In the name of Allah, Most Beneficent, Most Merciful

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Teaching Quran For School Students A lecture
Given at Hajj House, Bombay All India Muslim
Teachers Meet.
www.understandQuran.com
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Outline

• Introduction Background
• My focus
• Why teach Al-Quran
• Language learning vs. Understanding Quran
• Brain / Memory / Language learning
• Unique features
• Sample Demo (Book CD)

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My Introduction / Background
Scholars
My position
Masses
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My Introduction / Background

• Past several years of teaching as well as doing
  basic research on teaching/learning Al-Quran
• Involved in teaching as well as studying
  different approaches
• Got input from several scholars individuals
  not completely my own method

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Vision

• Al-Quran should be easy as well as the most
  interesting book! Is it not authored by Allah!
• If Quran is for the whole world, it should be
  easy to learn (including its language)
• If Quran is written by Allah for humans, it
  should be most interesting book that is, a book
  that will appeal strongly to our intellect as
  well as our heart.

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Style of Delivery

• I have tried to use modern concepts in teaching.
  They include
• Brain (Tony Buzan etc.)
• Lateral thinking (De Bono)
• Positive thinking
• Effective living (Stephen Covey)
• NLP (Neuro-linguistic Programming)
• Time and Resource Management
• Second Language learning (Latest style of
  teaching English to foreigners at American
  Universities)

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Challenges to a Teacher

• For teaching any subject, the main challenge is
• Motivation (How to motivate the students)
• Methodology (the way to present the material)
• And we really want to improve the above 2 when it
  comes to teaching the Quran. Let us not use that
  old method of just asking the students to recite
  for Barkat (in the limited sense).

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Elements of Success-for students !!!

• According to modern research, these elements are
• Attitude
• Confidence
• Optimism
• Positive thinking
• Good relationship with others
• A Pondering mind
• High values
• Quran can give all these values in a way no one
  on earth can give!!! This is the real and
  comprehensive Barkat which will lead to success
  in this world and the hereafter.

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Our Approach to Teaching Quran

• For a quick approach to Understanding the Quran

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No. 1 Smooth Start

• Start from Salah (Why use any other text, when
  you want to understand Quran)
• If I want to teach you french and if I know that
  you speak something in french for 1 hour, I will
  say Let us learn that first!
• A common sense approach
• Valid for every Muslim man, woman, old, and
  young, and even for a child because he is

www.understandquran.com
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No. 2 Focus on Listening and Reading
Language Learning Understanding Quran
Reception Listening ? ?
Reception Reading ? ?
Production Speaking ? - X -
Production Writing ? - X -
This will decrease the initial burden on students
and make it simpler to learn.
www.understandquran.com
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No. 3 More Focus on Vocabulary

• More focus on Vocabulary (just the way a child
  learns)
• Less focus on grammar otherwise if we teach the
  way shown below, people will run away!
• ?????????

????? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ?????
??? ????? ????? ????? ????? ???? ?? ???????
??????? ?????? ???? ???? ?? ??? ??? ????
www.understandquran.com
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No. 4 More Focus on Sarf

• In Grammar, we give
• More emphasis on Sarf (word construction)
• Less emphasis on Nahw (sentence construction)
• Because
• We are familiar with the topics of Quran
• We are learning from existing English
  translations
• We are learning to repeat the translation, rather
  than translation itself.

www.understandquran.com
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The Challenges
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A typical Muslim Youngster
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We are missing the youth

• We are missing the youth both ways because we are
  not teaching them the Quran

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When they grow up, they!!!

• DONT KNOW THE QURÁN (PERHAPS NOT EVEN 2 OF IT).
• Have almost no exposure to Hadith
• Consequently, have no self-esteem as a Muslim.

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Qurán

• A book of Guidance And that is the status we
  have not given to it
• Human Being surrounded by enemies and
  self-weaknesses
• Daily Exposure to Quran thru Recitation in
  Salahs / in homes is not utilized at all!!!
• How does Quran guides us? It always reminds him
  as to who he is, where he is, what is his role,
  his destination Thru Promises, Threats,
  Examples, Stories,

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By understanding Qurán

• We will open up this gate of daily tarbiyah
• We will establish connection between us and Allah
  directly and for the rest of his life.
• This Book will not change. A Permanent Solution.

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Qurán

• Solutions to all problems are in the Qurán and
  Sunnah
• Just establish direct connection between them and
  Allah thru Allahs book and they can walk with
  dignity
• Give them the master key and they will open all
  the doors

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Why don't the Students understand the Qur'an

• Most importantly Nobody told them that
  understanding Quran could be so simple.
• AND FURTHER TO IT Quran should have been the
  most interesting subject!!! Is it so?

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How will teaching Quran help?

