Tajwid

Tajwid is a special system used to read the Quran.

The word comes from an Arabic verb meaning to make something excellent. In practice, it means giving every letter its proper right during recitation. This ensures that the words are spoken exactly as they were meant to be. Many people believe that following these rules is a duty for Muslims. For example, some say it is an obligation to recite the opening chapter of the Quran correctly.

Following these rules helps keep the meaning and grammar of the holy book safe.

Learning tajwid involves many specific steps for the mouth and throat. There are seventeen different emission points where sounds can come from. These points include the throat, the tongue, the lips, and the nose. The way a person moves their mouth is called the manner of articulation. Some letters have a heavy accent, while others have a light accent. For instance, some sounds require squeezing the voicebox to sound correct. Other rules, like prolongation, tell the reader how long to hold a certain sound. This makes the recitation sound steady and beautiful.

This system began to grow during the third century of the Hijra. This was also known as the ninth century. During the time of the Abbasid Caliphate, many new people joined the faith. These new followers were often not native Arabic speakers. Because of this, mistakes in pronunciation began to increase. To fix this, scholars started writing down rules for intonation. They wanted to protect the way the Prophet Muhammad recited the words. This helped everyone learn the correct way to speak.

Many important scholars helped build this system over hundreds of years. Abu Ubaid al-Qasim bin Salam lived from 774 to 838 CE. He was the first to write a recorded system for tajwid. He even gave names to the different rules in his book called al-Qiraat. Later, Abu Bakr Ibn Mujāhid wrote a book about the seven known recitations. In the 1300s, Imam Al-Shatibi wrote a very long poem. This poem had 1173 lines to help people remember the rules. Another scholar, Ibn al-Jazari, wrote poems about ten major reciters.

These rules connect deeply to how the Arabic language works. The alphabet has 28 basic letters plus the hamzah. Some letters are called sun letters and others are moon letters. This distinction changes how the word for "the" is pronounced. There are also rules for how sounds like "n" or "m" behave. For example, a sound might be merged, cleared, or hidden. Some letters even have a small bounce called qalqalah. All these small details work together to create a perfect way of reading.