In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
Qur'an is your best company whether you realize it or not. Do whatever it takes to keep it with you by reciting it everyday. Allah has honored you to read His Speech so you can be close to Him. Are you going to say no, thank you? You are essentially saying that if you are not in a habit of reading it.
If you don't feel motivated to read the Qur'an, actually you are not alone. Most Muslims don't read it on regular basis and many more don't read it all. If Allah doesn't make it obligatory to recite Al-Fatiha and another verse in prayer, then most won't have recited any Qur'an at all.
Imagine if you have a book in Spanish and you don't know Spanish, would you read it?
Similarly with Qur'an, even if you happen to read it, but if you don't understand what you read, you will not go very far with it and you will not look forward to read it again. Likewise, if you couldn't pronounce the words properly, you will not read it with interest. So you should try to understand the Qur'an and read it properly by learning Arabic and tajweed rules.
There is immense pleasure in reciting the Qur'an and if you don't learn how to read it properly you are missing a great deal.
There are people who consider learning tajweed unimportant. They think by just reading, not paying attention to whether it is read correctly or not, will bring them rewards. On the contrary, you might create a sin for yourself for changing the meaning of the Qur'an.
Allah's Book is to be recited exactly in the way it was revealed and with measured recitation (tarteel).
Allah Almighty says,
الَّذِينَ آتَيْنَاهُمُ الْكِتَابَ يَتْلُونَهُ حَقَّ تِلَاوَتِهِ أُولَـٰئِكَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ ۗ وَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِهِ فَأُولَـٰئِكَ هُمُ الْخَاسِرُونَ ﴿١٢١[Qur'an Al-Baqarah 2:121]
Those to whom We have given the Book recite it with its true recital. They [are the ones who] believe in it. And whoever disbelieves in it - it is they who are the losers. (121)
أَوْ زِدْ عَلَيْهِ وَرَتِّلِ الْقُرْآنَ تَرْتِيلًا ﴿٤[Qur'an Al-Muzzammil 73:4]
Or add to it, and recite the Qur'an with measured recitation. (4)
Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, said in the explanation of this verse that tarteelan, which means measured recitation, is defined as the tajweed of the letters and knowing where to stop correctly.
When Umm Salamah, may Allah be pleased with her, was asked about the recitation of Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, and she expressed his recitation as, "clearly distinguished letter by letter..."
Imagine you are the sahabah who heard the Speech of Allah from the the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, himself. Have you done justice to Allah's Speech when you were the one reading it?
If not, make it a priority in your life to learn how to read the Qur'an properly. Seek a qualified teacher, as tajweed and its application can only be learned properly by listening and reciting and there should be someone to correct any mistakes. Get a hold of a good tajweed book and start learning it step by step. Put aside a few minutes a day to listen to a good Qur'an reciter like Shaykh Al Husary or Shaykh Abdul Basit and notice their application of tajweed.
Practice and repetition will make perfect. "...there is no obstacle between it (learning tajweed) and leaving it, except that a person must exercise his mouth with it." [Ibn Al-Jazari]
Once you’ve learned tajweed, you can go through this checklist to see whether you have "perfected" your tajweed.
1. The articulation points of the letters: If you know how to pronounce each word distinctly, then your knowledge of tajweed is good.
2. The characteristics of the letters and the usage of the tongue: If you’re familiar with the features of each letter and your tongue automatically moves to it, then your tajweed sounds better.
3. Rules change in the letters: If you know the rules change in each letter due to the influence of other letters and know where to stop them, then your tajweed is the best.
If you still recite with difficulty, don't despair. Keep trying and keep reading. You have a double reward because you recite the Qur'an and are putting your best effort to learn it despite the difficulty.
Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, related that the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The one who recites the Qur'an precisely will be in the company of the noble and obedient angels, and as for the one who recites with difficulty, stammering and stumbling through its verses, then he will have twice that reward.” [Bukhari and Muslim]
All of us know the importance of Qur'an in our lives. But we are not showing it in our actions. We lost the very basic--ability to read the Qur'an. And whose fault is it? We can point fingers at others--such as our ignorant parents, bad teachers, no teachers, busy imams, etc. But we are adults and we are responsible for our own actions now. So if we were not taught the basics when we were young, then we should learn it now. Didn't Allah give us life long enough? Make sure we don't deprive our children of this basic of learning the Qur'an and of the beauty of the Qur'an.
وَلِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِرَبِّهِمْ عَذَابُ جَهَنَّمَ ۖ وَبِئْسَ الْمَصِيرُ ﴿٦﴾ إِذَا أُلْقُوا فِيهَا سَمِعُوا لَهَا شَهِيقًا وَهِيَ تَفُورُ ﴿٧﴾ تَكَادُ تَمَيَّزُ مِنَ الْغَيْظِ ۖ كُلَّمَا أُلْقِيَ فِيهَا فَوْجٌ سَأَلَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَا أَلَمْ يَأْتِكُمْ نَذِيرٌ ﴿٨﴾ قَالُوا بَلَىٰ قَدْ جَاءَنَا نَذِيرٌ فَكَذَّبْنَا وَقُلْنَا مَا نَزَّلَ اللَّـهُ مِن شَيْءٍ إِنْ أَنتُمْ إِلَّا فِي ضَلَالٍ كَبِيرٍ ﴿٩﴾ وَقَالُوا لَوْ كُنَّا نَسْمَعُ أَوْ نَعْقِلُ مَا كُنَّا فِي أَصْحَابِ السَّعِيرِ ﴿١٠﴾ فَاعْتَرَفُوا بِذَنبِهِمْ فَسُحْقًا لِّأَصْحَابِ السَّعِيرِ ﴿١١[Qu'ran Al Mulk 67:6-11]
And for those who disbelieved in their Lord is the punishment of Hell, and wretched is the destination. (6) When they are thrown into it, they hear from it a [dreadful] inhaling while it boils up. (7) It almost bursts with rage. Every time a company is thrown into it, its keepers ask them, "Did there not come to you a warner?" (8) They will say," Yes, a warner had come to us, but we denied and said, 'Allah has not sent down anything. You are not but in great error.'" (9) And they will say, "If only we had been listening or reasoning, we would not be among the companions of the Blaze." (10) And they will admit their sin, so [it is] alienation for the companions of the Blaze. (11) Indeed, those who fear their Lord unseen will have forgiveness and great reward. (12)
May Allah enable us to make the Qur'an our best companion in this life and the next and make reciting it beloved to our tongues than anything else and listening to it beloved to our ears than anything else. Ameen.
Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
Click here for Recommended tajweed website
Recommended Qur'an reciters: (click below links)
Shaykh Abdul Samad Abdul Basit
Shaykh Mahmud Al Husary
Shaykh Ahmed Trabulsi
Shaykh Mahmud Ali Albanna
The Jazariyya (Tajweed) Poem
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