• Attitude (You will put the student in contact
  with Allah directly)
• Confidence in himself and his Deen as well as his
  people
• Sense of responsibility
• Seriousness

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How will teaching Quran help?

• Muslims directly aware of the divine guidance
• Pleasure/Good will of Allah
• Future assets of Ummah
• Balanced Personality

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How will teaching Quran help?

• Excelling in their roles with a purpose
• Will set a role model for future Muslim
  institutions
• Decrease evils like ragging, crimes, indecency
• Produce ideal youths and ideal campus atmosphere
• Produce mature, responsible, and stable citizens

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For Quran

• In approximately 200 hours of learning, you can
  inshaAllah understand the Quran completely.
• 30 hours of Starter course
• (After this, in 170 hours, you can easily learn
  the complete Quran inshaAllah)

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Learning to UNDERSTAND Al-Quran

• A course of 200 hours
• Not for interpreting but for understanding it
• Objective Tadabbur TaZakkur (will not be
  covered in this lecture)
• Challenge A smooth start which gives them
  confidence

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An Easy Starter Course

• 60 lessons (each of 25 minutes approx)
• Less than 30 hours
• Designed for schools as well as general public
• Simplified grammar
• Using Daily and Frequent Recitations
• Will cover 350 words that occur 55,000 times in
  Qur'an (70 of the vocabulary)!!!

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Al-Quran the Most Interesting book to learn

• If there are drop-outs, if it is boring, then the
  problem is in the way we present it/ we teach it
• To show the benefits by linking the message of
  Al-Quran, rather, the guidance of Al-Quran,
  with the day-to-day life of a teenager

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My Focus

• Primarily the Masses!
• Priority wise
• Secular Institutions
• School Students Before they graduate 10th class,
  they should complete the Quran with
  understanding
• The college students who missed the above
  opportunity
• General public

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Brain

• Brain works with associations
• 1,000,000,000 Cells
• We use rarely 5 of our brain
• Easier to learn another language!!!
• Much easier to learn Al-Quran because it has
  special blessings

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Brain Associations
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Language Learning

• Famous Techniques/software
• Pimsleur approach
• Rosetta Stone Approach
• ESL Party
• Daves Café
• Corporate/Univ. level software
• -

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Language Learning

• Language Learning - Use the tips for teaching
  Al-Quran
• - Breaking the barrier (through our daily
  Salah and Supplications) My case of TELUGU
• - Use index cards (now booklet) grammar posters
  stickers (board Diary)
• - Motivate (through the promise of thawab)
• - Analyze teaching models (adopted interactive
  and variety-based model)
• - TPI

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Teaching Arabic thru Quran the unique
opportunities

• A typical Muslim
• - memorized almost 50 to 100 sentences in
  Arabic!
• And he uses them too!!! A practicing Muslim
  spends almost an hour daily in Arabic environment
• - 5 daily prayers
• - Supplications
• Everyday, he uses about 200 Arabic words and
  almost 50 sentences. And he REPEATS most of
  them!!!
• Everyday, he is made to listen (in 6 lectures)
  different parts of the best of literature!!!

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Teaching Arabic thru Quran the unique
opportunities

• The ideal situation would be
• to jump on this opportunity and teach him right
  from there
• For a Non-Muslim student It gives an excellent
  opportunity to not only learn Arabic but also
  understand the neighborhood culture

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The CHALLENGE

• Let them understand what they already recite
• Teach them grammar in a simplified style
• Get the max from frequently occurring words

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Introduction to our course

• Understand Quran the Easy Way
• (Basic Course)

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UNIQUE FEATURES OF THIS COURSE!!!

• 1. A course of approximately 25 hours to help
  you learn almost 70 of the vocabulary of the
  Quran (55000 words of the total 78000,
  approximately).

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UNIQUE FEATURES (Contd)

• 2. Spare just 25 minutes everyday, and inshaAllah
  you are on your way to realizing the dream.
• 3. Start the understanding of Quran using what
  you recite everyday!!! No need to look for any
  other text.

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UNIQUE FEATURES (Contd)

• The contents
• Daily Recitations
• Frequent Recitations
• Some extra verses 2 ahadeeth
• One spoken Arabic sentence in each class

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UNIQUE FEATURES (Contd)

• 4. Immediately start realizing the benefits in
  your prayers and supplications,
• and thereby improve the relationship with Allah.
  
• Practice what you learnt right form day one by
  talking to Allah in Arabic with understanding!

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UNIQUE FEATURES (Contd)

• 5. Each session has 3 different activities, which
  keeps the participants alive throughout the
  lesson.
• 6. Learn at least one spoken Arabic sentence in
  each lesson.

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UNIQUE FEATURES (Contd)

• 7. More than that, each session is interactive,
  if conducted in a group!!!
• Every participant has full and continuous chance
  to be involved in all the activities (Spoken
  Arabic, Grammar, and Word-for-word translation)

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UNIQUE FEATURES (Contd)

• 8. Learn basic Arabic Grammar as well as almost
  all important verb patterns by devoting just 8 to
  10 minutes in each session.

