About This Book
What is the Holy Quran and How to Recite? is a study of recitation and tajweed written for English-speaking Muslims who do not have Arabic as a first language. It teaches how to pronounce each Arabic letter from its correct point of articulation and how to recite according to the established rules of recitation and intonation.
Before the tajweed rules, the book introduces topics from the sciences of the Quran, including the virtues and etiquette of recitation, memorization, the divisions of the Quran, and the seven readings. The rules themselves are set out in an order that is easy to follow, which makes the book useful for correcting and refining pronunciation.
What's Inside
- A table of symbols for transliterating the Arabic alphabet, taken from the Quran translation of Abdullah Yusuf Ali
- Sciences of the Quran: virtues and etiquette of recitation, oral learning, memorization, divisions of the Quran, the suwar, the Uthmani script and written text, tafsir, and asbab an-nuzul
- The seven readings, their imams and transmitters, the seven ahruf, and criteria for accepting a reading
- Definition and importance of tajweed, and the kinds of mistakes in recitation (lahn)
- Isti'adhah and Basmalah, including the four ways of joining them
- Places of articulation (makharij), including the difference between alif and hamzah
- Permanent and temporary characteristics of the letters
- Rules of noon sakinah and tanween, meem sakinah, and the definite article "al"
- Heavy and light pronunciation, including the lam in the name of Allah and the letter ra
- Assimilation, prolongation (madd), stopping on the feminine ta, and the connecting hamzah
- Miscellaneous points in the Hafs narration, including imalah and tashil
- Table of the suwar, references, index, contents in Arabic, and an introduction of the author
Who It's For
- English speakers who want to improve their recitation
- Students taking a tajweed course
- Teachers looking for an English reference on tajweed