Does one who reads the Qur'an without its rules commit a sin?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Your Eminence, I heard you say that one who does not recite the Qur'an with tajwid does not commit a sin. And Ibn al-Jazari said:
"Adhering to tajwid is a necessary obligation *** One who does not recite the Qur'an with tajwid commits a sin"?
The Shaykh : Some people told me that the correct verse in the handwritten manuscripts is:
"One who does not correct the Qur'an commits a sin"
But whether the correct version in the manuscript is this one, or the one stating that one who does not recite with tajwid commits a sin, the first verse, "Adhering to tajwid is a necessary obligation," indicates that one who does not adhere to it commits a sin, because leaving an obligatory act entails sin, unless Allah forgives it. However, the correct view is that this is not accurate. The stronger opinion is that tajwid is not obligatory, and that what is obligatory is establishing the letters with the movements that the Arabic language requires. If we were to say what this verse implies, then most of the Muslim community today would be sinners, because most of them do not read with this tajwid, and this presents a problem. If we were to say that they are sinners, we would be saying that they have committed a forbidden act, and committing a forbidden act invalidates the prayer, so the prayer of most Muslims would be invalid, and no one says that. Then we say that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite, elongating "Allah," "al-Rahman," and "al-Rahim," and this is not permissible according to the rules of tajwid, because the elongation of "Allah," "al-Rahman," and "al-Rahim" is natural elongation, and natural elongation is that which does not exceed the capacity of pronouncing the letter, unless one stops. If one stops, then yes, it exceeds natural elongation. The important point is that the stronger opinion is that tajwid is not obligatory, but rather what is obligatory is establishing the movements as required by the Arabic language and as transmitted in the reports of the recitations.
"Adhering to tajwid is a necessary obligation *** One who does not recite the Qur'an with tajwid commits a sin"?
The Shaykh : Some people told me that the correct verse in the handwritten manuscripts is:
"One who does not correct the Qur'an commits a sin"
But whether the correct version in the manuscript is this one, or the one stating that one who does not recite with tajwid commits a sin, the first verse, "Adhering to tajwid is a necessary obligation," indicates that one who does not adhere to it commits a sin, because leaving an obligatory act entails sin, unless Allah forgives it. However, the correct view is that this is not accurate. The stronger opinion is that tajwid is not obligatory, and that what is obligatory is establishing the letters with the movements that the Arabic language requires. If we were to say what this verse implies, then most of the Muslim community today would be sinners, because most of them do not read with this tajwid, and this presents a problem. If we were to say that they are sinners, we would be saying that they have committed a forbidden act, and committing a forbidden act invalidates the prayer, so the prayer of most Muslims would be invalid, and no one says that. Then we say that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite, elongating "Allah," "al-Rahman," and "al-Rahim," and this is not permissible according to the rules of tajwid, because the elongation of "Allah," "al-Rahman," and "al-Rahim" is natural elongation, and natural elongation is that which does not exceed the capacity of pronouncing the letter, unless one stops. If one stops, then yes, it exceeds natural elongation. The important point is that the stronger opinion is that tajwid is not obligatory, but rather what is obligatory is establishing the movements as required by the Arabic language and as transmitted in the reports of the recitations.