Why Tajweed

Why Tajweed? - Khutba by Abdul Nasir Jangda

Opening Praise and Testimony

Alhamdulillahi rabbil alameen, alhamdulillahi alladhi la'azata illa bi ta'atih, wa la karamata illa bi taqwatih, wa la najata illa bil-isti'anati bih. Wa nashhadu an la ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lah, fil mulki wal malakoot, wa nashhadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluh, al-mab'uthu bil-haqqi bashiran wa nadhira, wa da'iyan ilallahi bi-idhnih wa sirajan munira.

Sallallahu alayhi wa ala alihi wa sahbih, alladhina hum khulasatu al-awliya wa khayru al-khalaiq ba'da al- anbiya.

Call to Consciousness and Unity

Amma ba'du, fa ya ayyuhan nas, ittaqullaha fa inna at-taqwa ra'su al-ta'at, wa ittaqu Allah fa inna at- taqwa milaku al-hasanat. Wa alaykum bil-sunnah fa inna as-sunnah tahdī ila al-itaba', wa man ata'a Allah wa rasulahu fa qad rashada wa ihtada. Wa iyyakum wal-bid'a fa inna al-bid'a tahdī ila al-ma'siya, wa man ya'si Allah wa rasulahu fa qad dalla wa ghawa.

Wa alaykum bil-ihsan fa inna Allah yuhibbu al-muhsineen, wa ud'uhu fa innahu mujību ad-da'een, wa istaghfiruhu yumididkum bi amwalin wa baneen.

A'udhu billahi minash shaytanir rajeem:

"O you wrapped up in a cloak! Stand to pray by night, except a little - half of it, or a little less than that, or a little more; and recite the Quran in slow, measured rhythmic tones."

Lessons from Hajj: A Catalyst for Change

Alhamdulillah, over the previous week we've had many of our brothers and sisters returning back from their journey of hajj. Many amongst our relatives and our friends and community members whom Allah had blessed with the ability and the opportunity to perform this great rite and to fulfill this great obligation of hajj. They have, alhamdulillah, completed their hajj and have been returning back to our community.

One thing that's very interesting about hajj - and this is something we see in the Quran itself - hajj is an opportunity, it is a catalyst, it is a turning point in a person's life. There are so many people, when they come back from hajj, now they start to wear the hijab, they start to pray five times a day, they start to remove some of the haram things in their lives, some of the sins that had become habits of theirs, some

of the habitual sins that they were involved in. They begin to carve those out of their lives and remove them from their daily lives.

So many people who have been to hajj will tell you: "I started doing this when I went for hajj, I started praying five times a day when I went for hajj, I started reciting Quran when I went for hajj, I started paying my zakat after I came back from hajj."

The Quranic Structure: Hajj as Transformation

In the Quran itself, Allah shows us - even in the way Allah mentions the layout of the Quran - when we study the structure of the Quran, the coherence of the Quran, we even see that Allah is showing us this, He's teaching us this lesson: that hajj can serve as a catalyst to bringing about change, not only in one's personal life, but also in the greater community around them.

In Surah Ali 'Imran, where Allah mentions the hajj, He talks about the hajj as an obligation upon people. That the very first house of Allah established on the face of this earth was established for the sake of people, for the benefit of people. It's the one in Mecca. It is a source of blessing, a source of infinite, endless blessings. And it is a source, a beacon of guidance for all the worlds and all the nations.

There are clear miraculous signs, irrefutable manifest signs there of Allah's greatness and His glory. And the station of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) is there. Whoever has entered into it has attained safety, peace, tranquility, serenity.

Then Allah says: "And for Allah, it is incumbent, it is an obligation upon people, mankind, humanity, that they visit this house of Allah - whoever is capable of undertaking this journey." So this is the ayah that obligates the hajj upon us.

The Obligation of Hajj in the Quran

There's another place in the Quran as well, where Allah says:

"Complete the hajj and umrah for Allah."

Here in this ayah in Surah Al-Baqarah, Allah says it is incumbent, it is obligatory upon people for the sake of Allah, to make the pilgrimage, to visit the Kaaba, to go for the hajj.

Divine Wisdom in Quranic Structure

If we take a look, very briefly, very summarily, at the ayat which follow this ayah, we'll find something very interesting. Because it's a part of our iman, it's a part of our faith, that this Quran is the divine word of Allah Himself. Everything about this Quran is precise, and everything about this Quran is intentional.

There's wisdom in everything about the Quran. Even the way the ayat are laid out, there's a divine wisdom in it, there's lessons in it. When the Quran transitions from one topic to another, there's a lesson in it for us.

So Allah here is telling us: go for the hajj. It's an obligation upon you to fulfill the hajj. And then look at the ayat which follow it:

"O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islam (as Muslims)."

