Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim

We are in an era of information explosion. It is very easy to get any kind of info about any subject in the whole world– everything is just one click away. In such an environment, we have gotten used to storing info in our computers rather than in our brains because it’s so much easier.

Memorization is becoming an ancient art, and for Muslims it amounts to memorizing enough surahs to recite during salah. Therefore, for those individuals who are brave enough to undertake the task of Quran memorization, it seems to be an extremely difficult task. Often we try memorizing, put in so much effort, and then when it doesn’t bear fruit we just give up. Then we start again and the same process continues, so that we just go in a circle and never really progress much.

This has happened so many times to me as well as others around me. So I will share with you some of the tips which I have learned that will help you break out of this spiral of failure in our attempts at memorization of the Quran and finally make some progress in sha Allah.

1. Renew your intention every time

Every time you say the basmalah before reciting, really concentrate on renewing your intention. Really start in the name of Allah, for the sake of Allah, in order to please Allah. If we can do that, then Allah has promised that He Himself will make it easy.

وَلَقَدْ يَسَّرْنَا الْقُرْآنَ لِلذِّكْرِ فَهَلْ مِن مُّدَّكِرٍ

And We have certainly made the Qur’an easy for remembrance, so is there any who will remember? [54:17]

سير means taking an easy stroll. If you have your intention in place, memorizing Quran will becoming like taking a pleasurable walk.

2. Learn Arabic

Try the following experiment.

Memorize the following: Uare yozing ama.

Now do the same for the following sentence: You are amazing.

It is obvious which one is easier to memorize. Both the sentences are made up of exactly the same letters. But the one which is semantically meaningful to us is much much easier to memorize. Therefore, in order to really boost your memorizing, you need to learn at least some Arabic. In Understand Quran Academy we offer the course of understanding 70% of the Quranic words in just 39 lessons. Easy course for busy people!

3. Keep a fixed time and place and mus’haf

Psychologists have found out that it helps you remember things better if you learn them in the same context. So fix a time when you are free most days, and a place where you can be free from distractions (more in the next point). But the most important point is memorizing from the same mus’haf. We don’t just have verbal or semantic memories of what we memorize, we also retain visual and spatial memories. When we memorize from the same book again and again, we not just memorize its content but also the placement of the words. Often you’ll find teachers saying, ‘This ayah is in surat al Fajar, at the top of the page’ when speaking about where you’ll find an ayah, without even referring to any mus’haf. This is because they are recalling a spatial memory.

4. Remove all distractions

With the continuous advents new types of electronic gadgets and beeps and notifications of social media, games etc. always crawling for our attention, our attention span is becoming smaller and smaller. Therefore it is very necessary when sitting down for Quran memorization to completely shut down our laptops, phones, tablets, IPods, IPads and all the rest of toys that we possess. Choose a place which is quiet and free of visual and auditory distractions. Also take your time to relax for a few minutes and get your mind stress free and ready to take in Divine knowledge.

5. Try not to have any interruptions

Inform your family of the time when you will regularly sit down to memorize Quran, and ask them not to interrupt during those times. Even better, invite your family members to memorize Quran along with you. Also try your best not to skip any day of memorization. Memorize even if it’s just an ayah, but don’t skip, because it might disrupt your routine and you might find yourself giving up memorizing altogether.

6. Make the 21-Day Habit

It takes about 21 days to make a habit. So even if you find it very difficult, push and drag yourself to complete 21 days, and you’ll in sha Allah find that once you have formed the habit, your body and mind automatically get prepared for a memorization session everyday at your scheduled time.

Tabassum Mosleh