professional reciters know several of the phonetic systems of
the classic reciters and their disciples, and they will often re-
peat a given QurDanic phrase in other qira ̄Da ̄t in order to
bring out several possible emphases and meanings allowed
by the basic script.
TILA ̄WAH AND THE RULES OF TAJW ̄ID. The significance of
acceptable variations in the enunciation of the text is consid-
erable insofar as meaning is established not only by written
symbols but also by sounds. Although written texts of the
QurDa ̄n, such as the modern Egyptian edition traced to the
qira ̄Dah of EA ̄s:im, are elaborately marked to reflect the pho-
netic qualities of a given qira ̄Dah and are further coded to
guide the reciter in proper phrasing and oral emphasis, the
actual art of reciting can be learned properly only from a
teacher. This oral, performative, pedagogical context has
characterized QurDanic studies in Islam since the seventh cen-
tury. Nonetheless, a considerable literature about the rules
that govern recitation has accumulated over the cen-
turies.
Learning to recite the QurDa ̄n traditionally began in the
QurDa ̄n school (kutta ̄b, maktab), where rote memorization of
QurDanic passages by children seated around a teacher
(shaykh) marked the first, and for some the only, stage of for-
mal education. Even with increasing government control of
public education in modern times and the changes this has
brought about, many contemporary Muslims are attempting
to retain some form of the traditional QurDa ̄n school as an
important first stage of Islamic pedagogy. At more advanced
levels, students specializing in tila ̄wah learn the rules of
tajw ̄ıd, that is, the rules for rendering correctly the recitation
of the QurDa ̄n (and their application) in more critical learn-
ing and performance situations. Again, this is primarily an
oral context dominated by a shaykh who has received special
training and earned recognition as a reciter. In one of the
most popular recitation manuals in use in Cairo today,
tajw ̄ıd is defined as “articulating each letter from its point
of articulation, giving it its full value. The intent of tajw ̄ıd
is the reciting of the QurDa ̄n as God most high sent it
down.... Knowledge of it is a collective duty, and the
practice of it is a duty prescribed for all who wish to recite
something from the holy QurDa ̄n.”
Rules for proper recitation are usually printed at the
back of the QurDa ̄n. These include specifications on how to
produce the correct phonetic sounds, assimilation of certain
juxtaposed phonemes, proper duration of vowel sounds, and
sectioning (the rules for pauses and starts in reciting). The
first three kinds of rules account for the unique sound of
QurDanic recitation—a sound that easily distinguishes
tila ̄wah from the pronunciation of Arabic for any other pur-
pose. Sectioning allows the reciter to build a cadence or stress
a particular phrase through the use of required and optional
points of pausing and starting within each verse of the text
and through calculated repetition of phrases. The rules of
tajw ̄ıd also cover the proper Arabic formulas used before and
after each recitation, such as “I take refuge in God from the
evil Satan,” followed by the Basmalah, “In the name of God,
the merciful, the compassionate.” At the completion of each
recitation one recites: “The majestic God has spoken truly.”
Two general styles of recitation may be distinguished.
Murattal is the more straightforward type, appropriate for in-
dividuals reciting in the context of prayer and private devo-
tions; mujawwad refers to the more melodious and ornate
styles employed by trained and professional reciters for reli-
gious celebrations and public performances. Both murattal
and mujawwad are governed by the rules of tajw ̄ıd, although
mujawwad is an art form that takes years to master, and its
practitioners receive high recognition in Islamic society.
The term tila ̄wah (which has thus far been used synony-
mously with qira ̄Dah) has the special connotation, as
al-Ghaza ̄l ̄ı (d. 1111) put it, of being an act of recitation in
which the tongue, heart, and mind are equally involved.
Thus, tila ̄wah involves three essential ingredients: sound,
thought, and emotion. Insofar as the rules of tajw ̄ıd and the
contexts in which they are taught are intended to realize all
three factors, QurDa ̄n recitation cannot be regarded as an
empty verbal exercise, a cultural form without content. Mus-
lim literature about tila ̄wah indicates that “the necessary,
obligatory recitation is the thoughtful one that engrosses the
whole self,” or “those who would listen to the QurDa ̄n with
their ears, not attending with their hearts, God faults them
for that.” The rules of tajw ̄ıd, then, have to do with sound
production in relation to the proper cognitive and emotional
responses.
The tila ̄wah literature addresses the rules of tajw ̄ıd for
listening to QurDa ̄n recitation as well. This dual focus reflects
the facts that the QurDa ̄n is an integral aspect of Muslim piety
and worship and that most occasions of QurDa ̄n recitation
entail a speaker/listener social relationship. The reciter’s skill
and correct frame of mind for his task are to be matched by
listeners who likewise are prepared to hear the word of God.
Besides the manuals on tajw ̄ıd, other sources contribut-
ing to the cognitive and intellectual understanding of the
QurDa ̄n include phrase-by-phrase commentaries (tafs ̄ır), bi-
ographies of the prophet Muh:ammad (s ̄ıra ̄t), and descrip-
tions of the specific occasions of revelation during
Muh:ammad’s mission (asba ̄b al-nuzu ̄l). Then too, there are
the personal meanings each phrase might symbolize for indi-
vidual reciters and hearers: when an individual or communi-
ty feels tempted or threatened by an intrusive outside force
or circumstance, for example, a passage about Satan may be
recited. In general, the rules of tajw ̄ıd and QurDa ̄n recitation
are closely connected with these other sources—both literary
and social/contextual—of meaning. Any adequate apprecia-
tion of the meaning of the QurDa ̄n would have to involve
knowledge of the written text, the commentary literature, the
performance of recitation, and the social-ritual contexts—in
short, the whole spectrum of QurDanic presence in Islamic
culture.
THE CONTEXTS OF TILA ̄WAH. Among the most important
settings for QurDa ̄n recitation are the ritual celebrations ap-TILA ̄WAH 9201