What is Ikhfa in the Quranic Tajweed

The following is rule two of four for the Noon Al-Saakinah/Tanween. We all recognize the children’s game, hide, and seek. Here, the Noon Al-Saakinah must be hidden [i.e., not pronounced clearly].

 Rule Two: Ikhfaa — Al-sitr (where the Noon/Tanween is no pronounced, i.e., is hidden). The first rule placed six letters that follow the noon al-saakinah. In that case, it must be marked clearly of the remaining letters in the Arabic alphabet, the second rule, ikhfa letters applies.

The letters which are covered in rules three and four are the exception to this rule.

These letters are: laam raa yaa noon meem waa baa

When one of the left letters follows noon qalqalah letters saakinah or tanween, ikhfaa must be done. This is when the noon saakinah or tanween is hidden in the nose. Here, the mouth is to be shaped in a way such that it is “prepared” for the next letter.

For example, if the next letter is a taa with a dhammah then the mouth can say this by changing it into a small “o” shape, and the tongue places itself in the right place within the mouth. This can occur across two words or be contained in one. Ikhfaa must be sounded for two counts, i.e., the time it takes to say the words, “one-two.”

You don't need to read all these idgham letters. It is however recommended that you learn the six ith-haar, and seven exceptions, letters and so when reading, do a quick check to see if the letter is not one of the six ith-haar letters or the exception letters above, then do ikhfaa. This takes a while to get accepted to, and soon you’ll forget you even have to do a check because you internalize it.

Besides, it’d be nearly impossible to try and bring out an “nn” sound from your nasal passage when wanting to shape your mouth for a“h” sound for haa, or an “a” sound for alif.

Letters are now the place where the Hukum Tajwid words are joined without the Tanween. Some students [and I know quite a few] have trouble, in the beginning, trying to combine two words without the “nn” sound in between. They end up “leaning on” the laam or raa and saying them as though there is a shaddah on these two letters. However, there isn’t.

But here yourself may protest that there is. Look at the example above. There is a shaddah on the laam in both events for the words likulli and lumazah. This shaddah is not there for shaddah purposes. It has been put there as a sign to the reader that the Tanween (or Noon Saakinah) is not to be pronounced at all, not even through the nasal passage.

The Importance of Tajweed rules while Learning the Quran

The Holy Quran is the right words of Almighty Allah that Allah revealed as an excellent and unmatchable source of legislation for humankind. Furthermore, it consists of rules and tips about all aspects of life and the afterlife. Being so important, every Muslim should learn and recite the Holy Quran with Tajweed correctly and clearly.

Allah Almighty stated, "Those to whom we gave the Book recite it as it should be recited: they are the ones who believe therein. And whose disbelieve in it, those are they who are the sufferers." [Quran, Al-baqarah-121]

Along with the Quran's profound and noble meanings, there is also, its majestic language, which, if recited correctly, will soften the hearts of its listeners. The reading of the Holy Quran in a comfortable and relaxed way, to achieve the meaning of the verses, is to understand and apply the legislation contained therein during the daily life of the Muslim; reading the Holy Quran without quranic tajweed taking into account the various laws of tajweed may change the meaning of words as well as a complete verse.

The word tajweed originates from the root of the verb Jawada, which means to beautify and improve your reading. In the context of the recitation of the Holy Quran, Tajweed is a science of studying the correct articulation of letters.

So it is implemented when articulating every letter from its articulation point and giving the message its rights and dues of characteristics. The rights of the letters are its required characteristics that never leave it. The contributions of the letters are its presented characteristics that are being in it some of the time, and not present at other times.i.e. the Qalb, Gunah, Maad.

While reading the Quran, one should know Tajweed rules. Reciting Quran should be in the presence of one's heart, with full recognition and believing that those are the words of Allah, the Exalted - not the terms of man. The Muslim should communicate with every ayah with its proper meaning and understand each message of the Holy Quran with full recognition that it is directed to him mainly. In addition to these internal manners of reciting the Quran, there is a lot of external methods.

