Methodology of teaching Quran recitation & memorization

Although there are several ways and methods to teach Qur’an recitation & memorization, here we present to you one of those effective ways in detail.

THE GENERAL ADVICE

Allah, the Most Exalted, has chosen you to carry His Book as well as to pass it on to the chosen ones among His Muslim slaves. And truly, the best of people are those who learn the Qur’an and teach it. So if you have decided to teach Qur’an, then we congratulate you whom Allah have chosen for this task. You should show Allah their acknowledgement of this blessing. Furthermore, you should read and reflect upon the following beneficial advice, by Allah’s will.

– Make the intention for all your deeds sincere and in hope of earning your rewards from Allah alone. For, truly, Allah does not allow the rewards of those who do righteous deeds to be lost. Furthermore, you should teach the Qur’an without any personal gain in return, especially if you are well-off financially.

Imam ash-Shaatibee said, May Allah grant the best rewards to the scholars, Who passed on to us the Qur’an, sweetly and pleasantly, The critics especially chose them for their proficiency, And (for the fact that) they do not consume (wealth) for their Qur’an.

It means that the scholars have specifically chosen the seven Imams who related the seven modes of recitation, as well as their students, due to their virtue in knowledge, deeds, and detachment from this duniya (worldly Life). They did not make learning and teaching the Qur’an their means of provision and livelihood-“

Imam ash-Shaafi’ee, may Allah have mercy on him, said, “I wish that people could learn this knowledge (from me) without one letter of it being attributed back to me.”

Imam an-Nawawee, may Allah have mercy on him, said, “It is obligatory for the teacher to intend and seek Allah’s pleasure with his teaching … and that he does not allow (his teaching) to be a means of achieving some worldly benefit. So, in his mind, he should consciously recall the fact that seeking knowledge is the most significant act of worship. This will be a source of encouragement for him to purify his intention and a motivational force causing him to protect ills intentions from becoming spoiled or damaged. Tills is because he will fear missing out on tills great bounty and enormous benefit.”

– Do not get upset or dis-satisfied if you tend to get less payment for devoting or allotting time for teaching Qur’an. Nor should this cause you to stop striving for excellence, or to be unconcerned, apathetic, inconsistent, or late in arrival. For, truly, Allah loves for you to exert yourself in trying to perfect any action that you undertake.”

– Always keep in mind that whatever you are missing in this duniya due to you allotting time to teach Qur’an to others, Allah shall compensate it in full on the Day of Judgement. You will enjoy the great rewards that Allah has prepared for you; for truly, Paradise contains what no eye has ever seen, what no ear has ever heard, and what no human heart has ever imagined.”

– Hence, you should be the one with the upper hand, elevated above trivial matters. You should think the best of Allah, the Most High, who is the best Wakeel (Trustee) for whoever depends on Him from His slaves, and especially for those who serve His Noble Book.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Allah, the Most High, says, ‘I am as My slave thinks of Me.” (Sahih bukhari)

Imam Abu Yoosuf, may Allah have mercy on him, said, “0 people, you should seek knowledge for Allah’s sake. Truly, every single time I sit in a gathering, intending in it to humble myself, I always leave having surpassed the (others). On the other hand, every time I sit in a gathering, wanting to rise above the people, I leave with (some of) my faults being shamefully exposed.”

Also, Imam Sufyaan, may Allah have mercy on him, said, “Each time any slave (of Allah) increases in knowledge, while increasing in hope of the dunya, he will only increase his distance from Allah.”

– You should cleanse your heart and tongue from anything not befitting of a Muslim teaching the Qur’an. You must purify your heart from arrogance, envy and hatred. You must also protect your tongue from backbiting, gossip, indecent speech and lying. Since you are representing Qur’an you must cleanse your heart and tongue from anything that is not befitting of a Muslim and hence you must take on the manners of the Qur’an and its people.

– Your students are like your own children therefore you must treat them with love, respect, firmness and gentleness. Do not go overboard in any of these aspects. For, if you go overboard in gentleness, they will not give you high regard and respect. And if you go overboard in firmness and punishment, this will develop hatred in their hearts. And both of these shall drastically effect the student’s progress and sometimes may even cause him to quit learning Qur’an.

– Some talents of your students might become apparent causing you to feel jealous. Never feel jealous, nor feel like he has been blessed by Allah with “more than” you. This is because envy eats good deeds the way fire eats wood. And this is with regards to envy in general, so how much more so in the case of your own student, who is supposed to be like your own child?!

