Jamaal Ul Qura'an

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Jamaal Ul Qura'an

The importance of Tajweed

The Noble Qur’an is the literal words of Allah that He revealed as an infallible source of legislation for mankind to live an organised life. It contains regulations and recommendations about all aspects of life and references to the Hereafter. Being so important, the Qur’an must be read, written, and recited correctly and clearly, so as not to create any sort of ambiguity or misunderstanding whatsoever. Allah Almighty addressed His Messenger, Muhammad sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam (may Allah exalt his mention), in the Qur’an, Saying (what means): “…And recite the Qur’an with measured recitation.” [Qur’an 73:4]
Listening to the Qur’an being recited correctly is enough to soften even the hardest of hearts. Muslims and non-Muslims alike find it a deeply moving experience, even if they do not understand what is being said. Every Muslim has to recite Qur’an in prayers, but many of us do not realise that reciting the Qur’an correctly while observing the rules of recitation is not an advanced science for expert reciters alone, rather it is an obligation upon each and every one of us whenever we recite the Qur’an.

What is Tajweed?

The Arabic word Tajweed linguistically means “proficiency” or “doing something well”. It comes from the same root letters as the word Jayyid, which means “good”. When applied to the Qur’an, it means giving every letter of the Qur’an its rights and dues of characteristics when we recite the Qur’an, and observing the rules that apply to those letters in different situations. We give the letters their rights by observing the essential characteristics of each letter. We give them their dues by observing the characteristics of each letter that are present in them some of the time and not present at other times.
The Qur’an was revealed with Tajweed rules applied to it. In other words, when the angel Jibreel (Gabriel), may Allah exalt his mention, recited the words of Allah to the Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, he recited them in a certain way and he showed the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, the ways in which it was permissible to recite the Qur’an. So it is obligatory upon us to observe those rules so that we recite it in the way it was revealed.
At the time of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, there was no need for people to study Tajweed because they talked with what is now known as Tajweed, so it was natural for them. When the Arabs started mixing with the non-Arabs and as Islam spread, mistakes in the Qur’anic recitation began to appear, so the scholars had to record the rules. Now, because the everyday Arabic that Arabs speak has changed so much from the Classical Arabic with which the Qur’an was revealed, even the Arabs have to study Tajweed.
The purpose of Tajweed
The Qur’an is the word of Allah, and its every syllable is from Allah. Its recitation must be taken very seriously. The purpose of the science of Tajweed, in essence, is to make the reciter proficient in reciting the Qur’an, observing the correct pronunciation of every letter with the rulings and characteristics which apply to it, without any exaggeration or deficiency. Through this, the reciter can recite the Qur’an according to the way of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, who received it from Jibreel who received it from Almighty Allah in the Classical Arabic language.
Each Arabic letter has a Makhraj (an exit or articulation point from which it originates) and Sifaat (attributes or characteristics). Knowing the Makhraj and Sifaat of each letter is an important part of Tajweed. Sometimes two letters have very similar exits, which makes mixing them up easy. So, if a person does not know the attributes of each letter, he may change the meaning of the words in Qur’an recitation. Observing the rules of Tajweed in reciting prevents the reciter from making mistakes in reciting the Qur’an.

A comprehensive translation of the infamous Tajweed book by Maulana Ashraf Ali Thaanwi