What is Tajweed?
The word Tajweed linguistically means ‘proficiency’ or ‘doing something well’
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 letter that never leave it. And we give them their dues by observing the
characteristics 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 rules applied to it. In other words, when the
angel Jibreel ((AS)) recited the words of Allah to the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) he recited
them in a certain way and he showed the Prophet (SAW) the ways in which 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.
History of Tajweed
At the time of the Prophet (SAW) there was no need for people to study Tajweed
because they talked with what is now known as Tajweed so it was natural for them. When the
Arabs started mixing with the non-Arabs as Islam spread, mistakes in 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 purpose of Tajweed
The Qur’an is the word of Allah, and its every syllable is 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 pbuh. as he received it from Jibreel who received it from Allah (SWT) in the
Classical 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 originate and they also each have Sifaat – attributes, or characteristics
- particular to them. Knowing the Makhraj and Sifaat of each letter is an important part of
Tajweed. Sometimes two letters have very similar 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 Qur’an recitation. Observing the rules of Tajweed in reciting
protects the reciter from making mistakes in reciting the Qur’an.