The Purpose of Tajweed in Holy Quran

Know What is Tajweed - Listening to the Qur'an being read correctly is enough to soften even the hardest of hearts and Muslims and non-Muslims alike find it a profoundly moving experience even if they do not understand what is being said. We feel this even more in Ramadaan when we are in the Taraweeh prayers, and we can feel the difference if we go to a Masjid where the Tajweed rules of Qur'an recitation is not being observed as they should.

Every single Muslim has to recite Qur'an in Salah, but many of us do not understand that reciting the Qur'an correctly, observing the rules of recitation, is not an advanced science for expert reciters alone. Instead, it is an obligation upon every one of us whenever we recite the Quran tajweed rules.

The word Tajweed linguistically indicates 'proficiency' or 'doing something well.' It comes from the same source letters as the word 'Jayyid' in Arabic (meaning 'good'): Jeem, Waw, and Daal. When applied to the Qur'an, it means giving every letter of the Qur'an its rights and dues of characteristics when we recite the Qur'an and observing the rules that apply to those letters in different situations.

We give the letters their rights by observing the essential characteristics of each character that never leave it. And we provide them their dues by following the features of each letter that are present in them some of the time and not present at other times.

The Qur'an was revealed with Tajweed lessons rules applied to it. In other words, when the angel Jibreel (alaihis salaam) recited the words of Allah to the Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu 'Alayhi wa Sallam), he told them in a certain way, and he explained the Prophet (sallallaahu 'Alayhi wa Sallam) how it was permissible to recite the Qur'an. So it is upon us to observe those rules so that we recite it in the way it was revealed.

At the time of the Prophet (sallallaahu 'Alayhi wa Sallam), there was no requirement for people to study Tajweed because they talked with what is now known as Tajweed, so it was natural for them. When the Arabs began mixing with the non-Arabs as Islam spread, mistakes in the Qur'an recitation started appearing, so the scholars had to record the rules. Now, because the everyday Arabic that Arabs speak has changed so much from the Classical Arabic with which the Qur'an was revealed, even Arabs have to study Tajweed.

The Qur'an is the word of Allah, and it's every syllable from Allah. Its recitation must be taken very seriously. The purpose of the Science of Tajweed, in essence, is to make the reciter proficient in reciting the Qur'an, observing the correct pronunciation of every letter with the rulings and characteristics which apply to each letter, without any exaggeration or deficiency.

And so through this, the reciter can recite the Qur'an upon the way of the Prophet (sallallaahu Alayhi wa Sallam) who received it from Jibreel, who received it from Allah (subhanahu wa ta'aala) in the Ancient Arabic dialect that it came down in.

Arabic letters each have a Makhraj - an exit or articulation point - in the mouth or throat from which they start, and they also each have Sifaat - attributes, or characteristics - particular to them.

Knowing the Makhraj and Sifaat of each letter is an essential part of Tajweed. Sometimes two letters have very related exits, which makes mixing them up easy. So if a person does not know the attributes of each letter, there is a danger that he will change the meaning of the words in the Qur'an recitation. Observing the rules of Tajweed in reciting protects the reciter from making mistakes in reciting the Qur'an.