Melodious recitation of Quran

Reciting the Qur’an melodiously


The Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) 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.”[6] He would stop at the end of each aayah[7]. 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]”[8] and he said “He who does not recite the Qur’an in a pleasant tone is not of us.”[9]

Unfortunately all to 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 (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) 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.”[10] And once when the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) 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.”[11]

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 of this 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.