Tajweed (تجويد‎‎) sometimes rendered as tajwid, refers to the rules governing pronunciation during recitation of the Qur'an. The term is derived from the triliteral root j-w-d meaning "to make well, make better, improve". Tajweed is a fard (religious duty) when reciting the Qur'an to the best of one's ability, which is why I decided to open this thread, because if you don't read the Quran properly, it won't have the effect it is supposed to have....

[size=14pt]Arabic alphabet [/size]

The Arabic alphabet has 29 basic letters, these are all the letters we have:
[size=13pt]أبجد

هوز

حطي

كلمن

صعفس

قرشت

ثخذ

ضظغ [/size]

Now the way I arranged it is the original form that the Arabs did when forming their letters, it was after the crusaders the alphabets were arranged in ا ب ت ث ج ح and so on......

Myth holds it that, the first 6 names I mentioned as the arabiyyah letters were the names of 6 Arabs kings that were oppressors, that's by the way tho...

Even till today, watch the Greek letters and watch the English letters and see how they are arranged, it is exactly the way I arranged it, it was the Arabs that formed the letters the west are using today, greek letters are alpha, beta, gamma, delta.....do you see the resemblance? English says K L M N, which is كلمن I think I've digressed, let me continue...

The Arabic word for "the" is al- (i.e. the letter alif followed by lām). The lām in al- is pronounced if the letter after it is "qamarīyah" ("lunar), but if the letter after it is "shamsīyah" ("solar), the lām after it becomes part of the following letter (is assimilated). "Solar" and "lunar" became descriptions for these instances as the words for "the moon" and "the sun" (al-qamar and ash-shams, respectively) are examples of this rule.

[size=14pt]Emission points[/size]

There are 17 emission points (makhārij al-ḥurūf) of the letters, located in various regions of the throat, tongue, lips, nose, and the mouth as a whole for the prolonged (mudd) letters.

The manner of articulation (ṣifat al-ḥurūf) refers to the different attributes of the letters. Some of the characteristics have opposites, while some are individual. An example of a characteristic would be the fricative consonant sound called ṣafīr, which is an attribute of air escaping from a tube.

The emphatic consonants خ ص ض ط ظ غ ق, known as mufakhkham letters, are pronounced with a “heavy accent” (tafkhīm). This is done by either pharyngealization, i.e. pronounced while squeezing one's voicebox, or by velarization. The remaining letters – the muraqqaq – have a “light accent” (tarqīq) as they are pronounced normally, without pharyngealization (except ع, which is often considered a pharyngeal sound).

ر (rāʼ ) is heavy when accompanied by a fatḥah or ḍammah and light when accompanied by a kasrah. If its vowel sound is cancelled, such as by a sukūn or the end of a sentence, then it is light when the first preceding voweled letter (without a sukun) has a kasrah. It is heavy if the first preceding voweled letter is accompanied by a fatḥah or ḍammah. For example, the ر at the end of the first word of the Sūrat "al-ʻAṣr" is heavy because the ع (ʻayn) has a fatḥah:

وَالْعَصْرِِ

ل (lām) is only heavy in the word Allāh. If, however, the preceding vowel is a kasrah, then the ل in Allāh is light, such as in the Bismillah:

بِسْمِ الله

To be continued

[size=14pt]Prolongation[/size]

Prolongation refers to the number of morae (beats of time) that are pronounced when a voweled letter (fatḥah, ḍammah, kasrah) is followed by a 'mudd letter (alif, yāʼ or wāw). The number of morae then becomes two. If these are at the end of the sentence, such as in all the verses in "al-Fatiha", then the number of morae can be more than two, but must be consistent from verse to verse. Additionally, if there is a maddah sign over the mudd letter, it is held for four or five morae when followed by a hamzah (ء) and six morae when followed by a shaddah. For example, the end of the last verse in "al-Fatiha" has a six-mora maddah due to the shaddah on the ل (lām).

