How to teach children the Holy Quran with Love

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Do you want to teach your children the Holy Quran yourself at home? I have a gentle parenting tip that will help you grow children who associate reading the Quran with love.

Growing children who love the Quran and Sunnah, who pray five times a day is every parent’s dream. After all, we want to raise Righteous Saleh Children who love and understand Islam.

We try hard to teach them the Five Pillars of Islam; we try to create joy for them in Ramadan and Hajj by baying the best Islamic toys and books, but when it comes to teaching children the Holy Quran, many parents find themselves in a dilemma.

• Should they send the child to a Madrasah or mosque or
• Should they teach them at home?
• If they send to a Madrasah, how to find one that is right for their child?
• If they teach at home, how to do it themselves?
• Should you choose an online teacher or an app?

When it comes to teach Quran to little children, there isn’t one formula that works for all. Some families benefit by sending their child to a formal institute with a learned teacher who can give your child full attention while some parents find it helpful to just teach their child at home.

I have three children. My eldest studies at Madrasa. My daughters prefer to study at home under my care. In this post, I’d like to share all the details about how to teach your child the Quran and Qaida at home.

My story: Why I started teaching my children the Quran at Home.

I have three children – a 12 year old son who is doing Hifz and two younger daughters. The elder girl is on the Quran while the little one is close to finishing her Qaida.

Two years ago, I was sending my 5 and 6 year old daughters to Madrasa like their older brother. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out as well for them as it had for my son. D has been studying the Quran at Masjids from when he was 6 years old without any trouble but the girls, didn’t take to it so easily.

Everyday was a struggle because it was school days. The children would leave home for school at 6am in the morning and come home at 2.30pm. They had to leave for Madrasa right away at 3.30pm. They had to be picked at 7pm.

There were tears – not just the kids but we the parents too. I felt like a terrible mom. Hubby and I would drive home after dropping them with guilty silence every day.

We both agreed that this is not how Quran studies should be. But we’d argue that they needed the formal training in Tajweed and correct pronunciation.

I grew up with formal Quran education here in Saudi Arabia. My parents send me to attend a Quran school and also Quran classes in not just my childhood but even as an adult. I knew I could do this.

I wanted to teach my children the Qaida at home just like my mother in law had taught my husband and his siblings. I was confident that I could teach the kids but my husband believed that it was important for children to go to a Madrasa to learn proper Tajweed. 

We argued back and forth. 

‘Do you like seeing them like this? They are going to grow up associating Quran with something forced upon them. Is this how we want to grow our children?’

Soon we decided that we’d pull them out so I could teach the girls the Qaida nooraniya myself at home.

It was the best decision ever. They literally learnt from my lap.

If you have a child reluctant to learn the Quran, teach from your lap.

My children started to associate Quran time with love and quality one on one time with their mother. Don’t we all want our children  to grow up and associate Quran learning with a loving time like this?

If you have a child who is reluctant to learn the Qaida, I highly recommend that you consider  teaching them from your lap. 

Things to know before you teach your children Quran at Home

Below I want to share some more details on how you can teach your child the Qaida and Quran yourself at home.

Difference between teaching  Arabic and Quranic Arabic

Studying Arabic as a language is not the same as Quranic Arabic. It is not enough that if your child knows the Alphabets or how words are made that they can start reading the Quran. 

Of course, definitely, knowing how to read and write Arabic speeds up their learning but Quranic Arabic and Arabic taught at schools is not the same. 

My children go to an Arab school. I have been teaching them to speak, read and write Arabic from when they were 2.5 years old. They could recognize the letters and numbers even at just 3 years of age, but placing the Harakaats (Vowels) like Fattah, Kasara and Damma takes a bit time. 

Teachers use a different approach to teaching the Arabic Language (reading and reciting) too. They don’t stress on the pronunciation as much while teaching to read and write the Arabic Language. 

Quranic Arabic learning starts with studying the Qayda/Qaida Nooraniyah.

