Qur’anic Memorization in ‘Ajamic Communities: a Systematic Review of Trends, Challenges, and Functional Reception
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29240/alquds.v10i2.16247Keywords:
Qur’anic Memorization, Methods, Inhibiting and Supporting Factors, Role, MotivationAbstract
This study investigates research trends in Qur’anic memorization within the ‘Ajamic community (non-Arabic speaking Muslims), a practice often criticized as “parrot learning” and therefore marginalized in academic discourse. This research is urgent because it addresses limited scholarly attention given to non-Arabic contexts, despite the persistence of memorization traditions that shape religious identity and communal life. Using a systematic literature review guided by the PRISMA protocol, the search was conducted in the Scopus database and restricted to journal articles published between 2013 and 2023. From 1,830 initial records, successive filtering and eligibility criteria yielded nine relevant studies, which were analyzed qualitatively to answer five research questions concerning memorization methods, inhibiting and supporting factors, impact and role, and motivational aspects. The findings reveal that memorization in ‘Ajamic communities is predominantly performed through oral repetition without immediate comprehension of meaning, yet remains resilient despite structural challenges such as limited facilities, time constraints, and secular critiques. Positive impacts include enhanced learning abilities and significant social roles for memorizers, particularly as imams and proofreaders in communal worship, while motivations are sustained by religious devotion and communal identity. The novelty of this study lies in its systematic mapping of Qur’anic memorization research in non-Arabic contexts, which has not been comprehensively reviewed before. It contributes to the development of tafsir studies by shifting scholarly attention from exegetical and literary receptions toward oral and functional dimensions, thereby challenging reductive assumptions about rote learning and identifying gaps for future inquiry.
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References
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Muḥaisin, Muḥammad Salim. Tarikh al-Qur’an al-Karim. Makkah: Silsilah Da’watul Haq, 1985.
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Nordin, Ossman, Nik Md. Saiful Azizi Nik Abdullah, Rabi’atul Athirah Muhammad Isa Omar, and Ahmad Najib Abdullah. “The Art of Quranic Memorization: A Meta-Analysis.” Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities 31, no. 2 (June 2, 2023): 787–801. https://doi.org/10.47836/pjssh.31.2.16.
Page, Matthew J, Joanne E McKenzie, Patrick M Bossuyt, Isabelle Boutron, Tammy C Hoffmann, Cynthia D Mulrow, Larissa Shamseer, et al. “The PRISMA 2020 Statement: An Updated Guideline for Reporting Systematic Reviews.” BMJ, March 29, 2021, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71.
Parveen, Nikhat. “Investigating the Memorization of the Quran Using the Grounded Theory Methodology.” The Qualitative Report 26, no. 7 (July 16, 2021): 2226–44. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2021.4752.
Pilotti, Maura, Halah Alkuhayli, and Runna Al Ghazo. “Memorization Practice and Academic Success in Saudi Undergraduate Students.” Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives 18, no. 1 (February 22, 2022): 19–31. https://doi.org/10.1108/LTHE-08-2020-0030.
Rafiq, Ahmad. “The Reception of the Qur’an in Indonesia: A Case Study of the Place of the Qur’an.” Dissertation, Temple University, 2014.
Rasmussen, Anne K. “The Quran in Indonesian Daily Life: The Public Project of Musical Oratory.” Ethnomusicology 45, no. 1 (2001).
Razi, Fakhruddin ar-. Mafatiḥ Al-Gaib. Vol. XX. XXXII vols. Beirut: Dar Iḥya at-Turas al-‘Arabi, 1999.
Sabrina, Vinni, and Gifa Oktavia. “Eight Supporting Factors for Students’ Success in Quran Memorization.” Khalifa: Journal of Islamic Education 6, no. 1 (2022): 73–101.
Sai, Youcef. “Teaching Qur’an in Irish Muslim Schools: Curriculum, Approaches, Perspectives and Implications.” British Journal of Religious Education 40, no. 2 (May 4, 2018): 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2016.1269723.
Saquib, Nazmus, Juliann Saquib, Abdulrahman Alhadlag, Mohamad Anas Albakour, Bader Aljumah, Mohammed Sughayyir, Ziad Alhomidan, et al. “Health Benefits of Qur’an Memorization for Older Men.” SAGE Open Medicine 5 (December 2017): 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1177/2050312117740990.
Smith, Wilfred Cantwell. What Is Scripture: A Comparative Approach. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993.
