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TRANSCRIPT
Haneefah Umm Nusaybah
Tajweed Booklet 1
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Quranic Arabic
Course
1
WHAT IS TAJWEED?
The word "Tajweed" means to improve, make better.
Tajweed of the Holy Qur'an is the knowledge and application of the rules of recitation so the reading of
the Qur'an is as the Prophet Muhammed ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص recited.
Linguistic definition: Betterment
Applied definition: Articulating every letter from its articulation point and giving the letter its rights (the
required characteristics that never leave it) and dues (the letters that are present in the letter some of the
time and not present at other times) of characteristics.
ITS PRINCIPLES
The knowledge of Tajweed is contingent on four matters:
1. Knowledge of the articulation points of the letters
2. Knowledge of the characteristics of the letters
3. Knowledge of what rules change in the letters due to the order of letters
4. Exercising the tongue and a lot of repetition.
External matters upon reading the Quran
Purity of body, clothes, and place.
Seeking refuge from the rejected, Satan, and reading the Basmalah.
Avoiding cutting off reading to talk with people/distractions
Stopping at a verse of warning and seeking protection with Allah, and stopping at a verse of
mercy and asking The Merciful for His Bounty.
Humbleness and tranquility when reading.
Imam An-Nawawi (RahimahuAllah) said: Crying when reading the Qur’an is a characteristic of those
who know Allah (know Him through His names and Characteristics) and the feelings of the righteous.
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TYPES OF QURANIC MISTAKES
1. Obvious and clear mistakes (لحن جلي ظاهر) 2. Obscured and hidden mistakes ( مستتر خفيلحن )
Occurs in the pronunciation and pierces the
reading
Of two types:
Occurs in the pronunciation and affects the
accuracy of the reading
Occurs in the makeup of the word, or in
letters, or vowels
Changing a dhammah to a fatha or
pronouncing ط as a ت
1. Only heard by those
knowledge in Tajweed rules
Leaving out an
Idgham
2. Only heard by skilled reciters
Repetition of the letter ر
Reading kasra as a ي
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THE ISTI’AATHA & THE BASMALAH
The meaning of: االستعاذة (Al-Isti’aatha) is “asking for refuge, or protection” When the reader says:
" ,” he is seeking the protection and refuge with Allah from Satan
before starting reading.
He who says, “bismillah" has said the basmalah. The proper way to say the basmalah is
It is necessary to read it before the beginning of every Surah of the Qur'an with the exception of Surah At-
Tawbah, which is also called “Baraa’ah.”
BEGINNING A SURAH WITH THE ISTI’AATHA AND THE BASMALAH
If the reader wishes to start his reading at the beginning of a Surah, he needs to seek refuge, say the
basmalah and then start reciting the Surah. There are four ways of doing this.
1. Cutting all three off from each other meaning seeking refuge, stopping, saying the basmalah, stopping, and then starting the Surah.
2. Joining all three with each other seeking refuge, saying the basmalah, and starting the Surah all in one breath (without stopping).
3. Joining the basmalah and the beginning of the Surah This means seeking refuge, then stopping, then saying the basmalah and the beginning of the Surah in one
breath.
4. Joining seeking refuge with the basmalah This means the seeking refuge and the basmalah are joined with one breath, then the reader stops then
starts the Surah.
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THE BASMALAH BETWEEN TWO SURAHS
cutting off all from each other قطع الجميع .1
The reader finishes the Surah, then stops and takes a breath, reads the basmalah, stops and takes a breath,
then reads the beginning of the next Surah. As in the following example:
joining all of them together وصل الجميع .2
The reader ends the Surah, joining it with the appropriate vowels with the basmalah, and then continuing
with the same breath the reader joins the basmalah with the beginning of the next Surah. As in:
3. Joining the basmalah with the beginning of the Surah
In this way, the reader finishes the last verse of the Surah, stops and takes a breath, then reads the
basmalah joining it in the same breath and proper vowels with the beginning of the next Surah. As
in:
4. NOT Allowed: Joining the basmalah with the end of the Surah, then stopping, then starting the
next Surah.
This incorrect way leads the listener to imagine that the basmalah is the last ayah of the Surah that was
just finished. Here, the reader would join the end of the Surah with the basmalah, then stops and takes a
breath, then starts reading the next Surah. This is not allowed.
