Tajweed Rules

Contents

1. An Introduction to the Science of TajweedLinguistically, tajweed means to improve or to make excellent. Technically, it is pronouncing every letter from its point of articulation and giving it…
2. Isti'adhah and BasmalahIsti'adhah is saying, before reciting, أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم ("I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed devil"). This wording is preferred by the…
3. Makharij: Points of ArticulationA Makhraj is the place where the sound of a letter stops, giving it its distinct identity. To find it, make the letter silent or doubled, put a voweled…
4. Sifat: Qualities of the LettersA Sifah is the manner in which a letter is produced at its makhraj: whether breath flows or is held, whether sound flows or is held, whether the tongue…
5. The Letters One by OneAfter the makharij and sifat, the reciter needs to know each letter on its own: its makhraj, its main qualities, and the mistakes that occur in…
6. Tafkhim and Tarqiq: Heavy and Light LettersTafkhim linguistically means fattening; technically it is a fullness entering the sound of a letter so that the mouth fills with its echo. Tarqiq means…
7. The Rules of Ra'Ra' is a letter of Istifal, yet it is heavy in some cases and light in others. Many scholars hold that its basic state is heavy, which is why the cause of…
8. The Rules of the Silent LamThe silent Lam in the Quran is of five kinds: Lam at-Ta'rif, the Lam of a verb, the Lam of a particle, the Lam of command, and the Lam of a noun. Each has…
9. The Rules of Nun Sakinah and TanwinNun Sakinah is a Nun without a vowel that remains in both joining and stopping; it occurs in nouns, verbs and particles, in the middle or at the end of a…
10. Izhar HalqiIzhar means making clear; technically it is pronouncing the silent Nun or the Tanwin from its makhraj, with no added Ghunnah, when a throat letter…
11. IdghamIdgham means inserting; technically it is a silent letter meeting a voweled letter so that they become one doubled letter of the second kind. Its six…
12. IqlabIqlab means conversion; technically it is turning a silent Nun or Tanwin into a hidden Mim before Ba, with Ghunnah. Its one letter is Ba, within a word or…
13. Ikhfa' HaqiqiIkhfa' means concealing; technically it is pronouncing a silent Nun or Tanwin in a state between Izhar and Idgham, without doubling, while keeping the…
14. The Rules of Mim SakinahMim Sakinah is a Mim without a vowel that remains in both joining and stopping. Before the letters of the alphabet it has three rules.
15. Doubled Nun and Mim, and the Levels of GhunnahGhunnah is a nasal sound built into Nun and Mim, coming from the Khayshum, with no action of the tongue. If the nose is pinched, it stops. It is a…
16. Mithlayn, Mutajanisayn and MutaqaribaynWhen two letters meet in writing and pronunciation, they have four names according to their relation in makhraj and quality:
17. QalqalahQalqalah means vibration; technically it is a bounce of sound when pronouncing a silent letter, so that a strong echo is heard. Its five letters are…
18. Madd and Qasr: LengtheningMadd means increase; technically it is lengthening the sound with a Madd letter when it meets a Hamzah or a sukun. Qasr means holding back; technically it…
19. Madd Asli (Tabi'i)It is the Madd without which the letter itself does not exist, and it needs no cause such as a Hamzah or sukun. It lasts two counts, whether joining or…
20. Madd caused by HamzahMadd Muttasil: a Hamzah follows the Madd letter in the same word. It is obligatory; for Hafs by way of ash-Shatibiyyah its length is four or five counts.…
21. Madd caused by sukunMadd Lazim: an original sukun, present both when joining and stopping, follows the Madd letter, as the poet says: "it is Lazim if, after a Madd letter…
22. Ha' al-Kinayah: the Pronoun Ha'Ha' al-Kinayah is the extra Ha' that refers to a single absent male, attached to nouns, verbs and particles. Lengthening it is called Silah: a Ha' with…
23. Hamzat al-Wasl and Hamzat al-Qat'Hamzat al-Qat' is pronounced both when starting and when joining; in the Mushaf it carries a small 'Ayn head (ء), as in. Hamzat al-Wasl is an extra Hamzah…
24. Waqf and Ibtida': Stopping and StartingThe poet says: "after perfecting the letters, one must know the stops and the starts." Knowing where to stop and start completes tajweed, because it…
25. How to Stop on the Ends of WordsThe basic way to stop on a voweled word is pure Sukun; one never stops with a full vowel. Rawm and Ishmam are also allowed under their conditions. The…
26. Maqtu' and Mawsul: Separated and Joined WordsA Maqtu' word is written in the Mushaf separate from the word after it; a Mawsul word is written joined to it. Knowing this matters for Waqf Ikhtibari (a…
27. The Open Ta: Feminine Endings Written with TaThe feminine ending of nouns is normally written as Ta' Marbutah (ة) and stopped on as Ha'. In certain places in the Mushaf it is written as Ta' Maftuhah…
28. The Signs of the Madinah MushafThe Dabt is the set of signs placed on letters to show their vowels and rules. In the Madinah Mushaf they follow precise conventions, so whoever…
29. Special Words in the Riwayah of HafsThis is a summary of the places with a special rule in the riwayah of Hafs 'an 'Asim by way of ash-Shatibiyyah, gathered in one table for easy revision.…
30. The Text of al-Muqaddimah al-JazariyyahThe complete poem for memorisation and revision, in the common count of 109 verses. The headings are not part of the poem; they were added for division. A…
31. Glossary of TermsThe Arabic terms used in this book with their Latin spelling as used in the English edition, so that the editions can be matched.

