بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
The following is a study on what the scholars say about Tajweed:
Click here to download the Word Document
Copyright (C) 1437/2016
Click here to download the Word Document
Contents
Introduction
Part 1: What
is Tajweed
1.1
The Meaning of Tajweed
1.2
Recitation of the Qur’aan in the Sunnah
1.3
Why is Tajweed not mentioned in the Qur’aan
or Sunnah?
1.4
Proofs used in some Tajweed Books
1.5
Elements Involved in Reciting the Qur’aan
1.6
The Prohibition of ‘Singing’ the Qur’aan
Part 2: What
the Scholars Say about Tajweed
2.1 Shaykhul
Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah (d.728H)
2.2 Al
Imaam ibnul Qayyim (d. 751H)
2.3 Ibnul
Jazaree (d. 833H)
2.4 Shaykh
Bin Baaz (d. 1420H)
2.5 Shaykh
al ‘Uthaymeen (d. 1421H)
2.6 Shaykh
Fawzaan
2.7 Shaykh
Al Albaanee (d. 1420H)
2.8 Shaykh
Muqbil (d. 1422H)
2.9 Shaykh
Sulaymaan ar Ruhaylee
2.10 Shaykh
Muhammad Umar Bazmool
2.11 Shaykh
Alee Hudhayfee
2.12 Dr.
Ayman Swayd
2.13 Dr.
Musaa’id at Tayyaar
Summary of the Scholars’ Opinions
Part 3: Obligatory
and Recommended Aspects of Tajweed
3.1 The
Meaning of Obligatory and Recommended
3.2 Obligatory
Aspects of Tajweed
3.3 Recommended
Aspects of Tajweed
3.4 Points
Regarding the Arabic Language
Conclusion
Further Reading
Copyright (C) 1437/2016
Discussions about Tajweed:
Shaykh Muqbil
Shaykh Al Albaani
Then see the pdf and powerpoint regarding the Prohibited Ways of Reciting the Qur'aan that follows for more details by the other scholars.
Tajweed[1]
Shaykh Muqbil bin
Haadi al Waadi’ee
Question: Are there any proofs in the legislation
for the rules of tajweed such as idghaam (merging letters), ikhfaa’ (hiding
letters), and measuring the length of mudood (lengthening vowels)?
Answer: The rules of tajweed are beautifying the
voice and tarteel.
{أَوْ زِدْ عَلَيْهِ
وَرَتِّلِ الْقُرْآنَ تَرْتِيلًا}
Or add to it, and recite the Qur'an with
a measured recitation. [al Muzzammil 73:4]
This is something
desired. Likewise in the hadeeth narrated by Abu Hurayrah رضي الله عنه which is recorded in Bukhaaree and Muslim.
The Prophet of Allaah صلى الله عليه وسلم
said, “Allaah does not listen to anyone as He listens to a Prophet enhancing
his voice with Qur’aan and reciting it beautifully.” Meaning that Allaah
listens to a Prophet beautifying his voice whilst reciting the Qur’aan.
In another hadeeth
recorded in Aboo Daawood, in his Sunan, Sa’d bin Abee Waqqaas said that the
Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, “Whoever does
not beautify his voice when reciting the Qur’aan is not of us.”
In another hadeeth
the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم used to recite with
madd (lengthening the vowels). Mu’aawiyyah heard the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم reciting whilst on his riding animal the
year of the Conquest and he was saying ‘aaa’ meaning that whilst he was
reciting he lengthened the long vowel. So they said that it is possible the
Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم lengthened the vowels
(intentionally) or it is possible that it was due to the movement of the camel.
As for categorizing the lengthened vowels to 6, 4, 2 or 1 counts then there is
nothing in the texts to indicate this. This is the same for idghaam (merging
certain letters). Idghaam is found within the Arabic language. However, going
to extremes in idghaam takes it out of the language. The same is for
overzealous stretching. Sometimes if you listen to Abdul Basit you do not know
whether he is singing or whether it is the Qur’aan. Why? Because he
overstretches the sounds.[2]
To sum up, reciting
the Qur’aan with tarteel (slow measured tones) is something desirable. A man
came to Ibn Mas’ood and said, “I recited the Mufassal Suwar[3]
last night.” So ‘Abdullaah Ibn Mas’ood said “Quickly, like poetry?” Meaning
quickly and without reflecting upon it.
Likewise reflecting
(tadabbur) upon the Qur’aan,
{أَفَلَا
يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ أَمْ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبٍ أَقْفَالُهَا}
Then do they not reflect upon the Qur'an,
or are there locks upon [their] hearts?
