Bismillah hir Rehman nir Rahim
The Importance of Tajweed
By Sister Fatima Barakatullah
Listening to the Qur'an being recited correctly is enough to soften even the hardest of hearts and Muslims and non-Muslims alike find it a deeply moving experience even if they do not understand what is being said. We feel this even more in Ramadaan when we are in the Taraweeh prayers and we can really feel the difference if we go to a Masjid where the Tajweed rules of Qur'an recitation are not being observed as they should.
Every single Muslim has to recite Qur'an in Salah but many of us do not realise that reciting the Qur'an correctly, 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 word Tajweed linguistically means 'proficiency' or 'doing something well'. It comes from the same root letters as the word 'Jayyid' in Arabic (meaning 'good'): Jeem, Waw and Daal. 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 that never leave it. And 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 (alaihis salaam) 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 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 as Islam spread, mistakes in Qur'an recitation started appearing, 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 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 each letter, without any exaggeration or deficiency. And so through this the reciter can recite the Qur'an upon the way of the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) who received it from Jibreel who received it from Allah (subhanahu wa ta'aala) in the Classical Arabic dialect that it came down in.Arabic letters each have a Makhraj - an exit or articulation point - in the mouth or throat from which they originate and they also each have Sifaat - attributes, or characteristics - particular to them. 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 there is a danger that he will change the meaning of the words in Qur'an recitation. Observing the rules of Tajweed in reciting protects the reciter from making mistakes in reciting the Qur'an.The ruling of reading with Tajweed Muhammad bin Al-Jazaree the great Qur'an and Hadeeth scholar of the 9th Century (Hijri) says in his famous poem detailing the rules of Tajweed: "And applying Tajweed is an issue of
absolute necessity, Whoever doesn't apply Tajweed to the Qur'an, then a sinner is he." Sheikh Zakariyyaa Al-Ansari [died in 926 H.] said in explanation of this verse in his book: Sharh al-Muqaddimah al-Jazariyyaa "It is required to observe all of the Arabic rules in that which changes it and ruins the meaning". So he regarded it as an obligation to keep away from the major mistakes in reciting the Qur'an. The scholars have divided the types of mistakes one might fall into when reciting the Qur'an into two types: 1. Clear mistakes: which usually change obvious things and change the meaning. 2. Unobvious (hidden) mistakes: for which one may need to study Tajweed rules. And the majority of scholars agree that applying the Tajweed rules of Qur'an such that the Clear Mistakes are avoided is an individual obligation (Fard 'Ayn) upon every Muslim who has memorised
part of or all of the Qur'an. As for applying all of the rules of Tajweed and avoiding the Unobvious mistakes then it is (Fard Kifaayah) upon the Muslim ummah. That is, there must be some students of
