What is Tajweed?
The science of reciting the Quran correctly by giving each letter its due rights and characteristics.
Tajweed literally means "to make beautiful" or "to do well." As a technical term, it is the science of reciting the Noble Quran correctly, pronouncing each letter from its proper makhraj (articulation point) and in accordance with its ṣifāt (characteristics), along with the required rules of madd, ghunna, idghām, and so forth.
What does it cover?
- Makhārij: the articulation points of the letters.
- Ṣifāt: the characteristics of the letters (jahr/hams, shidda/rikhwa, tafkhīm/tarqīq…).
- Aḥkām: the rules of tanwīn and sākin nūn (iẓhār, idghām, iqlab, ikhfāʾ), the types of madd, ghunna, and waqf-ibtidāʾ.
Its Ruling
Learning and applying tajweed to the degree necessary to recite the Quran free of laḥn (recitation errors) is, according to the majority of scholars, practically obligatory. The foundational reference text is Ibn al-Jazarī's al-Muqaddimah al-Jazariyyah.
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