The Art and Science

of Reciting the Quran

 What the Quran has to say about Tajweed

Surah 73: ayah 4:

4. Or a little more; and recite the Qur'ân (aloud) in a slow,
(pleasant tone and) style .

S
Surah
h 25:
25 ayah
h 32:
32
32. And those who disbelieve say: "Why is not the Qur'ân revealed
to him all at once?" Thus (it is sent down in parts), that We may
strengthen your heart thereby
thereby. And We have revealed it to you
gradually, in stages. (It was revealed to the Prophet in 23 years.).
2
 Surah 2: ayah 121:
121. Those (who embraced Islâm from Banî Israel) to whom We
gave the Book [the Taurât (Torah)] [or those (Muhammad's Peace
be upon him companions) to whom We have given the Book (the
Qur'ân)]
Qur ân)] recite it (i.e. obey its orders and follow its teachings) as it
should be recited (i.e. followed), they are the ones that believe
therein. And whoso disbelieves in it (the Qur'ân), those are they
who are the losers. (Tafsir Al-Qurtubî. Vol. 2, Page 95).
Ibn Masood said by he whom my soul is in his hand:
means he allows the halal in it and forbids the haram in it and reads it as
it was revealed. {Ibn Kathir}

3
 Ask yourself:

If we truly want to recite the Quran as it was

revealed
l d tto th
the rasool,
l ffrom th
the angel,
l
directly from ‫ ﷲ‬Allah, then will we not make
the utmost effort to learn and use all the rules
of tajweed?

4
 (verb) – to make better

Tajweed (n) – Is to make our pronunciation of

the Quran better,
better meaning perfect
perfect, meaning
as it was revealed.

5
 Tajweed is broken into 4 PARTs:

z (1) Phonetics
z (2) Accents
z (3) Rhythm
z (4) Temperament

6
 Phonetics

z Phonetics is
considered
id d tto b
be th
the
study of the 29
Arabic letters and
their sounds.
z There are 29 letters
in the Arabic
alphabet:
p

7
 2 Characteristics That Each Letter MUST have:

z (1) Each letter is either heavy: pronounced with an

“O”
O shaped mouth
mouth, or light: pronounced with an
open mouth.
z ((2)) Each letter has an address: a pplace where the
sound of the letter originates.

***If you understand the difference between heavy

letters and light letters, their places of
pronunciation become easier to use.
p

8
 Heavy vs
vs. Light

z Heavy letters are defined as letters that are

pronounced by closing your mouth
mouth, making an “O”
O
shape with your mouth and filling it with air.
(restricting the air)
z The following 7 letters are always heavy:
‫قصضطظغخ‬
***Even
Even if you don’t
don t know the places of pronunciation of
these letters, you should at least know the shape of
your mouth when saying them.

9
 Heavy vs
vs. Light

z Light letters are defined as letters that are

pronounced by opening your mouth and letting the
air out.
z Everything
y g other than those defined as heavy y are
light.
‫اب ت ث ج د ذ ز س ش ع ف ك م ن ه و ء ي‬
***You don’t need to remember all of these letters
separately, just remember that everything is light.

10
 Exceptions to Heavy vs. Light

‫ ل‬and ‫ ر‬are sometimes

light and sometimes
heavy.

11
 (Address):

•Place
Pl off pronunciation
i ti (address).
( dd )

•All of these places of

pronunciation fit between the 1st
p
part of the throat and the nasal
cavity
cavity.
12
 Take a Closer Look:

All letters of the

Arabic alphabet
are pronounced
p
from the first part
of the throat to
the nasal cavity

13
 Letters of the Throat:
These letters, if said properly, originate from your throat only:

3rd ‫خغ‬
Cl
Closest
t tto your *S t h
*Scratch
mouth Gargling
2nd ‫حع‬
Middle *Joker Smile
Bite an apple
1st ‫ھﺀا‬
Bottom; closest *Look up
to the chest
14 cavity
 Letters of the Lips:

z When pronouncing these letters, your lips

touch: ‫مفوب‬
*Keep in mind, if your lips are allowed to touch while
pronouncing these letters, then, by definition, they
cannot touch when pronouncing other letters
letters. For
example, it is common mistake for people to touch
their lips when saying ‫(ص ض ط‬h).

