Children should memorise the Qur’an

[Ayesha Nicole]

I think starting the qaida should depend on the potential of your child and not age. Alhamdulillah I started my son on qaida when he was 2 years and 5 months.

as salaam 'alaikum wa rahmatu Allahi wa barakatuh,

I agree 110%. And it is also the involvement of a caring mother or father teaching the Qur'an in short, but frequent sessions (2 to 3 x per day) with joy and fun. Alhamdulillah, I was able to teach my children to sight read from Noorani beginning 2 years 4 months, until the age of 4 years 1 month, masha'Allah; and they are able to accurately sight-read and recite with tajweed directly from the mushaaf from Surah al-Balad to Surah al-Naas, masha'Allah. We are currently learning Surah al-Fajr, at a pace of one line per day from the Madinah muhsaaf, to "pre-learn" the surah, and then repeating it a minimum of 100x (over several days @ 10x each session). And we always review all previous lessons daily.

Also, as I have been told by various Sheiyoukh of tajweed, in KSA, they memorize the last 3 ajza first (backwards), or 5 or 10 ajza; and in India-Pakistan, they memorize Juz Amma and/or Juz Tabaarak and then begin with al-Baqarah; and some have even suggested memorizing backwards to Yunus, and then al-Baqarah.

JAK
ASA.

[mukhtar]

as salaam alaikum wa rahmatu Allahi Wa barakatuh,

motheroftwo, would you please explain the method of memorization used for Qur'an in Mairitania? And how does it differ for children, than for adults?

Jazaaki Allahu khaira.
as salaam alaikum wa rahmatu Allahi wa barakatuh.

Salaam,
I think you've asked about methods in Mauritania in another thread;
It's difficult to point out where the difference is for Quran; I personally do not believe there is a difference, other than the fact that more time is devoted to it than in other countries. It would probably be reasonable to say that the environment helps a lot;

Not all Hufadh in Mauritania have the same level of perfection in their memorization; those with the most accurate memory do spend longer years to review and perfect their Quran;
Using the tablet (lawh) does play some role in strenghtening one's memory; At a certain age, the student writes on his own tablet (with a Mushaf in front of him) and then brings it to the teacher to verify. The fact that he writes himself does go a long ways in digesting what he reads.

In the families where the close relatives are teachers, teenagers review their Quran by reading it loud to an older teacher while walking in the village, or at home while drinking tea etc....

As far as the other 'uluum, other than Quran, memorization is made easy by well-written "nadhms" (poetic lines). If a nadhm is well written, memorizing it is quite easy. Repetition remains key.

Not sure this helped, hope it did. If you have specific questions, feel free to ask.

[faheem123]

every muslim child should memorize quran and it is our duty to let them help in this process

[iSawab]

Children who've memorized the Quran (ar at least some portion of it) show the interest in prayers and Islamic activities later on in life. It becomes second nature, really.
It is VERY important to start young. Next best thing if you have not taught them young (as some brothers and sisters have stated in this thread) is to do it RIGHT NOW. The further they are along age-wise, other worldly activities come to the forefront, and their homework, play and friends come up as competition. Also, when they're young they tend to question less and Quran classes are taken as something that's part of their curriculum growing up.

As for the question of older children developing resistance, I have a colleague who is a live example. Though brought up in a Muslim household, due to many different reasons (not all within their control, unfortunately) the parents put off starting the Quran classes until a later age - like 10, or so. The colleague started questioning the teacher, and refused to learn until he understood what he was reading. Now, explaining Quranic Arabic is not a common skill in teachers in the subcontinent, so he ended up not going to the class. He's 30 years old now, and his Quran reading skills are non-existent, unfortunately.

I've told him of several opportunities to learn from scratch, including learning at the local masjid where there are teachers waiting to teach at no cost to him. It's now become a question of a slow hardening of the heart and not appreciating the value of deen in one's life.
May Allah swt save us and our children from a similar circumstance.