What is the ruling on tajwid, including a discussion of some of its rulings and the explanation of the point of articulation of the letter ḍād?

The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. The question is regarding the ruling on tajwid.

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : And the application of the known tajwid rulings, such as idgham, ikhfa, and madd in its various types, and other known and famous rulings. Much has been said about them. Some say that these rulings are obligatory, and they consider one who does not learn them to be sinful, declaring them a sinner and affirming the obligation of these rulings. Others may be lenient and negligent regarding them. The question here is, first: What is your opinion of those who say they are obligatory and that one who leaves off learning them is sinful? Second: I also want your opinion on the legitimacy of these rulings and the evidence for them from the Book, the Sunnah, and the Salafi athar. It comes to mind that some of the Salaf or some of the Imams have statements regarding some of the rulings; for example, some disliked imalah.

The Shaykh : The narration of Hamzah, meaning

The questioner : Yes, and some disliked heavy idgham, and they have texts regarding some aspects. Likewise, some of the later Imams, such as al-Dhahabi and others.

The questioner : Peace be upon you

The Shaykh : And upon you be peace

The questioner : We find statements from those whom we have truly suffered with, who affect their recitation of the Qur'an and exert extreme effort in articulating the letters, an extreme effort that also requires clarification of the ruling. We hope you will give us a comprehensive answer to this question, so that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) may make it beneficial.

