The second in a series of three courses in which you will memorize and directly receive the last juz’ of the Quran from an authorized teacher, who will then train you in mastering its correct recitation. Successful completion of all levels will allow you to apply for an ijaza to transmit these chapters to others.

At-A-Glance

• Receive the Quran as it has been taught by each generation of Muslims to the next, with an unbroken chain of transmission to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him
• Train your jaws in the correct recitation of the Quran
• Master not only the correct tajwid of Juz ‘Amma, but also memorize the chapters so that the rules of tajwid are fully ingrained on your tongue
• Receive an ijaza to transmit the Quran to others
• Strengthen your relationship with the Quran
• Part 1 covers 11 suras, namely all suras from Surat al-Tariq to Surat al-Bayyinah

Ibn al-Jazari (d. 833 AH / 1429 CE), the greatest authority of the disciplines of Quran recitation (tajwid) and canonical Quran transmissions (qira’at), said in verse, “It is obligatory to train oneself to recite the Quran with tajwid. Whoever recites the Quran incorrectly through neglect is sinful.”

Why is this obligatory? Because Allah Most High revealed the Quran in accordance with the rules of tajwid, that is how the Angel Jibril (upon him be peace) taught it to the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace), that is how he taught his Companions to recite it, and that is how it was taught by each generation to succeeding generations, all the way down to our times. Reciting the Quran according to the rules of tajwid is also the only way to bring out the beauty of Quranic recitation.

The only thing that lies between learning how to recite the Quran correctly and continuing to recite it incorrectly is training your jaws. This is done through hearing the Quran recited directly by an authorized teacher, reciting back to him as he recited to you, correcting your mistakes in accordance with his instructions, and then repeated practice after class. If you do this with the whole Quran to a satisfactory degree of expertise, you receive an authorization to transmit the Quran to others as you received it from your teacher. This is how the Quran was transmitted from generation to generation down to our times.

This course is the second of a series of three courses in which you can receive, memorize, and learn how to correctly recite the last juz’ of the Quran through an unbroken chain of transmission from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. Students who reach the required degree of mastery will receive an authorization to transmit the final juz’ of the Quran to others and then will be able to continue on privately to complete their receipt of and receive an ijaza in the whole Quran. Students who don’t reach this level at the end of three courses will be able to continue training through private tutoring until they reach the requisite degree of mastery.

By combining mastery of the rules of tajwid with memorization, the rules of tajwid become fully ingrained in your tongue. The first part will cover 12 suras, namely all the suras from Surat Tariq to Surat Bayinnah. Every week, you will prepare assigned suras using pre-recorded lessons. At the live sessions, you will receive these suras directly from the instructor, recite back to him, and have your mistakes corrected. You will leave each week with a report card of outstanding mistakes, allowing you to practice and memorize the sura on your own, and then recite it correctly to your instructor the following week. Additional learning resources on selected tajwid rulings and memorization advice will also be provided.

Since Quran recital is a central act of worship that Muslims perform, and since it is obligatory for Muslims to recite the Quran correctly if you are able to, learning how to correctly recite the Quran is a requirement for being able to perform a central act of worship in Islam. Someone who neglects the discipline of tajwid will have a stunted relationship with the Quran because the Quran, which itself means “recital,” is meant to be recited.

By the end of this course, you will be able to recite all suras from Surat Tariq to Surat Bayinnah from memory, with few mistakes in letter-articulation and no mistakes in vowel-articulation, silent and doubled nuns and mims, the qalqala, and the lengthening. Special attention will be paid to the proper pronunciation of each Arabic letter, with exercises that will help English-speaking students perfect your recitation of Arabic letters. You will also be able to explain the correct recitation of these suras using tajwid rules. This course is perfect anyone who can read the Arabic script, but has never directly received the Quran from an authorized teacher with a chain of transmission back to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and give him peace.

Lessons will be based around the suras that the student will study every week, with recorded lessons explaining the most common mistakes of tajwid in that sura. The chapters will be covered in the following order:

Week 1:

Surat al-Bayyinah

Week 2:

Surat al-`Alaq

Week 3:

Surat al-Sharh

Surat al-Duhaa

Week 4:

Surat al-Layl

Week 5:

Surat ash-Shams

Week 6:

Midterm Exam on suras covered from Week 1 – Week 5 and Surat al-Fatiha, Surat al-Nas to Surat al-Fil (i.e. Week 1-5 from TJD 201)

Week 7:

Surat al-Balad

Surat al-Fajr verses 1-14

Week 8:

Surat al-Fajr verses 15-30

Week 9:

Surat al-Ghashiya

Week 10:

Surat al-A`laa

Week 11:

Surat al-Tariq

Week 12:

Final Exam on all suras covered and Surat al-Humaza to Surat al-Theen

The course will also provide the following learning resources, which will be referenced as the student progresses through the suras in the course:

• The articulation points and characteristics of the Arabic letters
• The attributes of the Arabic letters
• The rules of the lengthening (madd)