9 Fast Ways To Memorize The Quran

How do you memorise surahs quickly? What's the fastest way to memorise Qur'ān? How do you memorise a page of Qur'ān in 5 minutes? A lot of you want faster methods to use when memorising the Qur'ān. Perhaps you're busy, a full-time mum, or working full time with little time outside work.

There are methods that have been used successfully by many people that use less repetition and time. These methods are not for everyone and they don't necessarily always create a solid memorisation but they can be very helpful in helping you create a framework for your own memorisation.

Here are some for you to try.

Method One

1. Recite a line a minimum of 10x.
2. Repeat this to yourself from memory (1-10x).
3. If you struggle with a word, repeat that word with the word before it and after it a minimum of 5x. Then recite the whole line again to yourself until you know it.
4. Do the following line in the same way.
5. Combine the lines together reciting them 3-10x and repeat to yourself.
6. Continue like this with each line till you reach your target.
7. Repeat the entire portion 20x looking using your finger on each line.

A sister that used this said:

"I was advised to learn each verse 10 times and then learn the next verse 10 times join both together 10 times. Till the end. I get a massive headache that way. I now just do them a couple of times. Join and recite the page as a whole 10xs. Works well. I also started writing out the page whilst I repeat the verse. Helps me in some way alhamdulillah. I prep my work before learning by listening beforehand to the verse 5 to 10 times. Mostly listen whilst I am busy in the kitchen. I only recently started following it really helps. I am in my 40s and a full-time mom and memorising with a full-time hifz school. Alhamdulilah for this blessing."

Another observed: "I find it helps that immediately after memorising a portion, I recite it in my salah as well as randomly throughout the day. Revise every day. If I don’t recite a newly-memorised portion for 1 day, I start to forget it."

One of the main issues with quick methods is that you don't retain them too well. For this, try a few things: (1) do more repetition of it (and after doing it too in different intervals up to 5x max). (2) Do prep work first by listening to it (can be the night before) and reading translation/tafsir (gain understanding). Break it down, word by word. (3) do only as much as you can handle for the time being.

Method Two: The Mirror Method

This can be applied to new memorisation and where you find yourself needing to repeat old portions. The premise of this is that you take an odd number for your repetition and you mirror that off memory. You start at a high number and decrease this in odd numbers.

It's a method I devised a few years ago that worked like wonders for a brother. It's based upon certain principles like active recall, odd numbers, and more.

Might be useful for you to learn from.

1. Recite an āyah looking 7x.
2. Recite the āyah without looking 7x.
3. Recite the āyah again looking 5x.
4. Recite the āyah without looking 5x.
5. Recite the āyah again looking 3x.
6. Recite the āyah without looking 3x.
7. This is 30 repeats minimum. If you need more times start at a higher odd number like 11, and then decrease each time to 9, 7, 5, 3, and then 1. If you don't want to do an āyah, focus on a line, or a set of words.
8. Repeat the same process for every āyah, line, or word.
9. Do the same when putting the āyāt together.

Method Three: The 6446

This is a method that I recently came across and is similar to my mirror method. The basic idea is that you:

1. Recite a verse looking 6 times
2. Recite the verse without looking 4 times
3. Recite the verse again looking 4 times
4. Recite the verse again without looking 6 times

You can also increase or decrease the numbers as required.

Method Four

1. Recite one line by looking 7 times, then off memory 7 times.
2. Repeat step 1 for each line till you reach a quarter of the page.
3. Recite the quarter of the page 5 times by looking and 5 times off memory.
4. Repeat steps 1-3 for the next quarter of the page.
5. Recite the first half of the page now 3 times by looking and 3 times off memory.
6. Repeat steps 1-5 for the next half of the page.
7. Recite the entire page once by looking and once-off memory.
8. Throughout the day, keep reciting the page from memory to build fluency and confidence.

