Sometimes I feel like altering my childhood, making a few changes here and there 
Come on…no harm thinking about it, right?!
When I was small, I used to read Surah Yasin a lot. I suppose all Pakistanis consider Surah Yasir to be ‘the special’ surah of the Qur’an. I too, used to seek special blessings from it. I remember making ‘nadhar’ (oath), “if I get an A in my exam I would read Yasin 3 times in one day!”
Well, I got many As, so I ended up reading Yasin many times, 3 times a day And that is perhaps why when I was making my daughter memorize it, I could almost read the Surah back to her without even going over it once. I never memorized this surah, just read it more then usual (mostly when I was under 10). And same happened when my son started memorizing it. He thought I had memorized it and forgot! He was surprised that I didn’t need a mushaf to listen to his surah.
Now I wish I could make this change in my childhood and instead of saying, “I would read Yasin 3 times, I would read the whole Qur’an 3 times a day” Ah! Such a wishful thought!
In any case, based on my personal experience and others’ I humbly disagree with those who think the age to memorize Qur’an is rather after 10 or older. I say, the right age is to finish memorizing before the age of 10! Anything goes in mind during this time is like ‘written in stone’!
Most Indian/Pakistanis (don’t know what Arabs do) spend these early ages of their children just making them read Qur’an, just plain reading (or nadhirah). I don’t see the benefit of doing this because simply making the sounds of words and reading it once doesn’t really benefit. And once the child finishes reading the Qur’an once (with looking), it is considered as ‘mission accomplished’! I wish more people take advantage of precious little empty brains.
salaam,
yea i sometimes wish that my parents made me memorize the quran when i was small cause now it is a lot harder. I can ever remember back in the day when i thought memorizing was such an easy thing to do. its ok.. inshaAllah the more work out into it.. the more ajr..
Assalamu’alaikum
Umm Reem, I hope a lot of young Muslims are reading this. You are right, it is better to finish memorizing at an earlier age so the whole Qur’an would be like one’s own mother tongue set in stone. It is never too early for the young and it is never too late for the older. One verse may take a whole week to memorize!!! and once the whole Surat is completed, only Allah knows the joy within.
khawla
Assalaam-u-Alaikum dear mother:)
Assalaamu’alaykum sister,
Jazzakillahu khayr for posting this – what age do you recommend they start memorizing, and how do we help them do so? I am a convert myself, and know very few surahs…
Must we send them for classes? I.e. send them somewhere, to a school where they will learn Qur’an?
Wassalaamu’alaykum
wa alaikum assalam sister rayhana,
I would recommend sending children to Qur’an school if you have one available in your area. But do make sure that the teacher is friendly and not like a typical ‘madrasah’.
I think the earlier you start with your child the better it is because not only memorization is easy but it is set in stone as well, wAllahu ta’ala ‘alam.
I would like to see a continuation of the topic