Surah 1: Al-Faatihah In order to have a clearer understanding of which words to emphasise, it is important to go through the interpretation of the meanings of the Qur'an which can be found at the following site: http://www.dusstore.com/thenoblequran/index.html. Remember to concentrate first on the ahkaam (rulings) rather than the beautification of the voice. General tips Take your time on the letters with shaddah. Break up the words when practising them Isti'aaztha - I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytaan A'oozthu Hamzah before the 'ayn deserves its right. Should be pronounced clearly with a wide mouth. 'Ayn should be smooth. Zthaal Go back to the default position of the mouth (not completely relaxed but straight) after oo before zthaal. Say azth to practise and get used to the straight position of the mouth. For the dhammah, lips are circled. Billahi Min Ash Bi pronounced with kassrah correctly Hi Mi should be quick. Up with the tone of your voice for the llah on billah. Emphasis on the laam with the shaddah - when you come to the shaddah, have to come to it with a small jump, hop onto the shaddah. La shouldn't be completely relaxed practise laa - upright/straight position of lips. Hi with kassrah bring the jaw down Jump to the sheen from min a and take time on the shaddah. Shaytaa-nir Shay some emphasis on the yaa. Clear taa. Taa should be without ghunnah. Taa should be separate from the noon. Nir-Rajeem Continous raa, hold it, heavy. Jump/hop onto the raa because of the shaddah. Madd on rajeem - 2-3 (3 beautifies it) Types of Madd 2-3, 4-5 or 6-7 for Rajeem stick to 3 You should stick to the same throughout your recitation. Harakah = 1 movement = a of alif. Can become longer and shorter, by pressing or
expanding your recitations, if you recite quickly it will be shorter. 3,5,7 make the recitation more beautiful than 2, 4 and 6. You should make a mental estimate you will automatically do it after a while. 1 st Ayah - In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful Bismillah Mill emphasised don't make it on the same level as Bis hir-rahmaa Should be clear. Don't flicker many times/roll tongue too many times on the raa. Continuous raa (see above). Heavy Raa. Shouldnt bring noon into maa don't put shaddah on noon. Maa should be stretched 2 harakaat Nir-Raheem Some don't meet the lips and the meem is pronounced as a noon. Meem only said when lips are in straight position. 2 nd Ayah - All the praises and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of the 'Alameen (mankind, jinns and all that exists). Alhamdulillahi People make qalqalah (echo/bounce) on laam mistake. Hold every letter with sukoon with care. Pronounce ad-du so you can pronounce the du correctly. Lips should be straight before pronouncing the dhammah. Lillah Laam with shaddah (see Bismillah for further details). Rabbil Raa heavy Baa has shaddah (light letter). Continous baa. Hold sukoon. 'Alameen 'Ayn shouldn't be long. Needs emphasis but shouldn't make it too long. Yaa shouldn't be coming from nose. Block nose if the sound changes then it means the sound is coming from the nose. 3 rd Ayah - The Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. Ar Hamzah should be light and not be affected the heavy raa. Ar-Rahma nir rahim (see above for further details) 4 th Ayah - The Only Owner (and the Only Ruling Judge) of the Day of Recompense (i.e. the Day of Resurrection) Maaliki Maa should be light. Make mouth straight in alif. Use alif as template e.g. for the yaa in Yawm.
Yawm Need to pronounce yaa with fathah properly. Maliki ya - Yaw should be light. Vibration in between lips for the wow, beautifies it. Bring lips back to say yawm can't join meem with circular lips. Id Should be a jump Deen Daal should be light release the sound slowly. Some put qalqalah on end e.g. deena. Noon should be clear but no qalqalah. 5 th Ayah - You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help (for each and everything). Iyya yaa has to be strong major mistake if not done. 2 opinions: 1. Even though it has shaddah, don't go in to yaa as you would with ayyu, don't make it as heavy. As if two separate yaa's : iy-ya. Not a continous sound. 2. Any letter with shaddah should be continous unless impossible e.g. at-ta. Iyya pronounced the same as ayyu - we follow this opinion insha'allah. Ka No air coming out. Na' Make sure no qalqalah (echo/bounce) on 'ayn. 'Ayn should be soft. Budu Come back with lips (make them straight) after bu and du. Wa Shouldn't be oppressed. Give it its right. Nasta'een Noon has fathah take care to make it light. Seen hold it a bit longer than a normal letter with sukoon. Helps prepare taa. Taa Make it light. 'Ayn with kassrah, more of a struggle for many. Practise separately. Doesn't need to be extreme. Same madd as rajeem, raheem etc. (see above for further details). 6 th Ayah - Guide us to the Straight Way Ihdina Kassrah shouldn't be oppressed. Bottom lip/jaw comes down naturally for kassrah. Not as clear if you don't do this. Lips should be in an upright position and not completely relaxed. haa From the bottom of the throat. Tips to pronounce it: Like when you run out of breath, breath heavily in and out from the chest. Expand throat, don't make it completely relaxed. Change tone of voice make it deep and pick it back up after the haa- no problem if it is like this, subtle e.g. Minshaawi. Air should be coming out but don't take it back in.
Noon before the saad Fathah on the noon is often oppressed - noon should be light. Siraatal Saad make tafkheem (heaviness) Raa Mufakham (heavy) Taa Mufakham (heavy) take care to make it heavy enough. Sirataa to practise. Come to the laam and make sure mouth is completing the laam by opening up and letting the air pass through the sides. Mustaqeem Mu is light start with straight lips, round with dhammah, back into straight lips for the seen. Seen Spend time on it prepare for taa. Taa light Qeem not too heavy 7 th Ayah - The Way of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace, not (the way) of those who earned Your Anger (such as the Jews), nor of those who went astray (such as the Christians). Siraatal (See above) Allazthina Emphasise zthaal The travel/jump from laam to zthaal shouldn't be in a harsh/sharp way come to the zthaal with ease. zthaal should be kept light. Ref: Minshaawi and Hosary. An 'Amta Noon sakinah rule If noon has sukoon/tanween and after it is one of the letters of the throat, you should make it apparent/clear (izthhaar-apparency) Common mistake qalqalah (echo/bounce) i.e. ana 'amta Hold the letter with sukoon until you're at ease with it. Sukoon comes from word sakeenah (tranquility). The more you practise, the less time you will have to spend on the letter with sukoon. Ta Light. 'Alayhim The word 'ala is a preposition so you have to emphasise the laam of 'ala. Him Emphasis, according to some reciters e.g. Hosary. Ghoyril Ghoyn - Heavy Put emphasis on the yaa Hold yaa slightly, voice dips into it. Yaa is light. Raa is light because it has kassrah Hold the laam with patience but don't put qalqalah (echo/bounce) on it. Maghdhubi Maa should be light, even though ghoyn heavy Ghoyn should be smooth hold gh sound to see if you can produce a smooth sound. Dhu Concentrate on the lips. Have to raise up the tongue BEFORE pronouncing the wow,
and the tongue should not be raised during the wow. 'Alayhim (see above) Wa Give it its haqq (right). La Laam should be emphasised Adh-Dhaaleen Mutassil Madd Connected madd (obligatory) 6 harakaat. Laam joining onto the dhaad has to have emphasis because dhaad has shaddah. Dhaad has alif and what follows is a laam with a shaddah. When you come to a letter with a shaddah, you jump onto the dhaad from the laam e.g. Al haaaaaqqa. KaaaaAbah. DhaaaAleeeen. Jumps. Hosary takes this opinion, which is stronger. Minshaawi doesn't take this opinion. Leen Same madd as rajeem - keep to the same length of madd as previous recitation 3.