Reciting the Qur’an melodiously
The Prophet (SAW) used to recite the Qur’an in slow, measured, rhythmic tones as
Allah had instructed him, not hurriedly, but rather “he would recite a surah in such slow
rhythmic tones that it would be longer than it would seem possible.”[Muslim, Muwatta] He
would stop at the end of each aayah [Abu Dawud]. He commanded people to recite in a
beautiful voice in a pleasant melodious tone. He said “Beautify the Qur’an with your voices
[for a fine voice increases the Qur’an in beauty]”[Bukhari] and he said “He who does not
recite the Qur’an in a pleasant tone is not of us.”[Abu Dawud]
Unfortunately all too often we find people reciting the Qur’an quickly and without
changing their tone and without any feeling. We should put all our efforts into reciting the
Qur’an with as much feeling as we can! Have you ever prayed behind an Imam who read
with feeling? Well the Prophet (SAW) said “Truly the one who has one of the finest voices
among the people for reciting the Qur’an is the one whom you think fears Allah when you
hear him recite.”[Daarimi, Tabaraani]
And once when the Prophet (SAW) complimented Abu Moosaa al-Ash’ari on the
beauty of his recitation, Abu Moosaa said “Had I known you were there, I would have made
my voice more pleasant and emotional for you.”[Bukhari, Muslim]
Let us remember, that the Qur’an is the word of Allah. In it we find exhortations,
warnings, glad-tidings, parables, stories of the past, commands and prohibitions. Aayaat to
make us think, reflect, cry, fear, hope, love, fall down in prostration! How can we recite all ofthis without feeling!? When we recite an aayah of Qur’an we should imagine that we are
trying to feel and convey the full message behind that aayah. Perhaps some of us don’t feel
confident.
I believe that this lack of confidence comes partly from not knowing the rules of
Tajweed correctly and so fearing that we will make mistakes and partly from not
understanding the meaning of what we are reciting. So let us work hard to remove these two
obstacles by learning Tajweed and working towards learning Arabic.