Supriono, Iwan Agus, and Atik Rusdiani. “Implementasi Kegiatan Menghafal al-Qur’an Siswa di LPTQ Kabupaten Siak.” Jurnal Isema : Islamic Educational Management 4, no. 1 (August 12, 2019): 54–64. https://doi.org/10.15575/isema.v4i1.5281.
Toenlioe, Anselmus Je. Pendekatan Kualitatif bidang Pendidikan: Landasan, Teori, dan Panduan. Malang: Ahliedia Press, 2021.
Zarqani, Muhammad ‘Abdul ‘Aẓim az-. Manahil Al-‘Irfan Fi ‘Ulum al-Qur’an. Vol. I. II vols. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, 2010.
Zulkifli. Menyusun Tinjauan Pustaka: untuk Skripsi, Tesis, dan Disertasi serta sebagai Artikel Ilmiah. Jakarta: Salemba Humanika, 2020.
Baiḍawi, Naṣiruddin al-. Anwar At-Tanzil Wa Asrar at-Ta’wil. Vol. III. V vols. Beirut: Dar Iḥya at-Turas al-Islami, 1997.
Berglund, Jenny. “Continuity and Change: Experiences of Teaching Religious Education in the Light of a Life Trajectory of Hifz and Secular Education.” Religion & Education 44, no. 1 (January 2, 2017): 88–100. https://doi.org/10.1080/15507394.2016.1267544.
———. “Secular Normativity and The Religification of Muslims in Swedish Public Schooling.” Oxford Review of Education 43, no. 5 (September 3, 2017): 524–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2017.1352349.
Berglund, Jenny, and Bill Gent. “Qur’anic Education and Non-Confessional RE: An Intercultural Perspective.” Intercultural Education 30, no. 3 (May 4, 2019): 323–34. https://doi.org/10.1080/14675986.2018.1539305.
Denny, Frederick M. “Islam: Qur’an and Hadith.” In The Holy Book in Comparative Perspective, edited by Frederick M. Denny and Rodney L. Taylor. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1993.
Denny, Frederick Mathewson. “Qur’an Recitation: A Tradition of Oral Performance and Transmission.” Oral Tradition 4, no. 1–2 (1989): 5–26.
Fariji, Anis. “Shouting the Qur’an: Exuberance and Playfulness in the Taḥzzabt Collective Recitation in Morocco.” Ethnomusicology Forum 29, no. 2 (May 3, 2020): 166–86. https://doi.org/10.1080/17411912.2020.1793683.
Gent, Bill. “The Hidden Olympians: The Role of Huffaz in the English Muslim Community.” Contemporary Islam 10, no. 1 (January 2016): 17–34. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11562-014-0321-z.
Gent and Muhammad. “Memorising and Reciting a Text without Understanding Its Meaning: A Multi-Faceted Consideration of This Practice with Particular Reference to the Qur’an.” Religions 10, no. 7 (July 11, 2019): 425. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel10070425.
Goldziher, Ignaz. Mazahibut Tafsir Al-Islami. Translated by ‘Abdul Ḥalim an-Najjar. Kairo: al-Markazul Qaumi lit Tarjamah, 2013.
Hardaker, Glenn, and Aishah Ahmad Sabki. “Islamic Pedagogy and Embodiment: An Anthropological Study of a British Madrasah.” International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 28, no. 8 (September 14, 2015): 873–86. https://doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2014.917738.
Ho, Wai-Yip. “British Raj to China’s Hong Kong: The Rise of Madrasas for Ethnic Muslim Youth.” Modern Asian Studies 48, no. 2 (March 2014): 399–432. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0026749X13000668.
Jahar, Asep Saepudin, Hamka Hasan, Didin Saepudin, Asmawi, Arif Zamhari, Imam Sujoko, and Zubair. Pedoman Penulisan Tesis Dan Disertasi Program Magister Dan Doktor. Jakarta: Sekolah Pascasarjana Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah, 2021.
Jeffery, Arthur. The Quran as Scripture. New York: Russel F. Moore co.inc, 1952.
Kaltsum, Lilik Ummi, Mundzier Suparta, Fuad Thohari, and Khaeron Sirin. “Model Pembelajaran Tahfidz Al-Qur’an di Indoensia, Iran, Turki, dan Arab Saudi.” An-Nuha: Jurnal Kajian Islam, Pendidikan, Buaya, dan Sosial 8, no. 2 (2021): 347–73.
Latifah, Eva. “Motives, Self-Regulation, and Spiritual Experiences of Hafizh (The Qur’an Memorizer) in Indonesia.” International Journal of Instruction 15, no. 1 (January 1, 2022): 653–72. https://doi.org/10.29333/iji.2022.15137a.
