Common tajweed mistakes and how to fix them

Clear mistakes (lahn jali)

These change the word itself. Because they can change the meaning, scholars treat avoiding them as obligatory for anyone reciting the Quran; see “Is tajweed obligatory?” in our tajweed rules guide.

Mistake	Example	How to fix it
ه instead of ح	ٱلْحَمْدُ	ح comes from the middle of the throat, with friction; ه is a light breath from the deepest part. Practise “ḥa” against “ha”. See makharij.
A short vowel changed	أَنْعَمْتَ	In Al-Fatihah 1:7, “an‘amta” (You favoured) becomes “an‘amtu” (I favoured) if the fathah is read as a dammah. See harakat.
Shaddah dropped	إِيَّاكَ	In Al-Fatihah 1:5 the ya is doubled. Read without the shaddah, the word loses its meaning. Hold every shaddah. See harakat.
ض read as د or ظ	ٱلضَّآلِّينَ	ض runs from the side of the tongue against the upper molars, heavy and full. It is a sound English does not have. See sifat.
ع read as أ	نَعْبُدُ	‘ayn is a tightening in the middle of the throat; it is not a glottal stop. See makharij.
Heavy letters made light	ٱلْمُسْتَقِيمَ	ق, ص, ط and the other heavy letters keep their fullness even with a kasrah. See tafkheem.

Hidden mistakes (lahn khafi)

These do not change the letters, but they take away from the recitation as it was taught. Fixing them is what turns correct reading into good recitation.

Mistake	What should happen	Rule
Ghunnah too short or missing	Noon and meem with shaddah take a two-count nasal sound.	ghunnah
Madd lengths inconsistent	Each type of madd has its length; pick one length for permitted madds and keep to it.	madd
Ikhfa read as clear noon	Before the fifteen ikhfa letters, the noon is hidden with ghunnah.	noon sakinah
Qalqalah missing or vowelled	The bounce is a release, not an extra “a” or “u”.	qalqalah
Rolling the ra	Ra is pronounced once, without a trill.	sifat
Stopping in the wrong place	Stopping mid-phrase can change the sense; follow the stop signs.	stop signs

Why English speakers find certain letters hard

English has no sounds for ح, ع, ق, ض, ص, ط and ظ, so the brain substitutes the nearest familiar sound. The fix is not more reading but focused listening and repetition on a few letters at a time, with someone telling you when you have it right. Children who start young often find this easier; see the best age to start learning Quran.

A five-step way to fix your mistakes

1. Start with Al-Fatihah. You recite it at least seventeen times a day, so fixing it has the biggest effect. See Surah Al-Fatihah.
2. Fix lahn jali first, letter by letter, before worrying about lengths and ghunnah.
3. Record and compare a short passage against a trusted reciter.
4. Slow down. Read at tarteel speed while correcting; see tarteel, tadweer and hadr.
5. Recite to a teacher. The way tajweed has always been passed on: hearing, reciting and being corrected.

Our tajweed course works exactly like this, one-to-one, with a teacher who holds an ijazah.