Is it possible to recite beautiful Quran without beautiful melodious voice?
In fact, beautiful voice is not the only instrument for reading beautiful Quran. Rather, the two main components of a beautiful Qur’anic recitation are:
1) Purity of Quran recitation
2) Connection of the reader’s heart with the read part
If the voice is beautiful on it, then it is sohaga in gold. That is the bounty of Allah, which He gives to whom He wills of His servants.
So even though not all of us have beautiful voices, it is possible for us to recite beautiful Quran.
For a beautiful recitation, one has to first learn to pronounce the letters of the Qur’an properly by preserving its place of pronunciation (makhraj) and features (sifat). This learning is done in two steps:
The first step is to master the Tajweed scripture.
Step 2: Learn the practical application of the Tajweed scriptures through repeated recitations in the presence of a qualified teacher.
The first step mentioned is not very difficult. Necessary basic knowledge of ‘Tajweed’ scriptures can be acquired in a few classes. However, the time required for the second step varies from person to person. The more one practices in the presence of the teacher, the more the purity of his recitation will increase.
It is noteworthy that the purity of the recitation of the Qur’an is superior to that of the melody. That is why the recitations of many of the world’s greatest reciters are out of tune, while they hold the position of teachers of reciters.
On the contrary, it is not an exaggeration to say that in many cases a reciter, due to his precaution against the purity of the recitation, omits the melody and performs the normal fluent recitation.
On the other hand, some people are guilty of making unintentional mistakes in recitation due to predominance of melody!
Imam Ibn al-Jazari (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
“In the case of a pure Qur’an reciter with the Tajweed in the same way as the Qur’an was revealed, it is the custom of Allah that the ear is satisfied to hear its recitation, the heart becomes humble while reciting it – it tends to take away the mind and enchant the heart. This is one of the mysterious attributes given by Allah, which He entrusts to whomever He wills among His servants.
And we found some teachers who did not have a melodious voice, nor did they have the knowledge of melody, But he was a pure reciter and pronounced the word correctly, so that when he recited the Qur’an, it fascinated the listener. The mind would be mesmerized, people would gather around him, people would gather to listen to his recitations – the elite and the common people, and people from all over the human race, whether they knew Arabic or not, would take part in it. Those who have a beautiful voice are aware of rhythm and melody. ” [আন নাশর , ১/ ২১২–২১৩]
So it is not the melody of the recitation, but the preservation of purity that is the first desirable thing – which is the key to creating the desired effect of the recitation in the hearts of the listeners.
Therefore, those who teach the recitation according to the continuous narration or sanad of recitation of the Qur’an by the Companions from the Messenger of Allah, and read and recite the Qur’an easily, free from all the innovations that come later, such as reciting the Qur’an to the melody of music and creating ripples between matter and sin. They are the most qualified teachers of the Quran.
If the regular recitation of the Qur’an, while preserving the purity of the Arabic alphabet, is half of the mystery of the beautiful recitation of the Qur’an, then the other half lies in the comprehension of the meaning of the part read by the reader. Let us see what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) himself identified as the beauty of reciting the Qur’aan. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
ﺍﻟﻠَّﻪَ ﻣِﻦْ ﺍﻟﻠَّﻪَ ﺍﻟﻠَّﻪَ ﺍﻟﻠَّﻪَ ﺍﻟَّﺬِﻱ ﺍﻟﻠَّﻪَ ﺍﻟﻠَّﻪَ ﺍﻟﻠَّﻪَ ﺍﻟﻠَّﻪَ ﺍﻟﻠَّﻪَ ﺍﻟﻠَّﻪَ
The one who has the best melody in the recitation of the Qur’an, the one you hear reciting, you think he is fearing Allah. [ইবনু মাজাহ ( ১৩৩৯)]
So the most beautiful voice in the Qur’an is that person,
He who understands the meaning of the Qur’an reads it from the heart with fear and love of Allah.
Whoever does not have the knowledge of the meaning of the Qur’an in his heart, and does not have the deeds of the Qur’an in his life – the real fear of Allah will not be revealed in the recitation of the Qur’an – no matter how beautiful his voice may be.
Therefore, those of us who want our recitation to be beautiful should pay attention to the purity of the recitation of the Qur’an, as well as understand its meaning and pay attention to the deeds according to its provisions.
After all, if one’s voice is beautiful, it will enhance the beauty of the Qur’an, no doubt. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
ﺯَﻳِّﻨُﻮﺍ ﺍﻟْﻘُﺮْﺁﻥَ ﺑِﺄَﺻْﻮَﺍﺗِﻜُﻢْ, ﺣُﺴْﻨًﺎ ﺍﻟﺼَّﻮْﺕَ ﺍﻟْﺤَﺴَﻦَ ﺍﻟْﻘُﺮْﺁﻥَ ﺍﻟْﻘُﺮْﺁﻥَ ﺣُﺴْﻨًﺎ
Make the Qur’an beautiful with your voice, for surely the beautiful voice is Al –Enhances the beauty of the Qur’an. [হাকিম ( ২১২৫) প্রমুখ]
– Muhammad Nasil Shah Rukh
