Advanced Quranic Studies Online: Tajweed Theory, Classical Texts and the Path to a Sanad

You can read the Quran correctly, perhaps you have memorised a good portion. What comes next? Many students want to go deeper: to understand the rules behind their recitation, to study the classical texts the scholars of Madinah study, and even to earn a recognised certificate or an authentic chain (sanad). This guide explains the advanced paths available on Quranic Values today, how each one is taught, and what is coming next.

1. Theoretical Tajweed: Learn a Rule, Then Live It

Theoretical Tajweed is taught as part of our recitation correction course. Its method is simple and effective: a chapter of rules, then a pause to apply it in recitation until the student has fully absorbed it.

1. A first set of lessons

   The foundations, followed straight away by applying them in recitation.

2. The Uthmani script

   Something about how the Mushaf is written and the reasons behind its differences in spelling.

3. The chapter of Madd

   Prolongation and its types, then applying it until the madd rules become easy for the student.

4. Nūn sākinah and tanwīn

   Then the next chapter, and so on, always stopping to apply before moving on.

Each chapter is studied, then applied for a set period, so the student understands the lesson completely before the next one begins. Every student also keeps a personal Tajweed file with the rules written briefly and clearly, away from scholarly differences.

2. Classical Texts (Mutūn) with Certificates

For students who want to study the way students of knowledge study in Madinah, we teach classical texts and give a certificate on completion:

• Mutūn Ṭālib al-ʿIlm: the preliminary level and the first level.
• Tuḥfat al-Aṭfāl: the well-known introductory poem on Tajweed.
• Al-Muqaddimah al-Jazariyyah: the classic poem on Tajweed by Imam Ibn al-Jazarī.

Going further: the circles of the Prophet’s Mosque

Because we know the teachers in the circles of the Prophet’s Mosque, we can help a serious student go one step further. We guide him to contact the administration of the Quran circles there and register, and we stay with him through that step. He is then tested in those circles and can receive a certificate from the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques. The same path applies to the Jazariyyah and Tuḥfat al-Aṭfāl.

One of our students read the Jazariyyah with Sheikh Abdul Rahman Yaqoob and received a certificate, then, with our help, read it to a sheikh at the Prophet’s Mosque who holds a sanad in it and received a sanad stamped by the General Presidency. Read his story in Learn the Quran from Anywhere in the World, the Madinah Way.

3. Quran Maqamat: Beautify Your Recitation

For adults whose reading and Tajweed are already sound, the Quran maqamat course helps improve and beautify the voice. It is for students aged 18 and over, cannot be combined with other courses, and requires sound Tajweed and a commitment before Allah to use the maqamat only in ways pleasing to Him.

4. Arabic to Understand the Quran

Before teaching Arabic, we ask the student why he wants to learn it. Some are preparing to travel to an Arab country; others want to understand the Quran. Each receives lessons suited to his goal.

For those who want to understand the Quran, our Arabic course focuses on the essentials only, not rhetoric (balāghah) or grammatical analysis (iʿrāb): the meanings of common words, demonstrative pronouns, numbers, everyday nouns and similar basics, so the student begins to recognise what he is reciting.

5. Hadith Studies

Our Hadith studies programme covers the Sunnah, Islamic etiquette and daily supplications, and can be combined with Quran or Arabic in the dual programme.

Coming Next, In Shāʾ Allāh

As part of our vision, we plan to add courses in Tafsīr, ʿAqīdah (Islamic creed) and the ten Qirāʾāt, taught by teachers from Madinah. Read more in The Future of Islamic Education Online.

Who Teaches These Courses?

Every teacher on Quranic Values, male and female, learned and taught in the Quran circles of the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, and was trained by respected sheikhs of Madinah in how to teach and manage a circle. Every teacher is qualified under the sheikhs and reciters of Madinah.

Quranic Values is an independent online platform and is not officially affiliated with Al-Masjid an-Nabawi or the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques.

Continue Reading

• Learn the Quran from Anywhere in the World, the Madinah Way
• Learning the Quran from Native Arabic-Speaking Teachers
• Tajweed Classes vs Self-Learning