The word Tajweed linguistically means ‘proficiency’ or ‘doing something well’. It comes from the same root letters as the word ‘Jayyid’ in Arabic (meaning ‘good). When applied to the Quran, it means giving every letter of the Holy Quran its rights and dues of characteristics when we recite the Koran and observing the rules that apply to those letters in different situations. We give the letters their rights by looking the essential characteristics of each letter that never leave it. And we give them their dues by observing the characteristics of each letter that are present in them some of the time and not present at other times.

The holy quran was revealed with Tajweed rules applied to it. In other words, when the angel Jibreel (AS) recited the words of Allah to the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) he recited them in a certain way and he showed the Prophet (SAW) the ways in which it was permissible to recite the Quran. So it is upon us to observe those rules so that we recite it in the way it was revealed.

At the time of the Prophet (SAW) there was no need for people to study Tajweed because they talked with what is now known as Tajweed so it was natural for them. When the Arabs started mixing with the non-Arabs as Islam spread, mistakes in Quran recitation started appearing, so the scholars had to record the rules. Now, because the everyday Arabic that Arabs speak has changed so much from the Classical Arabic with which the Qur'an was revealed, even Arabs have to study Tajweed.

1.  Its definition

By linguistic definition: Betterment
Applied definition: Articulating every letter from its articulation point and giving the letter its rights and dues of characteristics.

Rights of the letters are its required characteristics that never leave it.  The dues of the letters are its presented characteristics that are present in it some of the time, and not present at other times. 

2.  Its formation

The words of the Glorious Quran and some said Honorable Hadith also.

3. Its fruits

It is preserving the tongue from mistakes in pronunciation of the Glorious Qur'an during reading.

4.  Its precedence

It is one of the most honored of sciences and one of the best of them due to its relation to Allah’s words.

5.  Its place within the sciences

It is one of the Islamic Law sciences that are related to the Glorious Quran.

6.  Its founder

The rule setter from the practical point of view is the Messenger of Allah because the Qur'an was revealed to him from Allah, the most High, with tajweed, and he, was instructed on it from the Trustworthy, Jibreel, peace be upon him, and taught it to his companions, who then taught it to their followers and so on until it came to us by these chains.  The rule setters from the scientific point of view are the scholars of Quranic sciences, such as Abu Ubaid Al-Qasim bin Salaam.

7.  Its precept

Knowledge of tajweed is fardh kifayaah, meaning some of the Muslim community must know it, and its application is fardh ‘ain, required by all Muslims (men and women) who have the complete Qur'an or part of it memorized, even if only one surah.

8.  Reasons for its rules

Guarding the Glorious Qur'an and preserving it from distortion.  The Arabs mixed with non-Arabs after the spread of Islam, and the Muslims feared that the Arab tongue would become corrupted with this intermixing.  It then became mandatory for rules to be put down that would preserve the recitation of the Qur'an from mistakes, and guarantee the reader of the Qur'an integrity of pronunciation.

9.  Its principles

The knowledge of tajweed is contingent on four matters:

1. Knowledge of the articulation points of the letters
2. Knowledge of the characteristics of the letters
3. Knowledge of what rules change in the letters due to the order of letters
4. Exercising the tongue and a lot of repetition.