It is a beginner book of Arabic learning that has step by step lessons which helps a child (or adult) progress from the basic letters to understanding all the important markings and pronunciation levels needed to read the Holy Quran independently with correct pronunciation and Tajweed.

What is Tajweed and why is it important:

Tajweed are the set of rules governing the way in which the words of the Holy Quran should be pronounced during its recitation. Meaning to say there are a set of rules on how the Quranic letters should be pronounced and recited. 

Every letter in Arabic has certain characteristics and rulings which apply to it. The words when formed have to be recited according to it without exaggeration or deficiency. These rules have been preserved from the Prophet’s times as the correct pronunciation of the Quranic language. 

During the Prophet’s times, people who memorized the Quran spoke the same Arabic language, but as times changed and people travelled or mixed with each other, the Arabic language and how it spoken has changed. In order to preserve the correct way to recite the Quran scholars have recorded these rules that are taught from generation to generation. You can read in details about Tajweed and it’s importance in this article.

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What age can I start teaching the Quran.

Back to the topic of teaching our children the Quran ourselves at home: what age can you start teaching the Holy Quran. 

You can help your child memorize small duas (supplications), surahs and ayahs from when they start speaking as early as  two years old but learning to read and write Arabic (as a language) will come from when they are at least 2.5 years of age. Learning to read the Quran, depends on your child’s maturity and may be from 5 years.

It is the same way as it is in English. You start with the alphabets and then show them how the different forms of the letters are and then move on to building words. My experience with my children has been that the younger child is, the slower your progress will be. 

Officially, here in Saudi Arabia, Madrasah and Markaz (Centers) accept children from the age of 5 years. This is because that’s when their speech starts clearing up and they understand how the signs and words are joined together.

Which Qaida Nooraniya and Quran should you use to Teach Children

The correct book to learn the Quranic Arabic is Qaida Nooraniyah (or Qayda Nooraniya). There are many different versions of this available in the market. We used one from Darrussalam Publications with my older son when he was 5 but since my children were attending Madrasa Dar ul Furqan at the time, we had their books, so that is what I am using for my little girls. 

If your child is on Quran, it is better to use the one with Nasqi script that is more closer to the Nooraniya script rather than the Indo-Pak (Uthmani) script.

We bought the Quran from Dar ul Furqan too because it had color coded Tajweed Rules.

If you are not in Saudi Arabia and would like to teach your child the Dar ul Furqan Qaida Nooraniyah, you can get their  Qaida Nooraniyyah app. 

It is the complete interactive Qaida which you can use to teach yourself or your child the Tajweed rules.  Just touch the letters and it will guide you on how to say the words and practice.

Video coming soon.

How to teach the Qaida step by step.

So, you have made the decision to start teaching your child the Qaida. How do you teach? Here is how I do it step by step:

1. Choose a Qaida for your child. It is very important to find the right kind of Qaida first. You don’t want to be changing books later. That will frustrate your child. So first, find a good book.
2. Understand the method of learning. Most books these days come with a CD or an app to go along with it. If you  are using an app, help your child understand how it works and the sequence of reciting it. Spend some time learning the method that that app or CD is using.
3. Practice, practice, practice. The recommended method that almost all teachers follow is that once you are beyond the alphabet lesson and move on to the vowels, your child has to spell the word and then pronounce it clearly. Help them practice this a few times per word. When you feel they are proficient in it, move to the next word.
4. Everyday revision. Every day, they must read the lesson (or line) that they or on plus the previous lesson, before moving to the new line. So for example, say my child is on lesson 1, line 3. She will revise from the first line to her present lesson and then move on to line 4 if she has made no mistakes. This ensures that they are perfectly proficient in the current lesson. The main reason behind this is that each lesson in the Qaida builds upon skills from the previous one. If they are not perfect in what they are learning now, it will be a slow progress in future lessons.
5. Weekly Revision: At the end of every week, they must revise the last five pages. For example: If my child is on lesson 5 line 5. She will turn back five pages and revise all of it till her current lesson. This helps to ensure that their reading is faster by the time they start the Quran. 
6. Exam at the end. When you have completed the whole book, they have to revise 2-3 days and give a test of the whole book. If there are still mistakes, encourage them to practice a bit more. I know how frustrating it is for the child but you may have to use incentives and bribing to make sure they practice. We encouraged our child by holding an end of Qaida party where Grandad would be testing. She didn’t want to make mistakes in front of him.

