History Of Tajweed

History Of Tajweed

Tajweed is the science of reciting the Qur'an according to the right standards and pronunciation. It comes from the Arabic verb jawada, which means to produce anything of exceptional quality. Tajweed strives to improve the reciter's ability to recite the Qur'an in accordance with the manner in which the angel Jibreel (AS) revealed it to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

In the third century of Hijrah, Imam Abu Ubaid al-Qasim bin Salam (774 - 838 CE) was the first to develop the science of tajweed. In his work, al-Qiraat, he was the first to give the laws of tajweed names and set them in paper, creating the first known science of tajweed. The seven mutawatir reciters were among the 25 reciters he authored.

The demand for tajweed evolved as Islam spread and errors in Qur'anic recitation began to arise as a result of Arabs mingling with non-Arabs. The guidelines have to be preserved by the Qur'anic scholars and passed on to next generations.3

Some of the well-known scholars that helped shape tajweed include:

The Seven of the Recitations is a work by Abu Bakr Ibn Mujahid (859–936 CE), also known as "The Seven of the Recitations." He was the first to only allow the seven well-known recitations.

The poem known as ash-Shatibiyyah, written by Imam Al-Shatibi (1320–1388 CE), lists the two most illustrious traditions that each of the seven powerful imams left behind. It has 1173 lines and is a key source for the seven qira'aat5.

Ibn al-Jazari (1350–1429 CE), who composed two lengthy poems about tajweed and qira'at. In the readings of three prominent reciters, one Durrat Al-Maa'nia was added to the seven in the Shatibiyyah to make ten. The other is Tayyibat An-Nashr, a 1014-line work with a commentary that covers the ten principal reciters in considerable detail.

Tajweed's goal is to improve a reciter's ability to recite the Qur'an while adhering to the proper pronunciation of each letter and all of its rules and features without exaggeration or deficiency. By making the reciter more aware of the words and meanings of the Qur'an, Tajweed also improves the reciter's relationship with Allah (SWT).