Tajweed or Tajwid Quran is a set of rules for the correct pronunciation of the letters with all its qualities and applying the various of recitation. 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. 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 (Gabriel), may Allah exalt his mention, recited the words of Allah to the Prophet Muhammad (PUBH), he recited them in a certain way and he showed the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the ways in which it was permissible to recite the Qur’an. So it is obligatory upon us to observe those rules so that we recite Quran it in the way it was revealed.
At the time of the Prophet (PBUH), there was no need for people to learn Tajweed Quran 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 and as Islam spread, mistakes in the Quran recitation began to appear, 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 the Arabs have to study Tajweed.
1. Renew your intention every time
Learning the phonemes of any new language is very difficult for an adult. Therefore, you need a lot of stamina and will power to accomplish this. Often you might get discouraged when despite continuous efforts you fail to produce the right sound. During these times, remind yourself why you’re doing this.
2. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes
Many of us have this notion that it is haram to recite Quran if you don’t know how to do it properly. This belief is not just wrong; it is in fact harmful as if prevents us from reciting the Quran.
3. Over-stress in order to achieve the right stress
If you have particular difficulties in producing the ح ق ع sounds. So what you should do at first, is to put extra stress in these words at the beginning, and once you could produce the stressed sounds with ease, stop stressing them. Then you could produce the correct sounds for these letters. Try and see if it works.
4. Practice
Keep practicing. You don’t need a fixed time and place to practice makhraj and sifaat. Just try pronouncing them whenever they come in mind – while daydreaming, having a break from work, or watching TV. Just try producing those sounds, just like a baby does. A baby blabbers whenever he/she feels like, not caring what others think, not getting embarrassed, just enjoying what he/she is doing and learning a language at the same time.
5. Listen and imitate
Listen as much as you can of Quranic recitation. For beginners it is best to select a slow monotonous recitation, e.g. Husayri (rh). Listen and try to repeat after it. You’ll find that soon you’re getting the hang of it.
6. Take each rule one at a time
When you learn one rule of recitation, practice it and get the hang of it first before starting on the next rule. If you try to master too many rules at one go, there is a chance that you’ll get overwhelmed and might even feel like giving up. So make it slow and sure.
7. Don’t be ashamed to use them in conversation
Once you have learned how to pronounce ayn, don’t hesitate to use it the next time you say assalamu ‘alaikum. When you learn Ha, say alHamdulillah correctly. Don’t be shy of others. Don’t be scared of receiving praise, rather let it remind you of the blessing of Allah. Correct pronunciation is a gift from Allah, and we must use it in order to please Him.
The first part of the rules of tajweed concern the outlook of person reading the Quran, also called ‘Manners of the Heart’. These include:
The second set of rules of tajweed concern ‘External Manners’, such as:
The third part of the rules of tajweed concerns Makharij-ul-Huroof or ‘the emission points of the letters’. These emission points of letters are the various regions and places in the mouth, of the lips, and in the throat, from where the sounds of the different letters of classical ‘Fussha’ Arabic are emitted.
The fourth part of the rules of tajweed concerns the characteristics of the letters. These are called Sifaat-ul-Huruf, These refer to the different attributes of the letters, or the ‘manner of articulation’ of the letters.
The fifth set of rules of tajweed while reciting Quran concerns the letters Noon and the related Tanween. The Noon Sakinah and Tanween (vowels that produces a "nnn" sound immediately after it) can be pronounced in four different ways.
The sixth set of tajweed rules while reading Quran concern the letter Meem. The Meem Sakinah can be pronounced in three different ways.
The seventh rule of recitation with tajweed concerns prolongation [Muddud]. These rules refer to the number of beats that are pronounced when a vowel letter is followed by a Mudd letter.
The eighth rule of reading Quran with tajweed concerns the letter Laam. The Arabic word for "the" is ‘al’ (the letters Alif and Laam). The Laam in ‘al’ is pronounced if the letter following the al is "Qamariyya" (lunar), but silent if the letter following the al is "Shamsiyya" (solar). Qamariyya and Shamsiyya refer to the shape of the Arabic letters.
The ninth and final set of tajweed rules concern the thickness and thinness of pronunciation of the Arabic letters. Some of the Arabic letters are always pronounced thick with a heavy accent (Tafkhim), while some letters are pronounced thin with a light accent (Tarqeeq).