The Shaykh : I say, and success is from Allah, that the rulings of recitation and tajwid are, in my view, like the rulings found in the schools of jurisprudence. Some of these rulings have evidence from the Book and the Sunnah, and sometimes the consensus of the Ummah, while others are based on qiyas (analogical reasoning) and ijtihad (independent legal reasoning), and ijtihad and qiyas are subject to error and correctness. This is regarding their establishment. As for the ruling, some of these rulings—as you know—are obligatory or fard, and one who violates or leaves them is sinful. Some are from the Sunnah, and one who performs them is rewarded, while one who leaves them is not punished. Some of these rulings, particularly those that came from the later scholars who were dominated by rigid adherence to taqlid (following a scholar without knowing his evidence), involve istihsan (juristic preference) for some rulings that are bid'ah (religious innovation) contrary to the Sunnah. This detail found in the rulings of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) is found exactly in the rulings of tajwid—if the expression is correct. It is regrettable that we do not find a chapter, excuse me, a book, let alone a section, let alone a chapter specifically dealing with the topic you are asking about. Therefore, for a person to be clear in this matter, he needs what the jurist needs regarding the rulings of the Shari'ah: knowledge of tafsir (Qur'anic exegesis) and hadith, both in text and isnad (the chain of narration), so that he can distinguish what has evidence and what does not. To know the rulings of the issues addressed in the Book and the Sunnah, he must be knowledgeable of the Book and the Sunnah and the Salafi athar. This path is facilitated and smoothed out, as you know, so that a diligent and striving student of knowledge can reach the knowledge of the rulings of the Shari'ah he is seeking. As for the rulings related to the science of tajwid, that is very difficult. Therefore, my answer is that we must have scholars of tajwid, and they exist, praise be to Allah. But in my knowledge, we do not have Salafi scholars in the science of tajwid as we have in the rulings of the Shari'ah, because with these scholars we can answer your two-part question: Do all these rulings have evidence from the Book and the Sunnah? And are they all of the same status, all obligatory such that one who leaves them is sinful? Or are there rulings where some are obligatory and some are mustahabb (recommended)? If one neglects the recommended, he is not punished or held accountable, unlike if he neglects the first category. The one who can answer this question is the Salafi scholar of tajwid, because I believe that recitation according to the rulings of tajwid is taken by transmission, not directly from books like the rulings of fiqh, unless the student of knowledge has a competent shaykh in the Book and the Sunnah. For example, I am not a specialist in the science of tajwid, so I cannot claim what is not mine. I might say in my heart, for example, that natural madd is obligatory. I say this in my heart, but I cannot issue a fatwa on it, fearing that there may be evidence among the specialists in the science of tajwid that obligates the reciter to extend the munfasil madd for four or six movements, and the muttasil madd for five movements. It is possible that the specialist in this science has evidence that obligates me to say what we used to recite when we completed the Qur'an with some scholars there. But to say this is obligatory and that is mustahabb and not obligatory, that should be handled by the specialists in this science. Therefore, I hope that some of the students of knowledge whom we see now, who are deeply engaged with the science of hadith with great enthusiasm, and who neglect other sciences, such as the science of tafsir and the science of tajwid, will specialize in this science. Their specialization in this science will be a new opening in the field of the science of tajwid, because the scholars existing today do not have a Salafi culture that requires returning to the Book of Allah and the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in every issue. Therefore, they do not strive to distinguish whether this recitation is correct or not, or whether this ruling is obligatory or mustahabb. It does not concern them. But if a generation of Salafi youth grows up and specializes in studying the science of tajwid, it will be a cause—as I mentioned earlier—of a new opening for this science, in which scholars differ, as I mentioned, especially in this country. More specifically, in this Najdi country, because the Najdi country—in reality—before Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab was nothing worth mentioning. Therefore, no specialized scholars in every science are known among them, and consequently, no scholars are known among them like the scholars existing in Egypt, in Syria, in Jordan, or in Pakistan and elsewhere, who recite the Qur'an well according to the rulings of tajwid, regardless of their ruling and evidence. Therefore, we hear, especially when we traveled in the previous two months—you must have heard, because I came for 'Umrah (the lesser pilgrimage)—we would pray in some mosques and see a great variation between some Imams and others. Some recite well, and I understand that they received this recitation from some scholars of tajwid, while some are like the common people and do not recite the Qur'an well. So the point is that people based on the Salafi call must specialize to provide an answer to such a question. But I am completely confident that it is obligatory for one who has no knowledge to follow one who has knowledge of a matter. Regarding the rulings of the Shari'ah, it is not for the common people to say, "No, this is not correct and this is not reasonable." No. These are the scholars of tajwid; in this science, they are the people of dhikr (the remembrance of Allah). If they say, for example, that all the rulings of tajwid are for obligation, and that we received them all from our shaykhs by transmission, generation after generation, then it is obligatory for others like us to follow them in what they say. The matter is like the rulings of the Shari'ah. It is obligatory for every Muslim to understand the ruling of the Shari'ah through his religious study if he is a student, or if he is illiterate, to ask the scholar, who will issue a fatwa for him, and he should act upon it. If he violates it, he will be a sinner, because Allah says So he is not a scholar to ask himself, nor is heThe questioner : Even if he is ignorant, or he acts arrogantly and issues rulings to them based on his own ignorance. Just as this is not permissible in legal rulings, and he must ask the people of knowledge, so too is it not permissible in tajwid, and he must ask the people of knowledge. And just as in matters of legal rulings, if he asks a scholar and acts on his fatwa, and then it becomes clear to him later that this fatwa contradicts evidence from the Book and the Sunnah, he must return from it to what the evidence from the Book and the Sunnah establishes, so too it is obligatory for the scholars of tajwid to be asked and to issue rulings based on what they have, whether they are correct or mistaken. This is, first, between them and their Lord. Second, as for us, we follow them because we have no choice but to leave the opinion of the specialized scholars to our own ignorance of this science. So we must follow them. If it becomes clear to us that in this following there is something that contradicts the legal evidence, we contradict them and follow the legal evidence. I will give you an example: Today, the reciters practically differ. For example, some stop at the beginnings of verses. So he recites al-Fatihah verse by verse, and this is from the Sunnah, as you know. And some do not do that; they may connect one verse to the next, especially if the next is, in terms of meaning, a completion of the first. So here he connects them, as if he sees that as obligatory. The evidence for this is that we find in the printed mushafs, even today—especially those printed in Istanbul—indicators like "la" (do not stop), such as His saying, Exalted is He: la, meaning do not stop. And so, in fact, the majority of them do not stop, because they take the matter by intellect and meaning. So what is the position of the scholars of tajwid regarding this example? The early scholars, and the stronger opinion according to the majority, is that one does not connect one verse to the next, because this is contrary to the Sunnah. But the later scholars, who do not care about studying the rulings of tajwid in light of what is established in the Sunnah, say, "No, the stronger opinion for us is not to connect one verse to the next as long as stopping destroys the meaning." So here we were able to contradict the majority of reciters today and say that connecting is contrary to the Sunnah, and stopping is the Sunnah. But what is the ruling on the one who connects? Did he sin, or did he leave a Sunnah whose abandonment is not punished and whose performance is rewarded? Here, you need a teacher who knows the rulings of tajwid and the evidence for these rulings; he is the one who can give you the answer to the second question. We say the Sunnah is to separate, but what is the ruling on connecting? We do not know, because we did not find an answer to this question in what we have looked into from the Sunnah. But it is possible that a specialist will find an answer to such a question. Likewise, some of them, as you know, in the short surahs, if he finishes reciting, for example, al-Duha, he says takbir, and this also has no basis in the Sunnah.

The questioner : But they say that it is mutawatir in the chain of narration.

