First of all, before we get into the reasons why you shouldn’t memorise the Qur’aan before being able to read it fluently, let’s define what exactly we mean by fluent reading. When we say fluently we mean being able to read the Arabic text of the mushaf without long, unnecessary pauses between words and/or sentences and being able to pronounce them correctly. We don’t mean by it that you should be able to recite the Qur’aan with application of the rules of Tajweed and faultless precision of the sound of the letters and their characteristics (makhaarij and sifaat).
For the one who wants to memorise the Qur’aan but cannot read fluently, the main method that he/she will use to memorise will be through listening to audio recitation. The use of audio on its own is not sufficient for strengthening your memorisation. As we mentioned several times before, you should memorise using different tools so that it is engraved more deeply in your mind. Using audios alone can also cause serious errors in memorisation if the one listening to the audio does not have a sharp ear and an understanding of the differences between the sounds of the letters and their characteristics. Being such an intricate language, there are many letters in the Arabic alphabet which have similar sounds and/or are articulated from similar areas of the mouth, tongue and throat. If you are only memorising through audios, you are more likely to fall into errors with these letters. Whereas if you were also memorising from the mushaf, you can see clearly what the letters are and reading from the mushaf will create an image of the page in your mind which helps your memory to remember more.
What’s even worse than using audios alone, is that some people we’ve come across who fall into this category, use the transliterated text of the Qur’aan as an aid to the audios. This is more detrimental than using audios alone because this time it is not a case of mishearing letters but rather, you are depending on someone else’s transliteration of Arabic letters using an alphabet that is not Arabic. So you find in these transliterations, that letters like ث are transliterated as ‘sa’ or letters like ذ are transliterated as ‘za’ etc. And none of these are correct. If you can read from the transliterated text, make the effort to improve your reading fluency in Arabic because the Qur’aan was revealed in Arabic and for each letter you recite from the mushaf, there is a reward for you that will be multiplied by ten. And for those who recite with difficulty, remember there is a double reward for you.
No scholar or reputable Qur’aan school teaches hifdh without first improving reading fluency nor do they solely use audios for the purpose of memorising.
So how do you go about improving your reading fluency? Assuming that you know how to read Arabic, the way to improve fluency is simply by reciting from the mushaf more often. My wife is always stressing to me that despite the fact that I’m trying to memorise and have to review previously memorised soorahs, I should make sure I complete the Qur’aan at least once every month as this will make me even more fluent in my reading AND help make it easier for me to memorise new sections as they won’t be so new to me. Reading fluency comes from the ability of your brain to automatically recognize words that you have read before and are able to pronounce. For example, all of us reading this right now can read English fluently. However, if we were to open some textbook with medical terminology, those of us who aren’t familiar with the words will not be able to read them without pausing and breaking the words down. In a similar way, the more you recite from the mushaf, the more familiar your brain becomes to the look, spelling and pronunciation of the words so that eventually you are able to read faster and smoother because when you come across the same words again, your brain already recognizes them. Listening to fluent readers and hearing what fluent reading sounds like also improves your reading fluency. If you find reading from the mushaf difficult, listen to what you want to recite before reciting it. Listen to a slow recitor and use the mushaf to follow along with his recitation. Repeat this several times as you need and then when you are comfortable with the words, follow along with him but this time you also recite loudly. You can repeat this however many times you like as you know best when you are at ease with reciting that section.
May Allaah make it easy for all of us to recite the Qur’aan as it was revealed and grant us the tawfeeq to act by it. Aameen.