Haven’t you ever asked yourself, “who will be by my side on Judgment Day?”? That Day when your close ones flee from you, you will have no one to intercede for you in front of Allah. The Quran will support and argue for you. It will never let you down on that Day if you keep company with it by reciting it in worldly life. As the Prophet PBUH said,
“Recite the Quran, for on the Day of Resurrection it will come as an intercessor for those who recite It. Recite the two bright ones, al-Baqara and Surah Al ‘Imran, for on the Day of Resurrection they will come as two clouds or two shades, or two flocks of birds in ranks, pleading for those who recite them”.
Sunnah
That’s why this great book must be taken care of when reciting it because you will escort it while you are alive and it will do the same on Judgment Day. And one of the best ways to take care of it is to recite it properly.
What does Quran recitation actually mean?
Allah (SWT) says,
“Those We have given the Book follow it as it should be followed. It is they who ˹truly˺ believe in it. As for those who reject it, it is they who are the losers”.
Surah Al-Baqarah
To recite Quran means to read it out loud properly to follow its orders. The succeeding of the orders is obligatory because the final aim of the Qur’an is to follow its rules put by Allah (SWT) and not to repeat its words without understanding or applying them.
What is the difference between ‘reciting’ and ‘reading’ the Quran?
The simplest way to explain this is that reciting means reading but followed by the pursuit to fulfil each order and distance from the prohibitions. To ‘read’ the Qur’an means to speak its words audibly whether by looking at them or by recalling them from the memory. But to recite the Qur’an mainly means following the intended meanings of what you read.
How to recite the Quran properly?
As Allah says,
“And recite the Quran ˹properly˺ in a measured way”.
Surah Al-Muzzammil
He ordered the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, at the beginning of the coming down of the revelation, to recite the Qur’an properly and calmly as this would influence his heart and reveal it from worries at this hard phase.
You can pursue these steps to help you properly recite the Qur’an as Allah orders you.
Study the Tajweed rules to improve your recitation.
Some of the Arabic letter’s sounds change if they come close to some other specific letters such as Noon and Meem. That’s why learning these rules will help you understand the reason for the change of these sounds and as you get this, your recitation will be much better and your application to them in any other verses will be easier. Check our tajweed rules course by Hamil AlQuran
Learn the places of articulation of the Arabic letters and their qualities.
Arabic letters have a unique way to be pronounced. It doesn’t have the same qualities as any other language. Because if you are a non-Arabic speaker and try to mimic the standards of your language, it will have different sounds from the original language of the Qur’an even if you are following the rules of Tajweed.
Listen to a mastered reciter every day.
This step will help you recognize the application of Tajweed rules and the correct pronunciation of each letter so that you can acquire the sense to naturally follow them whenever you recite the Qur’an.
Get a tutor to learn the exact recitation.
Having an efficient tutor is the most effective way to acknowledge your mistakes which you may not be able to figure out and correct. Besides teaching you Tajweed rules and applying them to the verses of the Qur’an that you will learn or memorize.
Practice proper reciting regularly.
As we always hear, “practice makes perfect”. But with the Qur’an, you will have a lot of rewards as Allah promised you. The Prophet Muhammad PBUH said,
“Whoever recites a letter from the Book of Allah, will be credited with a good deed, and a good deed gets a ten-fold reward. I do not say that Alif-Lam-Mim is one letter, but Alif is a letter, Lam is a letter and Mim is a letter.”
Is it hard to recite the Holy Quran properly?
In the beginning, these steps may seem hard to apply but if you are sincere to Allah and ask him to help you and you do not give up, He will guide you to the best way for you to reach what you desire. Even if you do not manage to recite the Qur’an perfectly although you did your best, you will also be rewarded anyways as the Prophet PBUH 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 two rewards.”
Sunnah
And always keep this Hadeeth in your mind as long as you are on the learning path that you are on,
“The best among you (Muslims) are those who learn the Qur’an and teach it.”
Sunnah
The flexibility you will acquire from practicing reciting will allow you to understand the beautiful meanings of the Qur’an after the hardship of perfecting the recitation was blocking you from that. And that is the main aim of the Qur’an which is living the meanings of the words and applying them to yourself not merely reciting them without understanding.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it does not matter how long it will take to master the recitation of the Quran with Tajweed. What matters is your consistency and sincerity on this road as you have enthusiastically begun it, no matter what difficulties faced you. God is the one who made the road easy for you at first and remember that He is testing your sincerity when some challenges come up to you. May Allah clarify our intentions and make it all only for the sake of Allah. We can help you by applying to recite the whole Quran course