question on qirat

[N. Truth Seeker]

 

But to think that only memorization without following the contents of the Quran is enough is incomplete
work. 

Absolutely right.  Just would like to add one more point here.  Understanding or following the contents of the Quran does not mean asking your community imam or shaykh to give you the tafsir of any Quranic Verses you may not understand.  They can only give explanations based on hadith narrations; that's so with 90% of their tafsirs.  That way you invariably end up getting incorrect interpretations of Quranic Verses.  Explanations of Quranic Verses that Allah wants us to know are found within the Quran itself.  You only need to read with concentration, reflection and discernment.  Alhumdulilah.

[Heba E. Husseyn]

True brother ..

[Abd al Mejid]

Walaykum As-Salam.  This word is not in the Quran to the best of my knowledge.   Qirat (قراءات) or Qirah (قراءة) is an Arabic word which means recitation of the Quran, and 'Qari' is a person who recites the Quran.

However, Verse 73:4 of Surah Al-Muzzamil states:

وَرَتِّلِ الْقُرْآنَ تَرْتِيلًا (warattili al-Qurana tartīlan)  =  "and recite the Qur'an with measured recitation."  73:4  Al-Muzzamil.

But this does not refer to the kind of qirat we hear from our qaris, sometimes too loud or too slow or too much emphasis on certain words, too little emphasis on some words or making it too 'musical' to keep up a certain style of chant etc.   All that is more like singing and many of them do not understand much of what they recite.   
 

 Can you please give more extended clarification how the practice of qirat fits with the Quranic verse 73:4 ?

[Heba E. Husseyn]

It does not quite fit into the present concept of qirat, that's what the post is explaining if you read it again carefully.   Nonetheless I will briefly elucidate it again, InshAllah.

Arise [to pray] the night, except for a little -  73:2  Al Muzamil.
Half of it,- or a little less,   73:3  Al Muzamil.
Or a little more; and recite the Qur'an in slow, measured rhythmic tones.   73:4  Al Muzamil.

Our focus of discussion is the underlined portion of V.73:4. 

First of all let me explain, the general definition of a rhythmic movement is its audible sound repeated at regular intervals, forming a regular pattern or beat.

The tone refers to the author's approach about the subject.  Tone expresses the author's reality of existence and the aspects of personality expressed to the readers.

In V.73:4 the approach emphasized is the importance of taking your time when reciting the Quran. Avoid rushing through the verses. Instead, focus on each word, its definition and try to find its pronunciation that's closest to being correct and most importantly its meaning, that is, the denotation /connotation /elucidation of the verse clarifying its explanation.

Measured refers to a slow regular rhythm.   Reciting the Quran in slow regular rhythm refers to the slow rhythmic TONES of reading which normally in other forms of reading is determined by dialectical marks.  However, the Noble Quran didn't come in a written form, it came through Divine Revelations.  The dialectical marks were inserted later by those with good command of the Arabic language to determine the tone of the contents of every Verse and thus to simplify the reading and understanding of the Noble Quran.  This also helps to have more accurate translations.   It's actually a very simple and down-to-earth guideline from Allah Almighty, not at all difficult to follow.   If we correctly grasp this guideline, it also enables us to clearly perceive that The Almighty's Command in Verses 73:2-4 in Surah Al-Muzamil on recitation conveys a very different concept from the style and goal of recitations people practice in Qirat as we watch presently, especially considering the fact that there is NO emphasis on explaining and understanding its meaning.  This includes the fact that currently with a Muslim global population of 2 billion, not more than 25% speak Arabic.

[Abd al Mejid]

Thank u sister.  I think I had overlooked some parts of the previois post.  I read it again plus your input helped to straighten the matter.