Tangu mwanzo wa awamu ya mwisho ya unabii, mkazo mkubwa uliwekwa juu ya usomaji wa Qur'aan. Jina lenyewe "Qur'aan" lina maana ya "kusoma" au "kisomo," na aya ya kwanza ya Qur'aan kuteremshwa ilikuwa,

From the beginning of the final phase of prophethood, great stress was placed on the recitation of the Qur’aan. The very name “Qur’aan” means a “reading” or “recitation,” and the first verse of the Qur’aan to be revealed was,

Mtume (ﷺ) mwenyewe aliwahimiza sahaba zake wasome Qur-aan kadiri wawezavyo. Ibn Mas‘ood alipokea kwamba Mtume (ﷺ) alisema mara moja,

The Prophet (ﷺ) himself urged his companions to recite as much of the Qur’aan as they could. Ibn Mas‘ood reported that the Prophet (ﷺ) once said,

Abu Umamah ameripoti kwamba yeye alisema,

Aboo Umaamah reported that he said,

Kwa kweli, Mjumbe wa Allah (ﷺ) alituhimiza tuisome Qur'ani yote mara moja kila mwezi. ‘Abdullaah bin ‘Amr alisimulia kwamba Mtume wa Allah (ﷺ) alipomwambia asome Qur'ani yote ndani ya mwezi mmoja, alisema: "Hakika nina nguvu za kufanya zaidi." Kisha Nabii (ﷺ) akamwambia aisome ndani ya siku kumi, lakini bado alisisitiza kwamba angeweza kufanya vizuri zaidi, hivyo Nabii (ﷺ) akamwambia aisome ndani ya siku si pungufu ya saba.37 Nabii (ﷺ) pia alituonya tuwe waangalifu ili tusisahau yale tuliyoyahifadhi moyoni katika Qur'ani. Alisema:

In fact, the Messenger of Allaah (ﷺ) encouraged us to read all of it once per month. ‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Amr reported that when Allaah’s Messenger (ﷺ) told him to read the whole Qur’aan in a month, he said, “Verily I have strength to do more.” The Prophet (ﷺ) then told him to do it in ten days, but he still insisted that he could do better, so the Prophet (ﷺ) told him to read it in no less than seven days.37 The Prophet (ﷺ) also warned us to beware of forgetting what we have memorized of the Qur’aan. He said,

Kwa hiyo, tangu siku za mwanzo za Uislamu katika umbo lake la mwisho, umakini mkubwa umewekwa katika usomaji wa Qur'aan. Juhudi zilifanywa kuhakikisha kwamba Qur'aan inasomwa kwa karibu iwezekanavyo na jinsi ilivyoteremshwa. Wanazuoni waliobobea katika usomaji wa Qur'aan waliweka kanuni za usomaji kwa kutegemea visomo sahihi walivyojifunza. Kanuni hizi, kwa kweli, ziliunda msingi wa sayansi ya fonetiki ya Kiarabu, zikieleza njia sahihi ya kutamka herufi za alfabeti ya Kiarabu, maneno binafsi, na sentensi. Sayansi iliyotokana na wasiwasi huu kuhusu usomaji sahihi wa Qur'aan ilijulikana kama sayansi ya tajwiid. Tajwiid ilifafanuliwa kuwa ni kutamka kila sauti ya Kiarabu kwa usahihi na kwa uwazi, na kutamka kila konsonanti, vokali, neno, na sentensi kulingana na kiwango cha Kiarabu kilichozungumzwa na kizazi cha Mtume ﷺ. Wanazuoni pia walisisitiza kwamba hili lifanyike bila mapambo ya kupindukia wala mienendo isiyo ya kawaida. Hata hivyo, mtu anapaswa kusoma Qur'aan kwa sauti ya asili iliyo bora iwezekanavyo, kwa kuzingatia pendekezo la Mtume ﷺ,

Consequently, from the early days of Islaam in its final form, great care has been paid to the recitation of the Qur’aan. Care was taken to see that the Qur’aan was recited as closely to the way it was revealed as possible. Scholars who specialized in the recitation of the Qur’aan formulated rules of recitation based on the authentic recitations which they had learned. These rules, in fact, formed the basic science of Arabic phonetics, outlining the correct method of pronunciation for the letters of the Arabic alphabet, individual words, and sentences. The science which evolved out of this concern over the correct recitation of the Qur’aan came to be known as the science of tajweed. Tajweed was defined as the articulation of each Arabic sound correctly and distinctly and the pronunciation of each consonant, vowel, word, and sentence according to the standard of Arabic spoken by the Prophet’s generation. The scholars also insisted that this should take place without excessive embellishment and unnatural mannerisms. However, one should recite the Qur’aan in the best natural voice possible, based upon the Prophet’s recommendation,

Hata hivyo, inapaswa kutambuliwa kwamba, licha ya msisitizo mkubwa uliowekwa juu ya sanaa ya kisomo (tilawa), haikusudiwi kuwa lengo lenyewe. Kusoma kwa sauti ni njia tu, chombo ambacho mtu huweza kupokea ujumbe ili kuutekeleza kile ambacho ujumbe huo unahitaji. Kwa ujumla, kusoma kwa sauti ni bora kuliko kusoma kwa macho tu kwa sababu pia kinahusisha kiungo cha usemi na hisia ya kusikia, yote ambayo husaidia kuimarisha ujumbe pale kisomo kinapofanywa kwa uangalifu na si kwa namna ya kiibada tu.

It should be noted, however, that in spite of the great emphasis laid on the art of recitation, it is not a goal to be sought in itself. Recitation is only a means, a vehicle by which one may absorb the message so as to implement whatever the message entails. Recitation is, generally speaking, superior to mere reading with the eyes because it also involves the organ of speech and sense of hearing, all of which serve to reinforce the message when recitation is done consciously and not ritual-istically.