[Muhammad
47:24]
As for affecting
eloquence and going to extremes (tanattu’), Ibnul Qayyim mentioned in his book
‘Ighaathatul Lahfaan’ that some of these reciters would repeat suratul Faatihah
for a month, and that spit would fly from their mouths whilst reciting. Why?
Because he would recite according to one of the Qiraa’aat (10 fixed methods of
recitation). Anyway, this is considered something to take you away from
reflecting upon the meanings of the Qur’aan. Allaah Says,
{أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ
الْقُرْآنَ أَمْ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبٍ أَقْفَالُهَا}
Then do they not reflect upon the Qur'an,
or are there locks upon [their] hearts?
[Muhammad
47:24]
And Allaah’s Aid is
sought.
Tape: Questions from
the Emirates
*************************************************
Question: Is it true that learning the Science of
Tajweed is compulsory upon every Muslim because the author of the book on
Tajweed says it is compulsory and uses as proof the aayah which carries the
meaning ‘And recite the Qur’aan with a measured recitation’?
Answer: Tajweed is not compulsory (waajib). The
meaning of the aayah
{أَوْ زِدْ عَلَيْهِ
وَرَتِّلِ الْقُرْآنَ تَرْتِيلًا}
Or add to it, and recite the Qur'an with
a measured recitation. [al Muzzammil 73:4]
Is recite ‘clearly’.
Do not babble and swallow, slur or merge the letters into each other. As for
the statement of Ibnul Jazaree:
“And learning Tajweed is an absolute
necessity,
Whoever
does not recite Qur’aan with tajweed is a sinner,
Because the Qur’aan was sent down by
Allaah,
And
this is how it came from Him to us.”[4]
This statement is
not correct. Bukhaaree and Muslim recorded that ‘Aaisha رضي الله عنها said that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said,
One who is
proficient in the Qur'an is associated with the noble, upright, recording
angels; and he who falters in it, and finds it difficult for him, will have a
double reward.
As for the
encouragement to beautify your voice then this is something desirable. Al
Baraa’a bin Aazib رضي الله عنه said that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, “Beautify the Qur’aan with your voices.”
Sa’d bin Abee Waqqaas said, “Whoever does not beautify the Qur’aan is not from
us.” (yataghanna) means (yuhassinu) to beautify.
Likewise in the
hadeeth narrated by Abu Hurayrah رضي الله عنه
which is recorded in Bukhaaree and Muslim. The Prophet of Allaah صلى الله عليه وسلم said, “Allaah does not listen to anyone as
He listens to a Prophet enhancing his voice with Qur’aan and reciting it
beautifully.”
In conclusion,
beautifying your voice following the rules of the Arabic language is something
desired. Some overzealous tajweed teachers used to teach us. One of them said,
“Even the Arabs themselves used to read their poetry with tajweed.” Then he
recited a line of poetry for us….. pronouncing the ba with an echo (qalqalah),
merging the tanween with ‘wow’ (idghaam)[5].
So someone said to him, “O shaykh, where is the chain of narration that Amr al
Qays read the line of poetry how you recited it?” Ibnul Qayyim in his book
Ighaathatul Lahfaan considered this going to extremes in tajweed as one of the
plots of shaytaan. He said that some of the reciters would repeat suratul
Faatihah for about 40 days. He also mentioned that some reciters would recite
and it would look like they were vomiting (due to the excessive effort to
pronounce words). Their cheeks would become inflated and their faces go red as
if they were vomiting.
It can be said that
people are on two opposing sides: either excess or negligence. Some people do
not even try to beautify their voices and then others go to excesses such as
‘Abdul Baasit. If you heard him recite when you are far away you would not know
whether it was singing or reciting the Qur’aan. The salaf, pious predecessors,
used to criticise this going to excesses. Some aspects of Hamza’s Qiraa’ah
(Fixed Method of Reciting) was criticized. Even some of our salaf said that the
Qiraa’ah of Hamzah was bid’ah, an innovation in the book called ‘Al Meezaan’.
So going to excesses
in tajweed is blameworthy and on the other hand not paying any attention to it
is also negligence. A person should go and learn from someone who is skilled in
tajweed and benefit from him. As for believing that it is obligatory then no.
Shawkaani, may Allaah have mercy upon him mentioned in his book Al Badr at
Taali’ in his biography of Muhammad bin al Wazeer that some of them mentioned a
science that was for dabbling in. So those who came later took this science as
an essential one.
Be that as it may,
benefit from those who know tajweed and seek to learn it and stick to the
Arabic language. The Qur’aan was revealed in the Arabic language and it was not
revealed in a foreign one. Nor was it in the Dammaj dialect, the Aden or
Hadrami dialect, not the American dialect. You cannot read the Qur’aan in these
languages. What is necessary is to read the Qur’aan in Arabic as it was
revealed.