[size=14pt]Sākinah (vowelless) letters[/size]

Nūn sākinah and tanwīn

Nūn sākinah refers to instances where the letter nūn is accompanied by a tanwīn or sukun sign. There are then four ways it should be pronounced, depending on which letter immediately follows:

1– iẓhār  (clarity): the nūn sound is pronounced clearly without additional modifications when followed by "letters of the throat" (ء ه ع ح غ خ). Consider the nūn with a sukun pronounced regularly in the beginning of the last verse in "al-Fatiha": صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمتَ ‎

2 – iqlāb  ("conversion): the nūn sound is converted to a /m/ sound if it is followed by a ب. Additionally, it is pronounced in a ghunnah (a nasalization held for two morae). Consider the nūn sound on the tanwīn on the letter dāl that is pronounced as a mīm instead in the chapter Al-Kafirun: وَلَا أَنَا عَابِدٌ مَا عَبَدْتُمْ‎

3 – idghām  ("merging): the nūn sound is not pronounced when followed by a ل or ر. There is also a ghunnah if it is followed by و م ي or another ن . Idghām only applies between two words and not in the middle of a word. Consider for example the nūn that is not pronounced in the fifth line (the Shahada) in the Call to Prayer: أشهد أن لا اله إلا الله‎

4 – ikhfāʼ ("concealment): the nūn sound is not fully pronounced (i.e. the tongue does not make full contact with the roof of the mouth as in a regular [n] sound) if it is followed by any letters other than those already listed, includes a ghunnah. Consider the nūn that is suppressed in the second verse of the chapter Al-Falaq: مِن شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ‎

Mīm sākinanah

The term mīm sākinah refers to instances where the letter mīm is accompanied by a sukun. There are then three ways it should be pronounced, depending on which letter immediately follows:

1 – idgham mutamatsilain  ("labial merging) when followed by another mīm (usually indicated by a shaddah): the mīm is then merged with the following mīm and includes a ghunnah;

2 – ikhfāʼ shafawī ("labial concealment): the mīm is suppressed (i.e. lips not fully closed) and, when followed by a ب, includes a ghunnah;

3 – iẓhār shafawī  ("labial clarity): the mīm is pronounced clearly with no amendment when followed by any letters other than those already listed.

[size=14pt]Qalqalah[/size]

The five qalqalah letters are the consonants ق ط ب ج and د. Qalqalah is the addition of a slight "bounce" or reduced vowel sound to the consonant whose vowel sound is otherwise cancelled, such as by a sukūn, shaddah, or the end of sentence. The "lesser bounce" occurs when the letter is in the middle of a word or at the end of the word but the reader joins it to the next word. A "medium bounce" is given when the letter is at the end of the word but is not accompanied by a shaddah, such as the end of the first verse of the Sūrat "al-Falaq":

قُلۡ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ ٱلۡفَلَقِ‎

The biggest bounce is when the letter is at the end of the word and is accompanied by a shaddah, such as the end of the first verse of Sūrat "al-Masad":

تَبَّتۡ يدَاۤ اَبِیۡ لَهَبٍ وَّ تَبَّ

I don't know how to upload audio (if it is possible), if not for that I would've pronounced some of these words and recite some of the ayah so you can listen to the application of these rules I'm listing, nevertheless, listen to SHAYKH MAHMOUD KHALIL AL-HUSARY recitation, you will get what I'm saying perfectly.

To be continued

[size=14pt]Stop signs found in the Quran[/size]

Stop signs (rumūz al-awqāf), i.e. indications to pause, are:

مـ – compulsory stop.
قلى – stopping advised.
ج – stop permitted if desired.
صلى – stopping not advised.
لا – do not stop.

[size=14pt]Manners of the heart[/size]

Understanding the origin of the word.

One should understand that the Qurʼan is not the word of man.

The reader should throw away all other thoughts.

One should understand the meaning.

One should be humble.

One should feel that every message in the Qurʼan is meant personally for himself or herself.

[size=14pt]External manners[/size]

One should be vigilant of the purity of body, clothes, and place.

One is encouraged to face the Qiblah.

One should stop at a verse of warning and seek protection with Allaah.

One should stop at a verse of mercy and ask Allaah for mercy.

One should use pure Literary Arabic pronunciation, in addition to pronouncing the letter ج (jīm) as [d͡ʒ] as in jar, not as [ɡ] as in get...

One should have wuḍūʼ ("purity) and read only for the sake of God.

That's just the summary and basic things you need for reading the Quran correctly, to know more, read books on tajweed.

