1. Make it a daily habit: In the beginning carve out only 2-3 minutes per day (pretty low commitment right?). That's less than the time you spend scrolling through social media! Every month or so increase this time interval. As you learn more and become more comfortable, you'll spend more time with the Quran. But even on the days that you're very busy, go back to spending 5 minutes rather than skipping it entirely. It's rude to skip a date - make this your date with the Quran.

2. Learn Arabic: Start with the letters if you need to. Learn one letter a day. If you know the letters, work on stringing the letters to read words, and if you read very well, just keep practicing. It may be helpful to find a tutor or go to the masjid for courses. There's a lot of online resources and online tutors so you can do it on your own schedule. You want to learn Allah's message from the source, and the source is in Arabic - so it's an essential step! You need Arabic to "crack the code."

3. Read the Quran in Arabic: When I first started, I had a really hard time - I was very slow and a whole page could take me an hour. Don't get intimidated! Again, start small with just a word, then a verse/aya, etc. You can listen to audio online or on an app and just repeat until you get the hang of it. Once you get the basics down, you can get an introduction to Tajweed so you read the Quran properly.

4. Read translation: Unless you're a native Arabic speaker or very fluent, you will probably need translation. Read the translation of one verse a day, and do more depending on your comfort level. Then, challenge yourself to read 5 verses, then half a page, then a full page. It's important to read the Quran in Arabic, but what's more important is to understand the meaning and use what you learned in your daily life! Imagine reading the manual for an Ikea furniture, but then never putting the book shelf together!

5. Pair the Arabic with translation: The best feeling is being able to read the Quran in Arabic and understand what it's saying without translation. I would say this is one of the most time consuming steps. One tip I have is to take notes in a journal or make sticky notes about the translation. Some resources online even have "word for word" translation when you hover on the word!

6. Listen to Tafsir: MashAllah there are so many resources and scholars you can learn from to understand the meaning and the stories of the Quran. Listen on Youtube or listen to a podcast on your drive. Your love and understanding of the Quran will just continue to grow! Also you can do this step while doing the other ones above!

7. Just keep growing: Allah SWT created the Quran to guide us! It's not just something you read once, and then you're done! Everytime I read the Quran I learn something new, even if I've read the sura/chapter several times before. You can practice your Tajweed, start memorizing, and even teaching the Quran. Use the Quran you're memorzing while you pray, and continue to research and learn about Islam. The Quran is your guide through life - the more you spend with it, the more you will gain inshAllah!