How Long Does It Take to Recite the Quran? Every Surah and Juz, Timed

Surah Al-Mulk takes about 7 minutes to recite at a steady pace. Ya-Sin takes about 18, Al-Kahf about half an hour, and Al-Baqarah a little over two hours. Read the whole Quran and you’re looking at roughly 30 hours, give or take ten depending on how quickly you recite.

Those aren’t guesses. We measured the complete recordings of 11 well-known reciters on quran.com, ayah by ayah, so every number on this page is real minutes from real recitation. Below you’ll find every surah and every juz, what a page takes, an explorer where you can pick your own reciter, and the full data to download.

How we timed it

Reading speed varies so much from person to person that a single number would be misleading. So we used three reference points, one for each common pace, from the full recordings on quran.com:

• Quick: Saud ash-Shuraim, a former imam of Masjid al-Haram, whose recitation is fluent and brisk.
• Steady: Mishary Rashid Alafasy, probably the most widely heard reciter today.
• Slow: Mahmoud Khalil al-Husary, whose deliberate recitation many learners memorize with.

The times are rounded, and they include the basmala where the recording has one. Where do you fit? If you recite aloud with tajweed at a comfortable pace, you’ll probably land near the steady column. Silent reading is faster, often quicker than the quick column. And if you’re still sounding out words, expect the slow column or a bit beyond. That’s normal, and it changes fast once you read every day.

If you’re reciting these from memory, test your hifz on the surah first. You’ll see where you hesitate before you time yourself.

Recitation times for every surah

Quick is Saud ash-Shuraim, steady is Mishary Alafasy and slow is Mahmoud Khalil al-Husary, from their complete murattal recordings. Times are rounded and include the basmala where the recording has one. To see any of the 11 reciters, use the explorer further down.

