Do you know what an Ijazah is? and what are its conditions and reasons for its importance ? if you don’t
know, come with us on a journey to know Ijazah meaning and the reasons that make it one of the most important matters related to the Quran.
Ijazah Meaning
Ijazah is a certificate from a sheikh who gives it to a student who has completed memorizing and reciting the entire Holy Quran, by Tajweed, and that they has mastered the narration that was permitted, and is qualified to give others Ijazah ( permission) . And then this hafiz becomes connected to the chain of transmission of the Prophet, peace be upon him .
And from those who transmit the Book of Allah Almighty. Thus, you can define Ijazah as a process in which the Holy Quran is transmitted from one generation to the next by voice transmission, according to the narration (or narrations).
Ijazah Conditions in The Holy Quran.
Now you have a general idea of the Ijazah meaning in the Quran. As for its conditions, Ijazah in the Quran revolves around four conditions:
- Memorizing the Holy Quran completely and perfectly.
- Memorizing and understanding the Jazariyyah Introduction.
- Reading the Holy Quran on the permitted Sheikh, letter by letter.
- And finally, The Sheikh must train the student who has obtained an Ijazah to correct the recitation of other students who would like to obtain an Ijazah as well. I think you need more explanation, right ? Don’t worry, I will explain these conditions to you in the following.
Memorizing The Holy Quran Perfectly.
The reason for this is that the chain of narrators through which the Holy Quran reached us was based on the reading of each of its men to the Sheikh, memorized and unseen, from the
beginning of the Sheikhs until reaching the Messenger, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him.
This is an answer to those who wonder what is the difference between the Ijazah and Isnad, And the chain of narrators is a series of complete reading by heart. However, there is no objection to giving
an Ijazah to someone who reads the Noble Quran by looking at the Mushaf , with perfection of Tajweed and reciting, so they are given an Ijazah or a certificate of recitation, distinct from the Ijazah for memorization.
Memorizing and Understanding Al-Jazariyyah Introduction in Tajweed.
This is because the introduction of Al-Jazariyyah, (which was authored by Imam Ibn Al-Jazari, the imam of the reciters) Contains most of the provisions of Tajweed, and the reason for this condition is that the transmission of the Holy Quran has a specific controls and restrictions, in terms of the characteristics of the letters, and the exits of the letters.
so the person who wants to obtain an Ijazah has to know these rules, implement and memorize them , with an understanding of their meanings, and an understanding of the explanation.
Reading The Holy Quran to The Sheikh Letter by Letter.
The point is to read the Holy Quran. Starting with Surat Al-Fatihah to the end of Surat Al-Nas, while adhering to all the rules of Tajweed, whether the articulation points of the letters, adjectives, and other things that are required in Tajweed. But, some Sheikhs may give Ijazah to students to read a part of the Quran, without making it clear that the Ijazah came on a specific part.
And this is a mistake because the Ijazah – if it’s not in the entire Holy Quran – must be clarified which part of the Quran has been permitted. And if the student is a beginner and the Sheikh does not know anything about his reading, then the Sheikh here cannot give him Ijazah, because there are some
words in the Noble Qur’an that are only repeated once, and those words can’t pass without check.
Such as Al-Ishma and Al-Rawm in the word( تأمنّا ),(trust us) Surat Yusuf Ayah number (11). And Imaalah ( mixing the sound of an “alif” with a “yaa”), such as the word ( َمجراها ).( its course ) in Surat Hud “41”. How can a professor or sheikh give an Ijazah to the students without hearing them and making sure their reciting is perfect ?
The danger in this matter is that these Quranic words are not repeated in the Holy Quran, as I mentioned to you before and their reading needs to be controlled. Allah Almighty said.
“Their evidence will be recorded, and they will be questioned!“.
— Az-Zukhruf “19”
In this verse there is a severe warning for those who think about submitting testimony without being certain of its authenticity.
Training The Student Who Has Obtained An Ijazah.
Many of those who are good at recitation aren’t able to correct the recitation of others, and the sheikh who gives the Ijazah must train the students to correct the mistakes of other student. so, the Sheikh asks those who want to obtain the Ijazah to correct the recitation of a new student .
So that the Sheikh is sure of their eligibility to give permission to others, and in the case the person has a certificate Ijazah, but can’t correct someone else. Their permission is for reading only, and they aren’t allowed to give Ijazah to someone else.
The Importance of Ijazah in The Noble Quran.
The importance of Ijazah is due to the fact that reciting the Quran is not considered valid if it’s not taken from the mouth of a master sheikh. In order for you to be able to correct the recitation of others, your reciting must first be perfect , and it can’t be like that just by listening and reciting.
As we all know, the Noble Quran is not like any other book. It is not permissible for anyone to read it or correct its recitation. Why is it different then? The difference between the Holy Quran and other books is due to three reasons.
First Reason.
Because it’s the words of Allah and its sanctity and value is due to that, it is not like the speech of humans, so its recitation must be in the manner in which Allah revealed it to His Prophet peace be upon him .
Second Reason.
It belongs to the Arabic language itself, which includes the formation of letters that may change the meaning from one word to another, so the subject can be transformed into an object just by changing the vowels , which is a distortion to the words of Allah.
Last Reason.
Tajweed, which was developed for the purpose of reciting the Quran correctly, because the Arabs, long ago, had their pronunciation of the Arabic language slightly different from our pronunciation now, and since the Quran was revealed in their time and the Prophet and the Sahaba recited it in their own way, we must read it exactly as they read it before us.
The danger of correcting the recitation is due to its being a means of transmission from generation to generation. Therefore, if the reader and the Sheikh who corrects his reading don’t abide by the rules of the Arabic language and Tajweed as pronounced by the masters of the sheikhs, then it’s considered a
kind of distortion.
The importance of Ijazah is due to all of the above. Briefly. The Ijazah is an acknowledgment that the reciter reads the Holy Quran in the correct way, and that he is allowed to give Ijazah to
others, so that the transmission becomes correct without distortion, especially with the spread of what
scholars have termed as “ lahn” (mistakes).
Why do We Have to Obtain An Ijazah?
Obtaining Ijazah is an important and commendable matter. And previous predecessors used to travel for days and miles in order to learn one hadith of the Prophet, or to know its chain of transmission and its authenticity, so that the Ijazah must take precedence over other matters.
and its companion, Inshallah, would be rewarded for that, Allah Almighty said.
“And that man shall have nothing but what he strives for- (39) And that his striving shall soon be seen- (40)“.
— An-Najm 39-40
If you want to obtain an Ijazah with one narration, such as the narration of Imam Hafs, or Imam Warsh or Qalon, then you must memorize the Holy Quran carefully and apply the rules of Tajweed. And don’t despair if you don’t succeed the first time.
Some students may read the Noble Quran or recite it by heart more than once to their sheikh without obtaining an Ijazah , because each time their recitation is not completely proficient. Therefore, they didn’t get the Ijazah, and that is because Allah Almighty preservedHis Noble Book.
Allah said in Surat Al-Hijr: “Verily We: It is We Who have sent down the Dhikr (i.e. the Quran) and surely, We will guard it (from corruption)”(Al-Hijr 9).
Resources: ما هي الإجازة في القرآن و” شروطها “
FAQ
(Q&A about Ijazah meaning )
Do You Need Ijazah to Teach Quran?
Since teaching the Qur’an is a great matter, the teacher must be perfect in order to teach the students correctly.
