When asking people what Surah they find difficult, they frequently mention Surah al-Jinn. It can indeed be a difficult surah to memorise, but with some tips and guidance, you can do much better.
In this article, I share some of these tips and pointers for you. Make sure you also take methods from the articles on Surah al-Baqarah, an-Nisā', Yaseen, ar-Rahman, and at-Talāq.
Remember Surah al-Jinn by grouping verses together
Surah al-Jinn can be looked at as a chapter of two halves but the 28 verses can be grouped in a number of ways. Memorising the surah by grouping a number of verses together can make it easier to remember.
Grouping 1
- A group of faithful Jinn: verses 1-5
- What do Jinns believe and what are their abilities? verses 6-12
- Jinns surprised by how the Makkans treated the Prophet (ﷺ): verses 13-19
- The Messenger (ﷺ) humbles himself before Allāh: verses 20-25
- Allāh protects His Messenger (ﷺ) from harm: verses 26-28
Grouping 2
- Jinns listen to the Qur'ān and believe in it: verses 1-7
- The actions of the Jinns: verses 8-10
- The statements of the Jinn: verses 11-17
- The command to worship Allāh: verses 18-24
- The Knowledge of Allāh and the last Hour: verses 25-28
These two groups are based on the meanings and can help you memorise the verses very well. The next group is based more on the starting words to deal with the issue of repeated words and the confusion that arises from them.
Grouping 3
- Verses 1 to 4 and focus on the words:
- أُوحِىَ
- يَهْدِىٓ
- وَأَنَّهُۥ
- وَأَنَّهُۥ
- Verses 5 to 7 and focus on the words:
- ظَنَنَّآ
- رِجَالٍۢ
- ظَنُّوا۟
- Verses 8 to 11 and focus on the words:
- لَمَسْنَا
- نَقْعُدُ
- لَا نَدْرِىٓ
- ٱلصَّـٰلِحُونَ
- Verses 12 to 13 and focus on the words:
- ظَنَنَّآ
- سَمِعْنَا
After this, you can group them as you like.
An alternative look at this is:
- Memorise verse 1 to 2.
- Then memorise verses 3 to 7. These are two verses start with وَأَنَّهُۥ, then there's a stretch وَأَنَّا, then وَأَنَّهُۥ again, and then وَأَنَّهُمْ - imagine your fingers the smaller ones represent وَأَنَّهُۥ, the middle finger which is the biggest is وَأَنَّا and then the thumb brings it all together with وَأَنَّهُمْ. That's a useful technique!
- Then verses 8 to 11 (all of them start with وَأَنَّا).
- Then verses 12 to 13.
- Then verses 14 to 15.
- Then verses 16 to 20.
- Then you can do the rest as you see fit.
A great tip to remember the verses that start with the same word
Many people struggle especially with the words that come after the word وَأَنَّا since it is repeated many times with new words after each of them. The trick here is to remember the first letters of the word that comes after وَأَنَّا in all the verses. If you gather the first letters you will have the letters as follows:
*لك لم ظلم*
(ل - ك - ل - م - ظ - ل - م)
Meaning: You Did Not Wrong
You can remember it as “laka lam zhalam” according to the arrangement of these verses.
Mind mapping your way through Surah al-Jinn
Another thing that is related to the grouping method is mind mapping. This will allow you to use more visual methods, and in a way, bring the verses to life before you. I shared a post on Instagram sharing a mindmap on Surah al-Jinn as an example of mind mapping.
The key here is to look at the translation and meanings. You have to identify keywords and create a visual map of them. This can be incredibly useful.
Beyond this, listening and repeating the verses will always help. I listened to Surah al-Jinn more than anything and that's how I picked it up.
May Allāh grant you success!
