What is the ruling on the tajwid of the Qur'an?

The Shaykh: This involves independent legal reasoning and derivation, and the scope of scholarly disagreement in this type of issue is wide. My belief is that the science of tajwid is also based on these types; that is, some of it is transmitted text by narration, and one must stop at that, while some of it consists of the opinions and independent legal reasoning of some of the scholars of tajwid. Personally, I did not study the science of tajwid as a specialization, although I completed the recitation of the Qur'an with my father (may Allah have mercy on him) in the recitation of Hafs. However, I did not study these issues extensively. Nevertheless, I believe that Ibn al-Jazari is one of the few scholars who combined specialization in some of the Islamic sciences, such as the science of tajwid and the science of hadith. Therefore, if he mentions a ruling, it is supposed that he should mention it accompanied by evidence. If he mentions the evidence, it is obligatory to adhere to it; otherwise, the call is like the other issues in Islamic jurisprudence that do not have binding evidence to follow. This is an introduction to the answer that I mention, and the intention is that the specialists in this science are more qualified to answer such a question. However, I know that in some authentic hadiths, of course, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he mentioned his famous saying: , stated that among the extra letters is that if the reciter mentions "Hearing, Seeing" in place of "Knowing," or similar phrases that do not change the original meaning of the verse; so he does not make a verse of mercy in place of a verse of punishment, or a verse of punishment in place of a verse of mercy; this would be part of the expansion that the Messenger (peace be upon him) brought from his Lord in the seven letters. When we look at this expansion, I find that what I mentioned earlier contains a restriction that does not correspond to the expansion mentioned in this hadith. Therefore, I find myself in need of asking: Did Ibn al-Jazari mention evidence for what I mentioned, or was it just a statement?

The questioner: This has evidence mentioned in the book "..." and the book "al-Nashr." Among these evidences is his saying: . This hadith... regarding the hadiths, that it is so, the Qur'an, that it was transmitted from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)... would he have lied about him?

The Shaykh: The statement is correct, but was the discussion about the intentional one or the one who made a mistake?

The questioner: No, this is in the...

The Shaykh : There is no problem.

The questioner: The intentional one.

The Shaykh: Okay; do you repeat the phrase of Ibn al-Jazari, how did he say it?

The questioner: The previous statement?

The Shaykh: The previous statement.

The questioner: The previous statement says in "al-Jazariyyah":
"Adhering to tajwid is a necessary obligation *** Whoever does not correct the Qur'an is sinful
Similarly, the narration: "And whoever does not perform tajwid on the Qur'an is sinful."
For by it the Divine was revealed *** And thus it reached us from Him
And it is also the adornment of recitation *** ..."
To the rest of the verses

The Shaykh: Yes, this is very sound speech if it is applied to the one who is not intentional. As for the one who intended to learn tajwid and then... when... from this, it is void!

The questioner: Okay; the argument of those who said, meaning they tried to deny tajwid, they cited a hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the hadith of Anas; that he used to recite "In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate," extending "the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate." And they said that according to the scholars of tajwid, there is no extension (madd) in this. So how did the Messenger extend, while the scholars of tajwid say there is no extension?

The Shaykh: How is there no extension?

The questioner: They say so, they say this is natural and is not considered an extension. We said: This is a natural extension. They said: No, the Messenger used to extend; meaning he added to the natural?

The Shaykh: This is an argument against them, that in the extension, the saying is as mentioned in the books of tajwid, two movements; so where do they get that the Messenger used to extend more than the natural extension? Where do they get that the Messenger (peace be upon him) used to extend more? Yes, there is no doubt that every science has specialists in it, and they know it better than others. Therefore, the speech of non-specialists that resembles the speech of specialists in it is not listened to. The case in this science is like the case in the science of hadith and in Islamic jurisprudence, and every science has a specialization, and the reference is to the specialists, as is the case in all the experimental sciences existing in this life today. So the reference in the sciences of tajwid is to its people, especially since the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .

The questioner: What does the strength of this hadith mean? Many of the trustworthy narrators, and this is not an argument; meaning by relying on and depending on it.

The Shaykh: So we return to the chain of narration, and the reference in that is the science of the critique and vindication of narrators. And in my belief, the later chains of narration... so every chain of narration should be studied individually.