QURANIC RECITATION

DEFINITION:

"RECITING each quranic letter or alphabet with the accurate sound is called TAJWEED- UL -QURAN and; this is basically learning of Prophet Muhammad's(PBUH) pronunciation and accent of reciting the Holy Quran."

EXPLANATION:

Dear students!Our Prophet's(PBUH) language was Arabic. That's why The Holy Quran was revealed in Arabic.Arabic is also the medium of communication in Heaven. When reciting the Holy Quran,it should be kept in mind that each Arabic alphabet has a different sound. If the letter is not pronounced with the accurate sound, meanings of the words change.

FOR EXAMPLE:

ZALLA(STARTING WITH 'ZAL') means, 'he was insulted'.

ZALLA(STARTING WITH 'ZE') means,'he slipped'.

ZALLA(STARTING WITH 'ZOE') means,'he went'.

Above examples make the idea quite clear that the harms of wrong pronunciation of Quranic alphabets are numersous. The most important of them being the change in the connotative and denotative meanings. So, if you want to recite and understand the Holy Quran the same way as our Prophet(PBUH) did, you have to learn TAJWEED-UL-QURAN from a reliable source. After learning TAJWEED-UL-QURAN, people generally tend to learn QIRAT-UL-QURAN which is the recitation of Holy Quran with a particular rhythm,keeping the rules of TAJWEED-UL-QURAN,intact.Those who learn Qirat-ul-Quran are known as QARI-E-QURAN. There are hundreds of thousands of QARI-E-QURAN in the Muslim world today. International competitions are held at Egypt and Saudia for the selection of QARI-E-QURAN of the year. However, being a QARI-E-QURAN is an expertise while learning TAJWEED-UL-QURAN is compulsory for each and every Muslim. Following account will make the idea even more clear.

QURANIC VERSES AND TAJWEED-UL-QURAN:

At many occasions in the Holy Quran, Allah Almighty stresses the listeners and reciters of the Holy Quran to recite it with accurate pronunciation. Allah says in the Holy Quran'

".... and We have reveled it with tarteel"(Al-furqan 32/25)

On another occasion, Allah repeated the same message'

" and recite the Quran slowly and attentively(so that accurate pronunciation may not be compromised and the exact meaning may be understood). (Al-MUzammil 4/73)

And on the third the third incident,the message became even clearer,

"And We have revealed Quran clearly and profoundly with tarteel so that you may recite it for people with tarteel".(bani Israel,106/17) .

When Hazrat Ali(R.A) was asked the meaning of 'tarteel', he replied,

"Being an expert in Pronouncing letters with Tajweed and knowledge of breaks(waqf) is tarteel."

PPOPHETIC NARRATIONA AND TAJWEEED-UL-QURAN:

Holy Prophet(pbuh) said,

"ALLAH LIKES THATQURAN SHOULD BE RECITED IN THE SAME WAY AS IT HAS BEEN REVEALED."(ibne khazeema)

Quran has been revealed in the pure Arabic language. So,it demands to be recited with Arabic accent and in Arabic pronunciation.

Another Hadith-e-Nabwi(saw) echoes the same theme,

"Recite Quran with the Arabic accent and pronunciation."

The above narration ddemands the accurate pronunciation of the words; from exact places of their origin and with their all of thier sub-features. Ad-Darmi narrated that Holy Prophet (PBUH) said,

"Recite Quran with a good voice becuase,attarctive voice enhances Quran's beauty."

Actually each language has a particular accent and pronunciation. As ever as Quran was confined to Arabia, there was no threat to its integrity. When Islam reached NON-ARABS, they started reciting the Holy Quran in the way as would seem easy for them. This trend posed seriuos threat to the intactness of Quranic messsage due to wrong pronunciation. Probably, the third Caliph of Islam,Hazrat Uthman(R.A), realized the gravity of the problem and introduced the set of Harakat and other rules for the accurate recitation of the Holy Quran.

ISLAMIC SCHOLARS ON TAJWEED-UL-QURAN:

Hafiz Ibn-e-Jazri said that reciting the Quran without Tajweed is a sin and the reciter is a sinner.Because,Allah has revealed Quran with Tajweed and it has reached us in the same way.Qari Izhar Ahmed Thanvi said,

"Quran was revealed in Arabic accent that belonged solely to the common Arabs asd was devoid of any non-Arab trends. Our Prophet(PBUH), recited in the same way and the upcoming copiers, copied it the way so that its accent and pronunciation remained intact.That's why,All the regular Qirats are ascribed to the rule of Tajweed."

CONCLUSION:

The above discussion reveals that learning TAJWEED-UL-QURAN is one of the obligatory duties of a muslim.

The considerate and conscientious muslims felt the importnace of online learning, years ago. They have introduced several means of online Quranic teachings. There are hundreds of sofwares,free and paid,available online for the learning of Tajweed-UL-Quran. Several other free downloadable ebooks are also available in this regard. Audio and Video courses serve the cuase to their best. In this scenario, our laziness and crelessness are the only cuases that are a stumling block in our way to win ALLAH's will.

FRUITS OF LEARNING TAJWEED-UL-QURAN:

A Prophetic Narration states that he who recites the Holy Quran(with accurate accent and pronunciation) wins ten pious rewards for each letter.

Can you tell me the total count of rewards?

PUNISHMENT OF RECITING HOLY QURAN WITHOUT TAJWEED:

Another well known saying says that he who recites Quran but does not act upon its teachings Quran damns on him. Tell me that he who does raed the Quran in a way that changes its message, how would he be able to follow it.