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Question

Jazaak Allah alf khair for your wonderful website!  I am an American Muslimah trying to learn tajweed, insha'Allah.  Unfortunately, the classes here are limited to English speaking students.  And I am amazed at the fact that most Arabs don't pronounce the Arabic letters properly.  Subhan Allah, may Allah increase our knowledge.  Ameen.  Al-hamdu lillah, I comprehend the readings and the tidbits, and I believe, that to be successful, I need a good teacher.  Do you happen to know of any in the Nashville, Tennessee, USA area?  There is a class taught by our local Imam, but I am not currently enrolled and the new session will not begin for new comers until at a later, unannounced date.  I would like to begin as soon as possible with this endeavor of mine, insha' Allah.  I appreciate your assistance, encouragement, and time.

Answer

Wa iyyaakum.  We pray that many Muslims benefit from this site. 

Just to clear up something, most Arabs do actually pronounce most letters properly, but many do not know and apply proper tajweed rules.  There are some specific letters that some Arabs in special locations have troubles with, for example, the Sudanese with the letter , and the Egyptians with the  and , but on the whole, the Arabs can pronounce the letters correctly. 

Masha’ Allah, it is really good to see you know what you need and have the intention to learn.  May Allah grant you this knowledge.  You are correct, you need a good teacher, but unfortunately we cannot help you locate one in your area.  We can only suggest that you attend the sessions at your local mosque and maybe put up a request on a bulletin board at your mosque, requesting assistance.  May Allah make easy for you the learning of tajweed and the recitation of His words.