Surah Ya-Sin is the 36th surah, with 83 ayat across six pages of the Madani mushaf (pages 440 to 445). It’s one of the most widely recited surahs in the Muslim world, and many people want to know it by heart.
Its short, rhythmic ayat and vivid scenes make it a good surah to memorize. With half a page a day, most people can learn it in about two weeks.
Surah Ya-Sin at a glance
- Surah
- 36
- Juz
- 22 and 23
- Mushaf
- Pages 440 to 445
- Ayat
- 83
- Length
- About 5.6 pages
- Recited in
- about 18 minutes
How many days will it take?
| New lines a day | Days |
|---|---|
| 3 (a few lines) | 28 days |
| 5 (a third of a page) | 17 days |
| 7 (half a page) | 12 days |
| 10 (two thirds of a page) | 9 days |
| 15 (a full page) | 6 days |
Counts days of new memorization on the 84 lines of Surah Ya-Sin. Add revision on top. Make a day-by-day plan.
Test yourself
Memorized Surah Ya-Sin? Find the ayat you’re not sure of.
Quran Memorizer asks you what comes next, which ayah is missing and which look-alike ayah goes where, on the same Madani mushaf pages you learned from. With Premium, Daily Review brings your weakest ayat back first, so you can revise Surah Ya-Sin a little every day.
Free to start, no card needed. On the web or iPhone, choose Surah Ya-Sin as what you want to be tested on.
More on Surah Ya-Sin: How long it takes to memorize · How long it takes to recite · All surah guides
A note on its virtues
You’ll often hear that Ya-Sin is “the heart of the Quran”, and that reciting it is like reciting the Quran ten times. That narration is in Jami’ at-Tirmidhi, but its chain is graded weak (Jami’ at-Tirmidhi 2887), as are several other narrations about specific rewards for Ya-Sin.
That doesn’t make Ya-Sin any less worth memorizing. Every letter of the Quran is rewarded (Jami’ at-Tirmidhi 2910), and Ya-Sin is full of reminders about the Messengers, the signs of Allah in creation, and the Day of Resurrection. Memorize it because it’s the Quran, and because you love it.
The six sections
| Ayat | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1 to 12 | The Quran, the Messenger on a straight path, and those who will not believe |
| 13 to 32 | The people of the town, the messengers sent to them, and the man who came running |
| 33 to 44 | Signs: the dead earth brought to life, night and day, the sun and moon, the laden ship |
| 45 to 54 | Their response, the single blast, and the resurrection |
| 55 to 68 | The people of Paradise, the criminals, and the day their limbs testify |
| 69 to 83 | The Prophet is no poet, the signs of creation, and “Be, and it is” |
Read a translation of each section before memorizing it. The story in ayat 13 to 32 is especially easy to remember once you know the sequence: two messengers, then a third; the people reject them; a man comes from the far end of the city to defend them; he is told to enter Paradise (the commentators say he was killed).
A two-week plan
| Days | New |
|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | Ayat 1 to 12 |
| 3 to 5 | Ayat 13 to 32 |
| 6 to 7 | Ayat 33 to 44 |
| 8 to 9 | Ayat 45 to 54 |
| 10 to 11 | Ayat 55 to 68 |
| 12 to 13 | Ayat 69 to 83 |
| 14 | Recite the whole surah to a listener |
Each day, before your new lesson, recite everything you’ve learned so far in Ya-Sin. That’s how you learn to recite a six-page surah as one piece.
Free tool
Need a slower or faster plan for Ya-Sin? Choose your daily lines and study days and get exact pages for each day. Open the hifz plan generator →
The tricky spots
“And a sign for them”
Three ayat in the middle begin with the same words, وَءَايَةٌ لَّهُمُ (wa ayatun lahum):
- 36:33: the dead earth brought to life
- 36:37: the night stripped of the day
- 36:41: their descendants carried in the laden ship
Remember the order as earth, sky, sea.
The single blast
The phrase “one single blast” (sayhatan wahidatan) appears three times, each with a different ending:
- 36:29: in kanat illa sayhatan wahidatan fa-idha hum khamidun (and they were extinguished), at the end of the story of the town.
- 36:49: ma yanzuruna illa sayhatan wahidatan ta’khudhuhum wa hum yakhissimun (it will seize them while they are arguing).
- 36:53: in kanat illa sayhatan wahidatan fa-idha hum jami’un ladayna muhdarun (and they will all be brought before Us).
Ayat 29 and 53 begin identically. The context tells you which one you’re in: 29 ends a story of destruction, 53 is about the resurrection.
The man who came running
Ya-Sin 36:20 says wa ja’a min aqsal-madinati rajulun yas’a. A very similar phrase in Al-Qasas 28:20 puts the words in a different order: wa ja’a rajulun min aqsal-madinati yas’a. In Ya-Sin, the city comes before the man. If you’ve memorized both surahs, write the two side by side. Memorizing Similar Verses explains the method.
Tips
- Use one reciter. Ya-Sin has a strong rhythm. Choose a clear, measured recitation and follow its rhythm closely.
- Notice the rhymes. Most ayat end in -un or -in. A change in the ending often marks a change of section.
- Picture the page. Six pages, each with clear landmarks. Note which ayah starts each page.
Revising Ya-Sin
Recite Ya-Sin at least weekly once you’ve memorized it, in salah if you can, as a whole or in sections. The Quran Memorizer daily review can bring it back regularly alongside your other surahs, and asking it what comes next after ayat 29 or 53 is a quick way to check the trickiest join.