15
 Letters of the Mouth:

z If you look at the diagram you will find the Uvula (the
punching bag) at the back of the mouth in between
the tonsils and above the throat. Behind the Uvula
the letter ‫(ق‬H) is pronounced and in front of the uvula
‫(ك‬L) is pronounced.
pronounced
z Next, we come to the front of the mouth. Please take
a look at the diagram label below. You will notice we
are focusing on the top two teeth
teeth, the bottom teeth
and the tongue which is broken into three parts.
Please familiarize yourself with these areas.

16
 The three parts of the tongue can be identified as: The very tip of
the tongue (labeled 1), the second part of the tongue, a little more
then double the tip (labeled 2) and either the left or right side
located at the rear of the tongue (labeled 3). With this diagram you
find the place of Pronunciation for 10 letters:
17
 z 3rd part of the tongue between right or left molar
without moving g the tip
p of the tongue:
g ‫ض‬
z 2nd part of the tongue, behind the bottom teeth: ‫ص‬
(Be sure your tongue is not bending.)
z 2nd part of the tongue,
tongue behind the top teeth: ‫ط‬
z 2nd part of the tongue, at the edge of top teeth: ‫ظ‬
z The top and bottom teeth together:‫ز‬
z The tip of the tongue,
tongue behind the top teeth: ‫ت‬,‫د‬
‫دت‬
z The tip of the tongue, at the edge of the top teeth: ‫ذ‬,
‫ث‬
z Th tip
The ti off the
th tongue,
t behind
b hi d th
the b
bottom
tt teeth:
t th ‫س‬
z Close your back teeth: ‫ش‬
18
 Take
T k a Gl
Glance att All the
th Places
Pl off
Pronunciation:

z 1st part of the throat ‫ھ ﺀ ا‬

z 2 d partt off the
2nd th throat‫ع‬
th t ‫ح‬
z 3rd part of the throat ‫خ غ‬
z B hi d uvula
Behind l ‫ق‬
z In front of uvula ‫ك‬
z 3rd part of the tongue between right or left
molar without moving the tip of the tongue ‫ض‬
z 2nd part of tongue
tongue, behind bottom teeth ‫ص‬
19
 Places of Pronunciation continued…

z 2nd part of tongue, behind top teeth ‫ط‬

z 2 d partt off tongue,
2nd t edge
d off top
t teeth
t th ‫ظ‬
z Top and bottom teeth together ‫ز‬
z Tip of tongue,
tongue behind top teeth ‫د ت‬
z Tip of tongue, edge of top teeth‫ذ ث‬
z Tip of tongue, behind bottom teeth ‫س‬
z Close back teeth‫ش‬
z Letters of the lips‫ف ب و م‬

20
 As discussed earlier the letters
‫ ل‬and ‫ ر‬are sometimes
pronounced heavy and
sometimes light. The following
are the corresponding rules for
each
each.
21
 The Rules of ‫ ل‬:

z ‫ ل‬is always light at face value.

z O l in
Only i th
the word
d “‫”ﷲ‬
“‫”ﷲ‬, is
i ‫ ل‬sometimes
ti h
heavy, andd
sometimes light. The ‫ ل‬we are discussing is the one
in the middle with a on it.
z When the letter before the ‫ ل‬in ‫ ﷲ‬has : ◌َ (Line on
top) or ُ◌(backwards e), then the ‫ ل‬in ‫ ﷲ‬is HEAVY.
z When the letter before the ‫ ل‬in ‫ ﷲ‬has a:
(Line on the bottom), then the ‫ ل‬in ‫ ﷲ‬is LIGHT.

22
 A Few Examples…

23
 Now ffor th
N the C
Confusing
f i P Part…that
t th t is
i if
you want it to be.

The Rules of ‫ ر‬are numerous and if not

explained
l i d correctly
tl th
they can b
be slightly
li htl
confusing. So, do your best to complete the
lessons as they are being taught
taught. Do not try
to take short cuts, because the simplest
method is ppresented below.

