What Are the Three Modes of Quranic Recitation (Tartil, Hadr, and Tadwir)?
Answered by Shaykh Anas al-Musa
Question
What are the three modes of Quranic recitation (tartil, hadr, and tadwir)?
Answer
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all worlds. Peace and blessings be upon the Messenger sent as a mercy to the worlds, our Master and Prophet, Muhammad, and his Family and Companions.
Tartil
This is a measured, deliberate mode of recitation that involves clarity without haste. It includes giving the rules of tajwid (the science of proper Quranic recitation) their due rights, such as properly elongating the vowels (mad) and nasal sounds (ghunna), among other aspects of tajweed. Allah (Most High) commands:
“And recite the Quran (properly) in a measured way.” [Quran, 73:4]
Hadr
This mode involves a faster-paced recitation, but still with careful observance of the rules of tajwid and proper performance.
Tadwir
This is a mode of recitation that falls between tartil and hadr in speed and style. Tadwir is considered the most suitable mode for recitation during prayer because it strikes a balance between the two extremes and maintains moderation. [Jurmi, Mu‘jam ‘Ulum al-Quran]
Note
Some scholars categorize tartil as one of the levels of Quranic recitation, thus making the modes of recitation four: hadr, tahqiq (slow and deliberate recitation for teaching and practice), tadwir, and tartil. They differentiate between tahqiq and tartil by saying that tahqiq is used for training, teaching, and practice, while tartil is used for contemplation, reflection, and deriving lessons.
Therefore, all tahqiq is tartil, but not all tartil is tahqiq. According to this view, tahqiq is more general, and tartil is more specific, with the relationship between the two being one of generality and specificity. [Suyuti, al-Itqan; Ibn Jazari, al-Nashr fi Qira’at al-‘Ashr]
However, the view that seems closer to being correct is that tartil encompasses all three modes of recitation. Thus, recitation in hadr should be done with tartil, recitation in tahqiq should be done with tartil, and the same applies to tadwir.
Therefore, tartil is a characteristic of the recitation rather than a separate mode; it is a command from Allah (Most High) as mentioned in verse:
“And recite the Quran (properly) in a measured way.” [Quran, 73:4]
And Allah knows best.
May Allah bless the Prophet Muhammad and give him peace, and his Family and Companions.
[Shaykh] Anas al-Musa
Shaykh Anas al-Musa, born in Hama, Syria, in 1974, is an erudite scholar of notable repute. He graduated from the Engineering Institute in Damascus, where he specialized in General Construction, and Al-Azhar University, Faculty of Usul al-Din, where he specialized in Hadith.
He studied under prominent scholars in Damascus, including Shaykh Abdul Rahman al-Shaghouri and Shaykh Adib al-Kallas, among others. Shaykh Anas has memorized the Quran and is proficient in the ten Mutawatir recitations, having studied under Shaykh Bakri al-Tarabishi and Shaykh Mowfaq ‘Ayun. He also graduated from the Iraqi Hadith School.
He has taught numerous Islamic subjects at Shari‘a institutes in Syria and Turkey. Shaykh Anas has served as an Imam and preacher for over 15 years and is a teacher of the Quran in its various readings and narrations.
Currently, he works as a teacher at SeekersGuidance and is responsible for academic guidance there. He has completed his Master’s degree in Hadith and is now pursuing his Ph.D. in the same field. Shaykh Anas al-Musa is married and resides in Istanbul.