Some people say that
tajweed is taken from the chains of narration back to the reciters (of the 10
qiraa’aat) and then back to the Prophet صلى الله عليه
وسلم . So we say to them where are those chains of narration? Some
say the mudood are lengthened for 1, 2, 4 or 6 vowel counts. It is confirmed
from the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم
that he used to lengthen the vowels when reciting. So you recite by lengthening
and recite as Allaah has ordered you to.
Some people go to
extremes even in ikhfaa’ (hiding certain letters) until they become idghaam
(merging).
{قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ
الْكِتَابِ لَا تَغْلُوا فِي دِينِكُمْ}
“Say O people of the Scripture. Do not
exceed the limits in your religion” [Maa’idah
5:77]
We should be eager
to recite like the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم
, the Companions and the Salaf. There is an enormous difference between a
person who mumbles the recitation of the Qur’aan and the one who recites it
clearly and beautifully. You are affected by the Qur’aan that is recited
beautifully. It is recorded in the Saheeh that a man came to Ibn Mas’ood and
said, “I recited the Mufassal Suwar[6]
last night.” So ‘Abdullaah Ibn Mas’ood said “Quickly, like poetry?”
The affair is taking
a middle path. The ruling is in the aayah
{أَوْ زِدْ عَلَيْهِ
وَرَتِّلِ الْقُرْآنَ تَرْتِيلًا}
Or add to it, and recite the Qur'an with
a measured recitation. [al Muzzammil 73:4]
Meaning recite
clearly each letter and each word is clear. Some imams are not able to read the
du’aa of opening in the salah. He says takebeer then surah al Faatihah then a
surah after it. This is playing around and not being serious. The best guide is
that of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم
in salah, in all forms of worship, relationships and also beliefs.
Taken from Qam’ al
Mu’aanid vol. 2 p434-436
Fatwa 178
What is the ruling
on imitating the voices of the reciters?
Shaykh Muqbil: I advise that you do not imitate them as
this could busy you so that you neglect reflecting upon the Qur’aan. Allaah
says,
{أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ
الْقُرْآنَ أَمْ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبٍ أَقْفَالُهَا}
Then do they not
reflect upon the Qur'an, or are there locks upon [their] hearts?
[Muhammad 47:24]
A person could busy
himself in imitating the voice of so and so. What is worse than that is that a
person may imitate someone who can hold his breath until he finishes an aayah
but he cannot do it and he may go to excesses and harm himself. Having said
this, it does not reach the limit of being prohibited but I do not advise
people to imitate reciters.
[1]
Translated by Umm ‘Abdir Rahmaan Tara Hashim 1437AH/2015CE.
[2]
Translator’s Note (TN): Overstretching or ‘tamteet’ is considered a mistake
according to the tajweed specialists anyway and not part of the correct way to
recite Qur’aan. Many reciters fell into studying Arab musical rhythms called
‘maqaamaat’ and applied it to the recitation of the Qur’aan in the name of
‘beautifying the Qur’aan’. These reciters sometimes changed or left out tajweed
rules to fit the rhythm sometimes committing grave mistakes like adding vowels
or removing them to match their chosen musical pattern. The scholars of the
past and present have criticised this and said that it was not allowed. See the
article called…… which discusses this point in detail.
[3]
TN: Qaaf to Naas, just over 4 juz.
[4] In
another version verified by Dr. Ayman Swayd the poem reads “Whoever does not
correct his recitation of the Qur’aan is a sinner” (من لم يصحح القرآن
آثما ) instead of (من لم يجود القرآن آثما
) ‘Whoever does not recite the Qur’aan with tajweed is a sinner’ .
[5]
TN: meaning that he read the poetry with the rules of tajweed.
[6]
TN: Qaaf to Naas, just over 4 juz.
Shaykh Muqbil Click here for PDF
***************************************
A Discussion about Tajweed[1]
by Shaykh al Albaanee
Silsilah al Huda wan Noor (tapes 372 and 373)
Questioner: There
is a lot of talk about the practice of well known tajweed rules known as
idghaam (merging certain letters together), ikhfaa’ (hiding certain letters)
and different types of mudood (lengthening vowels) among others. Some people
say that these rules are obligatory and say that whoever does not learn them
and practise them is sinful. While others are negligent and do not see it as
important. The question is this, firstly what is your opinion on those who say
that it is obligatory and whoever leaves it is sinful? Secondly, what is the
basis in the legislation for these rules and the proofs from the Qur’aan,
Sunnah and narrations of the pious predecessors (salaf)? It is recorded that
some of the salaf or the imaams disliked imaalah (pronouncing an ‘a’ vowel
leaning towards a ‘ya’ vowel).