– Remember that you have been entrusted with the trust of the students. They have come to you to learn the Qur’an. Be very careful as to not fall short in keeping their trust and fulfilling their rights, so that they will not dispute with you in Akhirah before Allah, saying, “O Allah Ask him about how he wasted my time and my life!”

Hence, it is necessary that you be devoted and keen in making sure they learn the Qur’an, and that you give precedence to their learning over your own personal worldly benefit. Furthermore, when you sit down to listen to their recitation, you should free your heart from all other preoccupations.

– Base your relationship with your students on the following advice of Allah, the Most Exalted, in Soorat al-Asr: “(I swear) by time (that) truly, all humans are in loss, except those who believe, do righteous deeds, enjoin one another to the truth, and enjoin one another to patience.”

 Therefore, do not hold back from giving advises to them as enjoining them to truth and patience is an important matter. Similarly, vice-versa should also hold good that is get yourself accustomed to receiving advice from them, as this is from the habits of the sahaabah and the manners of the scholars. Ameer al-Mu’mineen, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab, may Allah be pleased with him, is a great example for us in this regard. Despite the fact that he was the Khaleefah (caliphate) of the Muslims, he had no qualms saying, “May Allah have mercy on a person who guides me to see my faults.” You should also encourage anyone who can help you in self-development and improvement to do so.

– Keeping advising your students to utilize their time in beneficial things that shall help them in Akhirah. Advise them that this life is a “capital” and that it must be invested in the right place to get fruitful results. No sane person would let his capital go waste. Rather, he is to preserve it and invest it in that which will increase it.

– Try to give your students equal attention and avoid being bias to a particular student or group of students, for this will cause them to feel resentment. However, if you see that a student is much stronger in his skills and performance, you can give him some extra attention in order to encourage him, while letting his fellow students know the reason behind this.

– Be patient with your students as much as you can. Bear in mind that people have varying personalities and traits. You may find that some of your students do not value you, treat you coldly or scornfully, or transgress their limits when speaking to you. However, do not be quick to punish them or get revenge. Rather, try to remedy the situation using wisdom and deliberation. Be like the palm-tree: people throw stones at it and it throws dates back to them. And “each well releases whatever it contains”. And you are a well containing the Qur’an, so only good should be emitted from you.0

– If it becomes necessary to discipline one of the students, the motive behind it should be your concern for his best interest. Furthermore, the means of punishment used should be in accordance to the magnitude of the student’s mistake. Thus, you are like a doctor, who may perform a painful operation or prescribe some bitter medication out of his desire and love for the patient to be cured.

– If a student seeks your permission to switch to a different class with a different teacher, due to some reason or another, then by all means, do not prevent him. Especially if the student or his guardians feel that this is in the best interest of the student. You should wish him the best and pray that Allah grants him success, because the intention behind teaching this child was to seek Allah’s pleasure. So, tell yourself: Truly, I wanted nothing out of teaching him but to fulfill obedience (to my Lord) and I achieved that. Furthermore, he wanted to learn with someone else in order to further increase his knowledge, so he should not be reprimanded for that.

– It is very important that you do not attempt to take on the job of teaching Muslim children unless you are truly qualified to do so, because “one who lacks something cannot impart it”. May Allah have mercy on a person who knows his limits and stays within them. So, if you wish to teach Qur’anic memorization, you yourself should be a proficient hafiz, who has perfected the memorization of Allah’s Book. Or if you wish to teach recitation of the Qur’an, you yourself should be a proficient reciter before you come forth to teach.

– You should try to improve and develop yourself daily, asking Allah’s help and benefiting from the successful experiences of others. This self-development and improvement should be concentrated in two areas:

First:

In teaching the Noble Qur’an. For example, if you have not yet completed memorization of the whole Qur’an, you must be keen to finish memorizing it. If you are already a haafiz but you are not proficient, you should strengthen your memorization. And if you are of those whom Allah has blessed with good and solid memorization and recitation, you should make sure you recite to a teacher with an ijaazah so that your recitation can be connected to that of the Prophet. While doing all this, and definitely after you reach this level, do not miss out on the opportunity of learning the various sciences related to the Qur’an, such as the Qur’an’s tafseer (explanation of the Qur’an), script, laws, stories, admonitions, lessons and others. This will cause you to be skilled in your field of work and will enable you to deliver this great good to your students.

