Quran classes for kids in Columbia
From Wilde Lake to River Hill, your child can start reading with their own teacher this week, online and one-on-one, even while local maktab places are full.
Start with a free class. From then on, $100 a month and $75 for each brother or sister.
Columbia at a glance
- Families
- Children 4 to 14 in all ten villages, from Wilde Lake and Harper's Choice to Long Reach and Kings Contrivance.
- ZIP codes
- 21044, 21045 and 21046, plus River Hill's 21029 (Clarksville addresses).
- Classes
- Two 30-minute one-on-one classes a week on Zoom, set in Eastern Time.
- Nearby masjids
- MFC Gateway Masjid on Columbia Gateway Drive and Dar Al-Taqwa on Route 108.
- Teacher
- One teacher for every child in the family; ask for a man or a woman.
- Cost
- Free first class, then $100 a month for one child and $75 per sibling.
When the maktab is full
Columbia was founded on June 21, 1967 as a planned city, and 104,681 people lived in it at the 2020 census. Its Muslim families lean on two centers. The Muslim Family Center runs a maktab for ages 6 to 14 at its Gateway Masjid, on weekends or Monday and Wednesday evenings. For 2026-27, registration is closed and new families join a waitlist.
MFC's second masjid, on Waterloo Road, has also been closed for construction since September 14, 2026, so the Gateway building is carrying the community's daily prayers for now. Dar Al-Taqwa, on Route 108 at Columbia's northern edge, runs a Sunday school from 9 to 1 for ages 5 to 16.
If your child is on a waitlist, they don't have to wait to start reading. Our classes need no classroom seat: two short one-on-one sessions a week at home, and if a maktab place opens later, your child can take it too.
Ten villages, one teacher
Columbia's villages each have their own centers and schools, and families across them keep very different hours. Online classes ignore all of that. Whether you live by Lake Kittamaqundi in Town Center or out in Owen Brown, your child meets the same teacher at the same time each week.
That teacher works with every child in your family. A 5-year-old on the Noorani Qaida and a 12-year-old revising Juz Amma get separate half-hour classes, and you read one weekly note that covers them both.
Masjids serving Columbia
Columbia families pray and learn at these centers. Times and openings change often, so check each one directly.
- MFC Gateway Masjid (Muslim Family Center)7168 Columbia Gateway Dr, Columbia, MD 21046Daily prayers and the MFC maktab (ages 6 to 14). 2026-27 maktab registration is closed, with a waitlist.Website
- MFC Waterloo Masjid5796 Waterloo Rd, Columbia, MD 21045Closed for construction since September 14, 2026; MFC is raising funds to reopen it.Website
- Dar Al-Taqwa10740 Route 108, Ellicott City, MD 21042On Columbia's northern edge. Sunday school 9 am to 1 pm for ages 5 to 16, $55 a month.Website
Taken from each center's own website in November 2026. Iqra at Home is an independent online school and isn't part of any center listed.
A Columbia week, for example
Two children, one on the MFC waitlist, learning at home in the meantime. You'll choose your own times with the teacher.
- Mon4:30 pm · Ali, Qaida lesson 12
- TueSwim lessons
- Wed4:30 pm · Ali, then Huda at 5:00
- ThuCentral Library
- FriJumu'ah
- Sat10:00 am · Huda, Juz Amma revision
- SunSunday school
Columbia parents ask
Is there a Quran class for kids in Columbia, MD with space now?
Iqra at Home teaches online, so there's no waiting for a classroom seat. Book a free class and your child can start within days, in any of Columbia's ten villages.
We're on the MFC maktab waitlist. Should we wait?
You don't have to. Start with us now, and if MFC offers a place later, your child can do both or keep whichever suits your family.
Can your teacher follow Dar Al-Taqwa's Sunday school book?
Yes. Send the teacher a photo of the page or the surah your child is on, and the weekday classes will work from the same place.
Do you cover River Hill and Dorsey's Search?
Yes. Every Columbia village is covered, including River Hill with its Clarksville addresses and Dorsey's Search with its Ellicott City ones.
How much for two children?
$175 a month in all, made up of $100 for the first child and $75 for the second. You pay nothing for the first class.