Shaykh: You
mean the Method of Reciting according to Imaam Hamzah[2]?
Questioner: Yes.
And some of them disliked idgham ath thaqeel[3].
There is also speech from the later imaams such as Dhahabee and others about
those people who go to excesses when reading the Qur’aan and pronouncing the letters.
The ruling on going to excesses also needs to be clarified. We need to give a
comprehensive answer to this question so that Allaah may benefit us.
Shaykh: I say, and with Allaah lies success, that the
rules of reciting and tajweed according to me are the rules found in the Schools
of Thought (madhaahib). Some of these rules have proofs in the Qur’aan and
Sunnah and some from the consensus of the ummah. Yet others are through analogy
(qiyaas) and interprepretation (ijtihaad). Analogy and interpretation are
subject to being correct or incorrect. This is in terms of their origins. So
now in terms of their ruling. Some of these tajweed rules, as is not hidden
from you, are compulsory. Someone who does not follow them and leaves them is
sinful. Some rules are from the Sunnah whereby if a person follows them they
are rewarded and if he leaves them he is not punished. Some of these rules are
an innovation (bid’ah) and opposite to the Sunnah. Especially those that have
come from the latter scholars, who because they became tired of following the
same rules, started to enhance them which is an innovation. These same
divisions of the science of tajweed rules can be found in the science of fiqh
rulings. Unfortunately, I have not found a chapter in the hadeeth books
regarding this matter that you have asked me about. So in order for a person to
be upon clarity he needs what the fiqh scholar needs with regards to legislated
rulings in terms of knowledge of tafseer and hadeeth, the text and the chain of
narration. This is in order for him to distinguish which has evidence and which
does not. Secondly, he should know the rulings of issues which deal with the
Qur’aan and Sunnah. He must be knowledgeable of the Book and Sunnah and
narrations of the salaf. This is the easy way for a hardworking student of
knowledge to arrive at the legislated rulings in fiqh. As for applying this to
the rulings in the Science of Tajweed then this is very difficult. Therefore, I
say that we must have scholars specialising in tajweed. We do have tajweed
specialists alhamdulillaah, however according to my knowledge they are not
salafee like the specialist scholars in legal rulings. With these kind of
specialists we could ask your question. Do all these tajweed rules have a proof
from the Book and Sunnah? Also, are all these rules obligatory so the one not
practising them becomes sinful or are there rules which are obligatory and
others that are recommended? Such that if you left the recommended rules you
would not be taken to account nor punished like in the first category (which
are obligatory). A skilled salafee scholar would be able to answer this
question.
I believe that the rules of recitation, the tajweed
rules are learned from teacher to student orally (talaqqee). Tajweed rules are
not taken directly from books like fiqh rulings can be when there is no shaykh well-grounded
in the Book and the Sunnah to learn from.
I, for example, am not a specialist in the
science of tajweed and I cannot claim what I do not have. I say for example,
that the (madd tabee’ee) natural lengthening of a vowel (2 counts) is
obligatory. I can say this but I cannot give a fatwa ruling on it just in case
a tajweed specialist has a proof that is binding upon a recitor to lengthen the
madd muttasil 4, 5 or 6 counts. There might be a specialist with proof binding
me to recite how we used to recite to our scholars there when we completed the
Qur’aan. As for saying this is obligatory or this is recommended and not
obligatory then we leave this to the experts in this field. We see some of the
students of knowledge shouldering the Science of Hadeeth with amazing
enthusiasm, however, they neglect the other sciences such as the Science of Tafseer
and the Science of Tajweed. These hadeeth specialists in this science of
Tajweed would be a new contribution to the science of tajweed because the
tajweed scholars today do not have a salafee understanding that they should
return each issue to the Book of Allaah and the Hadeeth of the Messenger of
Allaah (صلى الله عليه وسلم). So they do not try
and distinguish is this Qiraa’ah authentic or not or is this rule compulsory or
recommended. It does not concern them. If a generation of salafee youth came forward
and specialized in the study of the Sciences of Tajweed it would be a cause as
I said before to a good contribution to this science which the scholars have
differed upon. Especially in this country and even more specifically the
country of Najd. The country of Najd before Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhaab’s coming
was not mentioned. It was unknown. For this reason they were not known for
specialist scholars in every science. And following on from this they were not
known for scholars like the ones residing in Egypt, Syria, Jordan or even
Pakistan and so on who perfected their recitation of the Qur’aan according to
the tajweed rules. This is regardless of its ruling or proofs. No doubt you
have heard that I went on ‘Umrah and over the past two months when we prayed in
some of the masaajid there we noticed a marked difference between some of the
imams. Some of them recited very well and I could tell that they had studied
how to recite this way from tajweed scholars. Whilst other imams recited like
ordinary people and did not recite the Qur’aan well. So the goal is that people
who are grounded in salafee da’wah should become tajweed specialists in order
to put forward an answer to this question. I am completely certain that it is
obligatory upon a person who does not have knowledge of a given issue to follow
someone who does have knowledge of it.
