I have a question in regards to recitation of the Qu'ran. I read the Qu'ran everyday but am unsure what is meant by recitation. Does that mean I should recite it out loud? or does it mean to recite from memory? Or does recitation of the Qu'ran just mean to read it.
Wa alaikum assalaam gord, and thank you for your question.
If you are reading an English translation, then you can read it as you normally read. It is regarded as a translation of the meanings of the Qur'an, but isn't regarded as the Qur'an itself.
Recitation of the Qur'an is once you've learnt a bit of Arabic, enough to be able to read even short portions of the Qur'an, then you read in a melodious voice, not singing, and with the proper rules for each letter, and that is how it becomes recitation.
See this thread to give you an idea of what recitation sounds like: Qur'an Recitation
You can recite by looking at the words in the Qur'an, it doesn't have to be from memory. You can recite quietly to yourself (so that it is audible to yourself only), it doesn't have to be out loud, though you could do that.
If you can find a teacher to help you learn, that would be good.
Hope that helps a bit.
Last edited by Insaanah; 09-12-2014 at 08:55 AM.
Reason: added text in brackets for clarification of intent of meaning
Stunningly beautiful adhaan from the Dome of the Rock in Masjid ul Aqsa Download (right click and choose "save target/link as").
This is a clear message for mankind in order that they may be warned thereby, and that they may know that He is only One God, and that those of understanding may take heed (14:52)
Indeed Allah knows, and you know not (16: 74, part)
If you mean reciting in Arabic then it basically means the method of recitation or reading style or reading the Quran with rules, like where you should stop, and which letter should be read softly and which should not ...
There are 10 main Quran recitation the famous ones are “Hafs” and “Warsh”
I have a question in regards to recitation of the Qu'ran. I read the Qu'ran everyday but am unsure what is meant by recitation. Does that mean I should recite it out loud? or does it mean to recite from memory? Or does recitation of the Qu'ran just mean to read it.
Thanks!
gord
Wa alaikum assalaam,
According to the historian and thinker Ivan Illich, until the 12th Century CE, reciting and reading was the same thing. This is because all the words were written all joined up, so you couldn't easily read the text unless you said the words out loud. When the idea came into being to separate the words, it became possible to easily read text silently.
Illich wrote a whole book on the effects of this transition from recited-out-loud to silent reading.
In the Vineyard of the Text: A Commentary to Hugh's Didascalicon. 1993. ISBN0-226-37235-9.
Personally, I think that Allah would like us to ponder his words, and learn from them. This can be done silently or out loud, in my opinion. A translation will give some benefit, but parallel to that, it would be good to slowly start to learn Arabic, so that you can really benefit the most from what Allah has Gifted us with. For sure, an oral recitation is also soothing to the heart and can bring benefit. But it is my belief that it is generally more beneficial to actually understand what you are reciting.
But, step by step. He Judges our efforts and intentions.
I hope this helps. May He Bless you and make your efforts to access His Words easy for you.
Last edited by MuslimInshallah; 09-11-2014 at 11:38 PM.
Also, can anyone recomend a good website or book to learn reading Arabic? I have a good course I take for speaking, but it's two different things. Inshallah, I would like to read the Qu'ran in Arabic eventually.
Reciting the Qur'an is a very special and unique act of worship. For every letter one recites, he receives 10 rewards. So while it is fine to look at the words and contemplate, it is also important to read them (i.e. by pronouncing them on one's tongue) so as not to miss out on the great rewards and blessings. See below for further information. I think there was a thread about this before as well, which may have further explanation.
Q. Some people pick up the Mus-haf and look at it without moving their lips. Can this be called reading Qur’aan? Or is it essential to pronounce the words audibly in order to earn the reward for reading Qur’aan? Will a person be rewarded for looking at the Mus-haf? Please advise us, may Allaah reward you with good.
A. Praise be to Allaah.
There is nothing to prevent a person looking at the Qur’aan without reciting it, in order to ponder its meanings and understand it. But he is not considered to be “reading” Qur’aan when he does that, and he does not earn the reward for reading it unless he pronounces (the words of) the Qur’aan, even if those around him do not hear him. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“Read the Qur’aan, for it will come on the Day of Resurrection to intercede for its companions.” (Narrated by Muslim).
What he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) meant by its companions is those who act upon it, as stated in other ahaadeeth. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever reads one letter of the Qur’aan will have one hasanah, and the hasanah will be rewarded tenfold.” (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi and al-Daarimi with a saheeh isnaad). And one cannot be counted as reading Qur’aan unless once actually pronounces it.
And Allaah is the source of strength.
