Facts and news:

The first piece of news: An eleven-year-old boy from the Croatian capital Zagreb memorized the whole Quran. A Zagreb-based newspaper said that the child, who is still at the primary school, has memorized the whole Quran in five years and that he used to spend four hours a day in memorization of the Quran.

The second piece of news: A child memorized the Quran even before learning how to read or write and even before understanding its meanings. So, he memorized the whole Quran, Al-Arba‘een An-Nawawiyyah, Tuhfat Al-Atfaal and 30 poetic verses of Al-Jazariyyah before the age of nine and that was the result of his family’s keenness on teaching him and his good relation with his teachers.

My dear caregiver, these facts and news are about Muslim children from all over the world. Allah The Almighty raised the ranks of those children and rewarded their parents greatly because their children memorized the Quran. Would you not want your child to be like those children? Would you not like to receive the reward of Allah The Almighty when your child memorizes the Quran?

Dear caregiver, we are now in the month of Ramadan, when Allah The Almighty eases worship to be a starting point for all of us. During this blessed month, we should get our children accustomed to learning the Quran and begin with memorization of the Book of Allah The Almighty. Therefore, I will shed light on the virtue of memorizing the Quran and the correct methods that we should use in teaching it to our children.

He has definitely won:

Dear caregiver, let us take a quick tour through the prophetic Hadeeths (narrations) to know the great reward, sublime status and enormous benefits that your child will receive when he learns and memorizes the Noble Quran.

The Prophet  said, “The nobles of my Ummah (nation) are the carriers of the Quran (the ones who memorize it by heart) and the people of the night (the ones who observe night vigilance in worship).” [Al-Albaani: Saheeh]

Your child will have a noble status among people, as the Prophet  said, “Verily, Allah elevates some people with this book (i.e. the Qur'an) and abases others with it.” [Muslim]

However, if learning the Quran had no reward but being among the people of Allah The Almighty, it would have been enough. The Prophet  said: “Indeed, Allah The exalted has people from among mankind” The companions asked, “Who are those people?” The Prophet  answered: “The people of the Quran; they are the people of Allah and His elite…” ‎ [Al-Albaani: Saheeh]

To those who are keen on making their children memorize the Quran, let me give you the following glad tidings: You should know that the person who memorizes the Quran will not only be successful in this world, but he will be also successful in the Hereafter. Let us listen to a young woman speaking about her experiment in memorizing the Quran,

The Quran has been my road to guidance, because it is the best guide for Man in all life affairs including knowledge, dealings and manners. I felt the influence of memorization of the Quran on my whole life. My grades before memorization were “pass” and “good”, but after memorizing the Quran, I got “very good” and “excellent”. Of course, all of this is a result of the blessing of the Quran.

As for the reward of your child in the Hereafter, Allah The Almighty and His Messenger  promise the people of the Quran a special status on the Day of Judgment to the extent that everyone else will wish to be like them. The Prophet  said: “It will be said to the companion of the Qur'an on the Day of Judgment: `Recite and ascend [in ranks] as you used to recite when you were in the world. Your rank will be at the last verse you recite.” [Al-Albaani: Saheeh]

Furthermore, the Quran will intercede for your child on the Day of Judgment, when everyone will be in need of a single good deed, not to mention the whole Quran. The Prophet  said: “On the Day of Judgment, the Quran will petition Allah to cloak the companion of the Quran with garments of honor and respect. A crown of honor will then be placed on his head. The Quran will then petition Allah to give him more. Allah The Almighty will then give him the garment of honor. The Quran will then petition Allah to shower His pleasure on Him. Allah will then become pleased with him.” [Al-Albaani: Hasan]

Moreover, we are now in the blessed month of Ramadan, which is the month of the Quran, as Allah The Exalted Says (what means): {The month of Ramadan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur'an, guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion.} [Quran 2:185]

Hence, this is a month during which Allah The Almighty eases recitation and memorization of the Quran.

 

Parents will also receive the greatest reward:

With regard to you, dear fathers and mothers, you will certainly receive a great reward and endless happiness if your child memorizes the Quran. The parents’ efforts to make their child memorize the Quran will not be in vain. Listen to the Prophet  who says:

“The Quran will come on the Day of Judgment like a pale man saying to its companion, “Do you recognize me? I am the one who made you stay up at night and made you thirsty during the day. Today every merchant is after his merchandise and today I am for you behind every merchant.” Then he will be given dominion in his right hand and eternity in his left, and a crown of dignity will be placed upon his head, and his parents will be clothed with garments which far surpass everything to be found in this world. They will say, “O Lord, how did we earn this.” It will be said to them, “Because you taught your child the Quran.” [Al-Albaani: Saheeh]

Advice of the experts:

Ibn Khaladoon referred in his Al-Muqaddimah to the importance of teaching the Quran to children. He also confirmed that teaching the Quran is the foundation of teaching the other curricula in Islamic countries, because it is one of the greatest rites of Islam not to mention that it strengthens the creed and deepens faith.