Surah	Ayat	Quick	Steady	Slow
1. Al-Fatihah	7	35 sec	46 sec	48 sec
2. Al-Baqarah	286	1 hr 27 min	2 hr 1 min	3 hr 20 min
3. Ali ‘Imran	200	47 min	1 hr 20 min	1 hr 55 min
4. An-Nisa	176	52 min	1 hr 19 min	1 hr 55 min
5. Al-Ma’idah	120	40 min	1 hr 3 min	1 hr 33 min
6. Al-An’am	165	43 min	1 hr 12 min	1 hr 45 min
7. Al-A’raf	206	48 min	1 hr 20 min	1 hr 48 min
8. Al-Anfal	75	18 min	30 min	42 min
9. At-Tawbah	129	36 min	1 hr	1 hr 26 min
10. Yunus	109	24 min	45 min	59 min
11. Hud	123	27 min	46 min	55 min
12. Yusuf	111	25 min	42 min	57 min
13. Ar-Ra’d	43	13 min	20 min	27 min
14. Ibrahim	52	13 min	20 min	28 min
15. Al-Hijr	99	9½ min	16 min	23 min
16. An-Nahl	128	25 min	42 min	58 min
17. Al-Isra	111	21 min	33 min	50 min
18. Al-Kahf	110	21 min	33 min	48 min
19. Maryam	98	13 min	21 min	25 min
20. Taha	135	17 min	27 min	38 min
21. Al-Anbya	112	16 min	26 min	37 min
22. Al-Hajj	78	17 min	29 min	42 min
23. Al-Mu’minun	118	15 min	25 min	35 min
24. An-Nur	64	18 min	33 min	45 min
25. Al-Furqan	77	13 min	20 min	29 min
26. Ash-Shu’ara	227	19 min	33 min	50 min
27. An-Naml	93	16 min	28 min	43 min
28. Al-Qasas	88	20 min	34 min	52 min
29. Al-‘Ankabut	69	14 min	23 min	34 min
30. Ar-Rum	60	11 min	19 min	29 min
31. Luqman	34	7 min	11 min	19 min
32. As-Sajdah	30	5 min	8 min	14 min
33. Al-Ahzab	73	18 min	27 min	40 min
34. Saba	54	12 min	17 min	25 min
35. Fatir	45	11 min	16 min	24 min
36. Ya-Sin	83	10 min	18 min	24 min
37. As-Saffat	182	13 min	24 min	34 min
38. Sad	88	11 min	18 min	25 min
39. Az-Zumar	75	16 min	27 min	39 min
40. Ghafir	85	16 min	26 min	39 min
41. Fussilat	54	12 min	19 min	25 min
42. Ash-Shuraa	53	11 min	19 min	28 min
43. Az-Zukhruf	89	12 min	20 min	31 min
44. Ad-Dukhan	59	5½ min	9½ min	14 min
45. Al-Jathiyah	37	7 min	11 min	18 min
46. Al-Ahqaf	35	8½ min	16 min	19 min
47. Muhammad	38	7½ min	12 min	18 min
48. Al-Fath	29	8½ min	12 min	17 min
49. Al-Hujurat	18	5½ min	8½ min	13 min
50. Qaf	45	5½ min	9½ min	13 min
51. Adh-Dhariyat	60	5 min	9 min	11 min
52. At-Tur	49	4½ min	8 min	10 min
53. An-Najm	62	5 min	8 min	11 min
54. Al-Qamar	55	5 min	8 min	12 min
55. Ar-Rahman	78	6 min	12 min	17 min
56. Al-Waqi’ah	96	6½ min	12 min	17 min
57. Al-Hadid	29	8 min	14 min	18 min
58. Al-Mujadila	22	7 min	10 min	16 min
59. Al-Hashr	24	6 min	10 min	14 min
60. Al-Mumtahanah	13	4½ min	7½ min	10 min
61. As-Saf	14	3 min	5 min	7 min
62. Al-Jumu’ah	11	2½ min	3½ min	5½ min
63. Al-Munafiqun	11	2½ min	4 min	6½ min
64. At-Taghabun	18	3½ min	5½ min	8½ min
65. At-Talaq	12	4 min	6 min	9 min
66. At-Tahrim	12	3½ min	6 min	9½ min
67. Al-Mulk	30	4½ min	7½ min	11 min
68. Al-Qalam	52	4½ min	7½ min	11 min
69. Al-Haqqah	52	4½ min	6½ min	8 min
70. Al-Ma’arij	44	3½ min	5 min	7 min
71. Nuh	28	3 min	4½ min	7 min
72. Al-Jinn	28	4 min	5½ min	8½ min
73. Al-Muzzammil	20	3 min	4 min	6 min
74. Al-Muddaththir	56	3½ min	5½ min	7½ min
75. Al-Qiyamah	40	2½ min	3½ min	5 min
76. Al-Insan	31	3½ min	5 min	8½ min
77. Al-Mursalat	50	3 min	4½ min	7½ min
78. An-Naba	40	3 min	4½ min	6½ min
79. An-Nazi’at	46	2½ min	4 min	6½ min
80. ‘Abasa	42	2 min	3½ min	4½ min
81. At-Takwir	29	1½ min	2 min	3½ min
82. Al-Infitar	19	1 min	2 min	3 min
83. Al-Mutaffifin	36	2½ min	5 min	6½ min
84. Al-Inshiqaq	25	1½ min	2½ min	3½ min
85. Al-Buruj	22	1½ min	3 min	4 min
86. At-Tariq	17	52 sec	1½ min	2 min
87. Al-A’la	19	59 sec	1½ min	2½ min
88. Al-Ghashiyah	26	1 min	2 min	3½ min
89. Al-Fajr	30	2 min	3½ min	5½ min
90. Al-Balad	20	1 min	2 min	3 min
91. Ash-Shams	15	47 sec	1 min	2 min
92. Al-Layl	21	57 sec	1½ min	2½ min
93. Ad-Duhaa	11	34 sec	55 sec	1½ min
94. Ash-Sharh	8	19 sec	34 sec	52 sec
95. At-Tin	8	29 sec	59 sec	1 min
96. Al-‘Alaq	19	53 sec	1½ min	2½ min
97. Al-Qadr	5	20 sec	36 sec	56 sec
98. Al-Bayyinah	8	1 min	2 min	3 min
99. Az-Zalzalah	8	32 sec	50 sec	1½ min
100. Al-‘Adiyat	11	38 sec	1 min	1½ min
101. Al-Qari’ah	11	32 sec	53 sec	1½ min
102. At-Takathur	8	26 sec	53 sec	1 min
103. Al-‘Asr	3	12 sec	20 sec	30 sec
104. Al-Humazah	9	29 sec	48 sec	1 min
105. Al-Fil	5	21 sec	39 sec	47 sec
106. Quraysh	4	17 sec	33 sec	40 sec
107. Al-Ma’un	7	23 sec	48 sec	57 sec
108. Al-Kawthar	3	9 sec	16 sec	23 sec
109. Al-Kafirun	6	20 sec	45 sec	54 sec
110. An-Nasr	3	16 sec	25 sec	38 sec
111. Al-Masad	5	19 sec	32 sec	44 sec
112. Al-Ikhlas	4	9 sec	13 sec	25 sec
113. Al-Falaq	5	15 sec	24 sec	37 sec
114. An-Nas	6	20 sec	41 sec	46 sec
The whole Quran	6,236	18 hr 9 min	29 hr 34 min	42 hr 37 min

Look at how wide the gap is. Al-Husary takes more than twice as long as Ash-Shuraim over Al-Baqarah, so when someone tells you a surah takes “about an hour”, it’s worth asking at what pace.