To give an example relating to Rulings in the
Sharee’ah. It is not for the common man to say ‘no this is not correct’ and
‘this is not logical’. No! “Ask the people of knowledge if you do not know.”
Those scholars of tajweed in this science are the people of knowledge. So if
someone says for example that all the tajweed rules are obligatory and all of
them have been passed down from our shuyookh one to another, it is obligatory
upon the rest of us to follow them in what they say. The matter is the same
with the legislated Rulings. Every Muslim should know the legislated rulings by
studying them. However, if he is unlearned and he asks a scholar who gives him
a ruling and he acts on it but if he acts contrary to that then he is sinful. Due
to the saying of Allaah “Ask the people of knowledge if you do not know.” [Al
Anbiyaa :7]. He is not a scholar who can ask himself and takes it upon himself
to issue a ruling based upon ignorance. Therefore, this is not allowed in legal
rulings. He should ask the people of knowledge. The same is not allowed with
tajweed rules. A person must ask the people of knowledge. Just like with the
legislated rulings, if a person asks a scholar and acts upon it then later it
becomes clear that this fatwa goes against the proofs in the Book and the
Sunnah, then he should go back to the proofs from the Qur’aan and Sunnah. The
scholars of tajweed should also ask and give rulings based on what they know whether
they are right or make a mistake and firstly it is between them and their Lord.
Secondly, with regards to us, we follow them because we do not have a choice.
Do we leave these specialized tajweed scholars and follow our own ignorance in
this matter? So it is upon us to follow until something appears which goes
against the legislated proofs and then we do not follow them in that.
For example, today the reciters differ in
practice. Some of them stop at the end of each aayah. With Surah al Faatihah
they will stop at the end of each aayaah and this is from the Sunnah as you
know. However, other reciters do not do that and they join one aayah to another
without stopping especially if the following aayah completes the meaning of the
first one. So they join the aayaat as they see that as obligatory. The proof
for what they do is found in the copies of the Qur’aan that are printed even up
until today, especially those from Istanbul (Turkey). We find the sign (لا) which means do not stop. An example is
{الَّذِينَ هُمْ
عَن صَلَاتِهِمْ سَاهُونَ} {فَوَيْلٌ لِّلْمُصَلِّينَ}
So woe to those who pray. But who are heedless of their prayer.
[al Maa’oon 107:4-5].
Due to this sign in this mushaf the majority of
people do not stop because they understand this issue using intellect and
meaning. What is the view of the scholars of tajweed and qiraa’ah regarding
this example? The strongest opinion according to the majority is that one aayah
is not connected to the other because it goes against the Sunnah. However those
in recent times who do not give importance to studying the tajweed rules in the
light of what comes in the Sunnah say “No, the strongest opinion is to connect
the aayah with the one following it as long as stopping on the aayah changes
the meaning.” So in this instance we can differ from the majority of reciters
today and say that joining two aayaat is against the Sunnah and that stopping
(at the end of each aayah) is Sunnah. So now what is the ruling of a person who
connects one aayah to another and does not stop? Is he sinful or is he someone
who has left a Sunnah which he is not punished for but is rewarded if he does
act upon it? Here I want a person, a teacher who knows the tajweed rules and
the proof of this ruling. He is the one who can give you an answer to the
second question. We say that the Sunnah is stopping at the end of each aayah
but what is the ruling of connecting the aayaat. We do not know because we have
not found an answer to this question from the Sunnah. However, it is possible
that the tajweed specialist can find an answer to this question.
Another example is that some recitors say
‘Allaahu Akbar’ between the short suwar such as ad Duhaa [93:11] onwards. It
also does not have any origin from the Sunnah.
Questioner: Although
they say that it is mutawatir by chain of narration (passed down orally
generation after generation).
Shaykh: This
comes under what I mentioned previously, that we need someone to study this.
Who is able to say that this is mutawaatir? A scholar who knows the science of
the Qiraa’aat and tajweed similar to the scholar who studies the evidences of
different issues from the Book and Sunnah.
Questioner: How
can we prove this chain of narration O Shaykh?
