Lately, it was noticed that some Online Pakistani academies teach the sciences of the Holy Quran wrongly. And that’s due to the fact that their mother tongue is not the language of the Quran, which is Arabic. So, In this article, I’ll tell you how to find a qualified online Quran Academy in Pakistan and how to avoid those who are not good enough in transmitting the Islamic message truly.
“اشْتَرَوْا بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا فَصَدُّوا عَنْ سَبِيلِهِ ۚ إِنَّهُمْ سَاءَ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ
— Surah AT-TAWBAH
“They traded away God’s revelations for a cheap price, so they barred others from His path. How evil is what they did“.
What’s The Matter?
Learners of these Academies aspire to learn how to read and recite the Holy Quran efficiently. But at the end, they find out that they are very bad at reading the Quran correctly. They realize that they spent their time and money for nothing. This is because they were taught wrongly, the teachers of these Academies are not native Arabs, and some of them don’t pronounce the Arabic letters correctly so how do you expect them to teach the Holy Quran correctly?
Also, they are neither graduated from Al-Azhar Al-Shareef University, the biggest and the oldest Islamic university all over the world nor have they graduated from any of the reliable Islamic universities such as the ones in Saudi Arabia. So no surprise that their reading of the noble Quran is wrong. And their usage of the Tajweed signs (Harakat) is wrong as well. So the final result which is considered a disaster is that they read the Holy Quran, the book of Allah as if they are reading any other random book that is completely different from the true sacred book.
Someone may ask, Is it forbidden for Muslims to read the Holy Quran in a wrong way? or what is the Religious judgment of reciting the Holy Quran? What is the Islamic lawful decision of Quran recitation? The following lines explain this matter
Is Reading The Holy Quran Wrong Considered A Sin?
The answer to this question requires us to know the lawful decision of Islam religion (judgment) of Intonation (Tajweed). Allah the Almighty Said: “Those to whom We have given the Scripture follow it, as it ought to be followed—these believe in it. But as for those who reject it—these are the losers.” It is believed that learning The Quranic intonation (Tajweed) and performing it (implementation) is considered a must and imposed mandatory on each sane grown-up Muslim or Muslimah.
Allah said in the noble book, ” O you Enwrapped one, stay up the night, except a little, For half of it, or reduce it a little, Or add to it; and chant the Quran rhythmically.” Surah Al- Muzzammal verses. 1- 4.
And this is what Ibn al-Jazari said in his preface of his book, he said: It is a must and imperative matter that the Holy Quran recitation with intonation (Tajweed) is a mandatory matter for each sane grown-up Muslim or Muslimah of the whole nation. He also added that He who do not recite the Holy Quran with intonation is considered a guilty person. As He is God who has descended the noble book down, and thus from He we received it. Accordingly we must read it the same way as it was read by jibril (Gabriel) Upon our prophet Mohammad ( peace and prayers are upon him)
Intonation (Tajweed) is also defined as the ornaments of recitation and decorations of performance and reading. Ibn al-Jazari and many other Islamic scholars’ proof or point of view is that as long as the Muslim has the financial ability and there is the availability of time for learning, then learning becomes a must and mandatory. It is true that some old scholars considered the application of the intonation (Tajweed) within the meaning of verses of the Quran and applying its rules during reciting to be desired and preferable from the Islamic perspective.
But Some great old scholars like Ibn Al Jazari consider it as an imperative mission for each sane grown-up Muslim or Muslimah. So according to Al Jazari’s school of Islamic law, It is a must and if any Muslim recites the Holy Quran without intonation (Tajweed) they are considered sinners.
— The prophet Muhammad ( peace and blessings be upon him)
So, I think it is clear now that these Pakistani academies are guilty of teaching the Holy Quran wrongly to those who trusted them.
I remind those who are in charge of these Academies of what the prophet said, He(peace and blessings are upon him ) said, “He who deceives is not one of us” authentic Hadeeth narrated by Abu Daawoo Muslim, At-Tirmidhi, Ibn Maajah , and others.
It means according to the scholars that he has not followed our guidance and acted upon our knowledge, our deeds, and our good methodology.
What Is Wrong with The Online Quran Academies in Pakistan?
First and foremost I would like to make the point of view clear; This article is addressed to some Pakistani online Academies, not all of them. There’s no doubt that some online Pakistani Academies have qualified and good teachers who were taught the Quran correctly by native Arabic speakers. But the question is, how can the learner know whether the academy is good or not? That’s what we will know in this article. But first, let’s know what makes some of those Pakistani academies bad.
Pakistanis Teach Their Kids to Learn The Holy Quran by Heart Without Teaching Them The Arabic Language
We have an Egyptian proverb which is a borrowing quote from the Holy Quran, Surah Yossif, it says, “A witness from her household.” It is used when we want to provide the ultimate proof of correctness and validity of a debating matter, then the best proof is when it comes from the other debating side, “A witness from her household
Listen carefully to what Ammar khan, a Pakistani Linguist said when he was asked, Why do Pakistanis teach their kids to learn the Quran by heart without even teaching them Arabic? He answered, “The same reason why people memorize answers to questions in school without understanding them.
All things considered, it’s the result of two things:
- Arabic Is No Longer An Instructional Language in Pakistan
Neither Pakistani governmental schools nor the Pakistani private educational organizations have any plans to bring the Arabic language back. - Wrong Conceptions about The Arabic Language
People undoubtedly believe that one doesn’t have to know Arabic to learn the Qur’an (Ibn Taymiyyah disagrees with them, whatever that’s worth)
Then what happens is people try to converge on what they consider the bare minimum i.e. having a “qari sahab” (teacher) and reciting in monotonous voices until they’ve read the Qur’an from front cover to end. In through one ear, out through the other. No implementation, no philosophizing, no contemplating – basically against the direct message of the Qur’an itself: “Will you not think?”.
