Friday, July 7, 2017

Notes of  a Tajweed Student








Points To Remember


  1. Allah said in the Quran, "We, Ourselves, have sent down the Dhikr (the Qur’an), and We are there to protect it." (Al Hijr, verse 9) . The Quran is protected in it is written form and in the oral form, and in the hearts of the best of us--humans. In every generation Allah chooses those who safeguard the Quran in their tongues and in their hearts.  May Allah make us the chosen ones, ameen.  The quran was thought to  the messenger of Allah by Angel Gabriel one on one. : "O Prophet, do not move your tongue (during revelation) for (reciting) it (the Quran) to receive it in hurry.  (16) It is surely undertaken by Us to store it (in your heart), and to let it be recited (by you after revelation is completed). (17) Therefore, when it is recited by Us (through the angel), follow its recitation (by concentration of your heart). (18)" Al Qiyam . Our messenger had this great responsibility of delivering the message of allah intact for generations to come. Imagine the anxiety and the fear that comes with such responsibility. So, allah wants reassure him that He (Allah) has his back. One, "We, Ourselves, have sent down the Dhikr (the Qur’an), and We are there to protect it. (Al Hijr, verse 9). "Two, Allah reassures his Messenger that We Will make you recite, [ O Muhammad], And you will not forget." (Al- A’ laa, verse 6).  If you are student, mild anxiety, which some times overwhelms us, is part of the learning curve. It is a test and it is a benefit that motivates you. It took me two years to overcome the anxiety of being corrected so much sometimes it becomes a barrier. Do not let Satan take advantage of that and make you quit. Now throw away the word quit.  Excessive fears, tightens all your muscles. So work with it and be patient. The messenger of Allah thought the Quran to his companions  as thought to him by Gabriel.  The 7 types of recitations to accommodate the different  dialects of the Arabs communities at the time.
  2. Let us define Tajweed. The word means "elocution", the skill of clear and expressive speech, especially of distinct pronunciation and articulation. Arabs at the time spoke eloquently. The Quranic Arabic was their norm of speaking. As islam spread, the knowledge of tajweed was developed to preserve the  original way of Quran recitation.  By studying the pattern of recitations, the Scholars wrote set of rules governing the way in which the words of the Koran should be pronounced during its recitation. It is similar to grammar of a language, the grammar of a language just studies and labels the speech and the language pattern. Grammar does not create a new language.   Similarly,  tajweed labels  the pattern of recitations into organized body of knowledge. To bring it to life you need to be thought in person by a person (certified by another person chain of teaching goes back to the messenger of Allah)  to apply the rules of the speech. So consider the teacher speech therapist one on one. It really is the earliest form of speech therapy and articulatory phonetics to teach non Arabs the Qur'an recitation ,and later to the Arabs who their arabic have evolved away from the Quranic Arabic spoken at the time of the Messenger (PBUH).   You can use as many resources to  help  you in your learning process at the end of the day you will need to be corrected by FACE-TO -FACE teacher.
  3. Abdullah ibn Amr reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “It will be said to the companion of the Quran: Recite and ascend as you recited in the world. Verily, your rank is determined by the last verse you recite.Source: Sunan At-Tirmidhi 2914. You see Allah's mercy it does not say memorize as you did. Of course the  goal is to memorize, but reciting on daily bases, and apply it to our lives will qualify you  for that. The Quran is protected in it is written form and in the oral form, and in the hearts of the best of us--humans. In every generation Allah chooses those who safeguard the Quran in their tongues and in their hearts. The elites of speech and vocal athleticism are chosen by Allah, for this category recites the best of speeches. One have to stay in shape he/she needs to continually exercise.  Therefore, recite the Quran, for if you do not your, organs of speech(video) can get deconditioned, even if you mastered the recitation once. This is not a book to left on the shelf. it is food for the soul. You can never take it for granted.. It is a knowledge to be retained, maintained, and constantly rehearsed.  