The importance of Tajweed

The Noble Quran is the literal words of Allaah 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. Allaah
Almighty addressed His Messenger Muhammadin 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(recited the words of Allaah to
the Prophet Muhammadhe recited them in a certain way and he showed the
Prophetthe 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 Prophetthere 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 Allaah, and its every syllable is from
Allaah. 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 Prophetwho received it from
Jibreel who received it from Almighty Allaah 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-Jazariwho 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 Prophetrecited it back to Jibreel
in that way and the companions of the Prophetread 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 Allaah(.
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 Allaah
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 Salamahwas asked about the recitation of the
Prophetand she described it as a recitation: "Clearly-distinguished,
letter by letter".