Shaykh: By
talaqqee – learning the Qur’aan one person passing it down to the other
throughout the ages. I say that this issue needs specialists who know the
principles of differing and searching out the correct position from what
scholars differ upon. There are many rules. You gave the example of idghaam
(merging certain letters) among others. Did the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) really practise idghaam? It needs to be
studied and if it is confirmed that he (صلى الله عليه
وسلم) did it then secondly we need to study what is the ruling on
it? I could say that it is possible that this rule of ghunnah is like the
ruling of the rites of hajj and that the origins is that it is obligatory
unless there is an evidence to say it does not exist in some rites of hajj. So
I say that the foundation in which the Prophet (صلى
الله عليه وسلم) read the Qur’aan or the way he (صلى
الله عليه وسلم) read it is obligatory because this is how the Qur’aan was
revealed. This is how Jibreel عليه السلام passed it on orally to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). So the foundation is that it is
obligatory unless there is proof against it showing that it is not obligatory.
Today we prayed asr in that masjid. I could not read Surah al Faatihah or even
half of it in the last two rak’aat (units of prayer). I sat down and wondered
how this imam was reading the Qur’aan. It’s a problem. It is obligatory upon
these imaams to learn the recitation of the Qur’aan from the people of
recitation then after if he is able to research the rulings on these rules to
see if they are fard or Sunnah (obligatory or recommended). This honestly needs
a specialist and I’m not a specialist, however, I’ve given you these guidelines
generally speaking. An ignorant person must copy and imitate someone who can
teach him how to read Qur’aan. If after that it seems that he heard wrongly you
clarify it with proofs. This is similar to matters in the legislated rulings.
This is what I am able to say regarding this question.
Questioner: Nowadays
many people especially the youth who have learned these tajweed rules from a
teacher when they hear an esteemed and noble scholar recite Qur’aan without
practising these tajweed rules they criticise them. These scholars might not
have learned these rules like they did. So when the scholar does not practise
idghaam or ikhfaa’ etc. they criticise him, his status reduces in their eyes
and may even lead to them criticising his knowledge. So it does not only stop
at the tajweed rules. I personally think that it comes from their teachers who
taught them tajweed that these rules are obligatory upon every single person
and he is sinful for leaving them. These noble scholars who are well known for
their knowledge may practise these rules but not like those who go to excesses.
These scholars do not commit mistakes where they change the letters from their
origins but maybe they leave some of the lengthening (mudood) which does not
affect the meaning. This is a real growing problem. We need your guidance on
this matter also.
Shaykh: As
I said before I see that the shuyookh in Najd really did not have specialized
reciters to learn from like Ibnul Jazaree[4]
for example. Ibnul Jazaree was a muhaddith like Ibn Katheer and a Faqeeh like
the famous Nawawee. He specialized in Shaafi’ee fiqh. In addition to that he
was a specialist in reciting the Qur’aan and indeed the Ten Qiraa’aat (Methods
of Recitation). And he wrote a book about this. Those scholars we mentioned
should read his books on tajweed, like al Jazariyyah[5] When
I was a youth I read the Qur’aan to my Father, may Allaah have mercy upon him
because he had learned the Qur’aan from some of his shuyookh. He mentioned to
me that he had an ijaazah (qualification/chain of narration) which went back to
Fakhr ad Deen ar Raazi who authored the famous Tafseer ‘Tafseer al Kabeer’
called ‘Mafaateeh al Ghayb’.
Turkish scholars among others learn recitation
of the Qur’aan in a way which differs in some of the letters to the recitation
of Arabs themselves. Especially regarding the letter (ض).
I can speak personally about how I learned recitation from my Father then about
what I read around the pronunciation of the letter (ض).
It became clear to me that the Arabs themselves differ upon its pronunciation
and that the way it is pronounced in Shaam and Egypt is completely different to
that of the Iraaqis and Saudis. The people of Najd (Saudi) and Iraaq are closer
in pronouncing this letter correctly. Ibn al Jazaree says in his Jazariyyah
poem:
“The ض
with its characteristic of lengthening and its place of origin…….
Differs
from the ظ and everything else to come.”
When I first started seeking knowledge,
especially after I had recited the Qur’aan to my Father off by heart, I learned
how to say the ض which was mentioned
in Ibnul Jazaree’s poem. I used to sit in the shop after my Father had gone
home to have a midday nap and I would stay by myself. I wrote a short research
paper on the point of origin of the ض.
I remember one day well when I was sitting in the shop after salat adh Dhuhr.
