Mastering the Art of Quranic Recitation: Techniques for Improvement

In this discussion, we aim to offer valuable tips for individuals seeking to enhance their Quranic recitation skills. As previously emphasized on our recent blog, the pursuit of improvement in Quranic recitation should be a continuous endeavor, encompassing not only technical proficiency but also spiritual connection and understanding of the sacred text. Insha’Allah you will find these tips written below to be beneficial for you as a student and also as aspiring teachers.

As a teacher I've found myself answering my students’ questions, “how do I be good at reciting the Quran?” consistently. While this may be a good question, sometimes it irritates me due to the fact that I have already answered them a month ago. They clearly have not taken the advice. Sometimes, they even took things in their own direction and as a result, it destroyed their recitation completely. Instead of improving, they regressed into failure. Witnessing this falls short of what I have hoped for, as their teacher, and even as a fellow Muslim brother. This is something that people need to realize and solve as getting better has its own specific steps. Without them, one will find great difficulty in improving themselves. Improving with the steps is already difficult, imagine if you skipped it. 

I have been experimenting and discovering different techniques during my years of teaching. The steps I have provided below are the ones I found most useful to get a student to a high level of literacy. You may follow them like a guidebook if you wish to improve yourself. Thus, let's get into the crux of it.

1. Source of Knowledge A student before he begins improving himself must first understand that Knowledge of the Quran is from Allah directly. Allah Himself is the one who taught the Quran.

عَلَّمَ ٱلْقُرْءَانَ

 [55 : 2]

 “He is the one who taught the Quran” 

Why is this important? because if the source is from Allah, this implies that a student must firstly humble themselves and accept that it is Allah who holds All-Knowledge. Due to this, we must seek a better connection with Allah and consistently ask and make Doa. Thus my teacher often says to me “stupidity is a choice, but being knowledgeable is a gift from Allah” A student can struggle, but Allah is the One who grants knowledge to whoever He wills. 

Knowledge is a form of Rizq, much like other forms of Rizq. For example, money. We put in our best effort to achieve it. But at the end of the day, it is a blessing from Allah and it is He Who decides. Similarly to Knowledge.

2. Mindset

When we are looking at mastering the Quran, we need to tune our mind into believing that we are capable of being good at it. You have to be optimistic about reciting. Once you believe you are capable of achieving it, you will be able to move in the right direction. In fact, being pessimistic actually goes against the concept of learning as Allah s.w.t has made the Quran easy to be learnt.

وَلَقَدْ يَسَّرْنَا ٱلْقُرْءَانَ لِلذِّكْرِ فَهَلْ مِن مُّدَّكِرٍۢ

[54 : 32]

“And We have certainly made the Quran easy to remember. So is there anyone who will be mindful?”

This verse is something we can reflect on. Allah made the Quran easy, scholars explained that this ‘ease’ includes learning, memorizing and reciting. If Allah Himself has promised, surely He will deliver. Allah has never failed in His promises. But some of us do find difficulty in learning, so why is that the case? To answer that, we will need to dive into the next point. 

3. Having Feedbacks

A very integral part of learning is to notice your own mistakes. Some of us are gifted to be able to efficiently understand just by hearing yourself talking. As I just discovered, this is not true for all people. By recording your own voice during practice and listening to it, this will provide essential feedback on mistakes and improvements to be made.

These are the steps you should take if you wish to gather beneficial feedbacks for your own progress:

• Buy a book that teaches a step-by-step guide for recitation. An example would be the Iqra’ book. Or a Tilawati book. Having a book is important as the books are like worksheets for practice. 

• Once you get a book, you can opt for an online guide, which most of them are available on Youtube. Search up your choice of book, usually they will split up the series accordingly. And follow through with their recitation. This method will help you to cross-check on whether your recitation is correct. 

• The most highly recommended way would be to get a teacher that is great in recitation of the Quran. A teacher would provide and correct any mistakes that you made. Some even provide useful tips and point out bad habits that you subconsciously do. The teacher also would be teaching you the books. (Normally, every teacher has their own preference on which book they use).

