Question

Assalaamu 'Alaikum  Ramatullah.

I would be grateful if you would tell me about the level of the tidbit lessons on your website (i.e. basic, intermediate, advanced) and is it just sufficient to learn and apply all these lessons to one's tilawah if one is unable to access a teacher? Alhamdulillah I feel that my articulation/pronunciation of the Arabic letters is of a good standard (I'm also studying Arabic) and I listen to a lot of Qur'an audio (esp. of the Qaris Sa'ad Al-Ghamdi (rh) and 'Ali ibn Abdur-Rahman Al-Hudhaifi) but I am unable to access a good teacher to teach me tajweed, so can I just use books, your website and audio? and is tajweed about Qur'anic articulation/pronunciation, or is there more to it?  Please explain.

Sorry for the trouble and excessive questioning. Please forgive me and ask Allah (swt) to have mercy on me and forgive me. May Allah (swt) bless you, reward you immensely and give the highest of places in Jannah for helping a brother understand his (swt)'s deen better. 

JazakAllah Khairan.

Wasalaam 'Alaikum wa Rahmatullah

 Answer

Wa alaikum assalaam wa rahmatu Allahi wa barakatuh. 

The level of the tidbit lessons if you have followed all of them and understood all that are in the archived tidbit files would be place you at an intermediate level of understanding.  The most important part of tajweed is its application, so if you are applying the rules, this would be a very good accomplishment. 

May Allah provide you with an excellent teacher since it is much needed to correct any mistakes you may have that you are not aware of.  If you keep on following the tidbit lessons, you will have all you need to know for the understanding of tajweed.  Tajweed is pronunciation, applying the characteristics and known rules, plus knowledge of how and when to start and stop when reciting the Qur’an.  We will soon be covering the stop and start, insha’ Allah, and the next section will explain how to start on words beginning with hamzah al-wasl. 

If there is no teacher, listening and trying to copy the known good reciters would be highly recommended, so you are indeed doing what you should.  Make a lot of dua’ for a good qualified Qur’an teacher, for Allah is the Provider, and we learn nothing without His leave.

May Allah reward you greatly, grant you the best of teachers for learning the Qur’an, and make you of the bearers of the Qur’an and Allah’s special ones. 

We did not find your questioning excessive at all and are please to see a Muslim so eager to learn Allah’s words. 

Wa assalaam alaikum wa rahmatu Allahi wa barakatuh