Qur'an reading

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Part of a series on the Qur'an
Mus'haf
Chapter Verse
Qur'an reading
Tajwid Tarteel Manzil Juz'	Hizb Quranic guardian Qari' Rasm
Qur'an translations
List of translations
Origin and development
Madinan sura Meccan sura
Tafsir
Persons related to verses Justice Asbab al-nuzul Naskh Similarities to the Bible Tahrif Bakkah Muqatta'at Esoteric interpretation
Qur'an and Sunnah
Literalism Miracles Women
Views on the Qur'an
Shi'a view Criticism Desecration Surah of Wilaya and Nurayn Satanic Verses Tanazzulat Qisas Al-Anbiya Beit Al Qur'an This box: view • talk • edit

Qur'an reading is the reading (tarteel, tajwid, or taghbir) aloud, reciting, or chanting of portions of the Qur'an. It is not considered music by Muslims and when recited the style is structurally disimilar from music (even secular Arab music). The reciter is called a muqri' , tālī, murattil, mujawwid, or most commonly a qari. (Touma 1996, p.153-154)

Recitation (singing of the Qur'an is strictly forbidden in Islam^{[citation needed]}) must be done according to rules of pronunciation, intonation, and caesuras established by the Prophet Muhammad, though first recorded in the eight century CE. The most popular reading is that of Hafs on the authority of `asim. Qur'an reading may be based on one to three tones only. Similarly, each melodic passage centers on a single tone level, but the melodic contour and melodic passages are largely shaped by the reading rules, creating passages of different lengths whose temporal expansion is defined through caesuras. Skilled readers may read professionally for mosques in cities, although being paid for reciting the Qur'an is prohibited by Islam^{[citation needed]}.

The Qur'an is marked with twenty-six symbols, circles, rectangles, dashes and letters, some in color. These are written above, below, or beside the letters of the alphabet . They indicate the pronunciation of consonants, whether the blending of neighboring or adjacent consonants is allowed, and where recitation pauses and caesuras are forbidden and possible (ibid, p.155). In this last respect their function is analogous to that of Biblical cantillation marks, but unlike these they do not constitute a word-for-word notation of musical motifs.