Majmoo’ Fataawa wa Maqaalaat Mutanawwi’ah li Samaahat al-Shaykh al-‘Allaamah ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him), vol. 8, p. 363
There are also other hadeeth which link rewards associated with the Qur'an to an oral recitation. `Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) reported: The Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, "The one who is proficient in the recitation of the Qur'an will be with the honourable and obedient scribes (angels) and he who recites the Qur'an and finds it difficult to recite, doing his best to recite it in the best way possible, will have a double reward.'' [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
Moreover, reciting the Qur'an in the manner taught to us by the Prophet will help in contemplation and understanding:
Concerning Allah's statement,
﴿وَرَتِّلِ الْقُرْءَانَ تَرْتِيلاً﴾
(And Rattil the Qur'an Tartil.) meaning, recite it slowly, for that will help in understanding the Qur'an and contemplating it. This is how the Prophet used to recite.
`A'ishah said, "He (the Prophet) used to recite the chapter slowly, so much so that it would be longer than chapters that were actually longer than it.'' In Sahih Al-Bukhari, it is recorded from Anas that he was asked about the recitation of the Messenger of Allah , so he replied, "He used to elongate the letters.'' Then he (Anas) recited,(In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.) (1:1) and he elongated "In the Name of Allah,'' and he elongated "The Most Gracious,'' and he elongated "The Most Merciful.''
Ibn Jurayj reported from Ibn Abi Mulaykah, who narrated from Umm Salamah that she was asked about the recitation of the Messenger of Allah , so she said, "He used to pause in his recitation, verse by verse. (In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is Allah's, the Lord of all that exists. The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. The Only Owner of the Day of Recompense.) (1:1-4) This was recorded by Ahmad, Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi.
We have already mentioned the Hadiths which prove the recommendation of slow rhythmic recitation and beautification of the voice while reciting at the beginning of this Tafsir. For example, the Hadith which states,
«زَيِّنُوا الْقُرْآنَ بِأَصْوَاتِكُم»
(Beautify the Qur'an with your voices.) and the Hadith,
«لَيْسَ مِنَّا مَنْ لَمْ يَتَغَنَّ بِالْقُرْآن»
(He is not of us who does not chant nicely with the recitation of the Qur'an.) and the Hadith, «لَقَدْ أُوتِيَ هَذَا مِزْمَارًا مِنْ مَزَامِيرِ آلِ دَاوُد»
(Verily, he has been given this windpipe from the windpipes of the family of Dawud.) Referring to Abu Musa. Abu Musa replied, "If I knew that you had been listening to my recitation, I would have truly beautified it for you.''
It has been narrated from Ibn Mas`ud that he said, "Do not scatter the (recitation of) Qur'an out like the scattering of sand, and do not rush through it like the hasty recitation of poetry. Stop at its amazing parts and make your heart move with it. None of you should let his concern be to reach the end of the chapter.'' This has been recorded by Al-Baghawi.
Al-Bukhari recorded from Abi Wa'il that he said, "A man came to Ibn Mas`ud and said, `I read the Mufassal chapters (from Qaf to An-Nas) last night in one unit of prayer.' Ibn Mas`ud said, `This is rushing like the haste of reciting poetry. the Most Merciful. The Only Owner of the Day of Recompense.) (1:1-4) This was recorded by Ahmad, Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi.
The word in question is iqra which can be translated variously as recite or read. A more appropriate rendition would be to chant. It refers to reading the Qur'an out loud. The rules of pronunciation are known as tajweed. They can be very complex so I wouldn't worry about them too much at this point-- perhaps latter down the road. If you want to memorize suwar (chapters) of the Qur'an, I recommend using something along the lines of mounthira [dot] com which can help you memorize. If you want to just learn how to read, for the time being you can use transliterations of the Arabic. I recommend you study up on the different ways of transliterating the Arabic and how to pronounce each letter properly. For learning how to read and write Arabic, I recommend you start with one of these two alphabet songs on youtube. That's what I used and al-hamdulillah it worked very well for me. You'll still have to learn how to write each letter in it's various forms (beginning, medial, end, and isolated) but this is a good place to start. It also helps you learn proper pronunciation of each letter. After learning how to read and write you can take up learning grammar, morphology, vocabulary, etc. Those are much more complex so I wouldn't recommend trying to learn any of that for now, just focus on reading, writing, and pronunciation for the time being. Once you get used to that, you can pick a good method for actually learning the Arabic. (My personal favorite is the Pimsleur method. It's very pricey but well worth it. If you'd rather something else, you can try the Madinah Arabic Books. I've never used them but I've heard good things about them. Also, never underestimate the usefulness of classes at your masjid or community center or even a college. They are good resources. Also, once you start learning the language, be sure to practice a lot. A lot of brothers would probably be willing to Skype with you or something else to help you out.)
Best of luck
Edit: I can't post links to the videos because I don't have enough posts yet. Just go to Youtube and type "Arabic Alphabet Song". The two I linked to are the first two non-advertisement videos.
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