How long does it take to read one page or one juz?

The Madani mushaf has 604 pages. Spread the whole-Quran times across them and a page works out at roughly 2 minutes at a quick pace, 3 at a steady pace and a little over 4 at a slow one. Pages aren’t all equal (some open a surah with a heading, and the ayat in Juz Amma are short), but it’s a reliable rule of thumb.

A juz is about 20 pages, so it takes around 35 minutes quickly, an hour at a steady pace, and closer to an hour and a half slowly. That hour is why so many people plan a Ramadan khatm as one juz a day.

Every juz, timed

Juz don’t all take the same time, even though most are 20 pages. Juz 30 has short ayat and quick rhythms, and some juz are full of long legal ayat. Here’s each one at the three paces. For which surahs each juz holds, see the 30 juz of the Quran.

Juz	Starts at	Quick	Steady	Slow
Juz 1	Al-Fatihah 1:1	37 min	52 min	1 hr 22 min
Juz 2	Al-Baqarah 2:142	36 min	50 min	1 hr 27 min
Juz 3	Al-Baqarah 2:253	36 min	56 min	1 hr 23 min
Juz 4	Ali ‘Imran 3:93	34 min	58 min	1 hr 26 min
Juz 5	An-Nisa 4:24	36 min	54 min	1 hr 16 min
Juz 6	An-Nisa 4:148	35 min	55 min	1 hr 23 min
Juz 7	Al-Ma’idah 5:82	39 min	1 hr 4 min	1 hr 32 min
Juz 8	Al-An’am 6:111	37 min	1 hr 2 min	1 hr 28 min
Juz 9	Al-A’raf 7:88	36 min	60 min	1 hr 20 min
Juz 10	Al-Anfal 8:41	34 min	58 min	1 hr 24 min
Juz 11	At-Tawbah 9:93	36 min	1 hr 4 min	1 hr 26 min
Juz 12	Hud 11:6	38 min	1 hr 5 min	1 hr 21 min
Juz 13	Yusuf 12:53	38 min	1 hr 1 min	1 hr 23 min
Juz 14	Al-Hijr 15:1	35 min	58 min	1 hr 21 min
Juz 15	Al-Isra 17:1	37 min	57 min	1 hr 28 min
Juz 16	Al-Kahf 18:75	36 min	58 min	1 hr 13 min
Juz 17	Al-Anbya 21:1	33 min	56 min	1 hr 19 min
Juz 18	Al-Mu’minun 23:1	37 min	1 hr 4 min	1 hr 29 min
Juz 19	Al-Furqan 25:21	38 min	1 hr 2 min	1 hr 35 min
Juz 20	An-Naml 27:56	35 min	1 hr	1 hr 31 min
Juz 21	Al-‘Ankabut 29:46	35 min	56 min	1 hr 27 min
Juz 22	Al-Ahzab 33:31	37 min	55 min	1 hr 22 min
Juz 23	Ya-Sin 36:28	38 min	1 hr 6 min	1 hr 34 min
Juz 24	Az-Zumar 39:32	35 min	57 min	1 hr 21 min
Juz 25	Fussilat 41:47	38 min	1 hr 3 min	1 hr 36 min
Juz 26	Al-Ahqaf 46:1	38 min	1 hr 2 min	1 hr 26 min
Juz 27	Adh-Dhariyat 51:31	37 min	1 hr 7 min	1 hr 31 min
Juz 28	Al-Mujadila 58:1	37 min	57 min	1 hr 25 min
Juz 29	Al-Mulk 67:1	39 min	60 min	1 hr 27 min
Juz 30	An-Naba 78:1	33 min	55 min	1 hr 22 min

Minutes per page and per juz, by reciter

If you know which reciter you follow, this is the quickest way to plan. Sorted from fastest to slowest:

Reciter	One page	One juz (average)	Whole Quran
Saud ash-Shuraim	1.8 min	36 min	18 hr 9 min
Abdur-Rahman as-Sudais	2.1 min	42 min	21 hr 2 min
Hani ar-Rifai	2.5 min	51 min	25 hr 18 min
Abu Bakr ash-Shatri	2.6 min	52 min	25 hr 47 min
Yasser ad-Dosari	2.6 min	52 min	25 hr 54 min
Khalifa al-Tunaiji	2.7 min	55 min	27 hr 29 min
Al-Minshawi (murattal)	2.9 min	58 min	28 hr 48 min
Mishary Alafasy	2.9 min	59 min	29 hr 34 min
Abdul Basit (murattal)	3.1 min	1 hr 1 min	30 hr 44 min
Mahmoud Khalil al-Husary	4.2 min	1 hr 25 min	42 hr 37 min
Al-Husary (teaching recording)	4.7 min	1 hr 35 min	47 hr 35 min

Pick your reciter

Choose any of the 11 recordings and see every surah or every juz. Type a name to jump to it.

