The follwing is a question posed to Shaikh Albaanee regarding the rulings of tajweed along with his answer. Taken from the book:
1000 Fatwas of Shaikh Albaanee (a collection of some of his fatwas)
Chapter (Kitaab): Tafseer of the Quran, Manners of Recitation, and Rulings of Tajweed
Section (Fasl): Rulings of Tajweed
Arabic Text:
Tajweed Albaanee
Question: There has been a lot of speech around here regarding the rulings of tajweed and using these rules, when there are some scholars who say it is obligatory, and along with that some of these rulings, the Imaams of this science have differed over them. So what is your opinion on the legislativeness of these rulings and the ranging in the solidity of its proofs from the Book and the Sunnah?
Answer (Shaikh Albaanee): Indeed people have received the recitation of the Noble Qur’an successively from those who preceeded upon this well-known path with ( the tajweed rulings). And the tajweed rulings are, at their foundation, principles for the pronunciation of Arabic, where the one who is Arab by lineage pronounces his speech in this way when speaking or reciting. And with the advancement of mankind (in time), the extension of their time with the fundamentals of the Arabic language, and the mixing of the Arabs with the non-Arabs are from the causes of the spread of grammatical mistakes. Along with the Arabs becoming un-Arabicized, due to the non-Arabs. Special care must be taken to teach these rulings in the area of reciting the Noble Quran.
As for what the questioner mentioned about the Imams differing in some of the rulings of tajweed – then this is really true. For some of them were of the opinion that the Madd Munfassal (hamzah followed by a letter of madd in two words) was unrestricted while some of them stretched it to 3 counts, and some four. Some of them lengthened the madd (elongation) of this type like (the madds) other than it (are lengthened). Some of them put (the letters) ghain and khaa with (the letters which have the ruling of) ikhfaa’ (hiding) of noon and tanween.
Some of them made ghain and khaa clear (ith-haar) – and these are the majority (who did so). Some of them made the idghaam (merging) of noon -all of it (with all the idghaam of noon letters) – to be without ghunnah – even wow and yaa. And they confined the ghunnah of idghaam to tanween until even including (the letters) laam and raa. Some of them did imaalah1 with the properties of yaa, while some of them decreased the imaalah and it is called “taqleel” to them. And there is a level of imaalah that is between fat-hah and imaalah. Some of them made ishmaam2in words where the middle root letter is yaa and which are mabnee3 and majhool4. Some of them made laam tafkheem (heavy) with some of the letters. Some of them made raa with fat-hah tarqeeq (light) when it is preceded by a yaa or a letter with kasrah. Some of them extend, meaning: lengthen, the madd of badal, etc.
And the cause for these differings is also due to following the rulings of pronunciation in Arabic. For these rules are spread out through the rulings of the recitations. And it is known that differing in the recitations is originally due to differing in the way of the pronunciation of the word with the Arabs. It is indeed from the easement of Allah – Exalted and Lofty is He – upon this ummah regarding His Book that He sent it down with seven dialects as has come in the authentic ahaadeeth which are mutawaatir5 regarding this topic. From them is his statement: ‘Indeed this Quran has been sent down upon seven dialects‘ Agreed upon. And other than it from dozens of ahaadeeth spread throughout all of the books of the Sunnah like Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad, at-Tirmidhee, Abu Dawood, and other than them.
These dialects, as the Messenger (sallallahu alayhe wa sallam) described them in another hadeeth when he said (translated): ‘The Quran was sent down in seven modes upon seven dialects, all of them are clear, definitive6, complete.7‘ So this differing that happens between the Imaams in the rules of tajweed is from this angle. This (particular) differing won’t ever harm anything.
It is upon a person to recite the Quran with the rules of tajweed, because Allah – The Most High – said (translated):
‘And recite the Qur’ân (aloud) in a slow, (pleasant tone and) style.‘ (Al-Muzzammil 73:4)8
So if you recite it as you read any other book, then you have not recited it with tarteel (as mentioned in the verse 73:4). So it must be recited with the rules of tajweed. The Scholars call a mistake in the rules of tajweed al-lahn al-khafee (the hidden error). So it is upon a person to make sure he learns how to recite the Quran in the correct way. As for when he knows of a differing in some ruling, then he must stick to what his Shuyookh taught him so that he doesn’t fall into chaos. And he shouldn’t leave the way that his Mashaayikh taught him believing that another way is more correct than it, because all of them (these revealed qiraa’at) are correct. And all of them are as the Messenger (sallallahu alayhe wa sallam) described: ‘Clear, definitive, complete.’
As for seeking proof from the Quran and Sunnah for these rulings, then this seeking, at its foundation, is an error. Because all of these rulings reached us by tawaatur of action (see footnote #5). So we learned recitation of the Quran from our Shaikhs and our forefathers by this way, and they (those we learned from) learned (it) the same way from their Shaikhs and forefathers, and so on until the time of the Companions who took it from the Messenger (sallallahu alayhe wa sallam). This will suffice, and all the praise belongs only to Allaah firstly and lastly.
(End of the Shaikh’s Speech)
Translated by Ummu Khadijah
Also see this beneficial article:
https://sughayyirah.wordpress.com/2013/06/25/diversity-of-the-seven-different-recitations-of-the-quran/
Footnotes
أشياء جيدة 