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THE ARTICULATION POINTS
The articulation point of a letter is the place the letter is emitted, meaning a sound that comes out of the
mouth relying on a specific place of articulation or an approximate one. Using the correct articulation
point of a letter is necessary to utter the letter correctly.
Five general areas of the throat and mouth have within them the specific or general articulation points of
the Arabic letters.
The empty space in the mouth and throat It has one articulation point for the three lengthened letters, which are alif with a fatha before
it, yaa with a kasrah before it, and wow with a dhammah before it.
The Throat It has three articulation points for six different letters, which are pronounced from the
deepest, middle, and closest part of the throat.
The Tongue
It has ten articulation points for eighteen letters.
The Two Lips The lips have two articulation points for four letters.
The nasal passage From the hole of nose towards the inside of the mouth, here there is one articulation point,
that of the Ghunnah.
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THE EMPTY SPACE IN THE THROAT & MOUTH
The empty space in the mouth and throat is a place and an articulation point at the same time. The three
madd (lengthened) letters originate from this general area, these letters are:
1. The alif preceded by a letter with a fat-hah
2. The wow with a sukoon preceded by a letter with a dhammah
3. The yaa with a sukoon preceded by a letter with a kasrah
These three madd letters do not have a specific place that they are pronounced from, unlike all the other
letters; instead, these letters finish articulating with the stopping of the sound.
The madd letters are lengthened two counts if they are not followed by a hamzah or a sukoon.
THE ARTICULATION POINTS OF THE THROAT
There are three places of articulation in the throat; each place has two letters emitted from therein.
1. The deepest part of the throat
The deepest part of the throat is the furthest away from the mouth and the closest to the chest. Two letters
are articulated from here. They are the hamzah and the haa .
2. The middle part of the throat
The middle part of the throat lies in between the beginning and the end of the throat. The two letters that
are emitted from here are ha and ‘Ayn .
3. The closest part of the throat (closest to the mouth)
The closest part of the throat is the beginning of the throat, or the closest to the mouth. Two letters are
articulated from this area, they are ghayn and khaa .
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THE TEETH
THE TONGUE
There are four areas of the tongue used for articulation. The deepest part, the middle, the sides, and the
tip.
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Deepest part of the tongue
Two letters are in the deepest part of the tongue. They are ق and ك.
The qaaf lies opposite to the roof of the mouth (soft palate).
The kaaf lies opposite the roof of the mouth (hard palate). The kaaf is “under” the qaaf a little, meaning
closer to the mouth and farther from the throat than the qaaf.
Middle of the tongue
Three letters use the middle of the tongue for their articulation. They are , , and the
These three letters are articulated from the middle of the tongue and what lies opposite to it from the roof
of the mouth. This means the middle of the tongue collides with the roof of the mouth when these letters
are articulated (without a vowel), and the middle of the tongue separates with strength from the roof of
the mouth when the letters have a vowel on it.
The yaa here is not the madd letter yaa (which is from the empty space in the throat and mouth). The
madd letter yaa is a yaa saakinah preceded by a kasrah, NOT a fatha. When the yaa saakinah is preceded
by a fatha, this currently discussed articulation point is used.
The Side of the tongue
Two letters use the side of the tongue for articulation. They do not use the same part of the side of the
tongue, rather the uses the posterior two thirds of the side (or edge) of the tongue, and the
uses the anterior one third (closest to the mouth) portion of the side of the tongue.
The letter
This letter is articulated from the one or both sides of the tongue and from the molars and the gum area
next to the molars. The posterior one third of the side of the tongue is used for this letter. This letter can
be articulated from one side (right or left) of the tongue alone, or from both sides of the tongue
simultaneously.
Has the characteristic of compression of the sound, as well as heaviness, so the deep part of the
tongue raises up when pronouncing it and compresses the sound at the same time.
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The letter
This letter has the widest articulation points of all the Arabic letters. It is articulated from the anterior one
third of the sides of the tongue until the sides end at the tip, and what lies opposite to them of the gums of
the two top front incisors, the two top lateral incisors, the two top canines, and the two top
premolars. The articulation of this letter is then in the shape of an arc, with both sides until the tongue
ends at the tip meeting up with gums of all the mentioned teeth. It is to be noted that it is a fine line of the
sides of the tongue that meets up with the gums, and it does not include the top of the tongue. The
articulation of the laam is an upward movement, not a forward movement like “L” is in English.
