Online Quran Classes for Beginners
Online Quran classes for beginners start with the Arabic letters and end with reading the Quran on your own. You need no Arabic to begin, and everything is explained in English. Here the classes are live and one to one, with the same teacher each week, set in your own time zone. Plans start at $34 a month and the first lesson is free.
Book a free class on WhatsApp How the free class works
Starting point
No Arabic needed. The first lesson finds where you are
Format
Live and one to one, with one teacher who stays with you
Lesson length
30 to 60 minutes, two or three times a week
Price
$9.50 an hour, down to $7.00. Plans from $34 a month
Female teacher
Available on request, at no extra cost
Ages
From 4 years old to adults
What a beginner learns, in order
Every beginner goes through the same stages. What changes from one student to the next is the speed, and where they join. These are the usual times at two or three lessons a week with a little practice in between.
| Stage | What you can do at the end | Usual time |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Noorani Qaida | Know every letter and its sound, read the vowel marks, and join letters into words | 3 to 6 months for an adult, 4 to 12 months for a child |
| 2. Reading | Read any page of the Quran slowly but correctly, without the teacher spelling words out | 6 to 12 months |
| 3. Tajweed | Apply the rules of recitation as you read, without stopping to think about them | 12 to 24 months |
| 4. Memorisation | Hold surahs by heart and keep them, starting with the short surahs at the end of the Quran | Alongside the others |
The Noorani Qaida is where most of the early months go. It is a short book that teaches the letters, then the letters with vowel marks, then joined words, until reading the Quran itself is the next step and not a leap. Children take longer over it than adults, but they rarely have anything to unlearn. Tajweed comes after reading because the Quran asks to be recited slowly and distinctly, in measured recitation (73:4), and that is only possible once the letters are secure.
Which class fits you
A beginner can be five or fifty. The lessons are the same in outline and very different in pace, so start from whichever of these describes you. If the learner is a young child, what age to start Quran covers whether they are ready.
| You are | What the lessons focus on | More detail |
|---|---|---|
| A parent with a child aged 4 to 12 | The letters by sound first, short lessons, and a check you can do at home without reading Arabic | Quran classes for kids |
| An adult starting from nothing | The Qaida at an adult pace, explained in English, fitted around work | Quran classes for adults |
| New to Islam | Al-Fatiha and what you need for prayer first, then reading | Quran classes for reverts |
| You learned as a child and it faded | Relearning the vowel marks and joined letters until your reading is steady again | Online Quran classes |
| A woman who would rather learn from a woman | Any of the above, with a female teacher | Female Quran teacher |
What the first lesson does
The first lesson is free, and it is there to find out where you are, not to prove that the video call works. The teacher listens to you read whatever you can manage, including nothing at all, and starts you on the letters if that is where you are.
A useful first lesson ends with three things you can write down: the stage you are starting at, the two or three things to work on first, and how many lessons a week would get you moving. If the feedback could have been given to any student, the assessment did not happen. That is worth knowing whichever school you choose.
- Send one message. Say who the lessons are for, what they can read now, if anything, and two or three times in your week that could work.
- Take the free first lesson. Nothing to pay and nothing to sign. You can stop there.
- Keep the same teacher and slot. Lessons are set in your own time zone in the US, the UK, Canada or Australia, and can be moved with two hours notice.
What the classes cost
The hourly rate falls as you book more hours in a month. Every plan is four weeks of lessons paid in advance, and unused lessons are refunded.
| Schedule | Hours a month | Rate | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 lessons a week, 30 minutes | 4 | $8.50 an hour | $34 |
| 3 lessons a week, 30 minutes | 6 | $8.00 an hour | $48 |
| 2 lessons a week, 60 minutes | 8 | $7.50 an hour | $60 |
| 3 lessons a week, 60 minutes | 12 | $7.00 an hour | $84 |
Most beginners start on two or three short lessons a week, which is $34 to $48 a month. Brothers and sisters get 10% off, and every plan is on the pricing page.
What you need at home
A laptop, tablet or phone with a camera, a steady internet connection, and headphones with a microphone so the teacher hears each sound clearly. You and the teacher have the same page in front of you, and many families like to keep a printed Qaida for practice between lessons.
If nobody at home reads Arabic, that is the usual situation, not a problem. Practice between lessons is short and set by the teacher, and you can check a child’s progress by asking them to read you the line they finished that week. There are more checks like that in how to tell if your child’s Quran is improving.
Who teaches the classes
You are matched with one teacher, who stays with you. These three teach beginners, and the rest of the faculty is on the about page.
Ahmed Abdullah
Quran, Tajweed, Arabic
Ijazah in the Quran in the Hafs narration, with a connected chain. A graduate of Al-Azhar University, teaching Quran for more than ten years.
Mohamed Nayel
Taught in English
Teaches entirely in English, which suits a beginner who does not speak Arabic. Four years teaching Quran to English speakers.
Sister Nouran
Hifz, Tajweed, Qaida
Has memorised the whole Quran, with Ijazah in the Hafs and Shu’bah narrations. More than ten years teaching children, teenagers and adults.
How to choose any beginner course
Whether you book here or somewhere else, five questions separate a course that will get you reading from one that will not. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said the best of you are those who learn the Quran and teach it, and that is a standard for the teacher as much as the student.
- Who exactly will teach you? The academy’s credentials and your teacher’s are different claims. Ask for the name before you pay.
- What is that teacher’s own training? An Ijazah means they recited the whole Quran to a teacher who certified their accuracy. Formal study, at Al-Azhar or elsewhere, is a good sign too.
- Have they taught someone like you? A teacher who is excellent with six-year-olds may be the wrong fit for an adult starting at the alphabet, and the other way round.
- Where in the sequence would they start you? A good course can tell you after one lesson, and the stages above are the ones to ask about.
- Is it one to one? In a group, a beginner’s mistakes are easy to miss. In a one-to-one lesson the teacher hears every word. That is the main reason to have a private online Quran tutor from the start.
If cost is the deciding question, our page on free Islamic classes sets out what you can learn without paying. If you would rather start at home before booking anyone, how to start reading the Quran walks through the first steps.
Where to start, what it costs and how long it takes
Where can I learn the Quran online as a beginner?
With a live teacher who starts you on the Noorani Qaida and listens to you read every lesson. Here that is a one-to-one video class from $34 a month, and you can try a lesson before paying anything.
How much do online Quran classes cost?
Here, $34 a month for two 30-minute lessons a week, up to $84 a month for three hours a week. The rate runs from $9.50 an hour down to $7.00 as you book more hours.
How long does it take a beginner to read the Quran?
Usually 3 to 6 months for an adult to finish the Noorani Qaida, and another 6 to 12 months to read any page of the Quran correctly, at two or three lessons a week. Children take a little longer over the letters. The full ladder, Tajweed included, is in how long it takes to learn Tajweed.
What is the easiest way to learn the Quran?
Learn the letters properly first, with the Noorani Qaida, and read aloud to a teacher often. Short lessons two or three times a week work better than one long one, because each mistake is caught before it becomes a habit.
Can I learn if nobody at home reads Arabic?
Yes. Most of the families we teach have no one at home who reads Arabic. The lessons are explained in English, and the teacher sets short practice you can do on your own.
Can I have a female teacher?
Yes. Female teachers are available for every class, at no extra cost. Ask for one when you book.
Are online Quran classes good for beginners?
They are if the class is live and one to one. The teacher hears every word you read and corrects it straight away, which a recorded course or an app cannot do.
Start with one free lesson
Send one message with who the lessons are for and a few times that suit you. It costs nothing, and at the end of that lesson you will know where you are starting and what it would take.