Second:

In the field of child upbringing and methods of interaction. This in itself is a science and an art which requires some effort on your part to acquire. This area of knowledge should definitely not be neglected, as it is one of the most effective means of causing your students to benefit from you. After seeking Allah’s help, seek the help of people who have experience and understanding in this field. Furthermore, do a lot of reading and research on your own.

17) There is nothing wrong with allowing your students a chance to express their feelings towards you, once in a while, in a pleasant brotherly gathering. You should use these conversations with them as an opportunity to determine your strengths (as a teacher), so that you can further develop them, as well as your weaknesses, so that you can avoid them in the future, Allah willing.

18) If you are asked about something to which you do not know the answer, do not feel it shameful to say, “I do not know.” This will in fact elevate your status. Ameer al-Mumineen (the Leader of the Believers), Ali ibn Abi Taalib, May Allah be pleased with him, said, “If any of you does not know something, he should not feel too ashamed to learn it. And if he is asked about something he does not know, he should not feel ashamed to say, ‘I do not know.” Similarly, ‘Abdullaah ibn Mas’ood, May Allah be pleased with him, said, “0 people! Whoever has knowledge of something should speak about it. And whoever does not know, should say, ‘Allah knows best’ for truly, saying, ‘I do not know’ is in itself a part of knowledge.”

Methodology of teaching Recitation & Memorization of Qur’an.

The following is the method that I feel is best to teach Allah’s Book.

1. Each student in your circle should be assigned a mus-haf that will be especially his. He should be required to bring it with him every day and to respect and care for it. The benefit of not changing his mllI.-b.4is that the student’s memory will capture an image, such that he can picture the location of the verses on each page. However, if he switches to a different mus-haf, he may become confused regarding the locations of the verses. An additional benefit of keeping one mus-haf, is that the teacher can mark the student’s mistakes in it with his pen, so that he can easily go back and find them, in order to re-memorize those areas and avoid making the same mistake again. Furthermore, it helps the teacher determine the amount that the student should memorize at home for his new assignment. And Allah knows best.
2. Do not allow students to be absent except due to necessities, such as sickness. Some students may be absent with the excuse that they have monthly exams in school, a lot of homework, or visitors and relatives in town, as well as other weak excuses. These excuses can completely cease if the student senses that the teacher is firm and serious in following up his consistent and punctual attendance to the hifz class.
3. Two and a half to three hours should be assigned daily to the hifz school. It can start immediately after ‘Asr prayer until the adhaan of Maghrib. This applies to those whose first language is Arabic. As for non-Arab speakers, at least four hours will be needed. Furthermore, students should not be allowed to come to class late or to leave early.
4. According to the time period suggested above, the number of students should be limited to twenty students per class (i.e. per teacher), especially if the teacher does not have an assistant. If the teacher has too many students, there will be shortcomings in the quantity and quality of what he teaches them.

Furthermore, this suggestion of twenty students per teacher applies only to the start of the new hifz class. However, as time passes and students have memorized larger portions of the Qur’an, it will become necessary that the number of students be decreased to fifteen or that the teacher finds an assistant if the number of students remains the same.

5. Each student should be asked to prepare three daily assignments, one of which will be done at home and the rest in the masjid (or classroom). The details will be discussed below.

Daily Assignments

New Memorization:

The student must prepare this assignment at home. The portion of daily memorization should be specified according to the student’s personal capacity to memorize. The student is allowed no mistakes, 1/2 mistakes, or tajweed errors in this segment of assignments, and no lenience should be shown in this regard. If lenience is shown with respect to the standard of the new memorization assignment, this will cause continual weakness in the memorization of that student. This is because the lessons will gradually add up and it will become too difficult for him to strengthen it all afterwards. He will then have to exert double the time and energy to re-memorize what he has lost. And the cycle will continue as such.

The easiest and quickest way to actually memorize the assignment, according to one of the view, is as follows:

1. a) The student should divide his time for memorizing the new assignment into two portions: one before sleeping for 15 to 30 minutes, and the other for 10 minutes after awakening and right before reciting it to the teacher. The second portion can be 10 minutes before going to Qur’an class, for example.
2. b) The student begins to memorize a portion of the first verse. When he completes it, he memorizes the second portion, and then joins them both together, reciting the entire verse at once. If he finds that he has memorized it well, he can move on to the next verse and do as he did with the first. Then he should recite the two verses together in order to join them. He then moves on to the third verse, and so on. Throughout this process, he should pay close attention to the rules of recitation, stopping, and starting.