Download the data

The full table, every surah and every juz for all 11 recitations in minutes, is free to download as a spreadsheet: quran-recitation-times-by-surah-and-juz.csv. You’re welcome to use it in your own planners, articles or apps. Please link back to this page when you do.

How long does it take to read Surah Al-Baqarah?

About two hours at a steady pace, and anywhere from an hour and a half to three hours and twenty minutes overall. It’s the longest surah by a distance, close to two and a half juz, and very few people read it in one go.

A comfortable way to finish it over three days is about 40 minutes a day at a steady pace, stopping at the end of a page each time. If you’d rather do it in two sittings, break at ayah 142. That’s where the second juz begins, with the passage about the change of qiblah, and it gives you a natural place to pause.

How long does it take to read Surah Al-Kahf?

About half an hour at a steady pace, and 21 to 48 minutes overall. It runs from page 293 to page 304, which is a lot to fit into a busy Friday if you try to do it all at once.

It’s easier to split it by its four stories: the People of the Cave, the man with two gardens, Musa and Al-Khidr, and Dhul-Qarnayn. At a steady pace each part takes 8 to 10 minutes, which slots neatly after the daily prayers. By Asr you’re done without ever setting aside half an hour.

Read next: the first 10 ayat of Al-Kahf, the part most people memorize first.

How long does it take to read Surah Ya-Sin?

About 18 minutes at a steady pace, 10 to 24 minutes overall. Ya-Sin runs from page 440 to page 445. Its ayat are short and rhythmic, so it reads more quickly than its six pages suggest.

Read next: how to memorize Surah Ya-Sin, with a two-week plan.

How long does it take to read Surah Al-Mulk?

About 7 minutes at a steady pace, 4 to 11 minutes overall. Thirty ayat over a little more than two pages makes it one of the easiest surahs to turn into a nightly habit, and plenty of people read it before they sleep.

Once you know it by heart, reciting it from memory takes about as long as reading it. That makes it ideal for revision in salah: two rakahs, Al-Mulk split between them, and you’ve checked the whole surah without opening the mushaf.

How long does it take to read Surah Al-Waqi’ah and Ar-Rahman?

Each takes about 12 minutes at a steady pace, and roughly 6 to 17 minutes overall. They sit next to each other in the mushaf, so if you like to read them together, set aside about 25 minutes.

How long does it take to read Surah Yusuf?

About 42 minutes at a steady pace, 25 to 57 minutes overall. Yusuf is one continuous story, and it reads best that way, but it’s long for a single sitting. A good place to break is ayah 53, where the 13th juz begins.

How long does it take to read the whole Quran?

About 30 hours at a steady pace, and 18 to 43 hours overall. Over a month, a steady pace comes to almost exactly an hour a day. Over a year, it’s under five minutes a day. Put that way, a khatm is less daunting than it sounds.

If you only have 10 minutes

Here’s a number that surprised us: at a steady pace, 64 of the 114 surahs take under 10 minutes each. A few that fit easily into one short sitting:

• Al-Mulk, about 7 minutes
• As-Sajdah, about 8 minutes
• An-Naba, about 5 minutes
• Al-Muzzammil, about 4 minutes
• Al-Jumu’ah, about 3 minutes

Ten minutes a day comes to about five hours a month, which is roughly a sixth of the Quran at a steady pace. You don’t need a free afternoon, just the same ten minutes each day.

What changes your time

Four things, mostly. Whether you read aloud or silently is the biggest: silent reading is quicker, while reading aloud with tajweed brings you down to a reciter’s pace. Fluency matters too. If you’re still learning to read Arabic, each page takes longer, though that improves faster than most people expect.

Then there are the pauses. Stopping to reflect on an ayah, check a meaning or repeat a line all add time, and in a memorization session that’s exactly what you want. Finally, the rules themselves take time. A long madd or a properly held ghunnah can’t be rushed, and a slow, correct recitation is always better than a fast, sloppy one.

Reading time and memorizing time

Reading a surah and memorizing it take very different amounts of time. Al-Mulk takes 7 minutes to read but usually a week or more to memorize well, and that’s before revision. If memorizing is your goal, have a look at how long it takes to memorize each surah, which covers the same surahs with day counts at three different paces.

Start with the minutes you actually have today. Seven minutes every night adds up to far more than waiting for a free hour.