How to find time to teach your child the Quran when you are a busy mother.

One question that I have been asked repeatedly is how to set a routine to teach your child the Holy Quran at home as a busy mother. 

My best tip is to have a set time when you and your child will sit together to study the Quran everyday.( It is a good idea to keep the weekends off.)

But remember: It’s important that you choose a time, when you are both relaxed, well rested and able to dedicate the time to concentrate. Also, try to make sure it is the same time everyday because a fixed time will help your child know when it is that you do this daily. 

We study after Asr during school days. In Ramadan, we study after Dhuhr prayer. We have also done it after Maghreb. In the Summer, we prefer after Asr from 4-5pm. You can refer to our Summer Schedule here to know more.

Overcoming procrastination and avoiding overwhelm when you are teaching your child the Quran at home.

One of the biggest problems busy mothers have is how to overcome laziness and life circumstances when you are teaching your child the Quran.  As I mentioned above, If you have a routine in place, you have eliminated half of your overwhelm.

A routine ensures that both- you and your child, are on the same page regarding the time. They know what is expected of them and you too know that this is the fixed time when you are teaching your child.

You can see an example of my stay at home routine here.

How to encourage your child to cooperate with you in learning the Quran at Home

I will be honest : it is big a commitment on the mother’s part. We have to be more disciplined than our own children but at the same time, we need to have a heart. 

Remember your reason why you are teaching your child the Quran yourself. 

“To grow children in an environment that is positive, encouraging and happy. To create an association with the Quran that is life long, right? 

So, promise yourself that you will try your best to give them this loving environment. 

If you feel your child is tired some day or if they are just not cooperating at all, don’t force it. Take out some time to speak to them to address the issue. Explain what is happening and how you are feeling about it. Win their confidence and then ask for their cooperation. 

Children are born with the natural fitrah (nature)  to be kind, loving and understanding. If you talk to them and help them understand the importance of why your child needs to learn the Quran and also how you enjoy teaching them, they will cooperate. 

It also helps to lightly place the responsibility on their shoulder that if you and they don’t work on this, you may have to find a school or teacher. That last bit, always does the trick. 😉

Can I teach my child the Quran myself even if I am not fluent in Arabic

Fluency in Arabic is not very important but knowing Quranic Arabic and Tajweed rules is. If you think you need to learn Tajweed rules first, then the first step is to find a good teacher for yourself before you can teach your child. 

I know many friends and family members who hired online Quran teachers to learn Tajweed themselves. If you can find a Quran teacher who will teach you and both your child online, good idea to join the class so that you can both learn together. Or if your child is under 5 year old, you can learn online and then teach your child after the class. 

Quran schools or Madrasah or Islamic centers are also a good option. I have friends at Dar ul Furqan who are learning alongside their children. There are some families where children and parents are all attending the classes together. You can choose to make Quran learning a way to bond your family together. 

Online Quran classes and apps are also another means to teach Quran at home

There are many online Quran classes being offered via Skype or Zoom these days. There are some online Quran schools too. As I mentioned above, many apps are available to help you teach your child or yourself Quran and Qaida. In the technology driven world that we live in, if we God has blessed us with all these facilities, should we not be using them to teach our families? 

Sometimes when we have little babies or toddler in the household along with our older children, it is hard to find time to  teach our children the Quran ourselves. Don’t feel disheartened when you are overwhelmed in this manner. Hire an online tutor to teach the Holy Quran. You can let your child study in front of you at home while taking care of your little babies.

When my children were mere toddlers or in Kindergarten, I have used YouTube Videos to help them memorize the 30 Juz. Many school teachers, stream YouTube videos for Quran learning in class. It is a good way to teach because some children are aural learners while others are visual. If it is helping your child make progress, why not utilize these methods as well.

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