Question

Thank you for your reply to my previous question about tajweed and its relation to Arabic phonology.

Now I have few more questions :

 1. Is it true that tajweed reflects the language at the time of the great Prophet ? Did he (they) actually speak by using tajweed rules (ex. ghunnah, idghaam, etc.), Or, was the tajweed merely used in reading Qur'an ?

2. I read the book by Wolfdietrich Fischer, saying that the language of Qur'an is 'pre-classical'. What do you think ? 

3. Are there any specific references explaining tajweed and its relation to Arabic phonology ? How do I get them, considering that I live in another country?

Thank you for your answers. 

Answer

You are very welcome. 

1. Yes, they spoke with idghaam, tafkheem, qalqalah of the qalqalah letters etc, and this is the reason that there was no need for the study of tajweed until later when non-Arabs entered Islam and pure classical Arabic started corrupting. The only part of tajweed that was unusual to the Arabs at the time of the revelation was the mudood (lengthenings).  There are some hadeeth that mention the lengthenings.

One such hadeeth is related by Al-Bukhari: Qataadah said, “I asked Anas bin Maalik about the recitation of the Prophet,  , and he said, ‘He used to prolong [certain sounds] very much.’ "

2. We assume you are referring to the Arabic grammar book that has been translated from German into English.  We have not read the book and don’t think we can fairly judge the statement without seeing it in its context.   The Arabs were famous for the beauty of their language, and used the language to express themselves in poetry, prose, and stories before the Prophet  started receiving the revelation. This is the miracle of the Qur’an.  The letters and ability to compose Arabic prose and poetry was all in their hands, but none could produce even an aayah similar to Allah’s book. The height of the strength of the Arabic language was at the time of revelation and time immediately after the revelation. 

3.  The fact that there is no reference in the hadeeths of Arabic phonology and tajweed (outside of the lengthening of some sounds) demonstrates that there was nothing abnormal about the way the Qur’an was recited by the Arabs.  Anything out of the normal would have been noted.  If you are looking for books on the sciences of the Qur’an, the history of the mus-haf and its writing, there are many.  One is: Fann At-Tarteel wa ‘uloomuh, by Ash-Sheikh Ahmed bin Ahmed At-Taweel, printed by the King Fahd Mujama’ for Glorious Qur’an copy publishing, Medinah , Saudi Arabia .  King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex, P.O. Box 3561, Al Madinah Al-Munawarah Saudi Arabia.  http://www.qurancomplex.com/eng/

Another book is Manahil Al-a’rfaan fee ‘uloom al-Qur’an, by Muhammed Abdul’atheem Az-Zarqaanee, published by Maktaba Nazaar Mustafaa Al-Baaz, Makkah , Saudi Arabia .   I was unable to find their address, but there is a telephone number: 966-2 (country and city code) 5749022; fax number is: 5745044. You may want to try contacting these publishers and request the books.