Studying Quran

Bism Illah wa as salaamu alaykum.

All the tahfeedth programmes here start the students with Qaidat an Nooraniyah. It a very simple and effective way to learn to read Arabic - especially Quranic Arabic - correctly and accurately. The shaykh we are told to listen to for our memorization is Sheikh Ibrahim Al Akhdar. He is the former Imam of Masjid an Nabawi and mashaa'Allah, tabarak Allah his recitation is incredibly clear and precise. You can hear every technique of tajweed, count exactly the harakat for each madd, mashaa'Allah. If you would like to listen to him, check out http://www.tanzil.net, inshaa'Allah.

The other shaykh we are told to listen to, second to Ibrahim al Akhdar, is Shaikh Al Hudhaify, the current Imam at Masjid an Nabawi. Perhaps we are told these because they are from Madinah? I don't know. However, I must stay that listening to Ibrahim Al Akhdar has improved my recitation dramatically, mashaa'Allah. May Allah reward him with lofty places in Jennah al Firdaus - ameen.

We are told that every day we should memorize something, even if it is only one ayah. Otherwise we are giving in to shaytaan's whispers. We learn the tajweed rules in the first three levels of the Arabic programme, but in levels 3 and 4, they learn the makhaarij (correct pronunciation) of the letters, mashaa'Allah. At each level, we learn more and our Quran recitation is checked for more of the tajweed rules and correct makhraj.  We work backwards in the Quran, in order. That meant that whatever suwar I knew in my hodgepodge  way had to be ordered and I had to learn any that I was missing in between as I went in order backwards for Juz Ammah.

Exams for Quran are by Juz, and the bigger exams are for 5, 10,15... Ajuz. In these, the teacher will select one or two surahs from each Juz and have the student recite a part of it from any ayah they instruct them. For this reason, it is very important to do revision of the suwar that have been memorized on a daily basis as well. These must be rotated and always kept up so that they aren't forgotten as the repertoire of suwar grows, inshaa'Allah.

There are so many excellent programs online to learn tajweed rules and the makhaarij of letters that really one can do excellent home study of the Quran. Of course, it is important for your recitation to be checked regularly by someone who is qualified to do so, but most surely you can do a lot by yourself if you are motivated. I find that even when we have a vacation now, I take time to memorize a new surah and keep my revision up, mashaa'Allah.

May we all learn the Quran so that we feel it in our hearts, implement it in our lives, and seek it for our souls - ameen.