Finishing Touches

1. Supplication to begin reading
2. The seven kinds of Alif
3. above / below the letter
4. Prostration during recitation
5. Lahn (incorrect pronunciation)

Supplication to begin reading

At-ta'awwuth (ﺗَﻌَﻮّذ)

• You must always begin a recitation with the ta'awwuth

'I seek refuge in Allah from the rejected shaitaan'

• Allah () says in the Qur'an

'So when you recite the Quran, seek refuge with Allah from the shaitaan, the outcast (cursed one)'

Surah An Nahl (16:98)

•  It can be said quietly or aloud when one is reading alone, but if reading in a group, the first will say it aloud and then the other readers should say it quietly before their recitation

Basmala (ﺑَﺴْﻤَﻠَﻪ)

'In the Name of Allah, Most Beneficient, Most Merciful'

• If one begins the recitation at the beginning of a surah, the reader should say the Basmala (as part of the surah), but if the reader starts in the middle of the surah, the reader has a choice of saying the Basmala after the ta'awwuth or just saying the ta'awwuth
• It is obligatory in Surah Al- Fatihah according to the Shafi'i school
• According to all, it is not said in the beginning of Surah At-Taubah - Surah 9 (it is not written)

Rules of reciting the Basmala between two surahs

COMPLETE SEPARATION

Not joining the end of the previous surah with the basmala of the next surah and not joining the basmala with the words of that surah. The reader would not stop at each of these points

PARTIAL SEPARATION

Stopping at the end of the surah, but then joining the basmala with the beginning of the next surah

The opposite of this: joining the end of the surah with the basmala of the next surah and then stopping, and then beginning the next surah by itself, is FORBIDDEN

COMPLETE CONNECTION

Connecting everything together, the end of the previous surah with the basmala and also the basmala with the beginning of the following surah

NB For Surah Taubah, you either stop at the end of the previous surah or join onto the first ayah of Surah Taubah. There is no partial connection option as there is no basmala

Click here to view a printable chart that depicts the rules of basmala between two surahs

The seven kinds of Alif

• This applies only when the alif is the last letter of the word
• The following uses of Alif are affirmed upon stopping and omitted upon a continuous reading :

1. Alif in أَﻧﺎْ 

   This means 'I' in the English language. The alif is always omitted due to not stressing the individual but focussing on Allah the Most High, and not ones self or nafs

   Therefore, the alif in أَﻧﺎ ْ is never recited whether continuing to recite, or if stopping

For the following 6 Alifs, the Alif is again omitted when continuing to recite, but when stopping it is elongated 2 counts. This applies whether stopping in the middle or end of an ayah.

2. Alif in Surah Al-Kahf (18:38)

   ﴾﴿

    

3. Alif in Surah Al-Ahzab (33:10)

   ﴾﴿

    

4. Alif in Surah Al-Ahzab (33:66)

   ﴾﴿

    

Alif in Surah Al-Ahzab (33:67)

﴾﴿

 

Alif in Suratul Insaan (76:16)

﴾﴿

7. Alif in Suratul Insaan (76:4)

   ﴾﴿

   It is permissible in the case of stopping on the word to stop on the , which then takes a .

   Omit the Alif / Madd and say

   Thus there are 2 possibilities in the case of stopping :

   1. To stop at the laam saakina without an alif after it

    

   To stop on the alif after the laam

    

   

above / below the letter

There are 4 places in the Qur'an where there is a small seen written either above or below the letter saad . The question arises as to which letter ( or ) should actually be read.

The following should help :

• In both the verses below, the reader should read the letter  . The letter should NOT be read even though it is written there
  1. ﴾﴿
  2. ﴾﴿

   

• In the following verse, the reader has the OPTION of reading either the or

﴾﴿

 

• In the verse below the reader should only read the letter . The should NOT be read

﴾﴿

Note: It is advisable that a note be made of this in your personal Qur'an so the correct letter is read whilst reciting these verses without any unnecessary confusion.

(source: Ahsan-ut-Tajweed. Mufti Muhammad Noman Daji (Al-Qaasmi) Moulana Ilyas Kola)

Prostration during Recitation

There are fourteen verses in the Qur'aan where prostration is to be performed during recitation. These verses are :

No.	Extract from Verse	Surah : Verse
1		(7:206)
2		(13:15)
3		(16:49)
4		(17:107)
5		(19:58)
6		(22:18)
7		(25:60)
8		(27:25)
9		(32:15)
10		(38:24)
11		(41:37)
12		(53:62)
13		(84:21)
14		(96:19)

LAHN

What is Lahn (ﻟﺤﻦ)?

'Failing to adhere to the rules of Tajweed whilst reciting the Qur'an'

There are 2 types of lahn:

1. Jalee (ﺟﻠﻲ)- major or obvious
2. Khafee (ﺧﻔﻲ)- minor or not obvious

To recite the Qur'an whilst being guilty of Lahney Jalee is haraam and to do so intentionally can plunge into the act of a major in, so much that it can lead one to the brink of kufr. Whereas to commit Lahney Khafee is makrooh (undesirable, not commendable).

Lahney Jalee

1. Not to pronounce the letters from their correct origins and their respective qualities

E.g

To recite	أَﻟْﺤَﻤْﺪُ		as	أَﻟْﻬَﻤْﺪُ
To recite	ﻳَﺮِثُ		as	ﻳَﺮِسُ
To recite	ﻃَﻴْﺮً		as	ﺗَﻴْﺮً
To recite	ﺻَﺪَقَ		as	ﺻَﺪَكَ
To recite	أَﻧْﻌَﻤْﺖَ		as	أَﻧْﺌَﻤْﺖَ

2. To make any addition to the words

E.g

To recite	إِﻳَّﺎكَ		as	إِﻳّﺎﻛَﺎ
To recite	أَﻋْﺒُﺪُ		as	أَﻋْﺒُﺪُوْ
To recite	رَبِّ		as	رﺑِّﻲْ

3. To make omissions

E.g

To recite	إِﻧَّﺎ		as	إِنَّ
To recite	اَﻟّﺬِيْ		as	اَﻟّﺬِ
To recite	ﻓَﻘُﻮْﻻ		as	ﻓَﻘُﻼَ

4. To replace a Harakah (dammah, fathah, kasrah) with a sukoon

E.g

To recite	ﺧَﻠَﻘَﻚَ		as	ﺧَﻠَﻘْﻚَ
To recite	ﺳَﺮَقَ		as	ﺳَﺮْقَ
To recite	ﻟَﻬَﺐٍ		as	ﻟَﻬْﺐٍ

5. To replace a sukoon with a harakah

E.g

To recite	أَوْﺣٰﻰ		as	أَوَﺣٰﻰ
To recite	وَاﻟْﻔَﺠْﺮِ		as	وَاﻟْﻔَﺠَﺮِ
To recite	ﺗَﺠْﺮِيْ		as	ﺗَﺠَﺮِيْ

Lahney Khafee

Reading the Qur'an whilst being guilty of Lahney Khafee is makrooh. It does not necessarily alter the meaning of the Qur'an. However, it does deprive the Holy Qur'an of its real elegance and beauty.

EXAMPLES OF LAHNEY KHAFEE:

1. To overlook the rules of the thick / full mouth (tafkheem) letters and the thin / empty mouth (tarqeeq) letters.
2. Not to adhere to the rules of ith'har, idghaam and ikhfaa in their respective places whilst reciting the Qur'an.
3. Not to prolong a letter when a Madd is present

(soure: Basic Tajweed for Primary Madris. Shaykh Hasib Ahmed Ibn Yusuf Mayet)

Click here to view a printable chart depicting the types of lahn