Our Prophet Muhammadﷺ said, “The best among you is the one who learns the Quran and teaches it.” Teaching children the Quran is not bound to teaching them the provisions of the book and its teachings, but is a revival of their souls, the illumination of their minds, and a light into their insight. Every Muslim parent has the responsibility to teach his children the Quran. He has to teach them the values of the Quran stories, help them to understand the wonders of the Quran, and realize how much the Quran is valuable for our lives. Learning Quran for children is the best method for creating a conscious generation able to build a prosperous and just society based on the noble and lofty principles of Islam. However, and even with this immense responsibility, teaching your kids the Quran is not as difficult as you thought. It can be a progressive process you can follow step by step, corresponding to the stages of your growing children.

You may be wondering what the most suitable age for starting this journey is. It starts from the day you know you will be a parent. Begin during the pregnancy and strive to make your child listen to the Quran while in the womb. In this way, the baby will be familiar with the sounds of the Quran he/ she hears, which is scientifically proven to aid in learning. However, from an Islamic perspective, there is no specific age for a child to start learning the Quran, though the age of four seems appropriate for simple memorization. Each child is unique and children may differ from one another in their mental ability and intellectual aptitude. Some kids seem to develop more rapidly than others in some facet of life, and when that facet is mental, it may make learning readiness highly different. People may think two children are similar to each other in age, but the difference in their perceptions and ability to learn is immense.

Here are some useful steps for you as a parent to teach and guide your kids to learning the Quran: 

1. A mother’s diligence in hearing the Quran and reciting it during pregnancy is key. Many specialized scientists have stated that the fetus in the mother’s abdomen is affected by her state of joy or anger, and also affected by what she listens to or reads aloud. It is confirmed by some contemporary scholars that the mother who frequently hears the Quran while pregnant gives birth to a child who already has familiarity with the Quran.
2. Make sure you talk to your children and tell them about Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى, the importance of the Quran, and why we should adhere to His commandments. Don’t begin telling your children a list of “dos” and “don’ts” without them appreciating and understanding who their Creator is.
3. Show interest in the Quran and recite the ayaat (verses) of it aloud. Make sure that the children are around you and know what you are doing. Small children learn by imitating, so when you read, it makes them emulate your actions. They are keen to follow you, which motivates them to want to learn and memorize it as they grow up. Don’t forget that you are a role model in your child’s life, and they will strive to do everything you do.
4. Read the ayaat of the Quran aloud. Your children will automatically pick up some of the words you are reading and will memorize them. How many times have children learned Surat Al-Fatiha just by hearing it recited aloud in 2-3 prayers at home daily? 
5. Give your child a Quran (mushaf–a bound copy of the Quran) of his own. It’s human nature to love gifts and feel special to be given ownership of something. Manage this instinct by gifting them a beautiful mushaf. Let them see how much you value it as a prized possession and this will infuse them with an enthusiasm for recitation and memorizing the Quran.
6. Establish a routine where your children read an ayah from the Quran every day when they wake up in the morning. Just one, but every morning.
7. Celebrate the achievements of your children related to the Quran, such as reciting a specific surah with the rules of tajweed well, or memorizing a particular part of it. Thus, the Quran becomes a reason for joy for a child, accepting the task of memorization, and reading with passion and enjoyment without the need for authoritarian command or punishment.
8. Narrate some stories of the Quran for your children. Children love to talk to their parents and listen to them as they tell them stories. Try to choose some stories of the Quran and include the reading of the ayaat that correspond. Just hearing the stories and the Arabic verses will influence their love of the Quran, his sense of equanimity with it, and his passion for learning it. It is important here to choose miraculous and fascinating stories, in which Allah promised Muslims and believers with Jannah (Paradise). You want your child to learn Islam from a promising prospect. At such a young age, children are not ready for the punishment ayaat for those who oppose Allah’s commands. 
9. Connect the Quran with what the children learn in their “secular” studies. While teaching them how to read and write the ayaat from the Quran is a first step, another major aspect is teaching your children how the Quran affirms modern discoveries in science, history, anthropology, language, and even math.  
10. Guide your children to search for particular words in the Quran. This will empower them to memorize these words quickly, such as asking for the meaning of the word As-Samad (Everlasting Refuge) in Surah Al-Ikhlas style=”font-weight: 400;”>.
11. Encourage–and with their consent!– enroll your children in Quran competitions for children, so that they see others their age memorize and recite the Quran as well and race to it.

To conclude, whatever method you choose or steps you select to guide your children to learn the Quran, make sure you do not force them to listen, read or memorize it. If your children are doing something they love, they won’t need bribery or threats. Try to arrange a specific time, regularly, so your children will know that this time is devoted to reading the Quran together. If you force, you will notice that your children are not interested in what you are reading, and they will take a lot longer to learn and appreciate the ayaat of the Quran. Remember that our children are the reflection of ourselves. They represent our values, manners, and principles. Try your best to model the best of yourself and the commandments of Allah.