What Is Darul Quran?

You might have encountered the word “Darul Quran” (دارُ القُرآن) in your Masjid or Islamic Center. Have you ever wondered what it really is? Do you even know what it means and where it comes from?

What Is the Meaning of Darul Quran?

Darul Quran, literally meaning house of Quran, is a place that is dedicated to teaching and learning the Holy Quran. Usually, they are centers that teach lessons on different subjects relating to the Quran such as:

• memorization of the Quran
• reading of the Quran
• reciting the Quran melodiously (i.e. using the maqamat  [مَقامات])
• Tafseer (تَفسير) or exegesis of the Quran

Darul Qurans can include only one, a few, or all subjects. Most of these institutes specialize in teaching Quran learners to memorize the Quran.

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Brief History of Darul Quran

Before schools and darul Qurans were institutionalized, there were small houses in which children would learn the Quran in the late-nineteenth and early to mid-twentieth century. These places in different parts of the Muslim world had different names. For example, in Egypt they were called ma‘had al-Quran (معهد القرآن), and in Indo-Pak area, they were called deeniyat (دینیات) meaning Quranic institute.

People would send their young children to these places so they could learn to read and memorize the Quran. Later, these traditional schools were expanded and became darul Qurans that enrolled people of all ages and wherein different Quranic sciences were taught systematically.

Hadiths That Encourage Teaching and Learning of the Quran

It has been narrated from Ali ibn Abi Talib from Prophet Muhammad that he said:

انّ النّبی صلی الله علیه و آله قال: خیرکم من تعلّم القرآن و علّمه

The best of you is the one who learns the Quran and teaches it to others. ¹

Imam Ali has also said:

و تعلّموا القرآن فانّه ربیع القلوب، و استشفعوا بنوره فانّه شفاء الصّدور، و أحسنوا تلاوته فانّه أنفع

Learn the Quran as it is the spring of hearts; seek cure from its light because indeed it is the cure for the hearts; and recite it well and gracefully as the most beneficial thing for you is the Quran. ²

Moreover, one of the infallibles has said:

قرائة القرآن فی المصحف تخفف العذاب عن الوالدین و لو کانا کافرین

Reading the Quran from its text lessens the punishment of [the reciters’] parents, even if they are disbelievers. ³

Darul Quran During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Darul Qurans post-2019 have become different and somewhat difficult to function and manage. Due to the spread of the coronavirus, fewer people show up in Darul Qurans physically and many have opened their eyes towards online, virtual solutions. For this reason, teaching Quran has changed. People now use online video conferencing and online courses to learn the Quran. Specifically, this is the case in areas where there are lockdowns and quarantines and people do not leave their homes. In such a situation, being physically present in such places is almost impossible. Consequently, people have resorted to virtual darul Qurans, or in other words, they take online Quran courses.

Conclusion

Darul Qurans are essentially educational centers that teach their students the reading of the Quran, tajweed, memorization, and Quranic melodies or maqamat. Owing to the current situation in the world (i.e. the COVID-19 outbreak) where physical presence in classroom environments has become extremely difficult and inadvisable, these educational centers have taken a different color, that is, they have become online and there is no longer a need for Quran learners to go through the trouble of physical classes.

Online darul Qurans have facilitated matters in the sense that learners can learn the Quran in the comfort of their homes. Islam4u is proud to be one of those Islamic online platforms that mimics darul Qurans. Check out the Quranic courses of Islam4u and change your life through learning the Quran.  

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