In front of me there was a work bench for repairing watches with a small window
for the customers to talk to the watch repairer. I sat for many days writing
this short research paper on this topic facing this window once I had finished
working and my Father had gone for a nap. There were no watches that needed to
be repaired urgently. On one of those days a well-known man in Damascus stopped
at the shop and gave me salaam. He was a reciter called ‘Abdul Wahhaab Dibs
Wazayt (his nickname). He could see that I was not working and that I was
facing the window. I had spread out the books in front of me and was studying
and copying from them. So he gave me salaam and could see that I was not
working and that I had books in front of me. He said, “Why?” I said, “I’m
researching the topic of the letter ض.
I just got up to the examples that Ibnul Jazaree or someone else had pointed
out. (I cannot remember exactly now). You must make the ض clear from the ط as in the example from the Qur’aan Allaah says, {فَمَنِ اضْطُرَّ}[6] The Egyptians along with others today say {فَمَنِ طرَّ} as
if they have merged the ض into the ط. The ض
is a letter with the characteristics of softness but the ط has the characteristics of hardness. [7] This
merging of these two letters in this aayah is a serious terrible mistake.”
I was surprised that when he heard this example
Shaykh Dibs Wazayt who was a famous reciter there, stopped and started to
recite it wrongly by merging the letters ض
into ط. I said, “O teacher, Ibnul Jazaree says:
“The ض
with its characteristic of lengthening and its place of origin…….
Differs
from the ظ and everything else to come.”
Firstly, the ط
does not have the characteristic of stretching (istitaalah). When you pronounce
a vowelless ط you say اطْ (aT). However, when you talk about the
letter ظ it has the characteristic of softness and
you say اظْ . The sound (air) exits the mouth from between
the top two teeth. As for the letter ض
it shares the characteristic of the ظ
however, they are both distinguished by their makhraj where the sounds
originate in the mouth. The correct origin of the ض
is where the sides of the tongue rest on the uppermolars. As for the correct
origin for the ظ it is the tip of the
tongue resting on the front two upper teeth. As for the Syrian and Egyptian
dialect when pronouncing the ض they put the tip of
the tongue on the roof of the mouth. This is wrong.
So this reciter started to recite this aayah
but he became upset that he could not do it without merging the letters and
this was incorrect. The ض and the ظ are similar in their softness and
sometimes they are used interchangeably. I told this good reciter to make the ض clear from the ظ
as they are very similar. As for the similarity between the ض and ط you do the opposite
by merging the ض into the ط and this is wrong. You can see that I
remember that discussion very well and I remember writing that paper that day
when I was under 20 years old. I still have the paper in my handwriting. I had
drawn a picture of the molar teeth and the tongue when pronouncing the ض correctly. The sides of the tongue
touching the molars and not the tip of the tongue touching the roof of the
mouth in the way that the Syrians among others pronounce it. If you hear the ض from the Iraaqis and the Saudis it is
completely different to that of the Syrians and Egyptians, even in their everyday
speech. It is the correct (ض). In support of this from the practice of the
Arabs is that some of the poems are written with ض.
And as the ض is similar to the ظ the poet sometimes used one letter and sometimes the other. I
now find that in some of the books that come from Najd that they write ظ instead of ض
because they are very similar in pronunciation and this is correct. This
stresses to us the need to learn the science of recitation and tajweed from the
people of knowledge. The Egyptians and Syrians make mistakes when pronouncing
the ض . For example, in
Surah al Faatihah which is read in every rak’ah of the five daily prayers, here
in Syria and other places they say [ولا الضالين ]. They pronounce
the ض as a ‘fat’ daal (د)
as the scholars of tajweed term it. As for the correct Arabic ض which Ibnul Jazaree and whoever explains his works talk about,
it is a soft ض which stretches. So
much so that if a person wanted to let his breath run in that phrase ولاالضالين he could. This is opposite to the Syrian ض which becomes cut off and stops. So there
is a difference between the way that aayah is pronounced. The origins of the
correct ض is from the sides of the tongue touching
the molar teeth whereas it differs with the other where the tip of the tongue
touches the roof of the mouth. In this example alone it confirms the need to
learn recitation from the people who specialize in tajweed and not to leave
this to the natural way Arabs speak as this differs from country to country.
You hear the Turks for example due to their inability to pronounce the Arabic
Fusha ض classical Arabic, read it as a pure ظ with its origins between the top 2 teeth
which is different to the molars and the sides of the tongue. The scholars of
tajweed say that ‘Umar رضي الله عنه
had a virtue and a speciality in that he could pronounce the ض from both sides of the tongue as if our Lord had given him a
wide tongue so that he could stretch it right and left to pronounce the ض softly, fitting the description that Ibnul
Jazaree and others have mentioned. In reality you cannot perfect the science of
tajweed except by learning from someone. However, we need scholars who are not
blind followers in tajweed. They need to know where these rules came from. Most
of them are passed down one from another but is this passing on of rules
connected or disconnected? It might or might not be. The answer however, is
that this subject needs specialists. I have held meetings with many scholars of
tajweed here in Damascus in order to arrive at the truth. However,
unfortunately I could not find what I was looking for. They know just as the
majority of reciters know today that this is how they learned. As for where
these rules came from they do not know anything!
