Nubuvvatning so'nggi bosqichining boshidanoq Qur'on tilovatiga katta e'tibor qaratildi. "Qur'on" nomining o'zi "o'qish" yoki "tilovat" ma'nosini anglatadi va Qur'onning birinchi nozil bo'lgan oyati:

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,

Payg'ambar (ﷺ) o'zlari sahobalariga Qur'ondan imkon qadar ko'proq o'qishga da'vat qilganlar. Ibn Mas'ud rivoyat qilishicha, Payg'ambar (ﷺ) bir gal shunday degan edilar:

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 rivoyat qiladi, u shunday degan:

Aboo Umaamah reported that he said,

Darhaqiqat, Allohning Elchisi (ﷺ) bizni butun Qur'onni oyda bir marta o'qishga undagan. Abdulloh ibn Amr rivoyat qiladi: Allohning Elchisi (ﷺ) unga Qur'onni bir oyda to'liq o'qishni buyurganida, u: "Albatta, men undan ko'proq qila olishga qodirman", dedi. Shunda Payg'ambar (ﷺ) unga uni o'n kunda o'qishni buyurdi, lekin u yana ham yaxshiroq qila olishini aytib turib oldi, shunda Payg'ambar (ﷺ) unga uni yetti kundan kam bo'lmagan muddatda o'qishni buyurdi.37 Payg'ambar (ﷺ) shuningdek, yodlagan Qur'onni unutib qo'yishdan ogoh bo'lishimizni ogohlantirgan. U shunday degan:

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,

Shu sababli, Islomning yakuniy shaklda paydo bo‘lgan dastlabki davridan boshlab Qur’oni Karimni tilovat qilishga katta e’tibor berilgan. Qur’on iloji boricha u nozil bo‘lgan shakliga yaqin tarzda o‘qilishiga g‘amxo‘rlik qilingan. Qur’onni tilovat qilish bilan maxsus shug‘ullangan olimlar o‘zlari o‘rgangan ishonchli qiroatlarga asoslanib, tilovat qoidalarini ishlab chiqdilar. Aslida bu qoidalar arab fonetikasining asosiy ilmini tashkil etib, arab alifbosining harflari, alohida so‘zlar va jumlalarning to‘g‘ri talaffuz usulini belgilab berdi. Qur’onni to‘g‘ri tilovat qilish haqidagi bu tashvish natijasida vujudga kelgan ilm tajvid ilmi nomini oldi. Tajvid har bir arab tovushini to‘g‘ri va aniq ifodalash, har bir undosh, unli, so‘z va jumlani Payg‘ambar ﷺ davri avlodlari so‘zlagan arab tilining me’yoriga muvofiq talaffuz qilish sifatida ta’riflandi. Olimlar, shuningdek, bunda ortiqcha bezaklar va tabiiy bo‘lmagan ohanglarsiz amal qilish lozimligini ta’kidladilar. Shu bilan birga, Payg‘ambar ﷺ ning tavsiyasiga ko‘ra, Qur’onni imkon qadar tabiiy va go‘zal ovoz bilan o‘qish kerak.

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,

Shuni ta'kidlash kerakki, qiroat san'atiga katta e'tibor berilishiga qaramay, u o'z-o'zidan maqsad emas. Qiroat faqat vositadir, xabarni singdirish va xabar talab qilgan narsani amalga oshirish uchun xizmat qiluvchi vosita. Umuman olganda, qiroat faqat ko'z bilan o'qishdan afzaldir, chunki unda nutq a'zosi va eshitish hissi ham ishtirok etadi. Agar qiroat ongli ravishda, rasmiyatchilikka aylantirilmasdan bajarilsa, bu barchasi xabarni mustahkamlashga xizmat qiladi.

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.