Recitation of the Last Five Pages (Recent Review)

The student recites the last five pages that he has memorized, such that every day, he leaves the first of these pages and replaces it with a new page instead. In this assignment, he is not allowed any mistake, hesitation, or tajweed error, and no lenience or compromise should be shown in this regard, so that his memorization will be firm (Allah willing).

Recitation of the Daily Review (or General Review)

This review assignment consists of at least 10 pages, that means the student reviews all that he has learned in order, taking 10 pages a day, until the point where he stopped memorizing, and then starts the cycle again. So, for example, if the student has memorized from Surah al Baqarah to Surah al Maidah, the cycle begins with 10 pages of Surah al Baqarah today, the next 10 tomorrow, and so on, until he reaches his stopping point in Surah al Maidah, at which time he returns to reviewing the first 10 pages from the beginning of Surah al Baqarah. The student is not allowed more than (a total value of) three mistakes; that is, three mistakes, or six 1/2 mistakes*,or two mistakes and two 1/2 mistakes, or one mistake and four 1/2 mistakes, etc. (that is in adding the value of full mistakes 1 and 1/2 mistakes, the total should not exceed 3. The student should also carefully observe all rules of recitation throughout this portion.

* (If the teacher informs the student that he has erred, and the student is able to correct himself, it is a 1/2 mistake. However, if the teacher informs the students that he made a mistake, and he is unable to correct himself from his own recollection, but the teacher needs to tell him the correct answer, then it is considered a full mistake)

6. The class time is divided into five main portions, four of which are compulsory and one optional, depending on if there is extra time left over. This optional portion would be during the summer time, when the day is long and the time between Asr & Maghrib reaches approximately three hours.

Division of Time

First Division of Time

This consists of half an hour, during which the teacher listens to each one of the students reciting their New Memorization Assignment, which they have already prepared at home. The teacher should bear in mind the following:

1. The new memorization assignment must be perfect, without a single mistake.
2. The student must apply all rules of tajweed and the teacher should not overlook a single tajweed rule, including the time of the ghunnah and madd, as well as the stopping and starting points. Madd refers to the lengthening of the madd letters (the long vowels) are alif, waaw and yaa.
3. The teacher should get the students accustomed to reciting the new assignment properly from the first time, due to time constraints. Hence, each student may recite the assignment to a classmate prior to reciting it to the teacher.

Second Division of Time

This also consists of half an hour, in which the students are given the opportunity to prepare their daily General Review (consisting of at least 10 pages) as well as their Recent Review of the last 5 pages memorized.

Third Division of Time

This consists of a full hour, in which students recite their daily General Review, which consists of at least 10 pages, as was previously mentioned, as well as their Recent Review of the last 5 pages memorized – a total of 15 pages. Students should be divided into two groups (and then paired up). Then each student from the first group should recite to his partner from the second group, and then vice versa. Each student should be given half an hour to complete his recitation. The teacher should be watching them as they recite to one another to make sure that they do not waste time with side conversations. Meanwhile, the teacher should randomly choose at least two students daily and listen to their review himself, to assess their level of proficiency in memorization and the extent of their trustworthiness. This means to assess whether their reports of one another’s recitation have been accurate or if they claim that their partner has done well when in fact this was not the case.

Fourth Division of Time

This consists of half an hour, in which the teacher listens to and corrects the new assignment which the students are required to memorize for the next day. The teacher must listen to each student himself. However, the teacher can seek the assistance of some of his sharp, advanced students and have them listen to some of their classmates.

Fifth Division of Time

This division of time is optional and consists of approximately half an hour, perhaps longer or shorter, depending on the availability of time in that particular semester or season of the school year. The teacher can use this time to do any of the following:

– Explain the rules of recitation from a theoretical perspective. that is, as opposed to practical application, which the students are already doing daily.

– Give educational talks to the students.

– Explain some noble prophetic ahaadith, which will benefit them, as well as have the students memorize them. It is advisable to use a short book of hadith, such as the Forty Hadeeth of Nawawee.

– Explain the meanings of words in the Qur’an using a concise book and have them memorize it. For example, one could use the book Kalimaat al-Qur’an: Tafseer wa Bayaan, by Shaykh Hasanayn Makhloof (may Allah have mercy on him).

– Help the child get in the habit of reciting the supplications of the morning and evening, and have them memorize them.