Due to this I advise the scholars of Najd that
they should pay attention to learning the Qur’aan from the specialists in this
field. But they should choose those who are closest to the Sunnah and not those
who read the Qur’aan according to the rules of music. They raise the tone of
their voices at certain aayaat and lower it at others. They lengthen vowels
that should not be lengthened and shorten others etc. This is due to them following
musical rhythms which is not allowed and the imams of the Sunnah forbade it.
Such as Imaam Ahmad and others. He forbade the reading of Qur’aan in a singing
voice, stretching the letters, in addition to other techniques that go against
the correct recitation.
Questioner: What
do you advise the youth with regarding this matter?
Shaykh: We
advise the youth to learn tajweed not to boast or be proud but to know how to
read the Qur’aan well as it was sent down from Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic
through the angel Jibreel to the Prophet صلى الله عليه
وسلم and how Jibreel taught
it directly and presented it the Prophet صلى الله عليه
وسلم more than once which is found in the saheeh. Secondly, they
should not use their knowledge of tajweed to criticise the scholars whose
circumstances did not permit them to learn the recitation like they had learned
it with ease. They criticise and mock these scholars for not reciting the
Qur’aan well like they can recite but indeed, it may have been due to them that
they had the chance to learn tajweed in the first place.
[1]
Translated by Umm ‘Abdir Rahmaan Tara Hashim 1437AH/2015CE.
[2]
There are 7 or 10 Methods of Recitation (Qiraa’aat). These are fixed and cannot
be mixed together. The most commonly used one in the world today is Hafs ‘an
‘Aasim. The others are Naafi’, ibn Katheer, Aboo ‘Amr, Ibn ‘Aamir, Hamzah,
Kisaa’ee, Aboo Ja’far, Yaqoob and Khalaf.
[3]
Idghaam ath Thaqeel according to the Recitation of Imaam Hamza comprised of
merging certain letters into others.
[4] TN:
Muhammad bin Muhammad bin Muhammad bin Alee bin Yoosuf al Jazaree ad Dimashqee
ash Shaafi’ee. (751-833 AH) He was a scholar in many fields such as tafseer,
hadeeth, fiqh, Usool, tawheed, balaagha, Arabic language and Qiraa’aat and
tajweed. He became the Judge of Damascus in 793 AH. He wrote many books on
various topics. He became the leading authority on tajweed and the science of
Qiraa’aat. Although it seems that he had some of the ways of the Sufis. Allaah
Knows best.
[5]
TN: ‘Al Muqaddimah feemaa yajibu alal Qaari an ya’lamah’ More well known by the
name ‘al Jazariyyah’
[6] Surah
an Nahl 16:115 . There are examples of these two words in other places in the
Qur’aan also.
[7]
The shaykh actually said the ط is a raised
letter but in the tajweed books today both are raised letters. He probably
meant to say ‘hard’ and Allaah Knows best. As this is what distinguishes the
two letters.
Shaykh Al Albaanee Click here for PDF
********************************
"Prohibited Ways of Reciting the Qur’aan"
Audio examples of these incorrect ways from Dr. Ayman Swayd’s Videos
By Umm ‘Abdir Rahmaan Tara Hashim. 1437AH/2015 CE
Contents of the Powerpoint Slides:
•Correct Belief in the Qur’aan
•Learning Eemaan before Qur’aan
•Is Tajweed Obligatory?
•The Scholars’ statements about going to excesses in
reciting the Qur’aan
•8 Prohibited Ways of Reciting the Qur’aan taken from an
Nashr by Ibnul Jazaree
•14 of the Most Important Mistakes the one who recites Qur’aan Using Musical
Patterns Makes
•Types of Reciters in relation to Musical Maqaamaat
•Qiraa’ah Tafseeriyyah
•Media and their Role in Spreading Recitations
•Murattal and Mujawwad Recordings
•Occasions for Reciting the Qur’aan
•Fataawa against Mishari Rashid al Afasi and Abdul Basit Abdus Samad
•Recommended reciters
•Ruling on imitating a Reciter’s Voice and
Presentation
•Practical Innovations (bid’ah) regarding Reciting the Qur’aan
Click here to download the PDF.