To cultivate the awareness, the consciousness, the cognizance of Allah as He deserves according to what is His right upon us. Allah commands us, forbids us from leaving this world except in a state of submission. This is that personal reform, that spiritual reform, spiritual rejuvenation. But this ayah comes after the hajj. The hajj can serve this purpose. The hajj can be that catalyst for a person to spiritually, individually enrich their lives, improve themselves, better themselves.

Unity and Brotherhood After Hajj

And then the ayat go on to talk about brotherhood:

"And hold fast, all together, to the rope which Allah (stretches out for you), and be not divided among yourselves."

It talks about unity, brotherhood, the joining together of the hearts. Once again, this hajj can serve as an inspiration to establish greater brotherhood in our communities.

Here, relevant to the United States as well, we all know the historical figure of Malcolm X. What occurred with Malcolm X? What taught him the beauty of Islam? What opened his eyes to the true brotherhood, the true unity of Islam, was when he went for the hajj. And he said, it dispelled all these notions that had been instilled into my mind about people of a certain ethnicity, or people of a certain color, or people of a certain background, joining together and coming together against all others, protecting their interests against other people.

He said, it removed everything away from me. It dispelled all these false notions when I went for the hajj and I witnessed the true brotherhood of hajj, the true brotherhood of Islam.

Social Reform and Community Impact

And then Allah goes on, the ayat, the following ayat, they talk about social reform, reforming our

communities and our societies - commanding good and forbidding evil. This is what it is, to improve, to reform our societies. So hajj is such a catalyst, it can bring about personal change, it can bring about greater brotherhood and unity in the community, and it can begin to have a social impact. When people are coming back with this new sense of awareness, people are coming back with this refreshed look at life and at iman and their actions in the life of this world and the life of the hereafter.

Drawing Inspiration from Hajjis

Now having said all of this, those brothers and sisters that are coming back from the hajj, this is their ultimate opportunity. To use all this energy, to use everything they've come back with, to bring about change not only in their lives, in their families, but to also inspire their communities and the people around them.

And those of us, myself included, who were not blessed this year with the opportunity for hajj, we pray and we make dua that Allah gives us this opportunity next year insha'Allah. But if we were not blessed with that opportunity this year, what can we take away? How can we benefit from the hajj that occurred in these people who have come back to our communities? We can also draw inspiration and motivation from them. We can draw inspiration and motivation from their sacrifice, from what they've learned, from what they've gained, from what they've benefited. And we can also bring about a change in not only our lives, but also in the lives of the people around us.

Our Relationship with the Quran

Now one of those changes that I want to talk about, one of a very, very basic level change that we can all insha'Allah begin to make in our lives that I want to talk about and I want to focus on. And initially you might think it to be something very minute, very small. But part of what I want to deliver here today is the importance and the magnitude of this change and of this area of our lives as Muslims, as slaves of Allah.

And that is our relationship with the Quran. Now you've heard me talk about the relationship with the Quran many, many times. When we have our tafsir seminars and our other classes and halaqas and lectures and programs, you hear me talk about the relationship with the Quran.

We've become familiar with how Allah demands from us, the Quran demands from us, that we improve our relationship with the Quran. In Surah An-Nisa and in Surah Muhammad, Allah challenges us:

"Do they not then consider the Quran carefully?"

And it gives us an intellectual challenge, an intellectual opportunity:

"Had it been from other than Allah, they would surely have found therein many contradictions." (Quran 4:82)

If they were to ponder deeply upon the Quran, they would have come to realize that if this was from anyone else other than Allah, there would have been an abundance of contradictions, dozens and dozens of contradictions. But we don't find a single contradiction in the Quran. This leads us to the clear understanding: this is only and only the word of Allah.

And then there's a spiritual challenge Allah presents to us. In Surah Muhammad:

"Do they not then think deeply in the Quran, or are their hearts locked up (from understanding it)?"

Do they not deeply ponder upon the Quran or are their hearts completely locked up? Does nothing get through to them anymore? This is one aspect of our relationship with the Quran.

The Fundamental Issue: Proper Recitation

But this is not what I want to address today. I want to address a very, very basic level of our relationship with the Quran. And that is our ability to properly recite and properly read and properly pronounce the Quran.

This is extremely important. Because before these ayat came about deeply reflecting upon the Quran, whether intellectually or spiritually, before any of these ayat came, one of the most initial revelations to the Prophet (peace be upon him), when he was given the divine message, and then he was given his responsibility to go out, to stand up:

"O you wrapped up in your cloak! Arise and warn! And magnify your Lord!"

Proclaim only the greatness of Allah. Go out and warn the people. Deliver this message to the people.

Another revelation that came along with that was:

"O you wrapped up in garments! Stand (to pray) all night, except a little - half of it, or a little less than that, or a little more; and recite the Quran in slow, measured rhythmic tones."

The Divine Command for Tartil

And then Allah told him : رَبِّ الْقُرْآنَ تَرْتِيلًا - That this Quran that we are giving to you has a twofold