Moleong, Lexy J. Metodologi Penelitian Kualitatif. Bandung: PT Remaja Rosdakarya, 2016.
Moore, Leslie C. “Qur’anic School Sermons as a Site for Sacred and Second Language Socialisation.” Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 34, no. 5 (August 2013): 445–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2013.783036.
Muḥaisin, Muḥammad Salim. Tarikh al-Qur’an al-Karim. Makkah: Silsilah Da’watul Haq, 1985.
Nelson, Kristina. The Art of Reciting the Qur’an. New ed. Cairo ; New York: American University in Cairo Press, 2001.
Nordin, Ossman, Nik Md. Saiful Azizi Nik Abdullah, Rabi’atul Athirah Muhammad Isa Omar, and Ahmad Najib Abdullah. “The Art of Quranic Memorization: A Meta-Analysis.” Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities 31, no. 2 (June 2, 2023): 787–801. https://doi.org/10.47836/pjssh.31.2.16.
Page, Matthew J, Joanne E McKenzie, Patrick M Bossuyt, Isabelle Boutron, Tammy C Hoffmann, Cynthia D Mulrow, Larissa Shamseer, et al. “The PRISMA 2020 Statement: An Updated Guideline for Reporting Systematic Reviews.” BMJ, March 29, 2021, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71.
Parveen, Nikhat. “Investigating the Memorization of the Quran Using the Grounded Theory Methodology.” The Qualitative Report 26, no. 7 (July 16, 2021): 2226–44. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2021.4752.
Pilotti, Maura, Halah Alkuhayli, and Runna Al Ghazo. “Memorization Practice and Academic Success in Saudi Undergraduate Students.” Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives 18, no. 1 (February 22, 2022): 19–31. https://doi.org/10.1108/LTHE-08-2020-0030.
Rafiq, Ahmad. “The Reception of the Qur’an in Indonesia: A Case Study of the Place of the Qur’an.” Dissertation, Temple University, 2014.
Rasmussen, Anne K. “The Quran in Indonesian Daily Life: The Public Project of Musical Oratory.” Ethnomusicology 45, no. 1 (2001).
Razi, Fakhruddin ar-. Mafatiḥ Al-Gaib. Vol. XX. XXXII vols. Beirut: Dar Iḥya at-Turas al-‘Arabi, 1999.
Sabrina, Vinni, and Gifa Oktavia. “Eight Supporting Factors for Students’ Success in Quran Memorization.” Khalifa: Journal of Islamic Education 6, no. 1 (2022): 73–101.
Sai, Youcef. “Teaching Qur’an in Irish Muslim Schools: Curriculum, Approaches, Perspectives and Implications.” British Journal of Religious Education 40, no. 2 (May 4, 2018): 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2016.1269723.
Saquib, Nazmus, Juliann Saquib, Abdulrahman Alhadlag, Mohamad Anas Albakour, Bader Aljumah, Mohammed Sughayyir, Ziad Alhomidan, et al. “Health Benefits of Qur’an Memorization for Older Men.” SAGE Open Medicine 5 (December 2017): 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1177/2050312117740990.
Smith, Wilfred Cantwell. What Is Scripture: A Comparative Approach. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993.
Supriono, Iwan Agus, and Atik Rusdiani. “Implementasi Kegiatan Menghafal al-Qur’an Siswa di LPTQ Kabupaten Siak.” Jurnal Isema : Islamic Educational Management 4, no. 1 (August 12, 2019): 54–64. https://doi.org/10.15575/isema.v4i1.5281.
Toenlioe, Anselmus Je. Pendekatan Kualitatif bidang Pendidikan: Landasan, Teori, dan Panduan. Malang: Ahliedia Press, 2021.
Zarqani, Muhammad ‘Abdul ‘Aẓim az-. Manahil Al-‘Irfan Fi ‘Ulum al-Qur’an. Vol. I. II vols. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, 2010.
Zulkifli. Menyusun Tinjauan Pustaka: untuk Skripsi, Tesis, dan Disertasi serta sebagai Artikel Ilmiah. Jakarta: Salemba Humanika, 2020.
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2026-08-31
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Arpah Nurhayat, M., & Amin, M. (2026). Qur’anic Memorization in ‘Ajamic Communities: a Systematic Review of Trends, Challenges, and Functional Reception . AL QUDS : Jurnal Studi Alquran Dan Hadis, 10(2), 471–487. https://doi.org/10.29240/alquds.v10i2.16247
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