It is the knowledge of Tajweed practices and characteristics in the certified books. This part is a collective duty, which means if a few Muslims learn and memorize it, it was made to fall from the others, but if no person does then all the Muslims are in sin. That is because it is one of the sound science and for that, there is a MUST to be in each of the Islamic countries of different languages tutors taught it. Allah Almighty said," And it is not for the believers to go forth [to battle] all at once. For there should assign from every division of them a group [remaining] to obtain belief in the religion and warn their people when they return to them that they might be cautious." [Quran, At-Tawba-122]

It is the implementation of the phonetic laws of Quranic recitation and reading Quran with tajwid as it was revealed to the Prophet Muhammed (Peace be upon him). It is expected upon every legally competent Muslim of a responsible age to perform religious duties in Islam and to recite the Quran with tajweed correctly. Allah Almighty said, "….And recite the Quran with measured recitation." [Quran, Al-Muzzammil-4]

Primary Tajweed rules for Grade 4 Quran Learners

Tajweed means to recite each letter of the Qur'an correctly from its makhraj with all of its qualities. The importance of tajweed can't be dismissed as reciting the Qur'an without tajweed will not only affect the beauty of the Qur'an, but sometimes it can change the meaning of the Qur'an.

For example, The word Qalb means "heart." If instead of Qaaf, Kaaf is read the definition changes to "dog." The term "Rahim" used for Allah means 'very merciful.' If instead of (ح (letter (ه (is read the meaning differences to " thirsty camel."

It is therefore mandatory (fard) on every Muslim man or woman to learn tajweed so that he or she can read correctly.

In this book, the essential rules of tajweed are explained easily so that the students of grades 3 - 5 can understand and memorize the tajweed rules quickly. After reading and following these rules, the students will inshallah be able to recite the Qur'an correctly with tajweed.

However, to read the Qur'an correctly with tajweed, it is not just to get only the rules of tajweed, but it is also essential to practice these rules with an expert teacher.

All praise is for Allah tabarak ta'ala, who is our Lord and our creator who enlightened us with the Noor of Imaan and made us Muslim and include us in the ummah of our beloved

prophet Khatimul Ambiah, Muhammadur Rasulullah (SAW).

There are three letters of Madd ا,و, ى.

These letters will be Letters of Madd when;

1. Alif has a letter with a fatha before it.

2. Waaw is saakin, and it has a letter with a dhammah before it.

3. Yaa is saakin, and it has a letter with a kasra before it.

Maddah letters are read by stretching one Alif (1 Alif is the time required in closing or opening of a finger usually).

Note: Fatha Madd is in place of Alif Maddah, Dhammah Madd is in place of Waaw Maddah, and Kasra Madd is in place of Yaa Maddah. Therefore Fatha, Dhammah, and Kasra Madd are also stretch one Alif.

Qalqalah is a quality, which, when said, appears to have a bouncing sound, when the letter is saakin.

Makhraj is the point where the sound of a letter originates. There are 17 makhaarij for 29 Arabic letters. Makhraj is singular, and Makhaarij is plural.

To find makhraj of a letter, make the letter saakin and put an Alif with a Fatha before it. The place where the sound stops will be the makhraj of that letter.

For Example: To find makhraj of letter Baa, بَ ْا will give its makhraj.

Levels of Tajweed Recitation in Quran

The word Tajweed is a verbal noun from ‘jawwada,’ which means ‘to make better.’ Tajweed is one of the prominent common sciences of the Qur’ân. It is a science directed by deep-rooted static rules derived from the oral recitation of the Qur’ân by the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) after hearing the revelation from the Angel Gabriel.

The implemented tajweed meaning is ‘articulating every word from its articulation point (Makhraj) and delivering the letter its rights and dues of characteristics (sifât).’

Levels of Recitation in Quran with Tajweed -

There is no doubt that the speed of the human mouth in recitation has the chance of being changed from slow to quick and still faster. That which the human ear can understand from those are three types:

Slowness in recitation

Speed in recitation

Moderate speed in recitation

This is a similar way the human eye can determine the color red, and from the computer, it is likely to produce thousands of shades of red. And these shades differ from each other in minute variations. But the eye can only see three shades: red, light red and dark red, or blue, light blue, and dark blue.

So also for the human ear, there is a multitude of speeds of recitation. But the human ear can only accept it as a slow recitation, a fast recitation, and a modest recitation (neither quick nor dull).

At Tahqeeq The scholars have named slow (saree’ ah) recitation as At Tahqeeq. It indicates ease and responsibility in connecting and pronouncing the letters. It is slowness without elongation.

