The science of the recitation of the Qur’an, known as tajweed, must be learned from somebody with a connection to Allah. How does someone have a connection to Allah? Through an unbroken chain of transmission from generation of Muslims to generation back to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of God be upon him). From the Prophet the chain links to the angel Gabriel (Jibreel) and from Gabriel to God.
How can we not learn from a teacher with a connection when God in His wisdom revealed the Qur’an through a chain? Additionally, the Prophet said to his Companions the following: “Learn the Quran from (any of these) four individuals: Abdullah ibn Mas`ud; Salim the freed slave of Abu Hudhayfah; Ubbay ibn Ka'b; and Mu'adh ibn Jabal” (Bukhari). The Prophet didn’t say recite any way you like on your own, but specified four people, or four teachers. If the Companions of the Prophet, people who heard the Qur'an from the Prophet's lips directly, were commanded to learn the recitation of the Holy Qur’an from a teacher, then what about us today?
I make the above point to encourage anyone who wants to recite the Qur’an to find a teacher with a sanad (chain of transmission) back to God. By learning with such a person one will learn to recite the Holy Qur’an the way Gabriel recited it to the Prophet. What an amazing connection to have!
If one cannot find a teacher in one’s locale, and if one is unable to a Muslim country to study, then there are options for online learning, for example, at Qibla: https://qibla.com/courses/
May God grant us gift of connecting us to the Prophet and Gabriel in the recitation of the Holy Qur’an through an authentic chain of transmission. Aameen.