– Anything else which the teacher feels is beneficial for the students. And Allah knows best.

Important Points of Notice

1) It is important for the teacher to show the students the places in the Qur’an which contact ghunnah and madd. He can do so, for example, by placing a circle above all words containing ghunnah, be it ikhfaa’, idghaam with gbunnah, iqlaab, noon or meem with shaddah, etc. (These terms are technical terms referring to certain tajweed rules). As for the madds, it is sufficient for the teacher to point out to the students that they must lengthen any letter in the Qur’an which contains the madd sign ( ~ ), regardless of the type of madd it is.

2) It is also necessary that the teacher gets the student used to applying the basic principles of starting and stopping points. Considering the fact that students are often young or non-Arabs, and so cannot understand the meanings of the Qur’an, the teacher should train them to follow the stopping points indicated in the mus-haf.

 Similarly, they must also be taught how to stop and restart in the middle of a verse if they are to run out of breath while reciting. Also, when a student does run out of breath and stops in the middle of a verse in places where a stopping point is not indicated, he should be taught to try to stop at some of the words, and then resume recitation again with these words.

 3) The teacher should get the students accustomed to reciting melodiously, while applying the rules of tajweed, from the very beginning. This should be the case whether the student is simply reciting, memorizing, or reciting his lesson or review to someone else, as this contains great benefits.

4) Special care should be taken to teaching the students the practical implementation of melodious and correct recitation (i.e. with the application or tajweed rule, that is, by way of imitation, wherein the teacher has the students recite just as he recited or demonstrates to them how certain words are pronounced correctly). This is especially important for the younger children, since they are unable to easily understand the theoretical rules of tajweed, while they possess a strong ability to memorize and imitate the correct recitation. And Allah, Most High, knows best.

5) As for young children, ages five or younger, who are just beginners, it is best that the teacher starts by teaching them the Arabic alphabet. Practical experience of many teachers has shown that teaching the proper pronunciation of me Arabic alphabet, in order, is among the most successful ways of teaching others to read the Qur’an correctly. If the child learns how to correctly enunciate and articulate each letter, this will then enable him to easily learn to recite and memorize the Qur’an properly.

Teachers can use and benefit from the book, al-Qaa’idah an-Nooraaniyah, which is used to teach the Arabic alphabet, as well as the reading of various Arabic syllables and phrases. With regards to teaching beginners to read with minimal effort and in the least amount of time, it is a unique book and one of the easiest and most successful of its kind. This has also been confirmed by experienced teachers who have taught their beginner students to read using this book. They have witnessed its obvious outcome, in that the students who have studied this book were superior to other students in terms of Arabic language and Qur’an. And Allah, Most High, knows best.

6) Students should be required to write out their daily assignments in their special assignment notebook.

 7) It is advisable that the teacher makes a yearly plan for each student at the start of each (school) year. He should involve the student and parents in outlining the goals of this yearly plan. Each month he should evaluate the student’s actual achievements relative to this plan. This will inform him of the student’s current level; whether he is advancing or falling behind, as well as the reasons behind this. He should assess if the reasons are due to the efforts (or lack thereof) of the student, teacher, or parents.

8) The mistakes made by the student while reciting should be marked with a pen in his mus-haf, so that both the student and teacher can easily find them. This will enable the student to go back and rememorize it properly, ensuring that he will not make the same mistake again. Using pen instead of a pencil will prevent some of the negligent students from erasing the mistakes marked by the teacher in their mus-haf, out of embarrassment that anyone sees their mistakes. This is also one of the greatest advantages in having each student use the same mus-haf throughout their course of memorization. The teacher should focus on the marked mistakes and continually follow them up until the student completely gets rid of them.

9) If Allah graces the student by allowing him to complete a JUZ of th Qur’an, he is to review this juz very well. The teacher himself should listen to him and ensure that the student perfects it. He should not allow the student to start memorizing the next juz until he has perfected the previous one, such that he does not make one single mistake in it. If this matter is not taken seriously, it will lead to weak memorization of the student and as more time passes, it will become even more difficult for the student to strengthen his memorization.

10) The teacher’s and parents’ aim should not be that the student complete the entire Qur’an in a short period of time, while being unconcerned with the strength of his memorization. Some do so with the excuse that he will properly review once he completes the Qur’an. However, if he postpones proper review until he completes the entire Qur’an, it will then be very difficult for him to recollect what he has memorized and he may even feel that he has not memorized this before and needs to start over. He would then have to exert much more effort (and time) to regain what he has forgotten.

