What Is Tajweed? Meaning, Purpose and How It Changes Quran Recitation

The rules of Tajweed are necessary for the proper pronunciation of every letter that includes its correct point of articulation, qualities and length of the letter. It differentiates between reading the words of the quran and recitation as it is taught. This article is designed to make you understand what exactly the word means, from where the science is derived, its content and if you must learn it or not. Where you want to learn the rules, click on the link for the full list of Tajwees rules with examples.

What is meant by Tajweed?

The term Tajweed is Arabic for "making something excellent". It's derived from the trilateral j-w-d that means good and well done.

Tajweed is the science of reciting the Quran with correct pronunciation of every letter, its place of pronunciation, its qualities, and the rules governing it when it meets with other letters. To sum it up, it's the way of reciting the Quran like the Prophet ﷺ used to recite it.

Why is Tajweed important?

The importance of Tajweed is that a minor change in a letter or a minor change in the length of a vowel may alter the definition of a word.

Take a change of letter. In the common Arabic language, the word قَلْب (qalb) translates to "heart" while كَلْب (kalb) is "dog. Only the difference is that the back of the tongue is touching a different place for ق and ك. These are not words from the Qur'ān but rather an illustration of the power of one letter.

Now take a change of length.Now take a change of length كَتَبَ (kataba) means "he wrote". Repeat the first vowel and you have the verb كَاتَبَ (kātaba), "he corresponded with. When one vowel is held, a new word is created.

The same threat is upon the Quran and reciters have always been trained to be exact with their mouths. The pronunciation error in the recitation is called lahn. A clear mistake is one that alters a word. A slight error is a mistake which does not detract from the beauty of the recitation.

Tajweed is also applied outside the classroom to the standard of excellence. For instance, at Dubai International Holy Quran Award, the finalists were evaluated on their knowledge of Tajweed rules and not their voice.

From where did Tajweed originate?

Tajweed is an innovation from the Prophet ﷺ and is passed on through listening and emulation. Later there were books that were related to the subject, to preserve what the teachers brought.

The transmission of the disease through the mouth or by sanad.

The Prophet (saw) read the verses of the Quran to his companions. They repeated it to the next generation, and the next generation to their teachers, and they received the correction from their teachers. This is the reason why Tajweed is learnt aurally first.

The unbroken line of teachers back to the Prophet ﷺ is called the sanad. If a qualified teacher is found who can recite the full portion, and the student passes then he may be given an ijazah (permission to teach that recitation). This is why it's important to learn from a teacher who has a positive chain of events.

This is the recitation which is used by most of the learners, namely Riwayah Hafs 'an 'Asim.

Muslims of the world read Haza im 'Asim, and it is the recitation which is printed in most Mushafs in the US, the UK and Pakistan. There are several authentic readings of the Qur'ān and each of them is transmitted by its own narrators. It's the narration of a pupil named Hafs, from his teacher 'Asim'.

All the rules and counts on this site are based on Hafs 'an 'Asim's footpath through Shatibiyyah. In a sense, teachers are different and we say so.

What does Tajweed cover?

Tajweed covers five areas. Each one answers a different question about how you recite.

Makharij: where letters are pronounced

Makharij are the places in the throat, tongue, lips and nose where each letter starts. Arabic has 17 of them, and the guide to the 17 articulation points shows where every letter sits.

Sifaat: how letters sound

Sifaat are the qualities a letter carries once it leaves its place: heavy or light, with breath or without, strong or soft. Two letters can share a place and still differ only in these letter characteristics. That is the whole difference between ص and س.

Rules of letters meeting each other

Some letters change when they meet. A silent Noon, for example, is pronounced clearly before one group of letters, merged into the next letter before another group, and hidden before a third. These rules include Izhar, Idgham, Iqlab, Ikhfa and Ghunnah, the nasal sound held for two counts. They make up the largest part of Tajweed.

Madd: how long sounds are held

Madd is the stretching of a vowel sound. Some Madd are held for two counts, some for four or five, and some for six. The length depends on what follows the long vowel, and a reciter has to keep each length steady. The guide on how long each Madd is held lists every type with its count.

Waqf and Ibtida: stopping and starting

Waqf is stopping while you recite, and Ibtida is the point you restart from. A stop in the wrong place can cut a sentence in half and change what it says. The small signs written above the text tell you where to stop in the Quran.

Is learning Tajweed obligatory?

Most scholars say a Muslim must recite the Quran without clear mistakes, and that studying the detailed science is a duty on the community as a whole. Scholars differ on how far the duty reaches for subtle mistakes.

There are two sides to the question:

• Practical Tajweed means applying the rules when you recite. Scholars generally treat avoiding clear mistakes in your own recitation as required.
• Theoretical Tajweed means studying the rules and their names. Scholars generally treat this as a duty on the community: enough people must know it for the knowledge to survive, even if each person does not.

This is a summary of scholarly views, not a ruling on your own case. For a ruling that fits your situation, ask a qualified scholar. Many readers arrive here with the same follow-up questions, and the page on common Tajweed questions answers them one by one.

Tajweed, Tarteel and Qira'at: what is the difference?

Tajweed is the rules of correct pronunciation, Tarteel is the way you recite, and Qira'at are the different authentic readings of the Quran. People mix them up because all three appear in the same conversations.

The Quran itself gives the command for Tarteel: وَرَتِّلِ الْقُرْآنَ تَرْتِيلًا (wa rattili l-Qur'āna tartīlā), "and recite the Quran with measured recitation" (73:4). Tajweed is part of how Tarteel is done, and Tajweed rules apply inside every reading.

How can you tell if you recite with Tajweed?

You can tell by checking five things in your own recitation. Record yourself reading a short surah and listen back for these:

1. Similar letters sound different. ع and ا, ص and س, ق and ك should each be clearly their own sound. If two sound alike, the problem is the point of articulation.
2. Madd lengths stay the same. The same type of Madd should last the same number of counts every time it appears.
3. Ghunnah is present where it belongs. A Noon or Meem with a Shaddah should carry a nasal sound of about two counts.
4. Heavy letters sound full and light letters sound thin. The ص in الصِّرَاطَ (as-sirāṭ, 1:6) should not slide into a س.
5. You stop where the meaning allows. If you pause in the middle of a phrase because you ran out of breath, the stop is not a Waqf.

Formal competitions use the same kind of checks. The Dubai International Holy Quran Award guide marks reciters on beauty of voice, quality of performance and adherence to the rules of Tajweed, which shows that a pleasant voice and correct rules are two separate things.

Be honest about the limit of this test. Most people cannot hear their own subtle mistakes. A teacher or a trusted recording is the only dependable check.

What are the current methods of Tajweed?

Individuals learn Tajweed from books, recordings, apps and teachers and the combination that suits the individual is the one that is used.

Names and letters are provided on books and charts. Recordings of a master recited text provide you with the sounds that you can reproduce. Colour coded copies of the quran make it easier to identify rules as you read and if you select one, there is a guide to mushafs which prints the rules in colour. If you are beginning from scratch, the page "How to learn Tajweed step by step" is the appropriate one.

The rules are explained in books and videos, but a teacher listens to what you actually make. This feedback can be gained while studying Tajweed with a certified teacher in one on one classes at Al Asr Quran Academy.