You can easily adapt this method to suit your needs by increasing repetitions and using it to do less or more than a page. Again, it is likely ok for the short term. If you add things like listening, translation or higher repeats like repeating each memorised page 20 times following the ayahs with your finger. Or dividing the page into 3 parts and repeating them 33 times.

Method Five

1. Listen to the page
2. Recite line one 6 times by looking slowly
3. Recite the line 6 times slowly then 14 times fast
4. Do it for each line until half a page
5. Recite the half-page 6 times slowly and 14 times fast off memory
6. Repeat steps 2 to 5 for the second half of the page
7. Recite the full page from memory 6 times slowly and 14 times fast
8. At another time in the day, read it another 20 times off memory.

Method Six

1. At night, recite your portion multiple times by looking until you have it in your head.
2. Start off reading slowly and also listen to it.
3. You would start off reading slow, then with each repetition, increase the speed until it is fluent. This may take you 10 repetitions, it may take 100 repetitions by looking.
4. Then attempt to read it off memory and look where you have a doubt or mistake.
5. Then the goal should be to read it off memory multiple times before sleeping.
6. Wake up in the morning, read it a few times by looking then again off memory.
7. Then when you come back from school/uni/work, repeat it off memory again a few times then recite it to your teacher.
8. Aim to recite the page off memory a minimum of 40/50 times before I would recite it to the teacher.

I used to do something very similar. I would recite the āyāt listening to a fast reciter like Shuraim. I would put an āyah on a loop of 10 using a Digital Qur'ān. I'd keep trying to recite it and keep up with the pace. When I was able to recite it at the same pace, I'd recite it from memory. Then I did this per āyah. I'd go to sleep. In the morning, I would then sit to memorise the page. It would take me 30 minutes. Then I'd spend a further 30 minutes repeating it. Sometimes, later in the day, I would have forgotten it though. So I'd return to it and after some repetitions, I would be able to recall it again.

What would I do if I went back in time? I'd be more patient. Repeat it more. I would also look to understand the āyāt.

Method Seven

1. At night before sleeping, recite the page once by looking.
2. Listen to a reciter.
3. Repeat the page many times by looking. With each repetition increase your speed.
4. Do this until you have the page roughly in my head. On average around 15/20 times.
5. Read it once off memory (regardless of how it is).
6. Go to sleep.
7. Wake up and memorise. Read each line/part once minimum by looking then 10 times off memory slowly.
8. Do this for the next line and then connect it from the beginning by reading it fast.
9. Do this process of memorising and connecting until the page is complete.
10. Then disconnect the ayahs. So read lines/parts 1-15, then 2-15, 3-15 etc. Till you only had to do the last line. Then leave it.
11. Throughout the day try to repeat it more times before you recite it to your teacher, maybe ~20 times more.
12. Then try to recite it in salah as well to help consolidate.
13. At times also read the translation with it as well to help focus.

Method Eight

1. The night before, read the translation and search for any animated videos and material on its Tafseer to listen to or read about. Make notes and spend a few minutes pondering over this.
2. The next day, start reciting the ayah while looking at the Qur'ān 15-20 times (aloud) with the meanings in mind. Make associations with each word.
3. Listen to the verses.
4. Recite by heart (recite aloud) until you know it.
5. If you make mistakes split the verses into lines. If the verse is 3 lines, apply the same.

Method Nine: The 3x3 workout

This is a method that Qari Wisam Sharieff shares through his great work at Quran Revolution and Memorize Mentor.

1. Recite the whole lesson you need to memorise 7 times by looking
2. Recite the verse 3 times
3. Recite the next verses 3 times
4. Recite both verses 3 times
5. Now go to the third verse and repeat it 3 times
6. Then combine all the verses 3 times
7. Continue in like fashion...
8. Then do the whole page or lesson as a whole 3 times

These are some quicker than usual methods that can be used to memorise the Qur'ān. Many of these have been used successfully. Try them, tweak them and be patient! They all require some time and effort.

May Allāh grant success!

Bonus

There's one that a busy mother used: