Reading Time: 6 mins

When I was around 13 years old, I got my first computer.

It was a huge upgrade from the bulky, old monitor I used to share with my brothers. The new screen was sleek and more modern, and the keyboard still had that satisfying clunk with every keypress which I loved.

My father, with a PhD in computer science and a deep love for the Quran, had installed a special application on it. This wasn’t just any software… it allowed us to listen to Quran recitations by some of the most renowned reciters. At the time, this was groundbreaking. Most Quran recitations were either broadcast on the radio or stored on floppy disks, so having them at the click of a button was incredible.

When my father set it all up, he gave me one piece of advice that he repeated so often it became etched in my memory:

“Before you memorise your weekly portion of the Quran, listen to that page,” he’d say. “By the time you sit down to memorise, you’ll already know most of it.”

At 13, I didn’t fully understand the wisdom behind his words.

I’d nod and think, “Okay, Baba.”

I was in Year Seven at the time, and after school, my first instinct was always to rush home and log onto MSN to see who was online. My father’s advice would echo in my mind, but I didn’t take it seriously.

Listening to recitations felt like an extra task, something I had to do before memorising, and I thought that if I just read the verses aloud enough and repeated them enough times, memorisation would come naturally.

But it didn’t.

I’d get stuck on verses that seemed simple, and I couldn’t memorise them as quickly as I thought I should. I’d become frustrated, repeating the same words and verses over and over, when I knew it should’ve been easier. Sometimes it took hours to memorise a page that could have been done in 20 minutes, if I’d already been familiar with the verses.

Only now, years later, as someone who has memorised the Quran, do I fully realise the wisdom in my father’s words.

Listening to Quran recitations isn’t just helpful…it’s the easiest and most effective way to memorise.

But here’s the thing: to truly benefit, you must listen to reciters with correct Tajweed. Masters like Shaykh Mahmoud Al-Hussary and Shaykh Al-Minshawi recite the Quran with precision and accuracy.

Why does listening work so well?

It allows you to absorb the verses without the effort of forced memorisation. It’s like laying the foundation for your memorisation before you even start.

When you think about it, it’s actually how the Quran was first memorised. During the time of the Prophet ﷺ , the Sahaabah would memorise the Quran by listening to it being recited. They didn’t have written texts in front of them: they listened to the recitation.

I can still hear my father’s voice, pointing to that Quran application on the screen, telling me in Arabic, “Listen, just listen.”

At the time, it seemed like simple advice. But I never realised how much that practice would shape my relationship with the Quran, especially now as an adult, Subhan’Allah.

It’s not just about hearing the words; it’s about becoming familiar with them, so that when you sit down to memorise, you can recall most of the verses.

So, if you’re struggling with your Quran, I want to pass my father’s advice on to you: before you sit down to memorise, listen. Listen two times, five times, or even ten times. At least the day before. It’ll make memorising so much easier.

And if you’re serious about improving your recitation, I’d love for you to join my Tajweed Made Easy Course. In it, you’ll learn how to apply the essential Tajweed rules needed to recite the Quran more beautifully - laying the foundation for reciting with the precision of masters like Shaykh Al-Hussary and Shaykh Al-Minshawi.

As always, speak to you in 2 weeks insha’Allah! :-)

في أمان الله
(I leave you in Allah’s protection),