Imaam Al-Ghazzaali  recommended in his book “Ihyaa’ ‘Uloom Ad-Deen”, that “The child should be first taught the Noble Quran, then Hadeeths (narrations), then stories of the righteous people, and then some religious rulings.”

In his book “Tarbiyat Al-Awlaad fi Al-Islam”, Dr. ‘Abdullaah Naasih ‘Ulwaan said, "Our vigilant righteous predecessors used to send their children to educators to teach them the Quran before anything else. That is because this helps them master classic Arabic and purify their hearts and souls, in addition to deepening faith in their souls."

The beginning should be at home:

Dear caregiver, you have a great role to play in helping your child memorize the Quran as proved by experience. One of the memorizers of Quran refers to the great role of his family saying, "My parents drew my attention to the importance of memorizing the Quran, as they used to implant the love for Quran in my heart and encourage me to memorize it. They also used to refer to some relatives and young men in the neighborhood who memorized the Quran and excelled in their studies. They also told me many stories of some relatives who succeeded in their practical life due to memorizing the Quran."

Without this encouragement, the child will fail to memorize the Book of Allah The Almighty. Listen to this young man whose family did not pay attention to teaching him the Quran during his early childhood expressing his suffering, saying, "Unfortunately, no one directed me to the importance of memorizing the Quran during my early childhood; therefore, I faced great difficulty in memorizing it after graduation.

Nevertheless, I will continue by the Permission of Allah The Almighty. I have now memorized five Ajzaa’ (plural of Juz’) of the Quran, and I will keep up, Allah willing. "

Learning at an early age is like engraving in stone:

Some parents may say that their children are still young and do not understand anything. However, let me say to them that despite difficulty in memorizing at an early age, once the child memorizes something at this age, it will be engraven in his mind like engravings on a stone. It will be difficult, but it will last for a long time.

Teaching the Quran to the children since early childhood is recommended by experts in this field. Dr. Al-Ma‘saraawi, the Head of the Egyptian Council of Quran, says, "A child should start memorizing the Quran at the age of three or four to be able to finish it at the age of eight. During this period, his mind is usually free from all cares and worries, which facilitates memorization of the Quran and it stays in his mind for the rest of his life."

Difficulties:

With regard to the difficulties that we face in the process of memorizing the Quran, a female teacher of the Quran said,

The most important difficulty is the weakness of the children’s abilities and their failure to achieve the desired progress in addition to dyslexia. Nevertheless, I know the best methods that suit each child and achieve the best results. In fact, children are very different, some of them do not memorize without beating, while others only need little instruction. It is natural to maintain a strong connection with the parents to encourage them to take care of their children and follow up their progress with them.

Sometimes, I meet parents to coordinate with them regarding what they should do.
Another female Quran teacher says,

One of the major problems is that children want to play all the time and do not realize the greatness of what they are doing. However, I try to overcome this problem through encouragement and prizes (chocolate and so on) to reward excellent children. Encouraging words also have great influence. For example, when a child memorizes well I supplicate for him saying, “May Allah bless you” or, “May Allah make you like the great Companions, or like the people of the Quran who are the close servants of Allah The Almighty.”

When the children hear these words, I feel as if light flows from their faces. I do not like beating. Instead, I punish the children who do not memorize through showing anger for a while.

At the end, here are some practical steps that will help you put your child on the right track:

• Sit with your child everyday to read a page from the Quran using the repetition method, namely, you read and ask him to repeat after you. The imitation method is the best way to teach your child the correct pronunciation of the Quran.
• Bring a tape or a CD for your child that contains the chapter that you want your child to memorize recited by a good reciter.
• Search for a teacher to teach him the Quran as of this Ramadan. This is better, because parents may get busy, while the teacher will be dedicated to this purpose.
• Follow-up is very important and you should always ask the teacher about your child’s progress. Reward your child with a present or some sweets whenever he achieves progress, but never forget a good word.
We ask Allah The Exalted to make our children from the people of the Quran and to make them the coolness of our eyes in this world and the Hereafter.