Still Confused About the Tower Method?
Here’s how to know when to move on, what to do if you forget, and how to make it work for your life. - Issue #174
Bismillāh al-Rahmān al-Rahīm,
Assalāmu ʿAlaykum!
I’ve been travelling over the weekend and not been too well but alhamdulillāh, I’m back. There were a number of questions many of you had regarding the method I shared last week. Some excited, some unsure, some deeply reflective. So today I will address those and hopefully it benefits others too.
1. “How do I know when to move on?”
“How do I know I should move to a new page? What level of retention should I aim for before moving on?”
The idea behind this method is to keep memorising over a period of time. You memorise as you would normally but you move ahead regardless. As long as you can recite the page in one sitting without breaking down.
Move on when you can recite the new page in one sitting without completely breaking down — even if you need to glance back at the mushaf occasionally.
This is the whole point of the first pass: keep the momentum.
60–70% fluency works too.
If you’re stuck on one page for more than 2–3 sessions, move on anyway. You’ll revisit it in Pass 2.
Think of it like learning to drive: You don’t master every skill in one lesson. You build muscle memory through repetition over time.
2. “If I want to finish in 1 year, how do I structure it?”
“I’m in Juz 5 now. Should I just keep memorising normally to the end, then start again?”
Yes.
Here’s how a 1-year plan looks:
Daily: 5 pages (≈1 Juz/week).
Friday: 10–15 pages (a “leap day”).
Pass 1: Complete the whole Qur’an in 30–35 weeks.
Pass 2: Start over, same pace — retention doubles.
Pass 3: Go again. This is where fluency starts to feel natural.
The key: Don’t pause to “fix” past pages now. Keep moving forward.
3. “What exactly do I do on Pass 2 & Pass 3?”
“Could you clarify what one does on pass 2 and 3 in terms of daily revision?”
You don’t. You’re just doing rounds of memorisation.
On Pass 1:
Only forward movement. No revision.
On Pass 2:
Start from the beginning.
Same pace (or slightly faster).
Focus on linking pages together and smoothing transitions.
On Pass 3:
Go faster (e.g., 2–3 Juz/day reading from memory).
Add longer recitations to build flow.
Fix weak spots.
Each pass builds fluency, until your memorisation becomes natural.
Think of Pass 2 and 3 as “polishing” the rough draft you wrote in Pass 1.
4. “I’ve memorised 20 Juz but keep restarting and giving up. What now?”
“I work 10 hours a day with only two days off a month. I keep jumping between sections…”
Your challenge isn’t ability, it’s overwhelm.
My advice:
Commit to a lighter daily pace.
Finish your first full pass: even if rough.
Pair with a reading plan: 2–3 Juz daily by looking to keep the Qur’an fresh.
This stops the back-and-forth cycle and gives you momentum.
5. “I’m a housewife with a baby. Is this even realistic for me?”
Yes.
For you, a 3-year plan may be ideal:
Daily: 1 page.
Weekends: 2–3 pages.
Pass 1: 18–20 months.
Pass 2: 8–9 months.
Pass 3: 6–7 months.
Remember: The Qur’an is a lifelong journey. One page a day is still 365 pages a year.
6. “Won’t this get frustrating if I can’t use my Qur’an for prayer for years?”
“It’s worrying to think I need 15–20 passes to be strong. Could I add a reading programme alongside?”
Absolutely.
In fact, I encourage it.
Add a daily 2–3 Juz reading schedule by looking.
Use it for prayer.
Treat it as light revision alongside your memorisation.
This way, your relationship with the Qur’an stays active - even while your memorisation builds up.
7. “What if I forget everything I memorised?”
You might and that’s okay.
Forgetting between passes is normal. The goal of Pass 1 is exposure, not mastery.
By the third or fourth pass, you’ll find that the Qur’an starts to “settle” in your heart - even verses you thought were gone.
8. “Should I revise old pages at all in Pass 1?”
No, you do zero backtracking in Pass 1.
If you keep going back, you’ll never finish. Let go of the need to “fix” things now.
9. “Can I use this for prayer?”
Not during the first pass.
If you want to lead taraweeh or use your memorised Qur’an in prayer, you’ll need:
A separate reading plan by looking (2–3 Juz/day).
Pass 2+ — where your retention improves.
This way, you still use the Qur’an actively in salah while your memorisation grows.
10. “How long until I feel solid?”
Depends on your pace.
For most people:
After 3–5 passes: You’ll be confident with large portions.
After 10–15 passes: The Qur’an feels natural.
After 20–30 passes: You carry it with fluency.
This is lifelong work.
—
Your Turn:
What method are you using?
Are you full-time, part-time, or just starting?
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🔗 Read more: Can You Memorize The Qur’an Without Revision? [Method]
🤲 Requesting your prayers,
- Qāri’ Mubashir
📖 THE DIARY OF A HĀFIZ
This is where we try to learn by watching others memorise. A roundup reporting the progress of our brothers and sisters in their pursuit of memorising the Qur'ān:
🧕🏼 Aaliya
Background: I'm 28 and I started memorizing full time about 2 years ago. I have almost 17 Juz memorized Alhamdulillah. I go to a masjid hifz class everyday and I'm trying to increase my daily revision to 2-3 juz. I'm hoping recording weekly diaries will motivate me to be more consistent and inshAllah help others who read it too.
Week 51:
“Its hard to believe but Alhamdullilah I finished revising 7th through 1st ajza over the week! The last couple ajza came back pretty fast. Alhamdullilah I'm so happy and still a little shocked.
Now I can finally focus on juz 17. That was the juz I was memorizing months ago, I only memorized a quarter. This week, I will try to get back that quarter and start new memorization again. I will also continue revising 2-3 paras daily, so I can strengthen them.”
🧕🏼 Aisha
Background: I'm a 36 yr old, mother of 6. Getting married while memorising the Qur'an, my hifz got weaker and eventually led to forgetting it. Came across this wonderful website by Qari Mubashir and learnt many tips, connected with my childhood friend as a hifz buddy. Hoping to complete hifz with a strong revision!
Week 38:
“Assalamualaikum warahmatullah,
I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't revised anything this past week either , yes there are many distractions but such behaviour is what leads to forgetting hifz, May Allah pull me out of His disobedience and ghaflah.
Request for prayers.”
👳🏼♂️ Muhammad
Background: After forgetting what he memorised (half the Qur'ān) and kept struggling to start again. So he decided to share his diary and mission with us. After 19 weeks of struggle, he finally started. It took him a few months to do a few Juz’. He’s 38 and has been the most consistent of our diaries despite continued struggles.
Year 2 Week 49:
“I couldn’t recite every day this week but I was making progress through the 8th, missed 4 days and hopefully I will restart today.”
👉 If you have any questions, just drop a reply to me and I'll feature the questions and answers in relevant issues. If you want to join the diaries, get in touch also!
Allāh grant us all success and ease on this path!
⭐ COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS & UPDATES
I have been travelling this week so not had much done but:
Still in progress: I’ve had more feedback on the Hifz Tester and will look to update the tool.
Still in progress: I’m also working on updating the site (have you seen it? what do you think?) and letting you into Hifz Camp
Did you know about the book:
📌 Your Turn: How Did You Find This Post?
🔥 Reply & let me know what helped you most today.
💬 Reply & tell me: What’s your biggest struggle in Hifz right now? Have a question? Reply to this email (or answer the question below) and let me know—I’ll try to feature your question in upcoming posts.