Nazirah & Tajweed: learning to read the Qur'an

Nazirah means reading the Qur'an by looking at its words. In this course, students learn the Arabic letters and their true sounds, join them into words and verses, and learn the rules of Tajweed as they read — until they can open the Qur'an and read it on their own.

Who it is for

• Children beginning the Qur'an for the first time
• Adults who never had the chance to learn to read Arabic script
• Those who read already, but wish to correct their pronunciation and Tajweed

What is taught

1. The Arabic letters — all twenty-eight, their shapes, and how each is written at the beginning, middle and end of a word.
2. Where each sound comes from — the makharij — the throat, tongue, lips and nose — so that letters such as ‘ain, ḥa, qaf and ḍad are given their right.
3. Vowels and joining — fatha, kasra, damma, sukun, shaddah and tanween, and joining letters into words.
4. Reading words and short verses — slowly at first, then with growing ease, beginning with the short surahs.
5. The rules of Tajweed — noon sakinah and tanween, meem sakinah, ghunnah, qalqalah and madd — each learned while reading.
6. Reading from the Mushaf — reading the Qur'an itself, with the teacher listening and correcting.

Where it leads

The student can open the Qur'an and read it on their own, with care and correct pronunciation.

How the classes are taught

Classes are live and online, in small groups of students of a similar age and level. Women and girls learn in their own separate classes. Classes are held daily, in the morning and evening, and lessons are explained in Urdu, Kashmiri, Hindi or English. Every class is taught by Mohammad Shafi Mir, and the first class is free of charge.

Questions