Do you think the pop singers never rehearse and show up on stage--they have a vocal trainer to help them stay on top of things(video). As you will be learning tajweed, you will learn about Articulatory Phonetics --the teacher will guide you through how to use your organs of speech to articulate a given letter and the rules that govern it--articulation points & characteristics. 90% of the efforts rely on you to go home and practice what you have learned in class. Know, define, visualize,  in theory,  the points of articulation. This really helps you to work towards a goal.  It is process, and remember, everyday you are getting closer and closer to your goal. Psychomotor skills are skills where your conscious mind governs your muscle movements,  in this case, your organs of speech. As you get good at it with continuous practice, it becomes more automatic and you  reach proficiency. So do not feel shy and anxious  to go home and practice the little you learned in class. Some days are harder than others, but it is all a test. Allah will test your sincerity,  and satan will try to distract you; Your pure intentions will prevail. As you develop endurance and strength of the fine/ gross motor skills of your organs of speech, you will start to feel ease. So please remain patient. " For indeed, with hardship[will be](Quran; Ash-sharh, verse 5).  Abdullah ibn Mas’ud reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Whoever recites a letter from the Book of Allah, then he will receive one good deed as ten good deeds like it. I do not say that Alif-Lām-Mīm is one letter, but rather Alif is a letter, Lām is a letter, and Mīm is a letter.”Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhī 2910. Do not let Satan tell you, you have no time to practice. Practice as you clean, cook, drive. Live and breath reciting the words of Allah. Start with fatiha master it. Have yourself corrected to the point of annoyance. Yep, the teacher is not picky on you. He/she is there to please Allah and to teach you. You have no option of quitting. This is a lifetime of learning. The other alternative is never to learn the Quran. Please cope or cope without your dream of learning the Quran or count your blessings that you even have someone to correct you.
  4. Always have personal journal of your learning, feelings, corrections by the teacher of all the sessions. Create a bucket of to do and done list of your problem areas. stay patient and put 100% effort accomplishing even if it is one letter articulation that week. The bucket will fill and your will be surprised how far your came when your look back. This blog is based on my journaling. Also remember, the Quran is made easy for us it is how we are approaching. I found the pattern of the mistakes I was making were always the harder ways of doing things. When I found out the correct way of saying a letter or characteristic,  it was always always easier way on the body and mind. The biggest barrier is our perception. Also remember, not every teacher is able to correct your mistakes. They will always point out and ask you to repeat after them but your help is with Allah and your efforts. Always go and reflect on the corrections and the feedbacks. Sometimes,  you get he wishful thinking of entering the teachers mouth to see tajweed in action. I call that externalizing your problems. The answer is within. God can give your wisdom and open your heart to the learning. The test your are going through is not because the Quran is hard, to the contrary it is easy, for Allah said "And We have certainly made the Qur'an easy for remembrance, so is there any who will remember ( Quran; Al- Qamar, verse 17)  , and Allah also said " For indeed, with hardship[will be](Quran; Ash-sharh, verse 5). So, it is how we teach and how the student appraises learning that is making it hard. Our expectation and attitudes makes difference in the outcome of our efforts. Please constantly clarify your emotions, intentions, etc. Satan will take advantage of you when your get complacent. 
The first step student of Tajweed to work on I Makhaarij, points of articulation.  you should be able to define, visualize to your best anatomically, and feel it. You need to use your 5  senses except smell and taste: touch, see, hear. memorize the definition of the Makhraj of any letter in words or be able to say it in your own words. otherwise it will remain abstract. By any level of your tajweed, points of articulations are something your revisit over and over again. it is always work in progress. see the videos below in the resources section to help me you. 








  1.   TO BE CONTINUED. STAY TUNED IN-SHAA-ALLAH. 


Resources:


Letter articulation(makhaarij)






Letter characteristics:
Tajweed Rules:
Quranic sites:
House of Quran
Always go to local live Quran tajweed classes: 
Learning and memorization tips:





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