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III. 



'ILM-I-TAJWID, 



THE ART OF BEADING THE QUEAN. 



The Quran is the great bond of union between all the sects 

 of Islam. Men may differ on the exposition of some difficult 

 passages ; in the details of its exegesis there is some variety ; 

 but all reverence the letter, though they may not all imbibe 

 its spirit. It has given rise to a vast and varied literature. 

 Its decision is final in all controversies of faith. Side by side 

 with it has grown up a vast body of tradition, on which the 

 Sunnat — a most important factor in the faith of Islam — is 

 based ; but the most interesting of all studies to the young 

 Muslim is still the Quran, its grammar and its commentaries. 

 Every Muslim must learn some portion of it by heart, and to 

 learn the whole is an act of great merit. This feat, however, 

 will be of little value unless the Hafiz, when reciting it, 

 observes all the rules and regulations framed for such an act. 

 This recital is called tildwat, but before any one can do this 

 correctly he must have some acquaintance with what is known 

 as 'Ilm,-i-Tajwid (A>y$3 This includes a knowledge of 



the peculiarities of the spelling of many words in the Quran, 

 of its various readings, of the Takbirs and responses to be said 

 at the close of certain appointed passages, of its various divi- 

 sions, punctuation and marginal instructions, of the proper 

 pronunciation of the Arabic words and the correct intonation 

 of different passages. To throw some light on these various 

 points is the object of this article. It must be borne in mind 

 that the orthodox view is that the Quran is uncreated and 

 eternal, that it contains no human element whatever, that no 