But now we have established a website: www.myquranpro.com which allows students to practice all of these 3 steps. Students can practice Quran recitation at their own pace, regardless of their location, experience level or time constraint . Our platform offers a clear system with our Al-Hikmah modules, personalized tutoring sessions, and a variety of resources to support learners at every stage. Whether you're a beginner or looking to refine your skills, My Quran Pro ensures you have guidance and support throughout your learning journey."

4. Practice

Consistent practice on recitation is a requirement. With or without a teacher. If you don't practice,  no great teacher will be able to help you. As recitation is a skill, It NEEDS to be developed. And developing a skill is one of life's most mundane tasks. It is repetition of the same thing again and again and again. So use the reading exercises that are inside the book and keep practicing until you are able to recite without difficulty. Dedicate at least 10-30 mins a day practicing. And you need to realize that it is not a lot of time, compared to what you are given, which is 24 hours a day.

For those who are already in the Quran, My sincere advice would be every time you stutter during reading, repeat that verse again. Time yourself for a page. If you took 10 mins for a page. Keep forcing yourself to read faster, and record yourself down. Listen back to the recording to spot the mistakes. Identify it yourself.

Another easier way would just be to read 10 pages a day regardless of speed. After 3 months you will find yourself improving by leaps and bounds. Trust me, because from my personal experience, it only took one Ramadan to go from 10 mins a page to 5 mins a page. All I did was read.

So the catch for practice is. It ONLY works if you read out loud. Because the conditioning is on the tongue, not inside of your head. You can KNOW a letter but be unable to speak it fluently as you need to coordinate these 3 things together: your eyes, your mind and your tongue together. By reciting it out loud.

5. Doa

Doa is important. I’m sure our parents have emphasized repeatedly to us that Doa is key. It holds power. And indeed, they are right. Make lots of Doa to Allah. Because He will answer them 100%. Just not in ways you’d imagine. Because what most of us fail to understand is that we are living in His timeline. Not the other way around, so do not rush. Do not falter, for Allah has said in the Quran:

وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ٱدْعُونِىٓ أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِى سَيَدْخُلُونَ جَهَنَّمَ دَاخِرِينَ

[40 : 60]

"Your Lord has proclaimed, “Call upon Me, I will respond to you. Surely those who are too proud to worship Me will enter Hell, fully humbled.”

In summary, learning the Quran requires a few key points which were mentioned above. First and foremost, we need to accept the fact that Knowledge comes from Allah and our mentality has to be set right, to not give up. Just like work and fitness, if you work all day today, you still need to work all day tomorrow too. This is a reality. You can never give up. Moving forward, seeking feedback and having lots of practice is key. Last but not least, doa. Like everything we do, when we are going to work or trying to achieve our fitness goals, we must put in the effort which is accompanied by Doa. These two must come hand in hand. One cannot be present without the other.

Essentially, we need to understand that learning is a life-long journey, not as a target whereby once you achieve it, you stop seeking or practicing. If you spend your whole life seeking, and you die without achieving it, you will be resurrected in front of Allah as though you have already achieved it as what Allah has mentioned in the Quran:

 وَمَن يُهَاجِرْ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ يَجِدْ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ مُرَٰغَمًۭا كَثِيرًۭا وَسَعَةًۭ ۚ وَمَن يَخْرُجْ مِنۢ بَيْتِهِۦ مُهَاجِرًا إِلَى ٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦ ثُمَّ يُدْرِكْهُ ٱلْمَوْتُ فَقَدْ  وَقَعَ أَجْرُهُۥ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ غَفُورًۭا رَّحِيمًۭا 

[4 : 100]

“Whoever emigrates in the cause of Allah will find many safe havens and bountiful resources throughout the earth. Those who leave their homes and die while emigrating to Allah and His Messenger—their reward has already been secured with Allah. And Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”