24
 The Different Forms of ‫ ر‬:
There are 10-12 forms of ‫ر‬:
z ‫ ر‬with a line on top
z ‫ ر‬with a line on the bottom
z ‫ ر‬with a backwards e
z ‫ ر‬with with line on top and backwards e
z ‫ ر‬with a with a line on the bottom
z ‫ ر‬with a connect and the letter before has a line on top or a backward
e
z ‫ ر‬with a connect and the letter before it has a line on the bottom.
z ‫ ر‬with a connect and the letter before it has a connect
connect.
z ‫ ر‬with N-S on top including upside down e
z ‫ ر‬with a N-S on the bottom.
z ‫ ر‬with E-W

25
 The Rules of ‫ ر‬:
z At face value, ‫ ر‬is heavy.
z When ‫ ر‬has anything
y g on topp of it such as: the line on top
p or the
backwards e, then it is heavy.
z When ‫ ر‬has something underneath it such as: the line on the
bottom, then it is light.
z When ‫ ر‬has a ◌ْ◌ (connect),
(connect) look to the letter before it: -If the
letter before ‫ ر‬with ْ◌(connect) has a , then it is HEAVY
z -If the letter before ‫ ر‬with ْ◌ (connect) has a ◌ِ (line on the
bottom) then it is LIGHT
z Connect and hold doesn’t affect the ‫ر‬
z If the letter before the ‫ ر‬with ْ◌ ALSO has a ْ◌ then simply look to
the letter before that. If a letter isn’t speaking to you then just
move to the next letter.

26
 The Golden Rule:

So, the Golden Rule of ‫ ر‬is,

when ‫ ر‬has something on
t
top it’s
it’ heavy
h andd when
h ‫ر‬
has something on the
bottom it’s light.
27
 Examples.

28
 Transitions

z Transitions from heavy to light and from light to

heavy: each letter carries it it’s
s own identity
z If a letter is heavy and the next is light, it doesn’t
carry over.
z Thi k about
Think b it.
i If you stand
d next to a h
heavy person or
a skinny person it will never affect the way you are.
The same applies for the letters.
z Be mindful of the pronunciations and watch the
shape of your mouth in the beginning. If it feels funny
it is most likelyy correct.

29
 Try A Few Examples:

30
 Accents

z Accents embellish and elongate the sounds

off letters.
l tt
z Before beginning it is important to distinguish
b t
between the
th name off a letter
l tt and
d the
th sound d
that it makes:
ie: the letter ‫ ر‬has a name: Raa and it makes a
sound: rrrr

31
 z When discussing accents I will be calling
your attention
tt ti to t the
th sound d a letter
l tt makes
k or I
may be asking you to take a complete sound
and connect it to the next sound
sound. (When the
sound a letter makes is added to the accent it
makes a complete
p sound.))
z The sound of the letter ‫ ر‬+ an accent = a
complete
p sound.

32
 Basic Accents

z Each of the accents is held for one “count”.

The Arabic term for this is called a and
is equivalent to a second.

33
 Double Accents

z These are considered double accents. When

pronouncing these accents it is just like the basic
three accents but with an N sound at the end
respectively;
ti l un, ini oon.
34
 Connect

z This means that you must connect the complete

sound of the previous letter with the letter that has
thi symbol.
this b l
35
 Connect and Hold

z This accent means that you must connect

and hold. It is the strongest accent in that if it
follows most other accents you cancel at
l
leastt some partt off the
th accentt that
th t comes
36 right before this symbol.
 A Few Examples

z The ‫ ن‬will get canceled in this z You take the complete

case because the is sound of ‫ م‬with ◌ِ and
stronger than the . You will
be connecting the complete you connect it to the
sound before the with the sound of the ‫ م‬with
letter that has the and then the . Now hold that
hold the sound of that connection like pressing
connection
connection. your
o r fingers together.
together
37
 The Head of ‫ص‬

z This accent is found in all Uthmani script Mus-haf. It is

called
ll d the “H d off ‫”ص‬.
th “Head ” It does
d however
h look
l k like
lik a fish
fi h
head. So, as a rule of thumb, you catch a fish then chop
the head off. Therefore, when you see this symbol on a
l tt you do
letter, d nott pronounce it,
it which
hi h means that
th t you
cancel the letter.
38
 Now that you have a basic understanding of some
off the
h accents you will
ill needd to be
b able
bl to
differentiate between stretching and holding
before you can dive into or elongation
elongation.

