برنامج التجويد

Knowledge of Tajweed

Definition

Meaning: Bettering and perfection.

Explanation: The science which deals with the rules and structures that must be considered while reciting the Holy Quran, according to traditions of our prophet (peace be upon him), and articulating each word correctly with all their exact attributes, without difficulty or discomfort.

Advantages

Protecting our tongue from making mistakes and having good tone and intonation in reciting All-mighty God's words.

How to learn Tajweed Knowledge

1. Listen to your teacher's recitation, this is a traditional way.

2. Recite before your teacher, while he corrects you.

It's better to try both.

Learners must remember that this knowledge (or skill) cannot be acquired from books. It is vital to refer to experts of Tajweed. There are many details, niceties and rules that couldn't be understood unless with listening and reciting directly.

Also learners must listen to abundant tapes or records of famous and expert Quran Readers. Although this is a supplementary activity, and will not make them needless of attending in Tajweed classes.

Rules

Scholars have different opinions about the proposition learning Tajweed and applying it. There are two main opinions:

First opinion: Says that Tajweed and considering recitation traditional rules and orders without preciosity is recommended while reciting the holy Quran, but it is not obligatory. This is what Islam scholars say.

Second opinion: Learning Tajweed is adequacy duty but reciting according to it is obligatory for all Muslims. This is what most of Tajweed experts believe in.

Tajweed Experts

Most Tajweed experts think that learning Tajweed is an adequacy duty for all Muslims; if some people do it, others will be free to do it or not, but if nobody does it, all would be sinful.

However, acting according to it while recitation, is a vital duty for any mature person, even if he/she doesn't know these rules.

Sheikh Shamsuddin Muhammad bin Al-Jazari, in his book, says:

وَالأَخْـذُ بِالتَّـجْـوِيـدِ حَـتْـــمٌ لازِمُ

مَــــنْ لَــمْ يُـجَـوِّدِ الْـقُـرَآنَ آثِــمُ

لأَنَّــــهُ بِــــهِ الإِلَـــهُ أَنْـــزَلاَ

وَهَـكَـذَا مِـنْـهُ إِلَئئـيْـنَا وَصَــلاَ

وَهُـوَ أَيْـضًـا حِـلَـيـةُ الـتّـِـــلاَوَة

وَزِيْــنَـــةُ الأَدَاءِ وَالْــقِـــــرَاءَةِ

وَهُـوَ إِعْـطَاءُ الْحُـرُوفِ حَقَّـهَـا

مِــنْ صِـفَـةٍ لَـهَـا وَمُستَحَـقَّهَــا

وَرَدُّ كُـــلِّ وَاحِـــدٍ لأَصْـلِــــــــهِ

وَاللَّـفْـظُ فِــي نَـظِـيْـرِهِ كَمِـثْــلـهِ

مُكَمِّـلاً مِـنْ غَـيْـرِ مَــا تَكَـلُّـــفِ

بِاللُّطْـفِ فِي النُّطْـقِ بِاَ تَعَـسُّـفِ

وَلَـيْـسَ بَـيْـنَـهُ وَبَـيْـنَ تَــــرْكِـهِ

إِلاَّ رِيَـاضَــةُ امْـــــرِئٍ بِـفَـكِّـــهِ

Note (Sheikh Abu Muhammad Al-Matiri tells the Ahlul-Hadith members):

The first part of the poem of Ibn-Jazari's has another version which is:

الأَخْـذُ بِالتَّـجْـوِيـدِ حَـتْـــمٌ لازِم

مَــــنْ لَــمْ يُصَحّحِ الْـقُـرَآنَ آثِــمُ

Instead of: يجوّد it says (يُصَحّحِ). Then, as to this version there can be no evidence that Ibn jazari believes in incumbency of Tajweed.

Then, he says: In sum, Tajweed is not a Shariah obligation but some of it is obligatory. Things like: Learning the distinction between letters by learning their attributes or correct pronunciations, because knowledge of Tajweed includes many different levels of importance.

Sheikh Muhammad bin Salih Othaimeen

Sheikh Othaimeen says: " Tajweed is about bettering the utterance and intonation of Quran and is not an obligation. If someone recites with Tajweed to better his recitation (pronunciation and intonation), that will be excellent, but if he does not, there won't be any censure on him or any sin to leave it. In fact, Sheikh criticize the people who focus on the pronunciation and sometimes repeat a word two or three time for the sake of its Tajweed rules, and unfortunately neglect its meaning and substance." (from الشرح الممتع على زاد المستنقع part 4).

Advantages:

What is your opinion about learning Tajweed rules and applying them? Is what has cited from you, to stop on (ة) like in (الزكاة - الصلاة) as the final sound us (ت), true?

He answered: I see no obligation in the application of Tajweed rules that are expanded in Tajweed books. However, I see them for bettering the recitation and improvement or bettering is not considered an obligation. There has been mentioned in Sahih Al-Bukhari from Anas bin Malik (رضی الله عنه) that he respond to a question that how was prophet's (صلی الله علیه و سلم) recitation, that: He recited بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم with prolongation, a prolongation in ((بسم الله, (الرحمن), and (الرحيم).

Prolongation, here, is natural, so this Hadith indicates a supernatural one.

If it is said that: The Tajweed rules detailed in Tajweed books are obligated, the result would be sinfulness of most today Muslims and we would tell who intends to speak in a literary language to apply Tajweed rules in his speech, books, lectures and so on.

Better to know that making obligation needs a proof to get absolved before God, as long as we have obliged people to do what there is no evidence in His book or Prophet (صلی الله علیه و سلم)'s tradition or Muslim's unanimity on it. Sheikh Abdu-r-Rahman bin Sa'di in response to this question clears that Tajweed, which is presented in details in Tajweed books, is not obligatory.

