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Juz Amma Surahs for Kids: The Order to Learn Them First

Getting started

If your child is ready to start learning the Quran, Juz Amma is the perfect place to begin. Here is a simple, beginner-friendly order — plus what each surah means, so your child understands the words, not just the sounds.

What is Juz Amma?

The Quran is divided into 30 parts called juz. The very last part is Juz Amma — surahs 78 to 114. These surahs are short, rhythmic, and easy to remember, which is why children (and new learners) almost always start here.

There are 37 surahs in Juz Amma. You don't have to learn them in Quran order — most families begin with the shortest ones at the very end and work backward.

There are two good reasons for starting here beyond the length. The first is that these are the surahs children hear most: they come up in prayer constantly, so a child is half-familiar with the sound before any teaching starts. The second is that the vocabulary repeats. The same handful of words carries several of these surahs, so the second and third ones are noticeably easier than the first.

A gentle order for beginners

This order moves from the shortest, most familiar surahs to slightly longer ones. Learn one at a time, and revisit each until it feels easy before moving on.

1. An-Nas — "Mankind" (Surah 114, 6 verses)

A short prayer asking Allah to protect us from harmful whispers. Kids hear it often, so it's a friendly first surah. The same word ends all six verses, which makes it easier than its length suggests. Read the word-by-word meaning of Surah An-Nas →

2. Al-Falaq — "The Daybreak" (Surah 113, 5 verses)

Another short prayer for protection — asking Allah, the Lord of the dawn, to keep us safe. It is recited together with An-Nas, and the two share their opening words, so learn them back to back. Read the word-by-word meaning of Surah Al-Falaq →

3. Al-Ikhlas — "Sincerity" (Surah 112, 4 verses)

Four beautiful verses about who Allah is: One, and like nothing else. Read the word-by-word meaning of Surah Al-Ikhlas →

4. Al-Kawthar — "Abundance" (Surah 108, 3 verses)

The shortest surah in the whole Quran — a lovely early win about the good that Allah gives.

5. Al-Asr — "Time" (Surah 103, 3 verses)

A tiny surah with a big lesson: believe, do good, and encourage each other to truth and patience. Read the word-by-word meaning of Surah Al-Asr →

6. An-Nasr — "The Help" (Surah 110, 3 verses)

About Allah's help and victory, and saying thank you to Him.

7. Al-Fil — "The Elephant" (Surah 105, 5 verses)

Tells the story of how Allah protected the Kaaba from an army with elephants — kids love this one.

8. Quraysh (Surah 106, 4 verses)

A short surah about being thankful to Allah for safety and food.

From here you can continue with Al-Ma'un, Al-Kafirun, and the rest of Juz Amma, adding one surah at a time. There is a longer version of this sequence, with the reasoning behind each step, in our order to learn the short surahs.

How long does this take?

Longer than most parents expect, and that is fine. The first three surahs on this list are the slow ones, because the child is learning how to learn a surah at the same time. After that the pace usually picks up.

A realistic rhythm for a young child is one short surah every one to two weeks, with five to ten minutes of practice on most days and regular revision of everything already learned. Revision is the part people skip, and it is the part that decides whether a surah is still there in six months. We have gone through the arithmetic in how long it takes to memorise Juz Amma.

If the daily habit is the sticking point rather than the memorising, building a daily Quran habit is the more useful place to start.

Tips to help it stick

• Meaning first. When children know what the words mean, the surah becomes a little story they want to remember.
• Little and often. Five focused minutes a day beats a long, tiring session once a week.
• Listen, then repeat. Hearing clear recitation helps pronunciation far more than reading alone.
• Celebrate small wins. Finishing even a 3-verse surah is a real achievement — make it feel like one.
• Revise before you add. Before starting a new surah, run through the previous two. It takes a minute and it is what keeps the earlier ones from quietly disappearing.
• Learn the repeated words on purpose. Words like qul ("say"), min ("from") and rabb ("Lord") turn up again and again in these surahs. Teaching them once makes every later surah shorter. The method is set out in how to learn the Quran word by word.

SurahKids covers all 37 Juz Amma surahs, working backwards from An-Nas, with per-word meaning and audio, flashcards, quizzes and a streak to keep the daily practice going. It also works offline, which matters more than it sounds like it does when the practice slot is a car journey.

Note: surah meanings here are simplified for young children. For study and memorization, please refer to a complete, scholar-reviewed translation.

FAQ

How many surahs are in Juz Amma?

37, running from Surah An-Naba (78) to Surah An-Nas (114). It is the thirtieth and last of the thirty parts the Quran is divided into, and it holds most of the short surahs.

What order should a child learn the Juz Amma surahs in?

Not the order they appear in the Quran. Most families start at the end, with the shortest and most familiar surahs — An-Nas, Al-Falaq, Al-Ikhlas — and work backwards, adding one surah at a time and revising the earlier ones. The list above is one such sequence.

What is the easiest surah for a child to learn first?

An-Nas and Al-Ikhlas are the usual choices. Both are very short, both are heard constantly in prayer, and both are built from words that repeat. Al-Kawthar is shorter still at three verses, and it is a good option for a child who needs an early win.

Should children learn the meaning or just memorise the sounds?

Both, but they do not have to arrive at the same time. Sound usually comes first, simply from listening. Meaning is best added a verse at a time, in plain words, once the recitation is comfortable. Children who know what they are saying tend to hold a surah longer, because it has become something they understand rather than a string of syllables.

How long should a daily session be?

Five to ten minutes for a young child, on most days, beats half an hour once a week. Short and frequent suits both memory and attention span. Stop while the child is still willing rather than pushing to a target.

Does my child need to know Arabic first?

No. Children learn to recite these surahs long before they can read Arabic, and word-by-word meanings let them understand what they are saying in the meantime. Reading Arabic script is worth learning, but it is a separate track and it does not need to come first.