Search In Fatwa

How to help one’s children memorize the Quran

Question

Salam Alaikom, is it ok if children 4-12 yrs old to play (games,toys) excessively all day everyday? If I wanted to make my child a Hafith/ Hafida el Quran (memorize) what can I do to help them memorize it? Can you please teach us how to teach our children to memorize the Quran step by step? At what age must we start to teach them? Jazakom Allah Khair!!

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

It is not correct or acceptable for the children to spend all their time playing. We have already issued Fataawa 83778 and 86237 clarifying the conditions of being serious with children and when to allow them to play during cultivation, and how to guide them to learn the matters of religion, so please refer to the above Fataawa. We also clarified in Fatwa 83178 the priorities of religious education for children, and issued Fatwa 86146 about the ruling on computer games and the like.

As regards the best way to teach the children how to memorize the Quran, then to be frank with you, the first step for a person who lives in a non-Muslim country where dissoluteness is widespread, is to take his children out of that country and go to a Muslim country where there are fewer sins and where the schools for memorizing the Quran are so many.

Indeed, trying to cultivate the children upon good moral principles and religion in countries like the one you live in is a very difficult task, and this is something experienced.

Nonetheless, we advise whoever is unable to leave the non-Muslim country, to endeavour to teach his children the Quran and if there are places for the memorization of the Quran, he has to take his children there, and make sure that they attend. He should follow up with their memorization of the Quran, and earnestly supplicate Allaah to enable them to do good and guide them.

With regard to the age when the father should start teaching the memorization of the Quran to his son, it is the age of distinction. Therefore, if the child reaches the age where he can distinguish and understand what is said to him and answer, then this is the first age of teaching him. However, the process of teaching him should be gradual according to the ability of the child.

Allaah Knows best.

Related Fatwa