The Tip of the Tongue
The letter
This letter is articulated from the tip of the tongue and what lies opposite to it from the gum of the two
front top incisors. Is articulated a bit forward on the gums from the place of the .
This letter is not always pronounced clearly, and the articulation point is only applied when it is
pronounced clearly, namely when it has a vowel on it, or if it has a sukoon on it and is followed by one of
the following six letters:
The letter
This letter is emitted from the tip of the tongue with the top of the tip and what lies opposite to it of the
gums of the two front top incisors. The tip with the top of the tip need to strike the gums to produce this
sound correctly. There should be no rolling of the tongue when pronouncing this letter.
The letters
These letters are pronounced from the top side of the tip of the tongue and the gum line of the two front
upper incisors. The gum line is exactly where the gum meets the teeth. The part of the tongue used in
these letters is a small part of the top of the tip, not farther than the very tip area.
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The letters
These three letters are emitted from the tip of the tongue and the plates of the two front top incisors, at a
point just above the two front lower incisors. There is a little space left in between the tip of the tongue
and the plates of the teeth when pronouncing these letters. The term “plate” refers to the long axis of the
tooth, and in this case, the long axis that is on the internal side, rather than the external side of the teeth.
These letters are also called letters, which means, “whistle”. They are called that due to the
accompany whistle type sound heard when they are emitted properly.
The letters
These letters are emitted from the tip of the tongue (from the top side of the tip) and the bottom edges of
the two top front incisors.
THE TWO LIPS
The letter
The articulation point of the is between the inside of the lower lip and the tips (or edges) of the
two top front incisors. This means that there is a meeting of these two parts of articulation to make the
correct sound of this letter.
The letters
There are three letters that are articulated from the two lips, but they do not all share the same mechanism
in articulation.
The unlengthened is articulated by forming a circle of the two lips without the two lips meeting
completely.
The is articulated by closing the two lips together
The letter is articulated by closing the two lips together, but a stronger closing than the meem.
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THE RULES OF NOON SAAKINAH & TANWEEN
Noon saakinah is a noon free from any vowel. It remains unchanged in its written form and as
well as in pronunciation when continuing to read after it and when stopping on it. Noon saakinah occurs
in the middle of the word and at the end of the word. The noon saakinah can have a sukoon on it, as in
, or can be written with no vowel on it, as in . Either way, it is considered a noon saakinah.
The tanween is a term for an extra noon saakinah not used for emphasis, found at the end of a word when
continuing the reading, but absent in the written form (the noon of the tanween is pronounced but not
written), and abandoned in pronunciation when stopping. The tanween can be accompanying a fathah, a
dhammah, or a kasrah, as in .
Note: The Noon saakinah can be in the middle of a word or at the end of the word; the tanween is only at
the end of a word.
When there is a noon saakinah or tanween, we need to look at the next letter following the noon saakinah
or tanween. The letter that follows determines how the noon is pronounced, depending on the rule that is
applied. There are four rules of tajweed applied to the noon saakinah and tanween. The rules are applied
to the noon saakinah in the same way that they are applied to the tanween. The four rules are:
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AL-ITHHAAR
Linguistic Definition: clear or obvious.
Applied definition: Pronouncing every letter from its articulation point without a nasal sound on the
clear letter.
In other words, when this rule is applied to the Noon saakinah or tanween, the Noon is pronounced
clearly, and articulated from its articulation point.
There are six letters which when immediately followed by the Noon saakinah or tanween, they cause the
Noon to be pronounced clearly. These letters are the “throat” letters, or the six letters, which are
articulated from the throat .
An example of this would be Ayah 18 of Surah Abasa:
.
The first word of the ayah ends with a Noon saakinah, and is followed by a hamzah. The third word of
the ayah ends with a tanween kasrah, and is followed by the letter . Both the hamzah and the
Khaa are of the six letters that cause the Noon saakinah and tanween to be said clearly, in other words,
with an .
The last ayah of surah Al-Ikhlaas has an example of the Ithhaar with tanween.
.
