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Question

Surah al Kafiroon, al humdulillah, is somewhat difficult for my children to memorize. They become confused because the ayaat are repeated or similar.  Do you have any hints on how to make it easier for them?

Answer

Masha’ Allah, may Allah reward you for teaching the Qur’an to your children.  It is so important for them to learn the Qur’an and for them to feel the importance of the Qur’an in their lives. 

Children aren’t the only ones that have difficulty with surah Al-Kaafiroon, many adults do too.  

The two things that help are: One, realizing that the aayaat alternate between me (The Prophet  stating his belief as commanded by Allah the Exalted), and you plural (The Prophet stating the belief of the disbelievers), and second, that ayaat 2-5 all start with , and the next to last word in these same ayaat is .  Aayah 3 and 5 which addresses the disbelievers with a you plural are the exact same wording. 

It is very important that the children understand the meaning of this surah when memorizing it so they don’t mix the words up and say the opposite of the intended meaning.  If they are too young to read it without mixing up the meaning, you may want to teach them another surah first and save this one for when they can understand the meaning and therefore recite the surah with the proper wording.