Everything you need to know about the Holy Quran Tajweed

The story has started with the expanse of Islam. A lot of non-Arabic speakers have believed in Allah and his messenger, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). It was hard for non- Arabs to pronounce the Holy Quran's language correctly, and with this wave, even Arabs had their pronunciation mistakes.

Although the messenger of Allah, Muhammad, had tried hard to teach as many people as possible what he had learned from Jebreel (peace be upon him), the first person to write a book collecting the Holy Quran's recitation rules was Imam Ibn Al-Jazari and the book name is "Introduction into Tajweed Science." he even wrote two great poems collecting all the rules he had ever known. After that, Abu Ubaid Al Qassem made a great achievement of collecting what Ibn Al-Jazari did and all the other efforts in the field of (How to read the Holy Quran Correctly) in a book called "Qira'at book (the book of recitation)."

So, what is the Quran Tajweed?

You can assume from the previous paragraph that the word (Tajweed) means (Recitation), well, that is partially true. Tajweed is the science of pronouncing the Arabic letters in the Holy Quran exactly as they are, without unnecessary stressing or toning.

Imam ibn Al-Jazari's definition of Tajweed is that it's the science that includes all the necessities for the protection of the tongue from mistakes and by highlighting the most common mistakes one may do while reciting the Holy Quran.

In brief, to read the Holy Quran the perfect way, you need to study Quran Tajweed, especially if Arabic is not your mother tongue. Don't forget what the prophet Muhammad said: "Whenever a group of people assembles in one of the Houses of Allah (i.e. Mosques), reciting the Book of Allah and studying it, tranquility descends upon them, Mercy covers them, angels surround them and Allah makes a mention of them among those who are with Him." (Sahih Muslim)

Also, Allah said: "Or add to it, and recite the Qur'an with measured recitation. {4}" Surah Al- Muzzammil

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What does the Quran Tajweed include?

We have agreed that Tajweed is about pronouncing the Arabic letters ideally, let's dig a little deeper. Tajweed rules include (Permanent and temporary characteristics of the Arabic letters, articulation points of the letters, the relation between the letters, Al-Waqf (the Stop), and Al- Ibtidaa' (the start), joined and separate words, ...etc!). So many rules had been made for us just to read the Holy Quran precisely, and as hard as it may sound, it gets easier when you start.

In a nutshell, Tajweed will help you avoid mistakes

As we said before, Tajweed will help you to recite the Holy Quran flawlessly. However, the scholars have divided the types of mistakes one might fall into when reciting the Quran into two:

1. Clear Mistakes: Pronouncing words in a way that leads to giving the word another meaning, like changing a short vowel (Harakah) into another (e.g. changing Fat-hah into Dhammah or the letter Qaaf into Kaaf, etc) and making a Madd letter which out of a normal Harakah.

2. Hidden Mistakes: Perfect recitation mistakes that are known only by those who have studied Tajweed rules or are experts in this field, like making light letters sound heavy and heavy letters sound light.

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However, what people don't know about Tajweed and recitation is that it has three levels and you can choose whatever you want to ace.

Levels of Recitation

Recitation the Holy Quran with Tajweed has three known levels:

1. At-Tahkqeeq: Perfect slow recitation with the practice of Tajweed rules, without elongation.

2. At-Tadweer: Moderate speed in recitation with the practice of Tajweed rules, without elongation nor merging the letters.

3. Al-Hadr: Quick recitation without merging the letters, ith the practice of Tajweed rules.

Some people prefer "At-Tahkqeeq" level as Allah said in Surah Muhammad: "Then do they not reflect upon the Qur'an, or are there locks upon [their] hearts? {24}" and the slowness in reading helps you fully digest what you're reading. However, others prefer "Al-Hadr" as the

Messenger of Allah said: "Whoever recites a letter from the Book of Allah, he will be credited with a good deed, and a good deed gets a ten-fold reward. I do not say that Alif-Lam-Mim is one letter, but Alif is a letter, Lam is a letter, and Mim is a letter." [Sahih At-Tirmidhi]

We prefer being in between, as Islam is the religion of moderation.

Always Remember that

A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

"One who is proficient in reciting the Qur'an is associated with the noble, pious (angel) scribes. As for he who stammers when reciting the Qur'an and find it difficult for him, he will be granted a double reward" (Sahih Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

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