وبعد: فالإنسان ليس يشرف *** إلا بما يحفظ ويعرف

A person is not honoured or raised
Except by what he knows and has memorised

لذاك كان حاملو القرآن *** أشراف الأمة أولى الإحسان

For that reason the bearers of Qur’an
Are the nobles of this Ummah and its righteous

وإنهم في الناس أهل الله *** وإن ربنا بهم يباهي

And they are the people of Allah amongst Mankind *
And indeed our Lord has boasted of them

وقال في القرآن عنهم وكفى *** بأنه أورثه من اصطفى

He spoke of them in the Qur’an, and it is sufficient
That He gives it (the Qur’an) to those He has chosen **

وهو في الأخرى شافع مشفع *** فيه وفوله عليه يسمع

And in the Hereafter, it is an ardent intercessor
And its statement is something surely heard

يعطى به الملك مع الخلد إذا *** توجه تاج الكرامة كذا

By it a person is given the dominion and immortality
And likewise, he is given the crown of honour

يقرا ويرقى درج الجنان *** وأبواه منه يكسيان

He’ll read and ascend the ranks of Paradise by it
And his parents will also be clothed by it

فاليحرص السعيد في تحصيله *** ولا يمل قط من ترتيله

So let a person strive to attain it
And let him never tire of its recitation.

Taken from: Companion of Qur’aan

Please remember us in your du’aas in this blessed month. Baarakallaahu feekum.

This first video is discussing the common mistakes found in recitation. It is the first of 115 videos and we hope, by the Will of Allaah, to upload a new video for you guys every two weeks. Please be patient with us if we take a little longer. Baarakallaahu feekum.

Beautify the Qur’aan with your voices (for a fine voice increases the Qur’aan in beauty). [Bukharee]

And He, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam also said:

He who does not recite the Qur’aan in a pleasant tone is not of us. [Bukhaaree and Abu Daawood]

When we hear a beautiful recitation, our hearts become softened and inclined towards the Qur’aan. This is why the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam, praised the Sahaabah who had excellent recitation and he also said;

Truly the one who has one of the finest voices among the people for reciting the Qur’aan is the one whom you think fears Allah when you hear him recite. [Daarimee and at-Tabaraani]

And regarding this Allaah, the Exalted, has said:

وَرَتِّلِ الْقُرْآنَ تَرْتِيلًا

And recite the Qur’aan (aloud) in a slow, (pleasant tone and) style. [al-Muzammil 73:4]

الَّذِينَ آتَيْنَاهُمُ الْكِتَابَ يَتْلُونَهُ حَقَّ تِلاَوَتِهِ

Those (who embraced Islaam from Banu Israaeel) to whom We gave the Book [the Taurât (Torah)] [or those (Muhammad's Peace be upon him companions) to whom We have given the Book (the Qur’aan)] recite it (i.e. obey its orders and follow its teachings) as it should be recited (i.e. followed), [al-Baqarah 2:121]

These Ahaadeeth and aayaat indicate that it is an obligation to recite with Tajweed. Muhammad ibn al-Jazari, the great author of the poem al-Jazariyyah (known as the Tajweed poem because it summarizes all the rules of Tajweed in one poem) said concerning Tajweed:

“And applying Tajweed is an issue of absolute necessity,

Whoever doesn’t apply Tajweed to the Qur’aan, then a sinner is he.”

[Al-Muqaddimah feemaa ‘alaa qaari’ihi an ya’lamah]

Imaam ibn al-Jawzee, rahimahullaah, adds to this in his commentary of the following aayah:

وَقَالَ الرَّسُولُ يَا رَبِّ إِنَّ قَوْمِي اتَّخَذُوا هَذَا الْقُرْآنَ مَهْجُورًا

And the Messenger (Muhammad SAW) will say: “O my Lord! Verily, my people deserted this Qur’aan (neither listened to it, nor acted on its laws and orders). [al-Furqaan 25:30]

He said that this aayah may have two possible meanings. Firstly, that they did not believe the Qur’aan or practice its teachings. Or secondly, that the people recited the Qur’aan in an unpleasant manner and thus made the Qur’aan sound like some useless speech. We find the latter to be a very common practice of the Muslims nowadays. They recite the Qur’aan with no presence of the heart or mind, but rather their mouths move mechanically while their hearts are asleep so they do not benefit from its admonitions. Or you will find that you go to the Masjid to pray in congregation and the Imaam will recite so fast that you can barely make out what he is saying! How can we be so disrespectful to the Qur’aan when we know it is the words of Allaah and our Lord is speaking to us through it? Allaah says in the Qur’aan:

إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَذِكْرَى لِمَن كَانَ لَهُ قَلْبٌ أَوْ أَلْقَى السَّمْعَ وَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ

Verily, therein is indeed a reminder for him who has a heart or gives ear while he is heedful. [Qaaf 50:37]

It has reached us in many narrations that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam, would recite in a slow, rhythmic tone. He gave every single letter its due right and his heart was always present and humbled by the Speech of Allaah and so it moved him to tears because the message of the Qur’aan is so powerful that even the mountains, which possess no soul, cannot bear it:

لَوْ أَنزَلْنَا هَذَا الْقُرْآنَ عَلَى جَبَلٍ لَّرَأَيْتَهُ خَاشِعًا مُّتَصَدِّعًا مِّنْ خَشْيَةِ اللَّهِ

Had We sent down this Qur’aan on a mountain, you would surely have seen it humbling itself and rending asunder by the fear of Allaah. [al-Hashr 59:21]