An example of a Noon saakinah in the middle of a word, followed by one of the letters is found in
the second ayah of Al-Kawthar:
In summary, when the Noon saakinah or tanween are followed by any of the six letters
, the is then pronounced clearly.
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AL-IDGHAAM
Linguistic definition: merging or inserting.
Applied definition: the meeting of a non-voweled letter with a voweled letter, so that the two letters
become one emphasized letter.
In the idghaam of Noon saakinah and tanween, the Noon is a saakin (non-voweled) letter on the end of a
word, and the first letter of the next word is one of the letters that cause the Noon to merge or insert into
it, partially or completely.
The letters that cause this Idghaam or merging are all the letters in the group . This means if a
Noon saakinah or tanween are at the end of a word, and the letter or , or or
or , or is the first letter of the next word, the then merges into this next letter.
There are two subdivisions of the Idghaam:
1. Which is a complete merging, which is merging without any nasalization.
2. Which is an incomplete merging, or idghaam with nasalization.
1. The or complete merging of the Noon saakinah or tanween into the first letter of the next
word, is done when the Noon saakinah or tanween are at the end of a word and are followed by a
or a as the first letter of the next word. The Noon completely merges into the or and
there is no nasal sound from the Noon. When there is this type of Idghaam, the Noon is not pronounced
whatsoever. The reciter is to proceed from the letter before the Noon or the letter with the tanween,
directly to the first letter of the next word.
Examples of this are:
In this ayah, there is a tanween dhammah on the letter followed by a as the first letter of the
next word. The reciter should go directly from the dhammah on the (which is the last letter on the
first word) to the ,which is the first letter of the next word.
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The idghaam or merging of the Noon saakinah or the tanween is complete into the which becomes
emphasized (doubled) because of this merging. This doubling of the is represented by the shaddah
over the letter.
The same process takes place whether the Noon saakinah is actually a written such as the next
following examples, or an unwritten in the case of the tanween.
2. Or idghaam (merging) with a nasal sound.
In this category there are four letters, the , and , or if we put them in a word,
the letters of the word .
When there is a Noon saakinah or tanween at the end of a word, and the first letter of the next word is one
of the four letters in the word , the Noon merges into the next letter, with a prolonged nasalization
accompanying this merging.
Examples of :
In this above ayah, there are two occurrences of , the first one with a Noon saakinah at the end
of the first word of the ayah. This is followed by a , which is the first word of the next
word. The as far as an articulating letter is not pronounced, instead we directly go from the letter
before the , which is a , to the , and hold the sound with an accompanying
nasalization.
15
The second occurrence of idghaam in this ayah is in the last two words. The next to the last word ,
ends with a tanween and the first letter of the next following word is a . The Noon of the tanween
then merges into the with an accompanying nasalization.
Other examples are:
The idghaam of the Noon saakinah and tanween can only occur between two words. If there is a
Noon saakinah in the middle of a word followed by one of the idghaam letters, there is no merging,
instead the is pronounced clearly (with Ithhaar).
In the Qur’an, this only occurs with the Noon saakinah followed by a or a , and in only
four words.
This is called: (absolute clearness).
Exceptions to the rule of (merging)
The first case is in ayah 27 of surah Al-Qiyaamah:
.
The second word of this ayah ends with a Noon saakinah, and the first letter of the next word is a
. Under normal circumstances, there would be , or an idghaam without a ghunnah,
since the is one of the letters that cause an when it follows a
saakinah. However, in this ayah, there is a brief breathless pause, known in Arabic as a between
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the word , and the next word . This short pause without a breath prevents the saakinah
of the word from meeting with the of the following word . There is therefore, no
idghaam, or merging, of the Noon saakinah with the here. If you look at the ayah, you will see a
small letter above the word . This indicates to the reciter that there is a .
The next two examples involve the individual separate letters that start some different surahs. These
letters are read as if each letter is written out, for example in surah Al-Qalam,
The first letter , is recited just as you would read the word . This word ends with a
Noon saakinah. If we were to join this individual letter, recited as the word with the next following
word, we notice that the next word starts with a . Usually if there is a
saakinah followed by a , the rule applies. In this case, however, Hafs ‘an
‘Aasim by the way of Shatabiyyah, does not make an , but instead recites the saakinah
clearly, then recites the next word. It is preferred and most common, to stop on the end of the individual
letter , but continuing is allowed.