I found words of sheikh-ul-Islam Ibn Taymyah about status of Tajweed, that, at page 50 in vol 16 of "Majmu' Ibn Qasim Lil-Fatawa", he says:

"And do not make most of his effort for the Quranic knowledge which is hidden from most people. Some knowledge like: Scrupulosity in pronouncing letters, thinning, thickening, assimilation, long, short or normal prolongation and so on. In fact, these are heart barriers that disconnect it from reaching to a real conception of God's words.

But what you heard about my stopping on the words like: "الصلاة - الزكاة" and keep the final (ت) sound is not true, but I stop on such words with (ه) sound.

The Permanent Committee of Scientific researches and Ifta'

Question: Is regarding Tajweed during prayers (الصلاة) obligated r not? And why?

Answer: Allah the Al-Mighty has ordered to recite the holy Quran and give each word its deserved attention, and said: ﴿وَرَتِّلِ الْقُرْآنَ تَرْتِيلاً﴾ also our prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) used to recite the holy Quran with "Tarteel", not this and not with rush, but with interpreting and conceiving each word, letter by letter. He used to cut his reciting in verses and to make necessary prolongs, like in the words (الرحمن) and (الرحيم). He also used to take refuge in Allah from the devil firstly.

All success is in Allah's hands, and peace be upon our prophet Muhammad, his family and his companions.

The Permenant Committee of Scientific Researches and Ifta'.

Member: Abdul-lah bin Ghadian, deputy: Abdu-r-Razzaq Afeefi, chief: Abdul-Aziz bin Baz.

Sheikh Abdul-Aziz Bin Baz (رحمه الله)

Imamate of someone who has weak recitation and Tajweed

Question: I inform you that I am the imam in one of mosques in one of Riyadh outskirts. The problem is that I am weak in Tajweed and make many mistakes. I memorize three parts of Quran and some other verses of other chapters. I fear of being sinful for that. Please guide me, shall I continue imamate or I must quit?

Answer: You have to try more in order to memorize as much as you can from Quran. Be hopeful to Allah's aid and support towards you if you have good intentions and tried your best, because Allah says:

﴿وَمَنْ يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجْعَلْ لَهُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِ يُسْرًا﴾and prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) says:

«الماهر بالقرآن مع السفرة الكرام البررة والذي يقرأ القرآن ويتتعتع فيه وهو عليه شاق له أجران».

Anyway, we do not advise you to quit, but to permanent quest, patience and consistency until reach to success in Tajweed and memorizing the whole Quran or as much as you can. God bless you.

"Ad-Dawah" part 1, page 56.

Scrupulosity of correctness in articulating letters and discomfort in producing them

Ibn Qayyem (رحمه الله) says: Sometimes there is scrupulosity in producing letters. Here we present what scholars have pointed out in this case:

Abul-Faraj bin Jawzi says: Iblis (Devil) makes illusions for people while pronouncing letters during their prayers and you may see somebody repeats the word (الحمد) again and again and goes beyond its discipline or there are many people who are uncertain of correct pronunciation the accentual letters and even spit in order to pronounce letter (ض) in the word (المغضوب), since their goal is to pronounce exactly and correctly. Iblis makes these people do more than enough to pronounce a letter and keeps them busy with exaggerating in pronouncing correctly instead of understanding what they are reciting. This scrupulosity is a trick from the devil.

Muhammad bin Qutaybiah in (مشكل القرآن) says: People were reciting Quran with their own dialect, and then came others from far countries with different languages that didn't know Arabic well. They had many errors in pronouncing letters. There was a man, people knew him a very good and righteous man that was popular because of his religiousness. However, I had seen no one with more mistakes in reciting Quran. He pronounced some letters in a way that the same letter was uttered differently somewhere else by him. He brought principles that were in controversy with others without a reason. For many letters he chose places of articulation that were wrong, such as Hijazians and Arabic styles with exaggerating in prolongation, hamzah, saturation, and his poignancy in inclining and Merging letters. He made the learners try a very difficult way of recitation, and changed what Allah defined easy and possible into an impossible and difficult thing; he restricted what was extensive before. It was strange that he himself didn't permit using that way of recitation during prayers. Then what could be the usage of such way of recitation? Ibn Ayniah believed everyone who recited according to that style had to perform his prayer again and many other famous scholars agreed with this opinion; people like Bishr ibn Al-Harith and Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal. Populaces were attracted in his way of recitation just because of its difficulty and hardship which seemed to be a right and divine way of reciting.

So, people thought that it was because of his excellence and skill in recitation. But the recitation of our prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), ancestors, their righteous followers and famous readers (Qari) was something different; it was easy and moderate.

Khalal in "" relates from Abu Abdullah that he said: I don't like reciting of whatnot (one eho Ibn Qutaybiah has pointed to). He hated it a lot and was surprised by his way of reciting Quran. He said: It is strange, whoever listens to you proscribe him from that way. Ibn Mubarak has relted from Al-Rabee' bin Anas that he proscribed him from that recitation. Fazl bin Ziad says a man told Abu Abullah: what should I put aside of his recitation? He answered: Merging and Kasrah, none of them are common in any Arabic dialects and Abdullah, his son, asked him about them (merging and kasr) he answered I hate extreme Kasrah and inclining to kasrah. He also says: if he gives up merger and inclining so much it is fine. Hassan bin Muhammad bin Al-Harith asked him do you dislike it for someone to learn that kind of recitation? He responded: I hate it so much, because it is a newfangled recitation.

Abdu-r-Rahman said: I don't know where this recitation belongs to, their recitation do not seem like Arabic Language. He added if I prayed after someone reciting like that I would repeat my prayer.

إغاثة اللهفان" " (160-1)