All praise is for Allah, who sent down the Book to His servant and placed in it no crookedness. Blessings and peace be upon the one who was commanded to recite the Quran with measured recitation, upon his family and companions, and upon all who received the Book of Allah from them with correct recitation until the Last Day.

This is a comprehensive book on the rules of Tajweed (التَّجْوِيد). Its aim is to gather every rule of this science in a clear teaching order: each topic opens with the text of Imam Ibn al-Jazari, followed by an explanation, coloured examples from the Quran, warnings about common mistakes, and finally the sources.

Method of this book

• Riwayah: the book follows the riwayah of Hafs 'an 'Asim (حَفْص عَنْ عَاصِم) by way of Ash-Shatibiyyah (الشَّاطِبِيَّة), the riwayah in which the Madinah Mushaf and most printed copies of the Quran are written. Where the way of Tayyibat an-Nashr (طَيِّبَة النَّشْر) has a different option, it is mentioned for information only.
• Sources: the foundation of the book is the work of Imam Ibn al-Jazari: Al-Muqaddimah al-Jazariyyah (المُقَدِّمَة الجَزَرِيَّة), an-Nashr and at-Tamhid. Next comes Makki ibn Abi Talib's ar-Ri'ayah for the description of the letters and their qualities, and al-Marsafi's Hidayat al-Qari for detail, examples and teaching order.

• References: verses of Al-Muqaddimah al-Jazariyyah are numbered according to the common count of 109 verses. For the other books, the place where the topic is discussed is named rather than a page number, because editions differ.
• Differences of opinion: where scholars differ, the views are given briefly, followed by what is practised in Hafs by way of ash-Shatibiyyah.

The sources

Imam Ibn al-Jazari (751 to 833 AH)

Shams ad-Din Abu al-Khayr Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn 'Ali ibn Yusuf al-Jazari of Damascus, a Shafi'i scholar, was the leading master of recitation of his age and the last great authority in the science of the Qira'at. He was born in Damascus in 751 AH and died in Shiraz in 833 AH. His works on this subject include the poem known as Al-Muqaddimah al-Jazariyyah; at-Tamhid fi 'Ilm at-Tajwid, written early in his scholarly life; an-Nashr fi al-Qira'at al-'Ashr, the widest and most carefully verified work on the mass-transmitted readings; and its versification Tayyibat an-Nashr. For this reason his words are the foundation of this book.

Makki ibn Abi Talib al-Qaysi (355 to 437 AH)

Abu Muhammad Makki ibn Abi Talib Hammush al-Qaysi was born in Kairouan in 355 AH and died in Cordoba in 437 AH; he was a master of the Qira'at and of Arabic. His ar-Ri'ayah li-Tajwid al-Qira'ah wa Tahqiq Lafz at-Tilawah is one of the earliest books devoted entirely to tajweed. It is the most detailed in describing the letters one by one, explaining their qualities and names, and warning against the mistakes reciters make in each letter.

Shaykh 'Abd al-Fattah al-Marsafi (d. 1409 AH)

Shaykh 'Abd al-Fattah ibn as-Sayyid 'Ajami al-Marsafi of Egypt was a scholar of the Qira'at in the fourteenth century AH. His Hidayat al-Qari ila Tajwid Kalam al-Bari is among the most complete modern books on tajweed in the riwayah of Hafs, known for its teaching order, its many examples, and its coverage of fine points and special words.

Terminology

The technical terms of this science are kept in their Arabic form in every language of this book, because they are fixed names that a student should learn as they are. In the English edition each term is written in Latin letters, with its Arabic form in brackets at its first mention in each chapter, for example Ghunnah (الغُنَّة). A glossary in all three languages is given at the end of the book.

Colour guide

In the Quranic examples only the letters to which the rule applies are coloured; the rest of the word stays black. Each colour has one fixed meaning throughout the book:

Appendix 3: Sources

• Ibn al-Jazari, Muhammad ibn Muhammad (d. 833 AH): al-Muqaddimah fi-ma 'ala Qari' al-Quran an Ya'lamah (al-Muqaddimah al-Jazariyyah). One critical edition is by Dr. Ayman Rushdi Suwayd.
• Ibn al-Jazari: an-Nashr fi al-Qira'at al-'Ashr, corrected by Shaykh 'Ali Muhammad ad-Dabba'; other editions exist.
• Ibn al-Jazari: at-Tamhid fi 'Ilm at-Tajwid, edited by Dr. Ghanim Qadduri al-Hamad.
• Makki ibn Abi Talib al-Qaysi (d. 437 AH): ar-Ri'ayah li-Tajwid al-Qira'ah wa Tahqiq Lafz at-Tilawah, edited by Dr. Ahmad Hasan Farhat.
• 'Abd al-Fattah as-Sayyid 'Ajami al-Marsafi (d. 1409 AH): Hidayat al-Qari ila Tajwid Kalam al-Bari.
• Al-Qasim ibn Firruh ash-Shatibi (d. 590 AH): Hirz al-Amani wa Wajh at-Tahani (ash-Shatibiyyah).