A question on Tajwīd asked to Shaykh Muḥammad Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Albānī

The questioner asked:

Ibn al-Jazarī said in his Muqaddimah (Introductory Poem to Tajwīd: al-Jazariyyah):

وَالْأَخْـذُ بِـالتَّجَوِيدِ حَـتْـمٌ لَازِمُ
مَــنْ لَــمْ يُجَوِّدِ الْـــقُـــرْآنَ آثِمُ

لِأَنَّــــــهُ بِــــــهِ الْإِلَـــــهُ أَنْــــــزَلَا
وَهَـــكَـــذَا مِـنْـهُ إِلَـيْـنَـا وَصَـلَا

“The practical application of tajwid is, without doubt, compulsory.
Whoever does not recite the Qur’an with tajwīd is sinful.
This is because it was revealed to us by Allah in this form,
and exactly like this (with tajwīd) it reached us.”

What is your view of this statement? And what is obligatory upon the Muslim in this matter?

Shaykh al-Albani said:

In reality, I do not find within myself sufficient knowledge to answer this question. Rather, I say that every science should be taken from its specialists. Imām al-Jazarī, may Allāh have mercy on him, in addition to his leadership in the sciences of the Qur’ān and tajwīd, was also among the scholars of ḥadīth. In this respect he shares with Ibn Kathīr, as he was an expert in several sciences such as tafsīr, ḥadīth, and history.

Therefore, when he said this statement, it is obligatory to follow him in it, considering that our Lord, Exalted and Most High, commands us with that in His general saying:

﴿فَسۡ‍َٔلُوٓاْ أَهۡلَ ٱلذِّكۡرِ إِن كُنتُمۡ لَا تَعۡلَمُونَ ٤٣﴾

“So ask the people of knowledge if you do not know.”
(al-Naḥl 16:43)

And we say, as we say on many occasions, that it is correct that we oppose taqlīd  (following a qualified scholar without independent knowledge of the detailed evidence) and we prohibit turning taqlīd into a religion that is adhered to in and of itself. At the same time, we say that taqlīd is not resorted to except out of necessity just as Imām al-Shāfiʿī said regarding analogical reasoning (qiyās), although qiyās is among the four legal proofs, it is not used except out of necessity

So taqlīd, while we oppose adopting it as a permanent madhhab, as is regretfully the case with most Muslims today, is nevertheless comparable to qiyās. Concerning qiyās, Imām al-Shāfiʿī said that it is a necessity and is not used except out of necessity. Likewise, taqlīd is not resorted to except out of necessity. For example, a man may be knowledgeable in the Arabic language but does not possess fiqh, nor knowledge of ḥadīth in terms of authenticity and weakness. Such a person must practice taqlīd of the jurists and ḥadīth scholars. One who has some degree of general knowledge will have lesser taqlīd, because he possesses some awareness and general knowledge that help him to understand methods of reasoning, such as inference from ḥadīth.

As for the general masses, what do they do? They ask the scholar. It is obligatory upon them to ensure that the scholar is knowledgeable in the Qur‘ān and the Sunnah. This is obligatory. When he says, “This is ḥarām,” they must follow him. If they are able to understand where the prohibition came from and its basis in the Book, the Sunnah, or ijtihād, then this is what is required. However, not all people are able to do that, and therefore taqlīd is unavoidable.

Personally, I will say a concise statement regarding this question. I understand that the Ummah received the Qur’ān together with these rulings upon which all the reciters unanimously agreed, such as concealment (ikhfāʾ), clarity (idhhār), ghunnah, the natural elongation (al-madd al-ṭabīʿī), the connected elongation (al-madd al-muttaṣil), and the separated elongation (al-madd al-munfaṣil). These matters were received by the Ummah with acceptance, and there is no difference of opinion. It is therefore not permissible for a person who has no knowledge to say, “What is the evidence that al-madd al-ṭabīʿī is elongated two counts and not more?” and the like.

Hence we say that this is transmission (talaqqī). Just as we received the Qur’ān, we also received its recitation in this manner. This is exactly like fiqh. A large portion of fiqh returns to the Book and the Sunnah. There are two types of fiqh matters. One type has evidence from the Book and the Sunnah, and these are the reference without doubt when disagreement occurs. The other type consists of what is deduced through scholarly reasoning (Istinbāṭ).

As for these deduced matters, the affair is easy. If the student of knowledge is able to determine one opinion to be stronger than another by a factor from those mentioned in the books of uṣūl al-fiqh, then he does so. If not, then whichever view he follows, he is, if Allāh wills, excused before Allāh, Blessed and Exalted. The same applies to the sciences of the qirā’āt and tajwīd.

There are matters agreed upon that must be followed without discussion or argument, and there are matters differed over. Whoever is able to determine which view is stronger does so, as mentioned earlier regarding Fiqh matters. Whoever is not able, let him follow whichever view appears correct to him.

Among the matters differed over by the scholars of recitation is stopping at the end of verses, even if the verse is connected in meaning to what follows it. Some say one should stop, and this is the position we adopt. Others say one should not stop as long as the meaning is incomplete, such as His saying, Most High:

﴿فَوَيۡلٞ لِّلۡمُصَلِّينَ ٤﴾

“So woe to those who pray.”
(al-Mā‘ūn 107:4)

“So woe to those who pray.” (al-Mā‘ūn 107:4) According to them, stopping here would be an error, and one should instead continue.

After examining the textual evidence—and this is also the position of many of the early scholars of recitation—we were able to conclude that the correct view is stopping at the ends of verses even if the verse is connected in meaning to what follows it. In such cases, determining the stronger view was possible. As for other matters, a person follows a scholarly position and is excused, if Allāh wills.

In conclusion, this statement of Ibn al-Jazarī in this poem is the statement of a scholar specialised in his field. He should therefore be followed unless his error becomes clear to us, and how far that is!

(Tasjīlāt Mutafarriqah, Tape 15, Timestamp 00:41:57, accessed from al-albany.com)