Why is it necessary to learn Quran with Tajweed? The answer to this often-asked question lies in the fact that Allah revealed the Quran in Arabic. Therefore, the recitation must match the way that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his companions recited it. Allah says in Surah Ibrahim, Verse 4, that he has not sent any messenger except to convey His message in the language of the people.
The letters of Arabic all have a distinct method of pronunciation, and learning Tajweed enables a Muslim to know the difference between the correct and faulty pronunciation of Arabic words. Mispronunciation can result in different meanings to what the original text was trying to convey. Quran with Tajweed can be easily distinguished from recitation without Tajweed, which may carry a different definition of Allah’s words. The significance of Tajweed can be seen from a Hadith in Sahih Bukhari, where it is mentioned that the Prophet’s (PBUH) recitation consisted of him prolonging certain sounds in the Arabic language.
How long does it take to learn Tajweed? Now, this is a common query from those who wish to learn, and essentially, there is no right or wrong answer. It varies from person to person. Regular practice and lessons will help a person to learn it reasonably quickly.
Advanced Tajweed Rules
A Muslim has to drive all Islamic rules from the Quran, and their interpretation is found in the saying of the Prophet (SAW). By learning basic and Advanced Tajweed rules, a Muslim can understand and recite Quran accurately. After the advent of the online Quran teaching-learning, the Quran and its rules have been very easy. You easily find online Tajweed for beginners, Quran Tajweed rules, and Tajweed book. Also, the Quran websites help you how to read Quran with Tajweed. The online Tajweed courses are also helpful for Muslims indeed. Islam revolves around the Quran and Sunnah; learning the Quran and Sunnah, we settle the issues of the day to day life. To understand the Quran and Sunnah accurately, we depend upon the basic and advanced rules of Tajweed. Without learning Tajweed, neither we learn Quran, nor do we become true Muslims.
Advanced Quran Tajweed rules with details
Qalqalah is an effect added to certain letters due to difficulty in pronouncing them without the Qalqalah itself. Literally, Qalqalah means to ‘echo.’ The effect creates an echoing sound or a vibration in the articulation point of the letter. The five letters that this rule is applied to are: ق ط ب ج د. If you attempt to pronounce these letters with a sukun on them, you will notice that the articulation point closes and imprisons the sound, which causes difficulty in pronunciation. Thus, the Arabs formulated this rule that would help them to overcome all this difficulty. The Qalqalah must be performed without any accompanying movement of the mouth or jaw. There are various levels of Qalqalah that need to be adequately learned for a reciter to haven’tcomplete knowledge of the mechanism.
Also referred to as Madd at-Tabee’ee, this refers to the original or natural madd. The madd letter is dependent by itself on this characteristic of the letter. The timing for this madd consists of elongation of two vowel counts. The indication for this madd is when the letter does not have a hamza before it, or a hamza or sukun after it. It is referred to as the natural madd as a person who knows the rules will always pronounce it according to its natural two count measure.
This is the secondary madd and contains extra lengthening or longer timing in comparison to the natural madd. The sign of Madd al-Far’eeis when there is a hamza before or after the letter, or a sukun after it. There are various sub-divisions in this category, each with their unique rulings regarding the required lengthening. Without the hamza or sukun, the madd letters retain their natural timing, as they are considered to be Madd al-Aslee
This ruling is implemented in specific, exceptional cases. If there is a saakin or mushaddad letter after tanween, and the reader wishes to continue reading (without a pause), then one of the vowels of the tanweenwill be eliminated, and a noon kasra will be added in between the two words.
Consider this example from Surah 104: لُّمَزَةٍ | ٱلَّذِى
If you wish to read on here, it will become: لُّمَزَةِ نِ ٱلَّذِى
There are various occasions in the Quran where particular letters are written but are not required to be pronounced. These letters are alif, waow, and yaa, when they have no vowel (fatha, dammah, kasra, or sukun) on them. This ruling is carried out when these three letters are either followed by a saakin letter or one with a shaddah on it.
Izhaar means to pronounce every letter from its articulation point without a ghunnah on it. This rule is for cases where the letters ء ه ع ح غ خ follow a noon sakinah or a tanween, causing the noon to be said clearly without a ghunnah. These six letters are called the Huroof al-Halqeya as they are articulated from the throat.
Iqlaab is a rule that is applied when the letter ba’ is placed after a noon sakinah in the same word, or when a noon sakinah or tanween is at the end of a word, with a ba’being the first letter of the next word. In these cases, the noon sakinah is pronounced as a meem with ghunnah applied. Many copies of the Quran have a small meem written over or under the noon in such cases.
The word ikhfaa means to hide or conceal, and in Tajweed, it means to disguise a noon sakinah or tanween at the articulation point of the next letter. In these cases, the hidden noon is pronounced with ghunnah. This ruling is applied with fifteen letters when a noon sakinah or tanween precedes them. To perform ikhfaa correctly, a person’s tongue must be close to, but not precisely at, the articulation point of the next letter.