Tajweed from A to Z : Correct Quran Recitation

Tajweed is a set of rules which is applied to pronounce the Quran accurately. It is derived from the word “Jawwid” which means to adorn and beautify something. Tajweed is a science of Arabic alphabets and pronunciation. It contains a complete set of rules, starting from the specific pronunciation and articulation of every Arabic alphabet to the recitation of the Quran melodiously.

Arabic is an unconventional and one of the most eloquent languages in the world. It has a specific pattern of pronunciation and specific articulation of every Arabic alphabet. How you can pronounce each alphabet? Where do you have to stop during the Quran recitation? What are the meanings of the punctuation marks written on the verses of the Quran? We get answers to all these and many more questions like this by learning Tajweed A-Z with easy steps.

History of Tajweed :

The Quran was revealed in the Arabic language. Arabic was the native language of the Arabs. They need not learn to pronounce the Quran, as it was in their native language. But with time, Islam spread in non-Arabic nations. Then it became necessary for the non-Arabic nations to learn how to pronounce the Arabic language. It was the need of the hour to create some rules to make non-Arabs familiar with correct Arabic articulation. Thus, the science of Tajweeed came into being. Abu Ubaid al-Qasim bin Salam (774 – 838 CE) was the first person to develop a written book on the rules of Tajweed, Al-Qiraat. This was the first step towards this development. After this book, many scholars developed this science with their contributions.

Learn Tajwed A-Z with Easy Steps:

Now let’s learn Tajweed A-Z with easy steps.

Arabic Alphabet Pronunciation:

Every Arabic Alphabet has a specific emission point and articulation. There are a total of 17 emission points in the Arabic alphabet. These emission points or Makharij are at different points of the tongue, throat, palate, nose, and mouth.

Characteristics of Arabic Letters

Heavy Letters: Some letters in Arabic are pronounced with a heavier sound. These are called heavy letters. The emphatic consonants خ ص ض ط ظ غ ق, known as mufakhkham letters, are called heavy letters. Other letters are pronounced normally from their emission points.

Rules of Noon and Meem Mushaddad:

The method of pronouncing this Meem musha-dadah:

Close the lips together and keep it closed, making the Ghunnah (nasalization) from the nose.

Keep the tongue in its articulation point and make ghunnah for two counts.

Whenever the letters noon or meem have a shaddah sign, we pronounce them with ghunnah for 2 seconds.

Mushaddad Letter:

The first letter is sakin, which has a sukoon sign on it while the second one has a respective diacritic, fat-ha, dammah, or kasrah.

• فَوَيْلٌ لِلَّذِينَ fawaylun lillatheena

Here we noted that the first shaddah on laam was there for notice purposes, and the second was there to be a shaddah and double that second laam. So is read as:

lil-latheena as written above, lillatheena

A few more examples of shaddah as follows:

• كَرَّةً فَنَتَبَرَّأَ              :  kar–ratan fanatabar–ra‘a or karratan fanatabarra’a
• وَالْمُطَلَّقَاتُ يَتَرَبَّصْنَ  : wal mutal–laqaatu yatarab–basna | wal mutallaqaatu yatarabbasna
• وَبُعُولَتُهُنَّ أَحَقُّ بِرَدِّهِنَّ :  bu‘ulatuhun–na ahaq–qu birad-dihin-na | bu‘ulatuhunna ahaqqu biraddihinna

After we made shaddah clear, the Tajweed rule regarding shaddah is as follows. For every noon and meem have a shaddah, one must sound a ghunnah.

Ghunnah is a sound made by the nose from the nasal passage. It is almost like a hum. Ghunnah is translated to “nasalization” and this should not be longer than 2 seconds.

Noon Mushaddad Rules

إِنَّ أَنَّ منَّا إنَّك إِنَّا إِنَّما

Meem Mushaddad Rules

إِمَّا وإِمَّا أمَّن فأَمَّا فإِمّا

And it is as simple as that! This Tajweed rule is complete! Where you see a shaddah on a meem or noon, just make ghunnah. As for Tajweed, just remember shaddah + meem or noon = ghunnah

 Advanced Tajweed Techniques:

There are 70 or more rules of Tajweed. Some are fundamental rules, some are initial and some rules are called advanced rules of Tajweed. Some of the advanced rules of tajweed are as follows;

1. Izhar
2. Iqlab
3. Ikhfa

Step-by-Step Learning Process:

Learn the emission points of each Arabic alphabet one by one. This is the first and foremost step of learning tajweed.

Study the articulation of each Arabic alphabet after learning the emission points of each alphabet.

Practice the emission and articulation of the alphabet and the words of the Quran.

The final step in this process is to learn the recitation of the Quran in a melodious voice. This is the final step of the learning process of Tajweed.

Benefits of Learning Tajweed:

Learning Tajweed is a religious obligation for every believer. In the Arabic language, there is huge importance for accurate articulation of the Arabic alphabet. ک and ق both have the same sounds but with different articulations and emission points. The meanings of the words alter completely with ق or ک. So learning tajweed is quite necessary for not only the correct pronunciation of the Quran but also for accurate meanings of the Quranic verses.

Learning Tajweed will be beneficial for life after death also.

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said:

“Read the Qur’an, for it will come as an intercessor for its reciters on the Day of Resurrection.”

[Sahih Muslim | Riyad as-Salihin 991.

Common Challenges in Tajweed:

Tajweed is quite challenging to learn and practice. Almost every Quran institute, either on the ground or online, is teaching tajweed to the Quran students. But there appear certain challenges in this regard. Some of the common challenges in this learning are as follows;

If you do not pronounce a letter correctly, it will be a huge disaster in reciting the Quran with tajwed.

Not making a letter heavy where appropriate can be a great challenge, as it is necessary to pronounce the heavy letters heavily.

Doing qalqalah on letters that do not have this quality is a huge mistake. Uttering Qalqala is a quite challenging task for early learners.

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