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UNIQUE FEATURES (Contd)

• 9. Learning Arabic Grammar perhaps has never been
  so easy and simple.
• With TPI (like ABAQUS, photographic memory), it
  becomes an exciting and interesting part.

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TPI

• Brain works with associations
• Mg/ Fg Sign covention
• Past tense (plane / road)
• Imperfect tense
• Imperative
• Negative
• Ism Faail / Ism Mafool / Fel
• Active voice / passive voice

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TPI

• Increase associations the more you have the
  easier it is to learn/remember/retain/recall
• Several dimensions of a word
• Sound
• Spelling
• Shape
• Meanings
• Picture
• Movement
• Smell!
• Emotions

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UNIQUE FEATURES (Contd)

• 10. Every time you practice a grammar session (5
  to 7 minutes), you are shown as to how closer you
  are to the understanding of Quran.
• Therefore, it becomes a session of love and
  excitement rather than that of boring drills.

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UNIQUE FEATURES (Contd)

• 11. Learn interesting examples/false links to
  remember some of the odd rules of grammar.

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Simplified

• Deletion of dual / fg in the beginning
• Reduced to 12 instead of 28 (past/imprf)
• Reduced to 4 instead of 6 (imp/neg)
• 3 added to it (fael, mafool, fel)
• Master Periodic Table (Traffic light)
• The two Master Tables

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Interesting Links

• Anta / hia (HANDS)
• Broken plural
• meri aulaad padhti hai
• Urdu / English Mazeed feeh
• Preposition of the verb
• Selection of Verses (1 verse each)
• Plural / mg/fg - Ahzaab
• Fg - Yousuf
• Br. Pl. - Hajj

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Interesting Links

• Weak letters
• Team supporting each other
• Directions
• Fouqi/ tahti/ yameeni/

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UNIQUE FEATURES (Contd)

• 12. Revise the whole learning in SPECIAL 10
  sessions (at the end) where all frequently
  occurring words in the Quran are listed
  separately.

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UNIQUE FEATURES (Contd)

• 13. To remember important words, each word/verb
  that you have learnt is listed with an example
  for you to practice, remember, and retain.
• Every time you forget an important new word, you
  are given a context for it to recall.
• THIS IS JUST LIKE THE WAY YOU REMEMBER PEOPLE.

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UNIQUE FEATURES (Contd)

• 14. Learn all important verb patterns thoroughly
  along with examples from the material covered in
  the first 50 sessions.
• 15. 16 quizzes and 2 exams to help you evaluate
  your progress and encourage you to revise and
  continue.

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UNIQUE FEATURES (Contd)

• 16. With the CD (produced by the Academy),
  participate along with the audience throughout
  these sessions.
• You dont have to wait for another sitting for
  practice. Practice right there!

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UNIQUE FEATURES (Contd)

• 17. Actually this is a basic training course for
  every Muslim. It contains those parts which are
  practiced everyday by a Muslim. Therefore this
  course is will have direct impact on his life.
  It will make his regular worship more efficient
  and effective. Simultaneously he will get the
  confidence that he can learn the Quran very
  easily.

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Some Interesting Findings

• All Abwaab and special cases are important
• At least around 4 Fel thulaathi Mazeed feehi
  abwaab are also important

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7 HOMEWORKS

• Extremely easy and practical home works.
• To develop an attitude of learning - most
  important factor in any learning process.
• To be always aware that they are learning Qur'an.
  
• Like those cricket fans following the match.

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7 HOMEWORKS

• We want our students to develop the attitude that
  they should always be aware and feel blessed by
  Allah that they are learning His Book.
• This attitude should help them to do these home
  works whenever they have some spare time.

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7 HOMEWORKS

• 1. At least FIVE minutes study of the
  Word-for-Word translation.
• 2. At least FIVE minutes recitation (for the
  beginner) of the Qur'an from the Mushaf that has
  no translation.
• 3. At least FIVE minutes recitation of the Qur'an
  from memory during activities such as walking.

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7 HOMEWORKS

• 4. 30 seconds (not minutes!) study of the
  vocabulary sheet, preferably before or after
  every Salah or any other suitable intervals.
• 5. Recitation of the last 14 Surahs in rotation
  in the Sunan and Nawafil of daily Salah.

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7 HOMEWORKS

• 6. Talking to your colleague for 1 minute every
  day regarding the lesson (if you are studying
  this course in a class).
• 7. Listening to a tape which contains these
  recitations with word-by-word meanings (in your
  car while driving and at your home while doing
  household chores). You can record the contents
  of this course yourselves into a tape, in case a
  recorded tape is not available.