Salaam.

http://quranicaudio.com/quran/16

Download Khalil Al-husary's recitation, I will advice you download suratul shams, these rules I mentioned(apart from the stops) are there....

The first ayah starts with wal-shams(read as wash-shams) that's a sun or solar letter being given shaddah.

The second ayah starts with wal-qamari(read as wal-qamari) that's a moon or lunar letter, without shaddah.

Just listen to it and see how it was read.

Jazakallahu Khiran

Permission to post on blog?

Contact17:
Jazakallahu Khiran

Permission to post on blog?

Yea...

Just remembered now, some of our brothers and sisters that attended "ile keu" in the west do not know how to pronounce these hurūf properly, some say "ha" instead of "kha" for instance instead of "min khaufi" they say "min haufi" (in suratul Quraish), instead of "sitta" they say "shitta", instead of "Aalamina" they say "Aalamino" instead of "Masha Allaah" they say "Mosha Allaah"(with a funny tone), pls we have to stop this wrong pronunciation, pick a letter a day and pronounce it for that day, by the time you get to the 29th day, your pronunciation must have been perfect! Also listen to qira'a that are jameel(beautiful), you can start with Al-husary he is a very good reciter from misra (Egypt)......

Salaam.

lexiconkabir:
Just remembered now, some of our brothers and sisters that attended "ile keu" in the west do not know how to pronounce these hurūf properly, some say "ha" instead of "kha" for instance instead of "min khaufi" they say "min haufi" (in suratul Quraish), instead of "sitta" they say "shitta", instead of "Aalamina" they say "Aalamino" instead of "Masha Allaah" they say "Mosha Allaah"(with a funny tone), pls we have to stop this wrong pronunciation, pick a letter a day and pronounce it for that day, by the time you get to the 29th day, your pronunciation must have been perfect! Also listen to qira'a that are jameel(beautiful), you can start with Al-husary he is a very good reciter from misra (Egypt)......

Salaam.

Jazakallahu khairan brother. I honestly can relate with all these. When I was taught then, they only seemed to care about how fast one can recite and not really how well. This thread came at the perfect timing for me. Alhamdulillah, tajweed is one aspect I've been trying to take time to learn over the last few weeks. Hoping for some real improvements, in sha Allah.

AideeSheks:

Jazakallahu khairan brother. I honestly can relate with all these. When I was taught then, they only seemed to care about how fast one can recite and not really how well. This thread came at the perfect timing for me. Alhamdulillah, tajweed is one aspect I've been trying to take time to learn over the last few weeks. Hoping for some real improvements, in sha Allah.

Really before anything master the letters and learn their points of makhraj(emission), pick a letter per day, you can pronounce like 1000 times, dont be lazy, after that you can go on to the rules, let me see if i can get a link to a good pronunciation of the letters, brb.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPDCCdFR_dI

cc: AideeSheks

lexiconkabir:


Really before anything master the letters and learn their points of makhraj(emission), pick a letter per day, you can pronounce like 1000 times, dont be lazy, after that you can go on to the rules, let me see if i can get a link to a good pronunciation of the letters, brb.

Alright. Patiently waiting. Though, I recently stumbled upon a video series on tajweed by Yasir Qadhi. Haven't gone too far in it but he started by treating each of the letters.

lexiconkabir:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPDCCdFR_dI

cc: AideeSheks

I'll check this out. Thank you

AideeSheks:

I'll check this out. Thank you

You welcome.....

May Allaah make it easy for you...

lexiconkabir:

You welcome.....
May Allaah make it easy for you...

Amin

Jazaka Allâh kheiran.

AbdelKabir:
Jazaka Allâh kheiran.

wa ant fa jazakAllaah khaira.

There is good news brothers and sisters that want to learn tajweed, I stumbled on an app this morning on google play store, cuz I really want people to know this science....its called "tajweed Ahkaam(Qur'an)" by huzaifa mustapha, search for it, its very nice and just 6.11mb, another bonus is, the reciter used is the same SHAYKH MAHMOUD KHALIL AL-HUSARY i talked about, below is the a screenshot of what it looks like on play store:

lexiconkabir:
There is good news brothers and sisters that want to learn tajweed, I stumbled on an app this morning on google play store, cuz I really want people to know this science....its called "tajweed Ahkaam(Qur'an)" by huzaifa mustapha, search for it, its very nice and just 6.11mb, another bonus is, the reciter used is the same SHAYKH MAHMOUD KHALIL AL-HUSARY i talked about, below is the a screenshot of what it looks like on play store:

Have the app now. But since the main interface is in Arabic, I don't really know what each topic actually is.

