Juz Amma for Kids: The Order to Memorise the Short Surahs

Why start with Juz Amma?

Juz Amma contains 37 surahs and 564 verses. Most of them are short, rhythmic and easy to recite in Salah, which gives children an immediate reason to learn them. Memorising them also builds the habits needed for longer surahs later: listening carefully, repeating accurately and revising every day.

Before memorising, it helps if the child has heard each surah many times. Even children who cannot yet read can learn the first stage by ear, while working through the Noorani Qaida in parallel.

A four-stage memorisation order

Most teachers begin with Al-Fatiha and then work backwards from the last surah, because the surahs at the end of the Quran are the shortest. The stages below are a guide; your child's teacher may adjust the order.

Stage 1: the first surahs (13 surahs, 67 verses)

Usually learned by ear from age 3 to 6. All are short enough for Salah.

Stage 2 (10 surahs, 97 verses)

Typically ages 6 to 8, once the child reads a little. Al-Bayyinah has long verses; some teachers leave it until later.

Stage 3 (7 surahs, 148 verses)

Longer surahs with 15 to 30 verses. Typically ages 7 to 9.

Stage 4: completing Juz Amma (8 surahs, 259 verses)

The longest surahs of the juz. Most children are reading fluently by now.

Arabic surah names and verse counts are taken from the Tanzil Uthmani data used on this site.

A daily routine that works

1. Listen to the new surah or section three times.
2. Learn one verse (or half a long verse) by repeating it five to ten times.
3. Join it to the verses learned before.
4. Revise the previous surahs: a few each day so the whole list is revised every week.
5. Use it in Salah the same day. Nothing fixes a surah in memory like praying with it.

For school-age children, our daily Hifz routine by country shows when to fit this into the day in the UK, Canada, Australia, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Teach the meaning in one sentence

Children remember better what they understand. For each surah, give a one-sentence summary: Al-Fil is "Allah protected the Kaaba from the army with the elephant"; Al-Asr is "everyone is losing except people who believe, do good, and remind each other of truth and patience"; Al-Ikhlas is "Allah is One and nothing is like Him" (see Al-Ikhlas for kids).

After Juz Amma

Many families then choose a few well-loved surahs, such as Surah Al-Mulk, Surah Yaseen and Ayatul Kursi, before deciding whether to begin full Hifz.

A teacher makes memorisation faster and more accurate. Our Quran classes for kids include short-surah memorisation with daily revision; book a free trial to see how it works.