Answer: All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon His Messenger ﷺ.
- The Prophet ﷺ said:
مَا أَذِنَ اللَّهُ لِشَىْءٍ مَا أَذِنَ لِنَبِيٍّ حَسَنِ الصَّوْتِ بِالْقُرْآنِ يَجْهَرُ بِهِ
“Allah does not listen to anything as He listens to the Prophet reciting the Qur’an in a loud and pleasant voice.” [Sahih al-Bukhari 7544; Sahih Muslim 792a]
- Bukhari also records:
لَيْسَ مِنَّا مَنْ لَمْ يَتَغَنَّ بِالْقُرْآنِ
“He is not one of us who does not chant the Qur’an in a pleasant voice.” [Sahih al-Bukhari 7527]
These narrations show that beautifying the voice in recitation is recommended. Some scholars explain “يَتَغَنَّ بِالْقُرْآنِ” (yataghanna bil-Qur’an) as making the voice beautiful when reciting; others say it means finding sufficiency in the Qur’an.
- The hadith of Abu Musa al-Ashʿari رضي الله عنه shows this clearly:
عَنْ أَبِي بُرْدَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي مُوسَى، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم لأَبِي مُوسَى: "لَوْ رَأَيْتَنِي وَأَنَا أَسْتَمِعُ لِقِرَاءَتِكَ الْبَارِحَةَ لَقَدْ أُوتِيتَ مِزْمَارًا مِنْ مَزَامِيرِ آلِ دَاوُدَ"
Abu Burda narrated on the authority of Abu Musa that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had said to Abu Musa: "If you were to see me, as I was listening to your recitation (of the Qur'an) yester-night (you would have felt delighted. You are in fact endowed with a sweet voice like that of David himself." [Sahih Muslim 793e]
Abu Musa said he would have recited more beautifully had he known the Prophet ﷺ was listening. This shows care, feeling and beauty in recitation are praised so long as the letters are pronounced correctly from their Makharij (emission points) and with their Sifat (characteristics).
The Issue of Maqamat
Maqamat are musical modes. If you search for Maqamat, you will find them explained as musical systems: how each mode is performed and combined. Common examples are Bayat, Rast, Nahawand, Sika, Saba and Hijaz. Most are non-Arabic in origin; Hijaz is often said to be originally Arabic. These modes existed among the Arabs before Islam. In short:
Maqamat are part of music.
Two Cases to Distinguish
As Ibn al-Qayyim and others explain, there are two different situations when we talk about melody in recitation:
1) Natural, unforced beautification (permitted and praiseworthy) When a person reads the Qur’an and their natural voice becomes beautiful without training or copying music, for example, because they feel sorrow, love, longing or humility, this is allowed. It is the kind of melody the early generations (Salaf) used and accepted. It is natural, not made up, and it moves the heart of the listener and the reciter.
2) Deliberate, trained melody (disliked and criticised by the Salaf) If a person learns specific Maqamat, trains to copy musical patterns, and tries to recite the Qur’an in those musical ways, this becomes artificial. It is like learning to sing with set melodies and rhythms. The Salaf disliked and condemned this. In other words, deliberately using maqamat to shape Qur’anic recitation becomes a form of artifice resembling singing, and that is not appropriate for recitation.
Practical Guidance and Conclusion
- Recite the Qur’an in the way that is easy for you. Beautify your voice naturally, and make sure you pronounce letters correctly.
- Do not spend time learning and applying Maqamat as musical patterns in order to perform the Qur’an in that way. That deliberate musicalisation is disliked and was refuted by the early scholars.
- The balanced view is: natural beautification is praiseworthy; deliberate adoption of Maqamat as musical systems for Qur’anic recitation is not appropriate.
With this clarification, the confusion is removed, if Allah wills. We ask Allah to benefit us with the Qur’an, grant us understanding of it, and make it a source of guidance and mercy.
— Answered by Sheikh Dr. Asim Al-Qaryooti
