply to the brain helps increase the brain function, i.e. helps increase memory. Whenever you have a mental block, can’t think straight, and have problems memorising or remembering, take a break and do a little exercise or take a short walk. - Practice in the afternoon
Studies have shown that studying in the afternoon can have a greater effect on long-term memory training than other times of the day. - Stay away from multi-tasking
Other than using your phone or any other recording tool to record yourself and listening to a reciter’s audio, you should eliminate anything that could cause distractions. You can leave social media and texting for an hour or so, it’s even best if you disconnect your Wi-Fi to prevent any message popups. - Teach others
Repeating what you’ve memorised and learnt can help greatly. Learning from teaching is a strategy that works with many, try it out. Boast about the knowledge you obtained whether it’s the meaning of an ayah or a new surah that you’ve learnt. Pray Congregational prayer (Jammacah) and recite the new surah aloud. You never know you could motivate others to learn and impress others with your progress. This will also motivate you to keep going.
Prophet Muhammed (ﷺ) said: “The best of you is he who learns the Quran and teaches it.” (Al-Bukhari).
