By Abu Jamal Teague

So now you’ve decided to memorize the Quran.  Alhamdulillah.  May Allah (swt) reward you for your efforts!

The most critical ingredients in your formula for success will be your intention as well as your firm resolution to achieve your goals.  Regarding intention, it’s absolutely essential to enter into the process of Quranic memorization with a pure intention to do it solely for the sake of Allah (swt).

Allah (swt) says: Say (O Muhammad): ‘Verily I am commanded to worship Allah (Alone) by obeying Him and doing religious deeds sincerely for His sake only.’ [Quran, 39:11]

Regarding the second ingredient, resolution, Aisha narrated that the Messenger of Allah (swt) said: . . . And the most beloved deeds to Allah are those that are continuous, even if they are few . . . [Bukhari]

Memorization of the Quran is a challenge.  Nevertheless, Allah has provided assurance: And We have certainly made the Qur’an easy for remembrance, so is there any who will remember? [Quran, 54:40]

Let’s Get Started

The points below are intended to assist you; they aren’t iron-clad rules, but rather tips to to help you achieve success in your efforts.

1. Establish memorization goals and objectives.  The goals are what you plan to achieve in general, and your objectives represent the specific goals in terms of what you hope to achieve on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.  It is essential that you stipulate a daily memorization limit; otherwise you can overburden yourself, which runs the risk of weakening your efforts.

2. Get familiar with the section you want to work on for a given session.  Read the section for understanding, because– as stated above– understanding is the cornerstone of memorization, in that the target section is then associated with cognitive awareness.

3. Make sure your pronunciation is correct. Your first attempt at pronouncing your recitation should take place in the presence of an individual thoroughly familiar with Quranic recitation so that you can be assured that your pronunciation and recitation are correct.  Only move on to a new section when you’re comfortable with your performance on the first one.

4. While looking at the Quran, read the section ten times.  Then attempt to read the section without looking at the Quran.  If you make an error in the section, start again.  Once you can recite without looking, the section has been committed to memory. This doesn’t mean that it’s instilled in memory;  you must periodically return to what has been memorized to assure that the section has been captured by the memory.

5. Once you’ve memorized these lines you should keep them close at hand.  You should recite them in your salah.  Also recite them to yourself, wherever you are, whenever you can.  You should constantly refresh its position in your memory during “down time” such as waiting for the bus, standing in line at the store, etc.  Improve your tajweed as you recite these lines in your daily life.

6. Focus!  Don’t begin another ayat until you’ve completed the ayat you’re now memorizing.  This again is related to understanding.  Allah (swt) arranged the Quran in a manner that– although it exceeds our comprehension– has a thematic value, and we need to take advantage of this unity for both understanding and memorization.  Associate what you’re attempting to learn with what you already know. The greater our mental connection to information, the greater will be our success in remembering it.

7. Be consistent!  Don’t skip a day unless it’s absolutely unavoidable.  Keep track of the achievement of your goals and objectives, and assess your progress on a monthly basis.  This has the two-fold purpose of assuring a good pace and providing motivation for you to continue striving.  Nevertheless, do not attempt to surpass your established limits.

8. Use the same copy (mushaf, or written form) of the Quran throughout your memorization campaign.  To do otherwise can be substantially confusing, deterring the understanding that’s the basis of effective and efficient memorization.

9. Be attentive to the parts of the Quran that resemble other parts.  This enables you to take advantage of association, a major facilitator of the memorization process. Identify the patterns of the verses; the Quran is mutashaabihaat, which means that it has a definitive pattern.  Alhamdulillah, through the thematic unity of the Quran, Allah (swt) has incorporated association as well as repetition into the process of memorizing the Quran.  Approximately two thousand of the more than six thousand ayaat bear a resemblance or total correlation to one another.  The difference can be as little as a letter or two.

May Allah (swt) bless you with success in your efforts.  Keep in mind that the rewards are great:

Ibn Mas’ud (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, ‘Whoever recites a letter from the Book of Allah, he will be credited with a good deed, and a good deed gets a ten-fold reward. I do not say that Alif-Lam-Mim is one letter, but Alif is a letter, Lam is a letter and Mim is a letter.’ [At- Tirmidhi].