When i was a kid, around 8-11, i think, i had a maulvi and he’d come and give lessons and i finished the Quran about 4 times over. Now we were being taught in Arabic and it was purely recitation. And Arabic, not being my first language, i didn’t hold on to very much of what i was taught. Now I’m re-reading the Quran and this time i’m reading it in English so i can actually understand it and not make mistakes with my pronounciation.
So here’s my question: when should your kids read the Quran?
-Should you wait until they’re older and can read it in English or Urdu (assuming that’s the language they mainly speak) and can understand it?
-Or do you start them off in Arabic when they’re younger and hope they retain the Arabic pronounciation and can continue reading it until they’re older, and then maybe one day they’ll either take Arabic lessons and understand it while reading, or they’ll choose to read it in English or Urdu instead.
-Or do you start them off taking Arabic language lessons first and then they read the Quran when they are fluent in it?
And just out of curiosity, how many of us here have read the Quran with translation, assuming you are not fluent in Arabic and can’t read the original?
Sometimes I think there is great value in learning another language and then reading the Quran as it was meant to be, but that might take a few years and your kids might be older when they read the Quran. Is there something wrong with that?
SGC....I was living in berlin when my kids were younger. My kids went to a german daycare while german was not their first or second language. Soon enough they started comprehending what means what in terms of basic instructions. In the same manner I started off with their Quran reading....I have myself read the translation as a teenager...so when I would sit them down, I would just go through general translation or the message being given in that specific verse. That is after they had finished their 'Qaidah' and knew how to read. Now they are of course not able to say or remember proper translation but they sure now the meaning of certain words which are used frequently throughout the holy book.
My boys are right now memorising Quran. My younger son can memorise a lot quicker but the eldest can not move on without understanding the meaning. He remembers it quicker if thje meaning is explained to him. Same is the case with duas they recite...everytime we start learning a new dua, i explain the meaning and then we memorise it within 2-3 days Alhamdulillah.
IMHO reciting and understanding the translation are excellent. Afterall we should be acting upon the Allah's commands in the book and for that we need to understand it. BUT mere recitation should not be underestimated. We get sooo much reward by reciting, I wouldn't like to ignore that part. We grew up reciting the Quran daily.....learned the meaning later on. And I plan on doing the same with my kids inshaAllah. It should be started early on to make it a habit. I can not start my day in a nicer way if I miss the early morning recitation. And I just don't feel right if my kids leave the house without recitation, however little it may be.
I teach at an Islamic School in Brampton, usually the kids are around 5 when they first start. They are taught the Arabic alphabets first - how to pronounce them (the Arabic way, not the Urdu way), recognition (how the letter looks by itself, at the beginning of the word, in the middle, at the end). They also learned what the harakahs are in Arabic (fattah, kasrah and dhammah - not zabr, zer, pesh), and how to prounounce them as well. Once they know all this fluently, they begin to learning meanings of certain words of Arabic found in the Quran. They are also taught how to write Arabic. It's a very multicultural school, so its great that a lot of kids are learning Arabic.
I think its better that kids start off younger, its easier for them to learn another language, and their prounounciation will be spot on.
When I was a child, I used to go to Islamic School where my phuppo and other auntis were my teacher. They taught me the Urdu version of Arabic. you know, the Suad, Duad, Bey, Tey, etc. When I started going to the masjid as an adult, I found out that it wasnt Arabic! lol. It should be Saad, Daad, Baa, Taa, etc. I had (and still do) have a harder time prounciating words/letters because I was used to the old way. :(
I (and my wife) have not read Quran with translation but our wish is that our kids do understand Quran. Our little one is too little but elder son (8) is learning Quran and Arabic since he was 5 yo. We want him to understand Quran as oppose to what we did in Pakistan with Molvi sahab. In addition to Quran and Arabic, he also takes on Islami Ikhaq and history classes at local madarsa. I'll recommend the Arabic language classes for the kids in parallel to Quran. In fact availability of more and better madarsas in Toronto was the key factor in us moving from small city in USA to Toronto ...
Initially we thought that it will be TOO MUCH for a little kid but he is doing real well at his school and madarsa and also in other extra curricular activities.
I am not exactly sure what we will do but most probably we will start out like we did ourselves: by learning the qaida at a young age. I absolutely love reading since i was younger, like i would read anything i could lay my hands on. I had read the tafseer of quran by Maulana Maududi before i was a teenager i think. And no one had to tell me or force me. I am hoping our children can have the same love for reading and view this not as a burden but something exciting to read.
Even though we had a maulvi come to teach us at home, my pronunciation was still not that great. So a couple of years ago i spent some time with an Aunty who teaches tajweed to kids. Alhamd she was able to teach me well. She said i was her first adult student, lol. Now it drives me nuts when my husband doesnt read with tajweed.
@Afhsi… that sounds wonderful, what they’re doing at the school.
@Decent6Chora :k: I want my kids to learn this way too (which we didn’t)… I just have to find a place here where they teach Arabic and enroll my daughter when she turns 5 inshaAllah.
I think its very important to teach your children to read the Quran in its original Arabic. The translation of the Quran is just that -a translation
What I would do is, teach them to read in Arabic, with proper tajweed. Go over the meaning of the verses we are reading everyday, discuss the lessons, context, reflections of them as well. This way the Quran is a living part of their daily life
I also want to enroll my children in Arabic classes, so they can learn the classical Arabic and be able to read and understand the Quran from its original. But if you cannot give your children Arabic lessons, I dont think the alternative should be to let them just read it in English and leave out the Arabic. OF COURSE comprehension of what we are reading is essential, so we can understand, reflect and most importantly apply in our daily lives what we are learning. But do not underestimate the importance of reading the Quran in its revealed Arabic. From hadith we know that for every letter you recite you are rewarded, a separate reward for each alif, each laam, each meem. And for those who struggle to read and have difficulty, they have two rewards
The end goal shouldnt just be to have our kids "finish" reading the Quran. There is no finishing the Quran, you want it to be something that remains a constant throughout their lives. The goal should be to teach them to recite with proper tajweed in Arabic, as well as understand and apply what they are reciting in their daily lives. Id rather have a child who recites one verse a day, and takes years to finish the Quran, but at least they are understanding what they are reciting and trying to apply it in their lives, vs. a child who finishes the Quran frequently, but neither understands what they are reading, nor makes any real effort to live their life in accordance to what they are reciting
I don’t have kids right now, so I have enrolled myself in a tajweed/tafseer course, where we learn the word to word translation and tajweed of the Quran along with hadiths. The amount of knowledge I am getting is absolutely amazing Allhumdolillah. I read the Quran with the maulana sahab as well, when I was a kid (but the Urdu version) and have read the translation a couple times, but I just felt in order to teach my own kids, I need to have a MUCH thorough and deeper understanding of the Quran and the Sunnah, and what could be better than learning it through a detailed course.
Afshi I can relate to tou I grew up learning trhe same way as you bay ,suad etc,now in maderesah here there learning kids the arabic way,lucky for me hubby is hafiz so he knows the correct prononiation.