Introduction to Tajwīd
Written by Ustādh Muḥammad Sharīf
Linguistic Definition
The word tajwīd (تجويد) is a maṣdar. It comes on the scale of جَوَّدَ يُجَوِّدُ, meaning to improve or beautify something.
Technical Definition
To recite every letter correctly from its makhraj (place of origination), with all of its qualities.
Purpose of Tajwīd
The objective of tajwīd is to recite the Qurʾān as it was revealed to the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ, giving every letter its due. The aim, in other words, is to recite the Qurʾān exactly as it was revealed to the Prophet ﷺ by the angel Jibrāʾīl, and as he ﷺ in turn recited it to the Companions; recitation is in this way preserved to the present day.
Tajwīd is among the earliest sciences, developed when Islam spread to the non-Arabs. Initially, the Prophet ﷺ recited to the Companions as Jibrāʾīl had taught him, and the Companions in turn recited to their students, the next generation, the tābiʿīn. Most of the imāms of qirāʾah lived in the first and second centuries Hijrī.
It has been related by Saʿīd ibn Manṣūr in his Sunan that a man was reciting the Qurʾān to ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd (raḍ. ʿanhu) and recited1 إِنَّمَا الصَّدَقَاتُ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ. Ibn Masʿūd (raḍ. ʿanhu) said that this was not how the Prophet ﷺ had recited it to him. The man asked, "How did he recite it to you, O Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān?" Ibn Masʿūd (raḍ. ʿanhu) then recited إِنَّمَا الصَّدَقَاتُ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ, with the elongation of the word لِلْفُقَرَاءِ.
The Ruling of Tajwīd
The ʿulamāʾ hold that learning the science of tajwīd is farḍ kifāyah, an obligation upon the community. If anyone in the community learns it, that suffices for everyone, and the science is preserved. To apply tajwīd, however, is farḍ ʿayn: it is obligatory upon anyone who recites the Qurʾān to do so with tajwīd.2
The great imām of qirāʾah and ḥadīth, Ibn al-Jazarī, says:
Ibn al-Jazarī also speaks of the severity of not reciting with tajwīd:
Allāh ﷻ says:
Ibn Masʿūd (raḍ. ʿanhu) comments on the verse: by the One in whose hand my soul is, the right of recitation is to make its ḥalāl lawful and its ḥarām unlawful, to recite it as it was revealed by Allāh ﷻ, and not to twist His words or interpret them by other than their true sense.3
Allāh ﷻ says in Sūrat al-Muzzammil:
Tartīl is explained in the following narration:
Al-Rāghib al-Aṣfahānī notes that tartīl literally means to put together and arrange the components of a word or speech well, making them distinct.4
Al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī reports that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ passed by a man who was reciting a verse of the Qurʾān and weeping. The Prophet ﷺ said to those present, "Have you heard the command of Allāh, وَرَتِّلِ الْقُرْآنَ تَرْتِيلًا (and recite the Qurʾān clearly with tartīl)? This is the tartīl this man is doing."5
Its Subject
The science of tajwīd generally comprises three aspects:
- Makhārij al-Ḥurūf: articulation of the letters correctly.
- Ṣifāt al-Ḥurūf: qualities of the letters.
- ʿIlm al-Waqf: knowledge of how to stop correctly.
In terms of qirāʾah, the following can be added:
- Qirāʾāt al-Mutawātirah: the ten styles of recitation.
- Rasm al-Khaṭṭ: preserving the exact written form. For example, in the Qurʾān the word al-Raḥmān is written as الرَّحْمَٰنُ rather than الرحمان; the Qurʾānic spelling is adopted so as not to depart from the khaṭṭ of the Qurʾān.
Virtues of Recitation
Approach to Studying the Qurʾān
When studying the Qurʾān, prioritise and apply the most important rules of tajwīd first.
There are two types of mistake: major and minor.
Major Mistakes
- To recite one letter in place of another: if someone reads كلب, meaning a dog, instead of قلب, meaning a heart, the meaning is altered. Removing the quality of heaviness from a letter can change it into a different letter and so change the meaning of the word.
- To add a letter to a word: if, instead of الحمد للله, one elongates the letters د and ه, the recitation becomes الحمدو لللهي, adding a و and a ي to the word.
- To delete a letter from a word: if, instead of لم يولد, one fails to elongate the ي, the recitation becomes لم يلد, omitting a letter.
- To recite a ḥarakah in the place of another.
- To recite a ḥarakah in the place of jazm.
Minor Mistakes
- Missing the rules of mīm sākin or nūn sākin and tanwīn, such as ikhfāʾ, iẓhār, idghām, and iqlāb.
- Not stretching for the correct length: elongating only one ḥarakah in place of three, for example.
- Slips in the temporary qualities of letters, such as failing to round the mouth when there is a fatḥah or ḍammah over ر.
In general, any rule which does not produce a major mistake but affects the beauty of recitation is a minor one.
By this categorisation, the student should prioritise what to learn and apply first. Eliminate the major mistakes from your recitation, then turn to refining the minor ones.
Qurʾān recitation is a practical skill that has to be developed. The only way to develop it is to study with a teacher who can hear your mistakes and help you correct them.
Etiquettes of Reciting the Qurʾān
To take the fullest benefit from reciting the Qurʾān, the following are observed:
- Perform wuḍūʾ; this is farḍ, since it is impermissible to touch the Qurʾān without it.
- Use a miswāk to ensure the mouth is clean and free of odours, such as garlic.
- Show respect to the Qurʾān by placing it higher than where you are sitting.
- Sit facing the qiblah in a dignified manner.
- Apply ʿiṭr.
- Hold the correct intention to please Allāh.
- Recite durūd upon the Prophet ﷺ.
- Recite taʿawwudh (اعوذ) and tasmiyah (بسم الله). It is wājib to recite taʿawwudh at the start of every recitation, since Allāh says6: فَإِذَا قَرَأْتَ الْقُرْآنَ فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ ("So when you recite the Qurʾān, seek refuge in Allāh from Satan, the expelled"). Saying the tasmiyah is sunnah before beginning a sūrah, except for Sūrat al-Tawbah.
- Recite with a melodious voice; it has been narrated, زَيِّنُوا الْقُرْآنَ بِأَصْوَاتِكُمْ ("Beautify the Qurʾān with your voices") (Abū Dāwūd).
- Recite as one aware of Allāh, knowing that He is listening; give the recitation your undivided attention.
- Read the Qurʾān correctly with tajwīd, as set out above.
- When verses of mercy or of Jannah are recited, ask Allāh for Jannah; when verses of punishment or of Jahannam are recited, seek refuge from them. (Muslim and Aḥmad.)