Thus, when I recite the Qur'an with care and comfort, to slow down recitation, I may lengthen a letter over its limit. This results in tamteet, elongation. Tamteet means giving rise to letters of madd tajweed from the harakat.

In Arabic, there are only three karakaat, fathah, dhammah, and kasrah. The fathah has a timing; if it is overdone, it gives rise to an alif. The dhammah has a timing; if it is exceeded, it provides beginning to a waw. And a kesrah has a timing; if exceeded, it gives rise to a yaa. This is an atrocious mistake.

In tajwid al Quran the act of exceeding the length of a harakah to give rise to an added letter is called At Tamteet.  There is a fear that one who recites with tahqeeq will come into this. This is why when we recite with tahqeeq, we should be careful not to lengthen any letter or harakah longer than its timing to add a message. If we extend any sound higher than its required length, then we give rise to new alifs, waws, and yaas. Therefore, precision in tahqeeq is not to exceed the length needed.  For example, if he says kuuntum instead of kuntum – he extends the sound to produce an extra waw.

Al Hadr, The scholars, names the fast recitation as Al Hadr. If we say hadara fulaan, we mean, fulaan sped up. It is speed without merging the letters.

Why Tajweed is necessary to learn & Why to apply it while reading

Tajweed Meaning is not about the melody of the recital. It is about accurate pronunciation. You can read the Quran with tajweed (i.e., pronounce the words correctly) with or without melody, and it would still be correct.

Tajweed is only needed for reading the Qur'an, Tajweed, as is explained in all tajweed books, is the art of keeping your tongue from performing a mistake in the recitation of Allah's word/ The Quran.

Tajweed adds a beautiful voice, but that is not only, but it also helps you keep from making recitation mistakes. Allah states in Surat 73 Ayah four.

There are three kinds of "reading" in the Quran; "telavat," "qurae," and "tarteel." Telavat is reading a text usually. Qurae is reading it, presenting your mind entirely, and trying to learn it. Tarteel is reading a text word-by-word, thinking on each word for a long time, maybe for some minutes. In this ayat, tarteel is used. The bold part of the ayat is translated as " And tarteel it with a tarteel."

As you understand, this ayat has no order of reading the Quran in an ideal way with melody. In my opinion, some people love to hear the melody, and they want to read Quran with melody too.

They think it would be great if they read Quran with melody. But there is no order in the Quran to read it with melody. First of all, our primary example must be the Rasul Allah  Muhammad (PBUH); he never read or made people read Quran with a melody in his entire life. 

Artistically reading the Quran is just a bidat that is made to Islam with some melody-loving people (I'm not saying that loving melody is terrible. It is a different subject).

Allah wants us to read the Quran, know it, and live according to it. Allah and His Rasool do not command us to use Quran as an art tool.

The people who insist that Allah orders us to read Quran with tajwid also claim that Tajweed is needed for understanding the Quran correctly.

Their famous example is the similarity between the reading of the words "helek (to lose a life, to be wasted)," "Halak (to shave)," "khalak (to create)."

They state that, if non-Arabic readers don't read Quran according to Tajweed rules, they misread words like these, and they misread the whole Quran at all.

They are already not understanding a word they read. What is the importance of accurately reading a text that you don't understand? The readers that know Arabic are already know how to read, and they are correctly interpreting the Quran.

Tajweed Rules while, reciting the Holy Quran

Quran is the speech of Allah sent down to his last prophet, Muhammad, through the angel Gabriel (Jebril), literally and in writing, transmitted to us (Ta'awat) verbally and in writing. Inimitable and unique, it protects Allah from corruption. Almighty Allah said.

Tajweed means "proficiency" or any other good in linguistic terms. In particular, this means that we give each letter of the Qur'an our rights and benefits as we read it and abide by the rules applied to them in different ways. And we deliver them our desires and perform functions that are sometimes present and not in others.

Each Arabic letter has a makharij al huruf, starting point or expression, derived from the mouth or throat. It also has specific characteristics, characteristics, or characteristics. Knowledge of makhraj and siphon is an essential part of learning the principles of tajweed. Sometimes two letters have very similar doors, which can make mixing easier.

