Qur’an and Memorization (Hifz) Curriculum

Knowing that learning Qur’an is an endless process, SLA is committed to prepare students to achieve certain levels that enable them to live Islam based on its main source, The Holy Qur’an. There are 5 significant steps in Quran classes in SLA Model.

1. Elementary Level
2. Memorization Level 1
3. Memorization Level 2
4. Hifz Track (Memorization of entire Qur’an)
5. Qur’anic Arabic

Each level should be individually applied, since students may have unique learning ability. In other words, each student will compete to himself or herself to achieve a certain level. This means success for each case anyways inshAllah.

1) Elementary Level:

Elementary level consists of 5 sub levels. For the levels 1, 2, and 3 instructors will indicate how to read Qur’an based on tajweed rules even though students had not covered it already. Students will be able to articulate and apply all the tajweed rules until the half of level 4.  All tajweed rules will be exercised and reminded with their articulations after half of level 4 and throughout level 5. After successfully completing these levels;

1. Students will be able to pronounce Qur’an verses and supplications correctly without changing their meanings.
2. Students will be able to apply and articulate tajweed rules correctly.
3. Students will have already read some major chapters and supplications correctly
4. Students will be acquainted some chapters helping them to read Qur’an fast.
5. Students will be able to continue reading Qur’an without in need of supervision, finding out his/her own mistakes.
6. Students will have already memorized some supplications and Qur’an chapters, which are required to maintain prescribed daily prayers and other worships.
7. Students will be able to start memorization levels.

2) Memorization Level 1:

In Memorization Level 1, students will memorize designated pages of the following chapters; Al-Ya-Sin, Al-Duhan, Al-Fath, Al-Qaf, Al-Najm, Al-Rahman, Al-Hashr, Al-Mulk, and Juz 30^th Chapters.

1. Chapters, which will be memorized, will be in ta’lîm format with instructor verse by verse or will be listened from a voice record from a mujawwed recitation (E.g. Khalil Khusari)
2. Instructor will make sure that students will read each assigned pages from chapters of Qur’an during the class or partially in in-class and homework format.
3. In this level, students memorize Qur’an, but also improve his/her active memory, solve focusing problems, gain better self-study ability.
4. Levels will be applied individually not for whole classroom since each student may have unique ability and we have to use their capacity efficiently to get them to the target.

3) Memorization Level 2:

This level consists of number of selected verses from some chapters of Qur’an. What is unique in this level is that this level will enable students to have a kind of summary of Qur’an. In other words, students will be able to speak about religious topics based on Qur’anic verses, follow sunnah of Rasulullah (PBUH), and perform certain types of worships based on the selected verses. For instance, the first 10 verses of surah al-Kahf will be memorized {If anyone learns by heart the first ten verses of the Surah al-Kahf, he will be protected from the Dajjal (Sahih Muslim: Book #004, Hadith #1766)}.

Again, the general principles in memorization of Qur’an is still valid in this level as such:

1. Chapters, which will be memorized, will be in ta’lîm format with instructor verse by verse or will be listened from a voice record from a mujawwed recitation (E.g. Khalil Khusari)
2. Instructor will make sure that students will read each assigned pages from chapters of Qur’an during the class or partially in in-class and homework format.
3. In this level, students will not only memorize Qur’an, but also improve his/her active memory, solve focusing problems, gain better self-study ability.
4. Levels will be applied individually not for whole classroom since each student may have unique ability and we have to use their capacity efficiently to get them to the target.

4) Hifz Track (Memorization of entire Qur’an):

1. Once students reached Hifz Track, they will start memorization of entire Qur’an. Students will be provided a memorization chart to keep track of progress.
2. Students will follow two main techniques according to their unique ability of memorization: (1) Students will start memorizing from every 20^th page of each juz (every 20 page of Qur’an, which has 30 juz in total). Once every 20^th page of each juz completed, they will count down from 20 to 19, repeating the 20^th page once again and freshly memorize 19^th pages of each juz. Therefore, this process will continue until reaching out the first page of each juz. Then, Hifz will be completed. (2) Students will start memorization from the first page of Qur’an through the end. They will read each page 99 times in total (66 Times after Fajr prayer and 33 times after asr prayer). In this technique, student, at least, will be fully familiarized with the entire Quran and speeded up in reading. This process requires 4 hours of undistracted
3. Since oral transmission and memorization are two styles of preserving and transmitting Qur’an, we will teach and signify them equally. It means students will acquaint with entire chapters of Qur’an and speed up in reading if they would not be able to memorize the entire Qur’an.

5) Qur’anic Arabic:

How many years you have been reading Qur’an? Some of you may say 20,30,40 years. If I ask you a page of Qur’an and ask you what Allah tells us on this page generally? We know the answer already; therefore, it is the aim of Qur’anic Arabic level in SLA model. Qur’anic Arabic is somehow different than regular Arabic or modern Arabic. In this level, students will be directed to learn certain phrases, words, and grammatical rules repeated in Qur’an most often. These elements are essential to understand the Qur’anic verses at least in a level that what a page generally tells us.