Question

Assalam Aleykum

I have a very strong desire to memorize the whole Qur'an, but I am finding it difficult to find a teacher in my city.  I was told by a Tajweed teacher that my makhraj is good, Alhamdulillah.  I am now thinking of trying to memorize on my own at home, so I wanted to get some advice on how much I should memorize per day or week.  I would appreciate any suggestions and advice.  Jazakumullahu Khairan.

Was Salaam aleykum

Answer

Wa alaikum assalaam wa rahmatu Allahi wa barakatuh. 

Masha’ Allah it is good to hear that your makhaarij are fine.  Besides the articulation points care has to be given to give each vowel one vowel count and medd letters at least two; more if there is a lengthening mark about them.  It is a common mistake in beginning students to have uneven vowels which can lead to reading in a way that changes the meaning of Allah’s words.  This is something we must avoid. We have no idea if you are making these kinds of mistakes or not, but before memorizing a section, you should make sure your reading does not contain any of these type of mistakes.  At the same time, try to apply the tajweed rules in your recitation. You should listen to the section you wish to memorize recited by a known good sheikh several times and read with him a few more before trying to memorize the section. 

As far as the amount to memorize daily, this depends on your schedule, your ability to memorize and retain, and your review schedule.  It can be as little as two lines from the King Fahd Printing Complex copy of the Qur’an,  making sure to complete the aayah, or it can be as much as a page or more a day. 

We strongly suggest that you have a Qur’an teacher test you every few weeks to make sure the memorization is acceptable and there aren’t any clear and obvious mistakes in the tajweed.  This can be done by phone if you cannot access a teacher in your area, or even on the Internet through voice chat. 

Make Allah make it easy for you and help you memorize the Qur’an. Wa assalaam alaikum wa rahmatu Allahi wa barakatuh.