The Shaykh : This is one of the things that falls under my previous statement; it must be studied—and peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you. So we say, who is able to say that this is mutawatir? It is the one who has a comprehensive knowledge of the science of recitation and tajwid, similar to the knowledge a scholar has of the evidence for disputed issues from the Book and the Sunnah.

The questioner : And how is this mutawatir established, O Shaykh?

The Shaykh : By transmission.

The questioner : By transmission.

The Shaykh : Yes, by transmission. Therefore, I say that the matter requires a specialist who is rooted in the principle of seeking the truth in what the scholars have differed on, and by that, judge the rest. There are many, and very many, rulings. You gave an example, for instance, of idgham and the like. Was this idgham actually done by the Messenger, peace be upon him? It needs study. If it is established that he did it, it needs a second study: what is its ruling? I can say that the ruling of this ghunnah, for example, is like the ruling of the rituals of Hajj. The original ruling in them is obligation, except for what evidence establishes as not obligatory in some of the rituals of Hajj. So I say the original ruling in what he, peace be upon him, recited, or in the way the Messenger, peace be upon him, recited, is obligation, because the Qur'an was revealed this way, and this is how Jibril taught it to the Messenger, peace be upon him. So the original ruling is obligation, unless evidence establishes otherwise, in which case it is not obligatory. Today, we prayed 'Asr in that mosque, and I was unable to recite al-Fatihah, or even half of it, in any of the last two rak'ahs. So I was astonished in myself that this imam does not recite the Qur'an? He moved it like the movement of hair. I have not finished half of it. Well, this is a problem. So it is obligatory for these imams to receive the recitation of the Qur'an from the people of recitation, and then, if he is able, to research the ruling of these rulings: are they fard or Sunnah?
This actually requires, as I told you, a specialist, and I am not that specialist. But I present this information in a general way. And if the ignorant person must follow a scholar, he must recite as he is taught and as he is made to listen. If it becomes clear to him that in what he heard there is an error, made clear to him by argument and proof, he returns from it, just as is the case in legal rulings. This is what I can say regarding this question.

The questioner : Also, O Shaykh, the question is still... in negating the question now, and this is an issue that is prevalent now in the arena, from many, especially from this youth who were guided to master these rulings through transmission. When they mastered these rulings and excelled in them, they saw distinguished and noble scholars who did not apply these rulings in their recitation of the Qur'an because they did not receive them as these youth did. So this led the youth to something, which is belittling these scholars. For example, if a scholar neglects idgham or ikhfa or something else, they belittle the scholar and diminish his status, perhaps in his knowledge, and not just in his application of these rulings. So this is what I see led them to such speech: what they received from these reciters, that these rulings are obligatory as an individual obligation, and that the one who leaves them sins. And they found that these noble, distinguished scholars, who are attested to for excellence in their knowledge, apply these rulings, but not that forced application that reaches this degree. They do not make mistakes or take the letters out of their points of articulation, but perhaps some matters like madd and others, where the error in them is not considered a mistake that affects the meaning. So this is a real problem and is common. So we want guidance from you on this point as well?

The Shaykh : I see what I hinted at earlier, that the shaykhs in Najd actually did not have reciters who received knowledge from the people of the Qur'an, like Ibn al-Jazari. Ibn al-Jazari was a hadith scholar like Ibn Kathir, and a jurist like some of the famous imams, like al-Nawawi, a specialist in Shafi'i jurisprudence. In addition to that, he had a specialization in the recitation of the Qur'an, indeed in the ten recitations, and he has a book in this regard.

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : Yes, this is it. It is obligatory for our scholars—the ones mentioned earlier—to read his books related to the science of tajwid. For example, he has a poem (arjuzah). When I was young, when I read the Qur'an with my father, may Allah have mercy on him, because he also received the Qur'an from some of his shaykhs, and he mentioned to me that he had an ijazah connected to Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, the author of the famous tafsir, al-Tafsir al-Kabir, which he named Mafatih al-Ghayb. The Turkish scholars and others received the recitation in a way that differs in some letters from the reciters of the Arabs themselves, and especially regarding the letter dhad. I personally, based on receiving the recitation from my father, and based on what I read of treatises discussing the pronunciation of the letter dhad, it became clear to me that the Arabs themselves differ in the pronunciation of the letter dhad, and that the Syrian dhad and the Egyptian dhad differ completely from the Iraqi dhad and the Najdi dhad. And the pronunciation of this letter is closer to correctness in the way the people of Najd and the people of Iraq speak and recite it, than the pronunciation used by the Egyptians and the Syrians. Ibn al-Jazari...

The questioner : You can say that...

The Shaykh : Ibn al-Jazari says in his poem: "The dhad is with elongation..."