Question

Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

I have a question again about the method of teaching children reading Qur’an. I was sending my children to a friend to read Qur’an.  In  a half an hour they read about five pages in front of the teacher and the teacher will correct the mistakes they made. The teacher's method is that she wants them to khitmah early and I’m not sure what's the next plan. 

My worry is that they read too much with right and wrong rather than reading a little but proper. During my time I cannot turn the page until I read with ahkum at least to the current hukum that I've learned. 

I was teaching my children before but found it they are not serious with their own mom. So I started sending them to a friend but I would like to know which way is correct. Do you have any tips to make children happy reading Qur’an? When I teach my daughter, she prefer to read in her own way rather than listen and follow my way of reading.

I hope to know your advice very soon and jazakumullah khair for the efforts.

Answer

Wa alaikum assalaam wa rahmatu Allahi wa barakatuh,

The general rule is that children should try and memorize as much of the Qur’an as possible with tajweed rules suitable for their age.  The children should be taught in a general way the meaning of the surah they are memorizing so they understand the words of Allah.  Making a khatm in tilawah is not usually a goal for younger children.   Reading, or much more preferably, memorizing less with better tajweed is much more important than reading a large amount with mistakes.  Mistakes learned when they are young are much harder to fix later.  We have seen adults taught incorrectly as a child have a very difficult time trying to fix these mistakes, since they read this way for many years.

Children can be taught with contests either in groups or as individuals to see who will memorize first and with the best tajweed.  Small prizes can be given to your children for memorizing a surah, and or for having good tajweed.  It does not need to be something that costs money, it can be a privilege, a homemade certificate, putting their name on an erasable board, etc.  Charts with stickers, or stars for each child can be made and a star or sticker can be  given for memorizing, and another for applying the tajweed rules.  Most children respond to this kind of positive reinforcement quite well.   Punishment for not memorizing or not reading with correct tajweed must be avoided. 

May Allah may your children of those that read the Qur’an properly with tajweed and apply it to their lives. 

Wa iyyakum wa-l-muslimeen