ترتيل وتجويد
Tartīl, Tajwīd
Measured, melodious recitation of the Quran, carried out according to the rules of pronunciation known as tajwid
What it means
Tartīl is slow, measured and clear recitation. The Quran commands the Prophet to recite it “in slow, rhythmic tones” (73:4). Tajwīd is the science that sets out how each letter is to be pronounced, which sounds are lengthened, and where the reciter pauses. Recitation is learned by listening to a qualified teacher and repeating, and many reciters hold a chain of instruction that reaches back to the Prophet (peace be upon him). The aim is to preserve the sound of the text exactly and to recite it with reverence. Reciters are trained in different recognised readings, the qirāʾāt.
Often misunderstood as
That chanting the Quran is singing, when it is a regulated devotional act with its own rules.
Term and Arabic as listed in Ismail al Faruqi, Toward Islamic English (International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1995), p. 48, listed as TARTĪL, TAJWĪD. The definition is restated here.