Taysir Ahkam al-Tajwid - al-Mustawa al-Awwal
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- Editions
- Dar al-Ghawthani
Taysir Ahkam al-Tajwid - al-Mustawa al-Awwal (Facilitating the Rules of Tajwid – Level One) is an introductory primer on Quranic recitation by Yahya Abd al-Razzaq al-Ghawthani, arranged in a question-and-answer format for young students and beginner learners.
Purpose and Structure
The work is designed as an abridged pedagogical guide to accommodate beginner students, structuring essential recitation principles through paired questions and answers. In his introduction, the author noted his intention to record the material onto an audio cassette to broaden its instructional benefit.
The primer begins with foundational definitions, describing tajwid lexically as "beautification" (al-tahsin) and technically as giving each letter its right and due according to what Muslims received from the Prophet ﷺ, with the practical objective of safeguarding the tongue from errors when reciting the Quran. It also identifies the three speeds of recitation—al-tahqiq (slow, deliberate recitation), al-hadr (rapid recitation with preservation of rules), and al-tadwir (a medium pace between the two)—noting that the broader term tartil encompasses all three.
Content and Topics Covered
The book outlines the core practical rules of tajwid across several concise chapters:
- Rules of Nun Sakinah and Tanwin: Covers the four primary rules: izhar (manifestation before the six throat letters), idgham (assimilation, divided into assimilation with nasalization [ghunnah] and without nasalization), iqlab (conversion into a mim before ba), and ikhfa (concealment before fifteen specific letters).
- Rules of Mim Sakinah: Summarizes its three rules: oral concealment (al-ikhfa al-shafawi) before ba, oral assimilation (al-idgham al-shafawi) before mim, and oral manifestation (al-izhar al-shafawi) before the remaining letters.
- Prolongation (Madd): Classifies elongation into original (asli, including natural madd, badal, 'iwad, and minor connecting silah sughra) and secondary (far'i, caused by a hamzah or sukun, including connected obligatory muttasil, detached permissible munfasil, necessary lazim, temporary pause 'arid li-l-sukun, and lin). It further divides madd lazim into word-based (kilmi) and letter-based (harfi), both subdivided into light (mukhaffaf) and heavy (muthaqqal).
- Echoing (Qalqalah): Details the vibration of the five letters of qutb jad when vowelless, categorized into minor (sughra, in the middle of a word or continuous speech) and major (kubra, at the end of a stopped word).
- Rules of the Letter Ra: Outlines the conditions requiring thinning (tarqiq), thickening (tafkhim), or permitting both options (jawaz al-wajhayn).
- Stopping, Pausing, and Sakt (al-Waqf wa-l-Ibtida): Clarifies the technical distinctions between a standard pause (waqf), cutting off recitation entirely (qat'), and a brief breathless pause (sakt). It enumerates six overarching categories of stopping, detailing the four forms of optional stop (ikhtiyari): complete (tamm), sufficient (kafi), good (hasan), and repulsive (qabih).
- Special Pauses in Hafs: Concludes with the four mandatory places of sakt during continuous reading in the transmission of Hafs 'an 'Asim (in surahs al-Kahf, Ya-Sin, al-Qiyamah, and al-Mutaffifin), alongside the optional pause or assimilation in Surat al-Haqqah.
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