Tajwid and the Recitation of the Prophet and His Companions

Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. He says: Regarding tajwid, did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions recite with what is known as the established tajwid?

Answer:
Tajwid, my brothers, is freedom from lahn (mispronunciation); it is reciting the Qur'an in the correct manner in the Arabic language, so that the genitive is not made accusative, nor the accusative made nominative, nor the nominative made genitive. One recites according to grammatical inflection; this is tajwid. As for what they call the rules of tajwid, these are supplements that some people consider necessary while others do not. Some people do not view this term, tajwid, as what they consider it to be; they say it is a later innovation. The default is to strive for this, because it is part of beautifying the recitation, but one must not exaggerate to a prohibited degree. One must not exaggerate in tajwid.
The best of things is the middle path. It is like salt with food: if it is excessive, it ruins the food, but if it is in the right amount, it makes the food palatable. This is among the beautifiers of recitation, provided one does not exaggerate. Yes.