Ask a serious Qur'an teacher who taught them, and they will not just give you a name. They will give you a chain of names, teacher before teacher, reaching all the way back to the Prophet ﷺ. The document that records your own place in that chain is called an Ijazah.
What is an Ijazah?
Ijazah is an Arabic word meaning permission or authorisation. In the Qur'an, it is a certificate given by a qualified teacher stating that the student has recited the Qur'an to them correctly, from beginning to end, and is permitted to recite it and teach it to others.
It is not a university degree, and it is not needed to recite the Qur'an. Every Muslim may and should recite. An Ijazah is a teaching credential: a guarantee, passed from teacher to student, that the recitation has been checked letter by letter.
What is a sanad?
Attached to every genuine Ijazah is a sanad: the chain of teachers through whom the recitation reached the student. Your teacher learned from their teacher, who learned from theirs, back through the great imams of recitation to the Companions, to the Prophet ﷺ, who received the Qur'an from the angel Jibril.
The scholar 'Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak said: "The isnad is part of the religion. Were it not for the isnad, anyone could say whatever he wished" (reported by Muslim in the introduction to his Sahih). Applied to the Qur'an, the sanad is the reason we can be certain how every word was pronounced, not just how it was written.
The written text and the living recitation
A printed Qur'an tells you the words. It cannot tell you exactly how long to hold a vowel or where a letter is produced. That knowledge has always lived in the mouths of teachers, which is why the chain matters as much as the book.
How is an Ijazah earned?
To receive an Ijazah, a student recites the entire Qur'an to a teacher who holds an Ijazah themselves. The teacher listens to every verse and corrects every mistake: where each letter is produced, its qualities, the rules of Tajweed, lengthening, and where to stop and start.
Only when the teacher is satisfied that the student recites accurately and consistently throughout do they grant the Ijazah, written out with the student's name and the full chain. Depending on the student's starting level and how often they recite, this can take months or several years.
What are the types of Ijazah?
- From memory or from the page. Some Ijazahs are granted for reciting the whole Qur'an from memory, others for reciting it correctly while reading.
- In one recitation. The most common is an Ijazah in a single riwayah, usually Hafs from 'Asim, the recitation followed in most of the world.
- In several qira'at. Advanced students may go on to receive an Ijazah in the seven or ten qira'at.
- In a text. Some teachers also grant an Ijazah in classical Tajweed poems that students memorise, such as Tuhfat al-Atfal or al-Jazariyyah.
How can you tell a genuine one?
Because an Ijazah carries real weight, it is worth knowing what to look for, whether you are choosing a teacher or seeking one yourself.
- A full, named chain. A genuine Ijazah names each teacher in the sanad. Ask to see it.
- A complete recitation. It is earned by reciting the whole Qur'an to the teacher. A certificate offered for a few lessons or a fee alone is not an Ijazah in the true sense.
- A teacher you can name. You should be able to say who granted it, and who granted theirs.
- Recitation that matches. In the end, the proof of an Ijazah is how its holder recites.
Can you earn an Ijazah at Jamia Hafs?
Our lead teacher, Mufti Ataul Rehman, holds an Ijazah and Sanad in Riwayat Hafs from 'Asim, through the path of Imam al-Shatibi. We have set out the full chain, scholar by scholar, on our Sanad page, and the story of the imam it is named after in Who was Imam Hafs?
Our Advanced Tajweed course is a two-year programme for students who already know the basics of Tajweed. On successful completion, students receive an Ijazah along with Sanad in Riwayat Hafs. Female teachers are available for sisters.
Sources
- Sahih Muslim, Introduction: the saying of 'Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak on the isnad.
- Ibn al-Jazari, Munjid al-Muqri'in: on the conditions for teaching and granting permission in recitation.