إِنَّا عَرَضْنَا الْأَمَانَةَ عَلَى السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَالْجِبَالِ فَأَبَيْنَ أَن يَحْمِلْنَهَا وَأَشْفَقْنَ مِنْهَا وَحَمَلَهَا الْإِنسَانُ إِنَّهُ كَانَ ظَلُومًا جَهُولًا

Truly, We did offer Al ­Amânah (the trust or moral responsibility or honesty and all the duties which Allaah has ordained) to the heavens and the earth, and the mountains, but they declined to bear it and were afraid of it (i.e. afraid of Allaah’s Torment). But man bore it. Verily, he was unjust (to himself) and ignorant (of its results). [Al-Ahzaab 33:72]

Tajweed involves studying the correct pronunciation of the Arabic letters, observing and applying their characteristics as well as the rules of recitation that are associated with each letter. It is in essence a practical science rather than a theoretical one and so one cannot study it simply from reading books. Although purchasing a book to teach you the Tajweed rules is recommended and helpful, it will not necessarily guarantee that you will apply those rules practically in the correct way in which they were intended. It is essential for anyone wanting to learn Tajweed to find himself a teacher who can correct his recitation and show him how to recite correctly. This was the way of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam, who learnt the Qur’aan with Tajweed from Jibreel, ‘alayhis-salaam. It was also the way of the Sahaabah who took it orally from the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam, and in this way, the Qur’aan has been transmitted from generation to generation and preserved in the hearts of the Believers.

During the time of the Sahaabah there was no need to define the rules of Tajweed because the Qur’aan was their mother tongue and they knew quite well how to recite it. However, as Islaam began to spread over the earth, the non-Arab Muslims, due to their foreign tongue, corrupted the meaning of the Qur’aan by not pronouncing the letters or reciting correctly. So to preserve the beauty and meaning of the Qur’aan, the scholars took it upon themselves to define the rules of Tajweed for careful study so as to not corrupt the eternal message it carries.

Therefore, a serious student of the Qur’aan, one who is serious about memorising Allaah’s Book should study Tajweed along the way because the correct recitation of the Qur’aan is more incumbent upon him than anyone else. Learning Tajweed will also aid your memorisation and consolidation of the Qur’aan a great deal. This is because you will become more proficient in your recitation and thus you will recite in a more rhythmic, melodious tone and as a result of this, you will become more familiar with the rhythmic pattern of the chapters in the Qur’aan.

So to re-emphasise what has been mentioned earlier, you must find a teacher in order to learn Tajweed. You may then invest in a book or audios that will teach you the rules of Tajweed to further your understanding of what you learn with your teacher. There are many books available on the market in Arabic and also for non-Arabs. The best book I have come across in English is ‘Tajweed Rules of the Qur’aan’ by Kareema Carol Czerepinski which is available in a three part series. There is also a website based on this book and you can visit it at www.abouttajweed.com.

It is also helpful to listen to audios of a proficient reciter (especially the four mentioned in our previous posts) and listening attentively to how they apply the rules.

Another useful tool for learning Tajweed is the poem by Imaam al-Jazari known as al-Jazariyyah. Nowadays, this poem can be found recited melodiously on tapes. It is useful to memorize this poem and study it as it serves as a very quick reference of the Tajweed rules. There is also a simpler poem similar to it called Tuhfat-al-Atfaal which is also available in melodious recitation. InshaaAllaah we will upload the text of these poems along with their audios and relevant study material in the near future.

1. Knowledge and correct application of the articulation points of the Arabic letters (known as makhaarij)
2. Knowledge and correct application of the characteristics of the letters (known as sifaat)
3. And knowledge of the rules to be applied to each letter when reciting based on the letter/s that precede it or come after it.

Therefore we can see that two thirds of Tajweed is based on perfecting the pronunciation of the letters of the Arabic alphabet. Even if someone doesn’t know the rules of recitation, understanding the knowledge of makhaarij and sifaat goes a long way towards improving your recitation and dramatically changes it. The only way to really acquire and master this knowledge is to study it under someone who is qualified (i.e. has an ijaazah in tajweed) as you can hear from them exactly how it should sound and they can listen to you and pinpoint the exact errors you are making on an individual basis and can direct you to how to rectify your mistakes. Native Arab speakers who have not studied Tajweed still make many mistakes in articulating the letters.

Perfecting makhaarij can take longer for some than others and most people find themselves struggling repeatedly with certain letters such as the letter ض which is without a doubt the most trouble-some letter for the majority of Qur’aan students. The key is to not give up and to practice as often as possible. Listen attentively to the qualified recitors we mentioned in a previous post, and pay attention to the sound of the letters. With time, hard work and du’aa, it will become easy for you InshaaAllaah.

We are currently working on a project to produce a poster in the English language that demonstrates visually the articulation points of the letters. We’re also working on translating a series of videos by the Eminent Shaykh Ayman Rushdi Swayd in which he discusses extensively the topic of makhaarij. We hope to make these available for all the readers of this blog InshaaAllaah very soon.

In the meantime, we have found some good material online that can help start you off. The first is a set of visual images similar to the ones we are working on for the poster.

Secondly, there is an excellent series of podcasts online by Khaled Bouchafaa on the makhaarij of the letters in English. These can all be downloaded and viewed from his website at the following link:

http://tajweedinenglish.com/watch-the-video/watch-the-video/watch-makharij-videos.html

There is also a good video on youtube that you can listen to and hear what the Arabic letters should sound like. Please note the order in which the letters have been recited in the video is not what you normally see and has been deliberately ordered in this way to group togethers of similar articulation points together.

Finally, here is a useful flash application designed by a brother. Please note though that the illustrations are incorrect for the following letters;  ج , ح , د , ر , ش , ص , ض , ط , ظ , ع , ك