AideeSheks:

Have the app now. But since the main interface is in Arabic, I don't really know what each topic actually is.

Oh! Check the topmost left corner, there is something you can click on, when you do, you'll see this:

lexiconkabir:


Oh! Check the topmost left corner, there is something you can click on, when you do, you'll see this:

Alright. Thank you.

AideeSheks:

Alright. Thank you.

Hope you've gotten it? If you have....use the thread as an aid to understand the app.

lexiconkabir:


Hope you've gotten it? If you have....use the thread as an aid to understand the app.

Yes sir. Presently doing that.

AideeSheks:

Yes sir

No be only sir na sax

presently doing that.

Make sure YOU ARE NOT RUSHING, for every rule you learn, find 20 - 50 examples from the Qur'an, and i mean it, this is what will help you, also make sure you apply every new rule you have mastered, listen to Al-Husary alot, I'm emphasizing on Al-Husary because he is a master of tajweed.

lexiconkabir:


No be only sir na sax



Make sure YOU ARE NOT RUSHING, for every rule you learn, find 20 - 50 examples from the Qur'an, and i mean it, this is what will help you, also make sure you apply every new rule you have mastered, listen to Al-Husary alot, I'm emphasizing on Al-Husary because he is a master of tajweed.

Alright. I'll be updating you here as I'm making progress little by little. And also when I need to ask some questions, if it's not too much trouble.

AideeSheks:

Alright. I'll be updating you here as I'm making progress little by little. And also when I need to ask some questions, if it's not too much trouble.

Not at all.

Asalam Alaykum brother.
I learnt about the stop signs today and I've been trying to practice the proper way of using them.
Quick question though:
There are situations where I'm in the middle of a verse and I run out of breath, meaning I have to forcefully stop at a word where there's no stop sign. I read that if one stops in places like this, then I have to rewind some words back to the start of the phrase or sentence. How do I go about this? For someone who doesn't yet understand the Arabic language, I can't fully tell which point is the start of a phrase in the verse. Mostly just use my discretion in such cases.

^^
Jazkallahu khiran for sharing. It's really motivating

AideeSheks:
Asalam Alaykum brother.
I learnt about the stop signs today and I've been trying to practice the proper way of using them.
Quick question though:
There are situations where I'm in the middle of a verse and I run out of breath, meaning I have to forcefully stop at a word where there's no stop sign. I read that if one stops in places like this, then I have to rewind some words back to the start of the phrase or sentence. How do I go about this? For someone who doesn't yet understand the Arabic language, I can't fully tell which point is the start of a phrase in the verse. Mostly just use my discretion in such cases.

Wa alaykum salaam

If there are no pause marks to where you run out of breath, the general consensus is that you go 2 or 3 words back and resume the recitation (so as to make sure it forms a better sense of that ayah and perhaps to make sure the last word recited was complete). Most beginners however can omit this method and pickup from where they stopped (since they are learning).

The more you practice, the more you will have a faint idea of where to pick up, always listen to other reciters.

There is another way you can use to tell the end of a word, whenever you see alif( ا ) in that form, its telling you that word has ended, for example فعلوا meaning "they did" the main thing we read was "fa'aloo" the alif at the end is telling us that the word has ended.

I hope you got this.

Note that there are different kind of "alifs", there is hamza wasl(وصل) and there is hamza qat'(قطع) and just alif (الف)

The ص in wasl was cut to give ٱ and the ع in qat' was cut to give أ, pls note that these alifs is not the kind of alif I'm talking about, but this ا the ordinary alif.

Jazakallahu khairan. I think I understand what you've explained. In sha Allah, I'll try and look out for all these things later this evening.

Contact17:
^^ Jazkallahu khiran for sharing. It's really motivating

Wa Antum fa Jazakumullahu khayran