The Noble Quran is the literal words of Allah that He revealed as an

infallible source of legislation for mankind to live an organised life by. It

contains regulations and recommendations about all aspects of life and
references to the Hereafter. Being so important, the Quran 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 (may Allah exalt his mention) in the Quran,
Saying (what means): "…And recite the Quran with measured
recitation." [Quran 73:4]

Listening to the Quran 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 Quran in prayers, but many of us do not realise that
reciting the Quran 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 Quran.

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 Quran, it means giving every
letter of the Quran its rights and dues of characteristics when we recite the
Quran, 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 Quran 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 he recited them in a certain
way and he showed the Prophet the ways in which it was permissible to
recite the Quran. 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 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 Quranic 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 Quran was revealed, even the Arabs have to study Tajweed.

The Purpose of Tajweed

The Quran 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 Quran,
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 Quran according to the way of the
Prophet 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 Quran recitation. Observing the rules of Tajweed
in reciting prevents the reciter from making mistakes in reciting the Quran.

The Ruling of Reading with Tajweed

Imaam Muhammad Ibn Al-Jazari who was a great Quran and Hadeeth
scholar of the 9th Hijri century, stated in his famous poem that details the
rules of Tajweed:
"And applying Tajweed is an issue of absolute necessity, Whoever doesn't
apply Tajweed to the Quran, then a sinner is he."

Hence, applying the rules of Tajweed is an obligation to keep away from

the major mistakes in reciting the Quran.

The scholars have divided the types of mistakes one might fall into when
reciting the Quran into two:
1. Clear mistakes: which usually change obvious things and change the
meaning.

2. Hidden mistakes: for which one may need to study Tajweed rules.

The majority of scholars agree that applying the Tajweed rules of the Quran
such that the clear mistakes are avoided is an individual obligation (Fardh
'Ayn) upon every Muslim who has memorised part or all of the Quran, while
applying the rules of Tajweed to avoid the hidden mistakes is a collective
obligation (Fardh Kifaayah) upon Muslims. That is, there must be some
students of knowledge who have knowledge of that. This is because the
Quran was revealed with the Tajweed rules applied to it, and the
Prophet recited it back to Jibreel in that way and the companions of the
Prophet read it in that way, so it is an established Sunnah (Prophetic
tradition or practice).

The list below shows the type of mistakes under each category:

Clear Mistakes:

Mistakes related to correct pronunciation of letters so that letters are not

mixed up in a way that changes their meaning. Scholars and ordinary
Muslims alike should avoid these.

Examples of Clear Mistakes:

• Changing one letter into another or a short vowel (Harakah) into another
(e.g. changing Fat-hah into Dhammah or the letter Qaaf into Kaaf, etc)

• Not observing the elongations (Madd) at all. Reciting them quickly as if

there is no Madd so that they turn into the length of a vowel.

• Making a Madd letter which out of a normal Harakah.

• Stopping or starting at an incorrect place so that the meaning is spoilt, like

stopping at 'Laa ilaaha' (i.e., there is nothing worthy of worship), without
completing 'illallaah' (except Allah).

Hidden Mistakes:
Mistakes which have to do with perfecting pronunciation and are not
obvious. These are known only by those who have studied Tajweed rules
or are experts in this field. Ordinary Muslims may not know such mistakes
or perceive them to be so.

Examples of Hidden Mistakes:

• Not being totally exact with the elongation of letters: (Making the Madd
shorter or longer by a 1/2 or even 1/4 degree, etc.)

• Not observing the attributes of each letter perfectly: (Slightly rolling the
Raa', or exaggerating the 'N' sound in Noon etc.)

• Not observing the rules with which to pronounce letters when they are
next to each other (like not merging certain letters that should be merged
(Idghaam) and not clearly pronouncing those which should be clearly
pronounced (Ith-haar) etc.)

• Making light letters sound heavy and heavy letters sound light (except if
by doing this one changes a letter into another; in which case it would be
an obvious mistake.)

Among the proofs that the scholars bring to show the obligation of Tajweed
and its being an established Sunnah is that Almighty Allah Says in the
Quran (what mean): "…And recite the Quran with measured
recitation." [Quran 73:4]

There are various Prophetic narrations also showing us the importance of

Tajweed. Umm Salamah, may Allah be pleased with her, was asked about
the recitation of the Prophet and she described it as a recitation:
"Clearly-distinguished, letter by letter".