I watched a lecture by Yaser Birjas on YouTube, and he explained how the Qur'an should be beautified during recitation. But I was wondering, does this apply to all Surah's? I'm asking because I was listening to Sheikh Sudais reciting Surah Naba - and mashAllah he has such a beautiful voice - but when one has read the Tafsir of this Surah (or part of it, in my case), we come to know that it is essentially a warning - a very serious and graphic warning (the inhabitants of hellfire drinking boiling water etc). So I was thinking - anyone who is listening to the recitation of this surah (whether they know the translation or not) could easily be caught up in the melodious nature of the reciters voice (depending of course on the reciter) and therefore not absorb the message, which defeats the purpose of listening to the Qur'an, right?

  • That's why I also have issue with a blind melodic recitation of the Quran. I always wished the melodies reflected the meaning of the verses. – infatuated Feb 22 '14 at 15:59

Quran was revealed to us for our guidance. Allah says:

This is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for those conscious of Allah - (Quran 2:2)

That is the purpose of Quran. You see, when one is reading a general book without proper pause on the punctuations and so on, it becomes difficult for the listener to follow, and might become a boredom.

Now, for people to appreciate the meaning to easily grasp the verses, good recitation is needed, so that understanding of the verses becomes easy and clear. That is why there is Tajweed. It becomes easy for one to go and connect rationally from one to another verse without much of pondering. You might have listened to those who just stops where there breath stop, and it becomes sometimes a challenge to understand a thing, especially for those verses that are not known much for normal people.

That is said, reciting Quran melodically is forbidding for the majority of scholars. This is because it deviates Quran from its main purpose, to being a melodic fulfillment.

I think I misunderstood what I read as there is not much of differentiation of what is considered haram in this source, but it says it should not be like what songs are (Not quiet sure what it means.)

However, searching a bit more, I couldn't really find anything to oppose beautifying Quran, or even mentioning that it is not recommended in places of hellfire and so on.

One should focus on the message of the verses being recited, not the beautiful sound of it. Beautiful sound makes it clear for us to understand and grasp the meaning, but that never means to sink into it.

When reciting about the hereafter and the punishments, it is not needed to cry or to give a voice of such feelings, because you might be entitled in "riya" (showing off), so unless it comes purely out from your heart, don't try to force it. (Source)

  • So are you saying the way Sheikh Sudais recites the Qur'an is forbidden by most scholars? Which scholars forbid it? – user1593993 Feb 23 '14 at 14:03
  • I Googled "riya" and it came up with an amazing article by Suhaib Webb: suhaibwebb.com/personaldvlpt/character/different-forms-of-riya Even more relevant to us in this day in and age, IMHO considering the tools we have at our disposal to expose ourselves to the world. – user1593993 Feb 26 '14 at 12:22

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