On the other hand, a student who properly reviews what he has memorized, on a daily basis, from the very beginning, and makes sure that he immediately recites it to his teacher without any delay, will have strong and accurate memorization. He will not, Allah willing, find any difficulty in perfecting his memorization once he completes the whole Qur’an. At that point, he will reap what he sowed and will obtain the fruits of his efforts and perseverance.

11) The teacher must be conscious of Allah, Most Exalted, in doing his job. He must also instill in his students’ hearts consciousness of Allah in secret and in public, as opposed to consciousness of what people think.

He should concern himself with rectifying his heart more so than his external image. This is due to the fact that, if the heart is rectified, everything else, in him, will be rectified. Our beloved Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Indeed there is piece of flesh in the body that, if it is rectified, the entire body will be rectified, and if it becomes corrupted, the whole body will become corrupted. Truly, it is the heart.” (Sahih al-Bukhari)

12) The teacher must be a good example for his students in his speech, actions, external image, clothing, as well as his consistent and punctual arrival to class. This will make him more worthy of the students’ respect and will better enable them to accept his advice and admonition. Abdullaah ibn Masood, May Allah be pleased with him, said:

“The one who has memorized the Qur’an must be distinguished from others by his nights (in prayer) while the other people sleep, by his daytime (fasting) while the other people eat, by his abstinence while the other people mingle, by his humility while the other people proudly’ strut about, by his sadness while the other people rejoice, by his tears while the other people laugh, and by his silence while the other people immerse themselves (in useless speech). (Akhlaaq hamalat al-Quran, by al-Aajurree)

After Completing Memorization of the Qur’an

If Allah graces the student and allows him to complete the entire Qur’an in the way that I explained previously, then he must take the following steps – in my opinion – in order to strengthen and refine his memorization.

First: The Consolidating Khatmah (Round)

This khatmah is in order for the student to strengthen and consolidate his memorization of the Qur’an. Beginning with Surah al-Baqarah, he “re-memorizes” five pages daily at home, perfecting them and properly reciting them such that he has no mistakes or 1/2 mistakes. Then his teacher must listen to his recitation (of these pages) immediately, at the beginning of the first class session. This pattern should continue every day until he completes the entire Qur’an. This is referred to as the Consolidating Khatmah. The student needs approximately 140 days, that is, around four and a half months, to complete this khatmah.

Furthermore, after the student recites his five pages, described previously, he must recite at least three juz’s of what he previously consolidated, once it reaches that much. Then, after completing the first consolidating Khatmah, he should begin a second khatmah, in which he “re-memorizes” and perfects an entire juz’, instead of five pages, while continuing to review three juzs a day. Upon completion, he continues to review daily with his teacher three juz’s, then five, then seven, then ten (once he starts reciting 3 juz’s a day instead of 5 pages or one juz, there is no additional review to that). He continues until he can recite ten juzs daily without needing to prepare or review them before reciting them, and without any mistakes or 1/2 mistakes. Some people may wonder how it is that the teacher can listen to ten juz’s from the student on a daily basis. The response is that this can take place, and has taken place on a daily basis if the student sits next to the teacher and recites immediately after Asr prayer until Maghrib prayer (approximately two and half hours), during which the teacher supervises his recitation, while he listens to the other students recite.

The student who has completed memorizing the whole Qur’an should be encouraged to “crown” his memorization with the recitation of the Noble Qur’an according to a chain (of teachers) tracing back to the Prophet. In order to do so, he must first exert his efforts in improving his recitation and his memorization. After doing so, he should strive to find a teacher possessing a high level of proficiency, as well as ijaazah with a chain tracing back to the Prophet (sallahu alahi wassalam). Upon finding him, he should recite the entire Qur’an to him. If he does so and manages to earn an ijaazah himself, by which he is certified to certify others, this should not stop him from continuing his quest (for Qur’anic knowledge) and continuing to knock on the doors of the scholars. Some people become unenthusiastic and lazy after they attain the ijaazah, thinking that they have reached their aim and ultimate goal. However, the reality is not as he perceives it. Rather, it is only a beginning on the road to gaining knowledge and imparting it to others, as well as expanding in the knowledge of tajweed, the modes of recitation and everything else related to the sciences of Qur’an and Arabic. In this regard, Sa’eed ibn Jubayr, may Allah have mercy on him, said: “A person continues to be knowledgeable for as long as he continues learning. Yet, once he leaves (the quest for) knowledge and feels that he is no longer in need and that what he has is sufficient, he then becomes as ignorant as one can possibly be.” (Kitaab al-ilm wa aadaab al-aalim wal Mutaallim, by an-nawawee)