39
 Stretching vs. Holding

z Here you are stretching

H t t hi z Here you are hholding
H ldi the
th
the sound of the ‫ج‬, like sound of the ‫ ا‬and the ‫ن‬
counting seconds with together, like pressing
your fingers. your fingers together.

40
 A Few More Examples…

z Here you will stretch the ‫ ج‬and then, without breaking

your breath, hold the sound between the ‫ ج‬and ‫ن‬. This
may soundd a little
littl more complicated
li t d than
th it actually
t ll is.
i
Try it and you will see. Start by counting 3 seconds on
your fingers for the complete ‫ ج‬sound and then press your
fi
fingers together
h for h ‫ ج‬to ‫ ن‬hold.
f the h ld
41
 Just A Few More…

z Most people don’t have the ability to make this

diff
differentiation,
ti ti let
l t alone
l be
b able
bl to
t explain
l i it to
t others.
th
Let’s take some time to read these a few times and grasp
the difference.

42
 The Rules of Elongation

z The rules of elongation help students understand

h llong to stretchh a complete
how l sound. d Moreover,
it also discusses how much not to stretch.
z As
A explained
l i d earlier,
li mostt accents t are stretched
t t h d
for one count.
***It is jjust
st as important nott to stretch as it is to do
so when necessary.

43
 An example
A l off th
the effects
ff t on th
the meaning
i
when stretching is out of place

z A side note: The Arabic term for counts is . It is

equivalent to a second. Why we don’t call it seconds or
beats alone without using the word is to protect
the Quran from being integrated or even compared to
music, which we do find amongst some misguided groups.

44
 The Most Basic Approach to the
Rules of Elongation

z • Accents (a.k.a. vowels) are the sounds on

eachh letter
l andd how
h long
l they
h are held.
h ld Whenh
letters need to be stretched, the rules of elongation
need to be understood.
understood
z • Rule one of Elongation is:

45
 Rule One of Elongation:

‫ا‬
f ll
followedd by
b All Equall 2
(Counts).
‫ي‬
followed by ◌ِ

‫و‬
followed by

46
 Other Types of

z If you look at all the signs of elongation you will

fi d they
find h fit
fi in
i one off two categories:
i They
h run
from
z 1 East
1. E t to
t westt
z 2. North to South

47
 North to South

z If you look at the following signs of elongation

you will
ill notice
i they
h all ll point
i northh to south:
h

z These are all recited for 2 counts.

48
 East to West

z Next if you look at these other signs you will see

they
h pointi East to West.

z All of these are recited for 3-5 counts.

z A few examples:

49
 How do you know if it should be
stretched for 3, 4, or 5???

z An east to west on any letter will be stretched for 3 counts.

z An east to west followed by a ‫ ء‬will be stretched for 4 counts.

z An east to west on a miracle letter will be stretched for 5 counts.

z Any sign that looks like this:

you have the liberty to stretch anywhere between 3-5 counts.

50
 What is a “Miracle Letter”?

z Letters to which only Allah (SWT) knows the meaning.

z They come only at the beginning of a Surah.

z Hold them for at least 5 .

51
 We know that this type of is present
whenever there’s a ◌ َ followed by a ‫ و‬or ‫ ي‬with
ْ In this case, we stretch for 2 counts.
◌.

For Example:
p

52
 Rhythm
The study of what happens to
phonetics when certain accents
are placed on them.
 ‫قلقله‬: “The Bouncing Sound”
z This rule of rhythm involves 5 letters.
z When any of these five letters have a ْ (connect),
they “bounce”

‫قطبجد‬
z Examples:

54
 An Important Reminder

z Be mindful of what type of transition will take

place.
l Just as we coveredd in
i the
h last
l rulel off
Phonetics, heavy and light letters don’t effect
each others pronunciation
pronunciation. The same applies here.
here
z When you are faced with a word like
z Be mindful
mindf l to apply
appl the proper heavy
hea to light
transition, even when connecting two sounds.
Phonetics makes up 60% of Tajweed.
Tajweed
55
 TNT vs. TT ﴿‫ اظھار‬/ ‫﴾اخفاﺀ‬

z There are some unique sounds that are produced when

reciting the Quran that are not found in the English
language.
z You mayy notice when certain reciters of the QQuran read ‫ ْن‬,
or double accents, there are different pronunciations of
these accents at different times.
z Wh t we will
What ill study
t d nextt is
i how
h tot differentiate
diff ti t these
th rules.
l
If you don’t notice a difference in the sound in the
beginning, then don’t be overly concerned.