Now, certainly, this isn’t just a South Asian Muslim problem. It’s a Muslim problem. Most of us are non-Arabic speakers. And since most of the Ummah is under the age of 40, even the Arabic-speaking population doesn’t necessarily have a masterful grasp of Fusha Arabic the way Sibawayh would consider eloquent.
Then, Ammar Khan continued: And what do we do about it? Do we just sit around and continue this? No, of course not. Here are formidable plans of action:
Learn Quran Correctly
First of all, learn to recite the Qur’an with tajweed. Learn to appreciate it as an exotic, rhythmic tune, and recite it the way it has been recited for centuries. Find a teacher who can recite clearly with good Makhaarij (Letters exits) and who knows how to teach (ironically, few “tajweed wizards”, know how to explain Idghaam, Ghunna, etc. to 7 year old exceptionally well).
Obtain The Meanings of Quran (Interpretation) in Your Mother Language
Ammar Khan suggest the following, “Read the meanings of the Holy Quran in your native language, read surface overviews, learn the history behind them. Try to understand them before saying you know them. Read Tafsir. See what scholars have said about what they think of the verses.
Start Learning Arabic Language
Ammar Khan recommends learning the Arabic language. He says, “Learn Arabic grammar and morphology to get a deep understanding of how the Qur’an is constructed. And then appreciate it in its language”.
When I was young, I realized I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life standing in Taraweeh (Ramadan night prayers) without enjoying the recitation as I saw the Arab uncles enjoy it (crying and connecting with God). And I’m happy to say I followed through with this goal.
Understand And Ponder The Message of The Holy Quran
Ammar Khan upholds and establishes a very important point indeed. He said, “At the minimum, we should seek to understand what the Qur’an wants from us – and the only way to find out is to read with understanding. Not all hope is lost. With globalization, the Muslim youth are slowly realizing the importance of this. We will change things soon. We will be better insha’Allah in the near coming future.
What to Look for in The Online Quran Academy in Pakistan?
Here are the conditions you as a Pakistani should look for in the online Quran academy you will join:-
The Tutors Should Be Graduated from A Reliable Islamic University
Al– AzharEl- Shareef university for example, it is located in Egypt. And its age exceeds one thousand years. It is the biggest and the greatest Islamic university in the world.
The Tutors Should Be Arabs (Or at least were taught by Arabs)
The Holy Quran was revealed upon our prophet Mohammad (peace and prayers be upon him) in Arabic tongue. Allah The Almighty Said in his Holy book: Indeed, We have sent” it down as an Arabic Qur’an that you might understand.”
So the Arabic language is the language of the noble Quran. And the Arabs are the best ones who know their mother language, its vocabularies, its syntax, its Symantec, and its eloquent expressions.
Meanwhile, the mother language of the teachers in Pakistan is Urdu. And English is their second language so you can imagine how hard it would be for them to teach students how to read Quran in Arabic unless they were taught Arabic by native Arabic speakers.
The Tutors Should Be Having An Ijazah
When someone finishes memorizing the Holy Quran they search for an authorized great scholar (Shaykh) to recite the entire Quran to him, this shaykh tests them on all sides related to the Holy Quran, such as the number of Surahs in the Quran, the order of chapters in the Holy book (Mushf), the similar verses (Al-mutashabihat), the punctuations, the Tajweed rule of each verse, the meaning of the verses and many other tests to see if they manage to pass all these tests or not.
If they do, they are granted Ijazah (an authorized and authentic certificate) this certificate endorse that this person has completed memorizing and reciting the entire Holy Quran, by Tajweed, and that they have mastered the narrated Quran version which was permitted and approved by our old ancestors, Thus, this person is qualified to teach the Holy Quran and to grant others Ijazah (permission for teaching the Holy Quran). Then his reciting of the Quran adheres to the transmission chain of the old ancestors and reaches the recitation of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
All of it is offered at Shaykhi Academy, where Muslims from all over the world are taught. Don’t hesitate to join us!
How to Avoid Unqualified Academies in Pakistan?
Find Authentic online Academies
You can know them from the reviews and comments that their clients or learner leave on their sites.
Find Native Arabic Language Tutors
If you are going to learn the English language, and two Tutors are available, the first one is an American tutor, the second one is a Spanish tutor. Which tutor are you going to choose? It is the same when you decide to learn the Qur’an, find native Arabic teacher.
Find A Tutor Having Ijazah
We mentioned the importance of this point above, being learned by great scholars having Ijazah, means that you will be taught correctly and you will be able to teach in the future.
Find Academies That Have A Long History in Quran Teaching Field
Of course, experience in any field is very necessary, especially in the field of teaching the Holy Quran and its various sciences.
Contact Us
Contact Shaykhi Academy, It is our pleasure to give you a hand. Our teachers, whether they are female or male teachers are considered among the best in the field of Islamic studies, and Quranic sciences and they are very good at teaching the Arabic language as a second language to non-native Arabic speakers. They are mastering a good command of the English language. If you would like to ask any questions or if you are having any inquiries, just call us. We will respond soon enough.
I conclude this article with some words of Allah the most high and the most merciful,” Our Lord, do not cause our hearts to swerve after You have guided us, and bestow on us mercy from Your presence; You are the Giver.”
The Editor: Raghad Qasim
FAQ
(Q&A of online Quran Academy in Pakistan)