 Second: The Khatmah of Ijaazah

As was previously mentioned, this consists of the student reciting the entire Qur’an from memory, with accuracy and application of all tajweed rules, to a competent teacher, who has an ijaazah with a chain of teachers tracing back to the Prophet. Once he completes this and the teacher ascertains that he is qualified and deserving to carry this trust, he will issue him the certificate, which will allow him to recite and teach others Qur’an at any time and in any place he wishes. After the student is honored by attaining this ijaazah, he must then give his portion of “charity” from this knowledge. And the “charity” of knowledge consists of teaching it to others. So, just as he sat with his teachers and scholars to acquire his knowledge, he must sit to teach and listen to whoever requests of him knowledge of Qur’anic recitation. Upon doing so, he will fit the description stated by the Prophet in his saying: “The best of you is he who learns the Qur’an and teaches it.” (Sahih al-bukhari)

Section 2

The Method of Teaching Recitation of the Qur’an

Learning how to properly recite the Qur’an is an individual obligation upon each and every Muslim, male or female, as was mentioned in this book’s introduction. In this section, we will explain this topic. It is a very easy section in comparison to the section dealing with memorization, contrary to the difficulty many people perceive in this regard.

However, we do advise the students learning recitation to first memorize at least Juz ‘Amma (juz’ 30), or the small chapters which a Muslim must know for his prayer and adhkhaar (daily words of remembrance). In addition, he should memorize some of the verses and chapters that are authentically reported to have special virtues, such as Aqyat al-Kursi, the ending of Soora! al-Baqarab, Surah al-Kalf, Surah Yaa Sin, Surah al-Al-mulk, and others.

In order to fulfill this, the student learning recitation must use the method of memorization which we described earlier for the memorization students. Then, after completing the short surahs, he simply needs to follow the method for learning recitation, which is very easy – by Allah’s grace – and does not require much time or effort.

The Step-by-Step Method

1) The time required for students learning recitation

There is no defined amount of time required; rather, it depends on the choice of the teacher and student. For example, a student may attend the recitation class daily for 15 minutes, or he may instead attend it twice a week for a half-hour each time.

2) Studying al-Qaa’idah an-Nooraaniyyah before beginning

It is preferable that the teacher begins by teaching the beginner students the Arabic alphabet using this specific book, the advantages of which were mentioned earlier.

3) Assigning one mus-haf for each student, the benefit of this was also previously explained.

4) Three daily assignments required from the student

1. a) Reading the new lesson, after having prepared for it.
2. b) Correcting his recitation of the next day’s assignment.
3. c) Daily review of the previous lessons, consisting of at least five pages, to be recited accurately with tajweed.
4. Application of all tajweed rules

The student is required to apply all rules of tajweed while reciting his lessons to his teacher, while paying attention to stopping and starting points.

An Important Notice

Some people may wonder about those whose schedules do not allow them sufficient time to go to a teacher or class on a daily basis, such as employees, storekeepers, or elderly people. How is it that they will learn to recite or memorize the Qur’an? By Allah’s tawfeeq (divinely granted success), we say to such a person: my dear brother, you may utilize the times between the adhaan and iqaamah, which consists of about an hour and a half in total. That is, 25 minutes at Fajr, 20 minutes at Zuhr, 20 minutes at Asr, 5 minutes at Maghrib, and 20 minutes at lshaa. This makes a total of 90 minutes. This is more than enough time to recite two JUZ’s of the Qur’an daily. However, it requires a high level of determination. And strong determination and drive is the way to attaining the heights of affairs.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we seek refuge in Allah and ask the Most high to grant us rewards for learning and teaching his book. We also ask Allah to help everyone benefit from this article.

{Source: The article has been extracted from “The practical method of learning and teaching “THE QUR’AN” by Mohammad Farooq Mohammad Al Raee. All rights to this article’s content are reserved by “Furqan Group for education & IT”, Jeddah, KSA. For any queries, kindly contact them at P.O.Box 112099, Jeddah, 21371, KSA; Tel 00966 2697033; Fax 0096626973174}