There are 114 Surahs in the Quran, and they vary in the number of verses, themes, place, and time of revelation. The shortest Surah is Al-Kauther, which has 3 verses, and the longest Surah is Al-Baqara, which has 286 verses. If someone wants to memorize a Surah, they need to have a good grasp of Tajweed rules and basic reading skills to memorize it faster.
Beginners should not try to learn any Surah too quickly, as it can become difficult for them to maintain and retain it. In hifz classes for beginners, students can learn short surah with their tutor’s guidance. On the other hand, someone who already knows shorter Surahs can attempt to hifz another Surah at a faster pace.
10 Tips to Memorize A Quran Surah Quickly
Here are some tips shared by Hifz Academy tutors to learn Quran surah by heart in a short time.
1. First Understand the Meanings
Once you have selected a surah to memorize, spend some time to understand and comprehend the meaning of the verses. Either read out a summary of the whole Surah or a word-by-word translation. Ensure that you have a good understanding of the meaning of the Surah. Also, understand the meaning of the name of the Surah and the place of revelation to get an idea and a mindmap of the whole Surah.
If you have chosen a short Surah ranging between 3-30 verses, you can easily spend 30 minutes to understand the meaning. If the verses are between 30-60, then spare one whole hour to go through the meaning and also highlight the important parts of the Surah.
2. Read Surah Multiple Times for Clarity
Being non-Arab, we tend to have Tajweed errors while memorizing any verse. So, to memorize a Surah really fast, you need to read and reread the Surah to gain clarity of words through the exact pronunciation of letters. Let’s say you intend to hifz Surah Al-Mulk which has 30 verses. Recite the Surah either by listening to the recitation by any amazing reciter or just reading it out to someone who has amazing Tajweed and makharij.
You will notice that there is a huge difference in your reading from the first try to the 5th try. After that, you will get familiar with the verses and it will become super easy to learn them quickly.
3. Break it Down into Smaller Sections
To hifz any surah, you need to make small chunks of it (also known as the chunking method). Do not try to memorize the Surah as a whole. It will not only take more than usual time but also make you lethargic. If it’s Surah Al-Mulk, you can follow the given division.
- 1st: break Surah into 2 equal portions (15-15 verses)
- 2nd: break each portion into 3 small chunks ( 5 verses each)
- 3rd: break each chunk into 5 segments (1 verse for each segment)
So, you are supposed to target 1 verse at a time. With multiple readings and perfect Tajweed, you can easily memorize this Surah in 3 days. Memorize 1 portion in 1 day (15 verses) and the next portion on day 2 (15 verses) and revise it as many times as possible on 3rd day.
4. Make a Hifz Planner
After breaking down the surah into small parts, create a plan for memorizing these parts. Your plan should include time for your class, the duration of your study sessions, time for revision, and a slot for practicing Tajweed. You can also create a visual aid, such as a graph of the verses, and color them in as you memorize them. You can easily track your 3 days progress for further hifz.
5. Apply the best Memorization Techniques
Several quran memorization techniques are known for their excellent results. We have already talked about the chunking way in which you just make small segments of the Surah and memorize them. The other top 3 methods to consider for fast hifz are:
1. Visualization Method for Memory Palace Building
You will just visualize the content and make a memory palace. Read a verse several times and create an image of the verse in your mind by denoting it with anything around you (let’s say it’s a door). Then, read the second verse and link it to any other thing ( a window). This way, your mind will give you the images of the verses on the linked things and you will create your memory palace. For 30 verses you will have 30 things to link with and the sequence will be in your memory.
2. Aural Listening and Imitating Method
Play the audio recitation of Surah Al-Mulk in a slow mode and imitate the way the reciter reads it. Be a bit louder to copy all the makharij accurately. Now read out every single verse 10 times to get it perfect. You will notice that whenever you recite, it’s just the same as the reciter.
3. 5-5 Hifz Method
Another amazing way to memorize a surah quickly is to recite the verse 5 times by looking at it and 5 times out of your memory. Do this with every verse you have to target in 1 sitting, combine the previous verse, and re-read 5 times. The more you read, the better you hifz!
6. Use Colorful Thematic Mushaf
There are colorful Mushafs available for Tajweed practice and thematic understanding. You can get any one of them. If you think a Tajweed-based Mushaf will work best for you, get that! If you think a Mushaf with a theme line colored with a single shade will work for you, get that. In thematic Mushaf they have different colors associated with different themes, in one Surah, all the relevant themes are colored with one shade.
7. Follow Your Schedule and Track it
Remember, you have to make a planner. Now, the planner must be checked frequently to keep track of progress. Let’s say you have a 3-day schedule, you will track it after every 4 hours to see if you are on track with your schedule. If you have missed a scheduled lesson or the revision slot, instantly devise a plan B for that and try inculcating the new slot within your schedule to not get sidetracked.
8. Recise the Surah in Prayers
Prayers are a bonus revision slot for you. Once you have memorised a few verses, start revising them in your 5 daily prayers and perfect them. The sooner you get over them, the quicker you will move on to the next portion. On your 3rd day, revise the Surah Surah in every prayer to get it error-free and just phenomenal.
9. Make a Hifz buddy/Hifz group
You learn better in a group! If you have a group of friends with you who also want to memorize the particular Surah with you, make a plan together and get started. Each one of you will be a motivation for the other.
Tips: If you are memorizing in a group, the best hifz technique is a Sudanian hifz method where all the participants sit together and start the Surah with everyone reciting the verses one after the other. When you are waiting for your turn, you have a keen eye on what the person is reciting and which verse comes next. This way you will cheerfully revise the whole Surah in a circle and it’s the best way to memorize the Quran fast.
10. Take a Formal Course
Join an intensive hifz course where you can memorize quran surah fast under the guidance of native arab tutors. Many students find it difficult to memorize a surah without any professional help. So, go nowhere because Hifz Academy has got you covered here. You can easily hire a hifz tutor and share your plans with him to help you chalk out your schedule and assist you in memorizing.
Without a tutor or guidance, you can probably get demotivated or just tired of quick learning.
How Much Time Does it Take to Memorize A Surah?
We have mentioned that the Surahs of the Quran have different numbers of verses and their verses are either easy or a bit challenging to recite. Normally, for an average Surah (50-60 verses) takes 1 week or 10 days depending on the abilities of the haafiz. If the Surah is less than 50 verses it can take around 5-7 days to complete it with a 2-hour class time per day.
Every student is different from the other. If one takes a week to hifz a long surah, the other can take 5 days. So it depends on capacity, commitment, dedication, and of course intelligence.
Who can Memroize a Surah Fast?
Anyone can remember any Surah of the Quran quickly. However, it is recommended for intermediate and advanced level learners who have already memorized Juz Amma surah or any part of the Quran and have excellent Tajweed to recite verses accurately. Some of the juz amma Surahs of the Quran consist of easy and short verses, while others contain long and slightly challenging words to read.
If you are a non-Arabic learner, it will take you a little more time to fluently read the verses compared to native Arabic speakers. Native Arabic speakers have a natural Arabic accent and can memorize twice as fast as non-native learners. The speed of memorization also depends on the learners’ capabilities and the availability of ample time to dedicate to this task.
Conclusion
If you believe that your memorization skills are strong and you can hifz quickly, then you can choose a Surah and give it a try. Once you have successfully memorized a Surah, it will work as a gateway for memorizing other Surahs. Hifz Academy is always available to help, with highly qualified teachers who will create personalized plans for each Surah you want to memorize. Simply take a free trial class to see how things work with us!
