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IslamQA: How to memorize long verses like Ayat al-Kursi

Salam, do you have any tips on how to memorise surahs? I'm currently trying to learn Ayatul kursi, but I'm finding it difficult as Arabic is not my first language.

Alaikumassalam wa rahmatullah,

The method I have used for myself is to split the material into logical units. For example this part from the beginning of Ayat al-Kursi can be memorized on its own:

اللَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ
God! There is no god except He, the Living, the Everlasting.

Once you memorize that, you can go on to memorize the next unit:

لَا تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ
Neither slumber overtakes Him, nor sleep.

Once you memorize three units, go back to the first and recite from there from memory. Once you have reached the fourth unit and memorized it, you do not have to go back to the first, you can recite from the second unit to the fourth.

So the way I do it is to memorize a unit/piece, go back to the unit before last and try to recite from there. Once I master that, I memorize a new unit, go back to the one before last and recite from there from memory.

In this way, it becomes easy to memorize since you only deal with small units of text, but since you always go back to recite previous units, they all become linked in your mind rather than remaining isolated. And when it comes to suras with shorter verses, each verse can be a unit.

There might be other good ways to memorize. That is how I have done it.

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