Prayer TimesAllah the Almighty commanded: "Recite the Qur'an in a measured tone" (Surah al-Muzzammil, 4). Reciting the Qur'an in a measured tone means to read it slowly, pronouncing each letter correctly, pausing at the appropriate places, and following the rules of tajwid.
The angel Jibril taught the Prophet Muhammad how to recite the Qur'an with proper tajwid, and the Prophet (ﷺ) passed this on to his Companions in the same way. This tradition has continued to the present day.
Qaris organized the rules of Qur'an recitation and wrote books about them. This set of rules is called tajwid. The word "tajwid" means to do something correctly and beautifully. It is obligatory for every Muslim to recite the Qur'an according to the rules of tajwid and to learn it from those who are knowledgeable in this science.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "The best among you are those who learn the Qur'an and teach it" (Bukhari, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi). Scholars have called those who teach and learn the Qur'an the deputies of Allah and His Messenger.
In the first three centuries of Islam, there was no concept of teaching the Qur'an for payment. Scholars of the Hanafi school based this on the words of the Prophet (ﷺ): "Recite the Qur'an, but do not use it as a means of livelihood" (Ahmad). At that time, Muslims were highly motivated, and they considered teaching the Qur'an both an act of worship and a religious duty.
In another hadith, Ubadah ibn Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I taught the Qur'an to the people of Suffa (Companions devoted to worship). One of them gave me a gift of charity. I told him, 'This is not wealth, but I will use it in the way of Allah.' When I asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about this, he said: 'If you want Allah to put a collar of fire around your neck, then accept it'" (Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah).
It is not correct to take payment for acts of worship such as giving the adhan, leading prayers, or teaching the Qur'an. However, today a fatwa has been issued permitting it (Fath Bab al-Ghinaayah, 3/56). The reason is that in recent times, the number of unpaid Qur'an teachers has decreased, which could lead to a decline in religious knowledge. Therefore, based on the fatwa of later scholars, the state began to assign salaries to teachers of the Qur'an and other essential religious sciences, and teaching the Qur'an for payment was deemed permissible. This is supported by the legal maxim: "With the change of time, rulings may also change".
Hasan Amankul,
"Munara" newspaper, No. 11, 2020
This content was drafted with AI assistance and reviewed by an editor.