In regards to the following example, the Noon saakinah at the end of the individual separate letter
in the first two ayaat of surah Ya-Seen:
The second separate letter of the first ayah is the letter , which ends with a
saakinah. The first word of the second ayah starts with the letter . If we
were to join the first and second ayah together, there would be a saakinah (the last letter of the
word ) meeting with the letter . Normally there would be an , but as above
Hafs ‘An ‘Aasim by the way of Shatibiyyah, does not make an idghaam when joining these two aayaat
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together; instead the saakinah of the word is recited clearly (Ithhaar), then the next word,
the letter is read with the accompanying vowel.
These are the exceptions to the idghaam rule for the Noon saakinah and tanween.
AL-IQLAAB
Applied definition: the changing of noon saakinah or the tanween into a , when followed by a
with the observance of a lengthened nasal sound on the letter .
If the letter follows a Noon saakinah in the same word, or between two words, it is then required
that the reader changes the Noon saakinah or tanween into a hidden meem, with a nasal sound.
The Noon saakinah is changed into a meem in pronunciation, not in the written word.
Note: Most copies of the Quran have a very small meem written over or under the noon, or the second
line of the tanween fatha, kasrah or dhammah is replaced by a small meem.
The hidden meem is not pronounced by leaving a small space between the lips but by closing the lips and
holding the meem, then opening them with the . This is the correct way of “hiding” the meem.
Examples of the Iqlaab:
In the example above, the Noon saakinah is the last letter of . The next word starts with the letter
. The is then changed in pronunciation to a , and this is held then the
lips are separated pronouncing the letter .
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In this example, the Noon saakinah is in the middle of the word and followed by the letter . The
Noon saakinah is changed into a just as in the previous example.
These two different ayaat are examples of the tanween being followed by the letter . The Iqlaab, or
changing of the Noon saakinah or the tanween into a , is done in the same way as the other
examples.
Note: The little can be seen written over all of these examples. The little takes the place of
the second dhammah, fat-h, or kasrah of the tanween.
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AL-IKHFAA
Linguistic definition: hiding or concealment
Applied definition: The pronunciation of a non-voweled letter stripped of any shaddah, characterized
somewhere between an and an with a nasal sound remaining on the first letter, in this case the
Noon saakinah and the tanween.
The letters of the for the Noon saakinah and tanween are all the remaining letters in the Arabic
alphabet after we remove the letters that cause , and .
There are 15 letters in the Arabic alphabet, all causing , or hiding of the Noon saakinah and
tanween; they are:
If a Noon saakinah or tanween is followed by any of these 15 letters, we hide the .
The Ikhfaa can take place between two words or in the middle of a word. To hide the our
tongue does not touch the teeth or gum, instead our tongue moves close to, but not at, the articulation
point of the next letter, which is the letter causing the (hiding). We then hold this sound with an
accompanying nasalization. There is no difference in the Ikhfaa whether it is a written that is
being hidden or a tanween.
Incorrect ways of pronunciation of the Ikhfaa:
Keeping the tongue at the articulation point of the Noon during the Ikhfaa and prolonging the
sound with a nasalization.
Letting the back portion of the tongue rise up to the roof of the mouth and resting it there.
The tongue should not be touching the roof, gums, or teeth, but should be close to the articulation point of
the next letter.
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Examples of the of the Noon saakinah and tanween:
In this example above, there is a Noon saakinah in the middle of the second word, followed by the letter
, which is one of the letters of . We don’t let our tongue touch the articulation point of
the , but instead put our tongue in a position close to, but not touching the articulation point of
the letter , and hold this sound with nasal sound.
In this example there is a tanween at the end of the second word, followed by a as the first letter
of the next following word. The is one of the letters that causes hiding of the Noon saakinah and
tanween. The technique is similar to that described above, except our tongue should get close to the
articulation point of the instead of the .
This ayah has a Noon saakinah as the last letter of the first word, it is followed by a , which is one
of the letters that causes hiding of the Noon saakinah. Again, as previously stated, we do not let our
tongue go to the articulation point of the , but instead bring our tongue close to, but not touching,
the , and hold the sound with an accompanying nasal sound for the appropriate period of time.
This concludes Tajweed Booklet 1