56
 Let’s Think About How We Use
Our Tongues

z Sometimes we aren’t aware of where our tongue is

touching and how much pressure we are applying.
applying
z A great exercise is to practice saying the letter N, L, and R.
Be conscious of where your tongue is touching, the top of
your
o r mo
mouth th right,
right above
abo e your
o r top teeth.
teeth
z Say it again, but this time leave your tongue up there,
press it where it is, Nnnnnnnn, Llllllllll and Rrrrrrrrrrr.
z Now, try to say N without touching your tongue. To make
it easier, try making a nasal sound, vibrating in your nose.

57
 Whatt Do
Wh D We
W Need
N d to
t Know
K to
t
Understand the TNT and TT Sounds?

z First understand you can control your tongue.

z You can make you tongue float verses touching.
z When you float your tongue it makes a nasal
sound and when you touch it to the roof of your
mouth it doesn’t.

58
 (Long version) Rules for ْ‫ ن‬or

z When ‫ ن‬has a ْ (connect) and is followed by a

letter of the throat ‫ )﴾خ غ ح ع ھ ﺀا‬Tongue Touches
(TT), meaning there is clarity ni the N sound. The
same rule applies
pp forٌ ٍ ً ((tanwin))
When ‫ ن‬has a ْ and is followed by ANY other
letter than the letters of the throat: your Tongue
d
does N t Touch
Not T h (TNT)
(TNT), meaning i there
th is
i
concealment.
z The same rule applies forٌ ٍ ً (tanwin).
(tanwin)
59
 (‫)يرملون‬

z Whenever you see ‫ ن‬with a ْ (connect) or ٌ ٍ ً

f ll
followedd directly
di l by b ANY
A off the
h 6 letters
l off
, aّ (connect and hold) is placed on top
of that Yarmaloon letter.
letter
z Connect and hold eats connect: aّ is stronger than
connect and will override it; therefore,
therefore the ‫ن‬
sound will not be heard here – but rather, a
joining and connecting of the ‫يرملوون‬
‫ ير‬letters.

60
 The Easy Approach to the Rules of
TNT & TT

z If ْ‫ ن‬or ٌ ٍ ◌ً are followed by:

1. The letters of the throat ‫ ح ع ھ ﺀ ا غ خ‬: then
Tongue Touch. (TT) Your Tongue will touch the
rooff off your mouth.th
Ex:

61
 Rules of TNT & TT (continued…)

2. Any letter that isn’t in the throat, then Tongue does Not
Touches TNT
Touches. TNT.

3 Any letter that makes up

3. (which are the
letters ) then add a to the letter which
applies.
***In the Uthmani Script you may not find a . So,
whether there is a (connect and hold) or not, you
should pput one there.

62
 ‫غنه‬Ghunna: Strong Nasal

‫ ن‬and ‫ م‬demand some special attention when is

placed
l d on them.
h i you see a ّ◌ّ on a ‫ ن‬or
Every time
‫ م‬you need to make a strong nasal sound. That is,
you will vibrate the sound within your nasal
cavity to produce the ‫ غنه‬Ghunna sound.
For example:

63
 So, Is That TNT or TT?

z Because you just covered the rules of TT and

TNT you are concernedd about
b the
h placement
l off
your tongue. Do not get confused with the
placement of your tongue for Ghunna because
where ever the place of pronunciation is for the
letter y
you are saying
y g that is where yyour tongue
g is
placed.

64
 How Long Should I Hold the
‫غنه‬Ghunna?

z As with any , hold for two counts. It is just like

pressing
i your fingers
fi together,
h easieri than
h trying
i
to count the hold on your fingers.

65
 ‫ ْم‬followed by the letter ‫ب‬

z When ‫ م‬is followed by the letter ‫ ب‬you hold the

soundd off the
h ‫ م‬for
f 2 counts.

