Question (27  Rabee' Awwal 1426/May 6, 2005)

Assalamu 'alaykum
Thank you for your wonderful website!
I am non-Arab and not yet a Muslim although I intend to take the shahada very soon. I have made good progress teaching myself principles of tajweed considering I have no teacher by using your site and a few books on the subject. I am just learning the rules pertaining to noon saakinah and tanwin. The rules make sense to me but I am not quite sure about the position of the tongue during ikhfa'. The sources I have read say to place the tongue in a position of readiness to articulate the letter following noon while holding the ghunna for two counts. They warn not to touch the upper part of the mouth with the tip of the tongue but they don't mention any other part of the tongue. Does any part of the tongue such as the very back touch the roof of the mouth? And when they say to place the tongue in a position of readiness, does this imply that the tongue is placed close to the specific letter it is about to articulate? If it is, the tip of the tongue would be in a different position during an ikhfa' with a dhal than in an ikhfa' with a sheen. It seems that the only way to achieve a ghunna as strong as a normal meem or noon is to seal off part of the mouth with the tongue. Also, when one pronounces an ikhfa' a and suddenly seals of his nostrils, should the sound be partly or totally blocked? Often when I try this experiment, the sound is muffled, proving that nasalization is occurring, but it is not completely stopped. When one pronounces ikhfa' or idgham, should any sound at all come through the mouth or should it somehow be restricted to the nose.
Finally, I have a question pertaining to the formation of the vowels in Arabic. The rules of tajweed state that the vowels are formed by vocalization accompanied by the rounding of the lips, the opening of the mouth, and the dropping of the jaw. The first two make sense to me, but I do not see how dropping the jaw alone could ever produce the sound of kasrah or madd ya'. Physically, to produce the "ee" sound at least in English, the jaw is actually raised, making the space in the mouth very small. In addition, the middle of the tongue is raised, further decreasing the space and thus creating the specific "closed" quality of the vowel. Based on the recordings of Qur'aan reciters I have listened to, the kasrah and ya sounds very similar to the English equivalent. I do not understand how this sound can be produced "only" by the vibration of the vocal cords and the "dropping of the jaw." Another question I have pertaining to vowels is whether the sound lengthened Waw or dammah is exactly like saying an alif with rounded lips or if the tongue changes position when the lips are rounded to pronounce waw. basically, I want to know if when pronouncing alif, the tongue completely relaxed and how it changes if at all, when pronouncing the other two vowel sounds.

 One last thing that I find confusing is what is technically meant by saying that the vowels are produced from an approximate area of the throat while the corresponding consonants waw and ya are from specific places in the mouth.
I truly appreciate your patience and help,
wa salaam

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Question (22  Rabee' Awwal 1426/May 1, 2005)

as salaamu alaikum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh, 

Ma ash Allaah, Barakallaah feekum, Beneficial web page. Can you please give me advice on the best way to memorise the Quran?  I know 1 juz, my first language is English, and I have no teacher. I want to memorise Allaahs beautiful, wise and perfect words. What reciter is the best to learn from?

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Question (11 Rabee' Awwal 1426/Apr 20, 2005)

Assalamu'alaykum,

It's known that if the letter before the pronoun ha carries a harakaat, then the ha will have a short sound and vice versa. What is the significance of this change?

If that rule is to be applied, if I wish to speak the proper Arabic, should I say, "Qara'tu kitaabahoo" instead of "Qara'tu kitaabahu" (with short dhommah) or it doesn't make any difference?

Jazakumullahu khaira

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Question (9 Rabee' Awwal 1426/Apr 18, 2005)

Salaam

I just want to ask if tajweed is sunnat, wajib or fardh.  Please could you update me with my question.
jazakallah

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Question (27 Safar 1426/Apr 06, 2005)

Assalaam alaikum,

Please help me with the following questions:

1) - The word "annajmuth-thaaqib" is in the beginning of third ayah in surah
At-Tariq. Should this be included in the list of words that start with
Hamzatul Wasl, recently posted on your website?

2) - In the middle of ayah #45 of surah Al-Anbiya, there is a word
"bilwahye". How this word is pronounced if we stop on it? I know the
vowel on the letter Ya drops out, but does Ya becomes saakinah along with
sakin letter Ha? If so, how much of Ya should be articulated? If
possible, please include a sound bite link in your response so the
proper articulation can be heard.

3) - In the copy of Qur'an I use, sometimes just more than one waqf sign
is written in the middle or even at the end of an ayah. Why is it so?
Are these inputs from different scholars?

4) - Are you planning to put a feature in the website that will allow us to search
archived material by topic?

Thank you and may Allah greatly reward you.

Wa assalaam.

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Question (21 Safar 1426/Mar. 31, 2005)

Assalamu Aleikum wa rahmatu lilahi wa barakatuh

In question # 270205 you mentioned the imaalah and taqlîl. Would you please tell us:

1) What is the definition of imaalah and taqlîl?
2) Does the recitation of Hafs have any imaalah and taqlîl?
3) Does the recitation of khalaf al hamzah have a taqlîl slightly different from that of Warsh an Nâfi?

Shukran Jazilan
May Allah facilitate your work inshallah

Ma'a Salam

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Question (19 Safar 1426/Mar. 29, 2005)

Is it fardh to learn tajweed, if so is it important to learn it before puberty.  And is there any evidence to say that it is fardh if so what is it?

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Question (19 Safar 1426/Mar. 29, 2005)

What is a ghunnah?

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Question (7 Safar 1426/Mar. 17, 2005)

Assalaamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuhu.

Could you shed some light on the conditions for obtaining an ijaazah according to the ullamaa of Qur’an and is this possible reciting 'nathriyyan' shukran.

assalaamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuhu

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Question (7 Safar 1426/Mar. 17, 2005)

Asalamualaikum Brother,
I am having problem pronouncing the Arabic letters is there any way I can improve my pronunciation and reading the Qur’an.
Please could you advise me on any books that I can buy where I can improve my pronunciation.
I have read the Qur’an but that was in a Bangladeshi mosque.

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