Therefore, if one does not know the characteristics of each letter, there is a potential risk that he will change the meaning of the words in the Quran recitation. Circular is, therefore, a science that protects the moderator from error in pronouncing the noble Quran.

‘Aa’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, narrates that the Prophet (SAW) stated: “Verily the one who recites the Quran beautifully, smoothly, and precisely, he will be in the company of the noble angels. And as for the one who recites with difficulty, stammering or stumbling through its verses, then he will have TWICE that reward.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

It is noteworthy that the Quran was revealed with the tajweed rules utilized to it, that is to say, it is the scholars who followed these rules so that we read it the way it was revealed. The Prophet  (SAW) recited the Quran in front of the companions, and the companions would recite it back in front of him.

It is of great importance to learn the Quran from a person who is familiar with the rules of tajweed. The knowledgeable companions were sent by the Prophet to the different Muslim territories to teach the Muslims the recitation, along with the rulings of Islam. Mus’ab bin ‘Umair was sent with the people of the first pledge of ‘Aqabah, and Mu’adh bin Jabal was also sent to Yemen to educate the people there.

Listen to Quran tapes of a hafiz or qari who recites very merely at a medium or slow speed and notice how they practice the different rules of tajweed to the ayat of the Quran. Repeat after them while attempting to apply the rules you’ve learned. Try to copy their tone and melody as well, and see how it changes as the meaning of what they’re reciting changes.

What is Tajweed & Importance of Tajweed

In the context of reading the Quran, Tajweed is a set of rules for the correct use of Qira'at. In Arabic, the term tajwid comes from the triliteral root j-w-d ('to increase'). Tajweed is a mandatory religious obligation when reading the Quran.

The Arabic word Tajweed linguistically means "skill" or "doing something right." It comes from the same root as Jayyid, which means "good." When applied to the Qur'an, it means giving each letter of the Qur'an the correct rates and characteristics when reading the Qur'an and observing the rules that apply to those letters in different situations. We provide letters of your rights, pointing out the essential features of each letter. We make your contribution to observing the characteristics of each letter at a given time and not being present at another time.

The Quran was revealed with the application of Tajweed's rules. In other words, when the angel Gabriel (Gabriel), whom Allah mentions, recites the words of Allah to the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu 'Alayhi wa Sallam (may Allah exalt his mention), he recited them in some way. He showed the prophet Sallallahu' Alayhi wa Sallam (may Allah be pleased with him) that Allah has exalted mentioned) how he was allowed to read the Qur'an. Therefore, we must obey these rules to read them as they are expressed.

At the time of the Prophet, Sallallahu 'Alayhi wa Sallam (may Allah exalt his mention) was not necessary for people to study tajweed because they were speaking at what is now known as tajwid. Therefore it was natural for them. When the Arabs began to mingle with the non-Arabs and Islam spread, errors started to appear in the Quranic recitation, so the scholars had to record the rules. Now, since the daily Arabic Arabic has changed so much compared to the classical Arabic with which the Qur'an was revealed, even the Arabs have to study tajweed.

Importance of Tajweed –

The Noble Quran is the literal words of Allah that He has revealed as a definite source of law for humanity to lead an organized life. It contains rules and recommendations on all aspects of life and references to other lives. Because it is so essential, the Quran must be read, written, and read correctly and clearly so as not to cause ambiguity or misunderstanding. Allah SWT spoke with His Messenger, Muhammad Sallallahu 'Alayhi wa Sallam (may Allah exalt his mention) in the Qur'an said (meaning): ".And read the Koran with measured readings." [Al-Quran 73: 4]

Listening to the Quran correctly recited is enough to soften even the most difficult hearts. Muslims and non-Muslims consider it a very moving experience, even if they do not understand what is said. Every Muslim should read the Quran in prayer. Still, many of us do not realize that reading the Quran correctly, observing the rules of reading, is not advanced science only for expert readers, but an obligation for all of us and for all always. We read the Quran.

The application of Tajweed's rules is an obligation to stay away from essential errors in the recitation of the Quran. There are two types of mistakes: clear and hidden faults. Mistakes are usually obvious mistakes and change the meaning of words, although it is not easy to identify unknown errors. Most students agree that the Tajwid rules are one duty (Fred's eye) to make apparent mistakes.