¤⎯≈Ü=Ý
sÜù=¡
Ý Î0 ΟÎγŠ=æ
ø n=t

66
 Baby ‫م‬

z You might see a baby ‫ م‬placed over a letter. You

are being
b i asked
k d to add
dd the
h ‫ م‬soundd to the
h letter.
l

=‹tø tó9$Î
ø9$ / $RΗR du
ø ‘

67
 The Word ‫انا‬

z When reading the word ‫ انا‬it will be pronounced

‫اان‬

– Ó‰Î/%tæ $tO$tΡr& ωu
Iωρ

68
 0 on ‫ا‬

z When there is a zero on an ‫ ا‬you cancel it.

z >™ô“$( t±Ï9 ⎯
£ s9θàθ)s?ωuρ

69
 Sharp ‫ا‬

z When ‫ ا‬has aْ on it, it makes the sound of the

connectedd letter
l sharp.
h

zM⁄Îø ==ßßϑs9u9ρ

z¨ù't/

70
 ‫ ْه‬Stereo sound

z When ‫ ه‬has a◌ ْ connect it makes a stereo sound.

z |É #ôγs3ø9$#=
=≈ysô¹r&

71
Temperament

The “Punctuation” of the

Quran
 Temperament

z The primary goal of temperament is to help

th reader
the d kknow when h tto stop
t or when h nott tot
stop.
z B
Because there
th are severall scripts
i t off the
th Quran,
Q
temperament varies from one to another.
z Be mindful
mindf l of signs that demand your
o r stop as they
the
may change the meaning of what you read.

73
 Rules for stopping.

z When you stop anywhere in the Quran, place

a connectt on the
th last
l t letter.
l tt

∩⊄∪ š⎥⎫Ïϑ=≈è9#
n= y ø9$#

74
 Rules for stopping.

z When ever you are stopping on a letter that

ً
has Two lines on top ◌ , cancel one ◌َ line
on top.

z∩∠∪ $wŠÏŠϑy™ ُ◌≅ö

≅66s% ⎯Ï
⎯Β

75
 The signs to know.

z Below are most of the signs you will see in

the ُ‫ ق‬They
th ‫قرْْ َءاان‬. Th have
h been
b gathered
th d ffrom
many different scripts. If you see a sign you
have not seen beforebefore, it may not be in the
script you read.
z Some of the signs have very similar rules rules.

76
 Rules For Stopping

z‫ج‬ You are allowed to stop here. But if

yyou don’t that’s ok too.
z ‫ ز‬You should try not to stop here.
z ‫ ص‬If you are tired and need to stop
you can. But it is better to continue.

77
 Rules of Stopping

z ‫ صلى‬It is preferred to continue reciting without

stopping.
stopping
z ‫ ق‬You can stop here.
z ‫قف‬You need to stop here
here.
z ‫ س‬Make a short pause without breaking your
breath.
z ‫سكة‬this means you should have a longer pause
without breaking you breath.

78
 Rules of Stopping.

z ‫ س‬Make a short pause without breaking your

b
breath.
h
z ‫سكة‬this means you should have a longer pause
without
ith t breaking
b ki you breath.
b th

z #x‹≈yδ 2$ΡÏ
#‹≈δ $tΡ‰‰s%Β
%ö¨Β ⎯Ï
⎯ΒΒ

79
 Rules For Stopping (continued…)

z ‫ط‬You must pause here. Breath and recitation both should

pause.
pause
z ‫م‬You must stop. If you don’t pause here the meaning will
change.
z ‫ل‬
‫صل‬You can stop here or pause here. Both are permissible.
z ‫قال‬You shouldn’t pause here. It’s better to continue.
z ‫ ال‬You cannot pause here.
here

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 Rules for stopping.

z ‫ مع مع‬If you see these signs close to one

another
h andd you stop at one you can’t’ stop at the
h
other or it will have an incomplete meaning.
These signs can also be seen as three dots,
dots one
above two.

z ¡ Ïμ‹Ïù ¡ Ÿ=÷ƒu‘ω

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 It was my honor.

May ‫ ﷲ‬Give Us the Ability to Implement What

W Have
We H Learned
L d anddMMake
k U Us AAmong
Those Who Fulfill the Right of the Quran.

82