Against the Ṭāʾī ض and the Ẓāʾī ض

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله وعلى آله وصحبه وأزواجه وذريته أجمعين أما بعد

Introduction

The Arabic language is known for the letter ض, and many have considered it the most unique and characteristic letter of the language. This is because it is known for being the most difficult Arabic letter to properly pronounce, and the most prone to errors, with its proper pronunciation being a sign and major part of eloquence in Arabic. Both in the modern day and in the past, mistaken pronunciations of the letter ض have been common. In the area of recitation/reading of the Qurʾān, proper pronunciation of letters is crucial, as the meanings of the verses are dependent on it, and a person’s prayer can even become invalid by recitation of Qurʾān with improper pronunciation of letters without a valid excuse. Consequently, the scholars of ʾIslām have generally considered it obligatory on people to learn the proper pronunciations of letters and the basic rules of tajwīd for reciting the Qurʾān. 

In the modern day, there are two widespread incorrect pronunciations which have groups of proponents claiming them to be correct; one such group mixes the pronunciation with that of the letter ط, pronouncing it like a voiced version of ط without applying qalqalah, while the other group blends it with that of ظ, making their pronunciation practically audibly indistinguishable from it. Although additional incorrect pronunciations can commonly be found amongst laypeople, such as mixing or changing the sound into ز or ذ or د, or pronouncing it as a pure ظ, these mistakes do not have groups of proponents claiming them to be the true pronunciation of the letter, and exist simply as consequences of lack of education on the topic or inability to properly pronounce certain Arabic sounds. Because of this, it is simple to clarify the error of those pronunciations, and the main focus here will be on showing the error in the two mistaken pronunciations that have loyal proponents claiming them to be correct. This will be split into 3 parts; the first will be analyzing the mak͟hraj and ṣifāt of ض, while the second will be the discussion of tawātur and the transmission and history of these claims, and the third and final section will be a detailed investigation into the statements of past scholars regarding the pronunciation of the letter ض specifically.

Contents

Part 1 – Analysis of the Mak͟hraj and Ṣifāt of ض 

Part 2 – Discussion of Tawātur and Transmission and their Significance to the Pronunciation of ض

Part 3 – Investigation of the Statements of Scholars Regarding the Letter ض and its Pronunciation

Conclusion

After investigating in depth and weighing the claims of the Ẓāʾī ض and Ṭāʾī ض in comparison with the mutawātir ض, many final conclusions can be reached. The Ṭāʾī ض has practically no justification outside of blind following of a person for their teacher or for the norms of the laymen in their society. If a person takes an objective look at both the unanimous statements of past scholars and the statements and advice of leading scholars today, it is impossible to uphold the Ṭāʾī ض based on anything but stubbornness. The Ẓāʾī ض, on the other hand, does have arguments, but they largely depend on false accusations and claims against the mutawātir ض that can easily be refuted. One can even say that the error of the Ṭāʾī ض is the cause of the Ẓāʾī ض, as the supporters of the Ẓāʾī ض heard the Ṭāʾī ض and errors similar to it, and then assumed that these errors are also made by all the leading scholars of the Qurʾān of our time.

Their claim also rests on a false methodology of claiming that dirāyah (understanding of the topic based on books) takes precedence over riwāyah (direct transmission from teachers), without realizing that both dirāyah and riwāyah can provide conclusions of varying strength, and that past scholars have unanimously agreed that mutawātir transmission is necessary for any part of the Qurʾān and takes precedence over any other form of proof or judgment, and that having reliable transmission is the most important pillar of recitation of the Qurʾān. In reality, not only did they essentially abandon riwāyah completely, making claims that do not stand up to criticism about the transmission of their pronunciation and denying tawātur, but they also did not follow much more than a superficial application of dirāyah, and their main argumentation does not contain much more than cherry-picking and mining of quotes that they see as supporting their view, without sufficiently thorough research or understanding. 

It is also useful to take a look at the matter from a practical perspective; according to both the followers of the mutawātir ض and of the Ẓāʾī ض, the Ṭāʾī ض would most likely constitute laħn jalī (a major error), since it changes the mak͟hraj and multiple of the ṣifāt of the letter, and it is consequently invalid to recite with that pronunciation (without having a valid excuse), as is the case with pronouncing ض as a pure ظ according to the majority of scholars. The followers of the Ṭāʾī ض, on the other hand, have no reason or justification at all for considering the mutawātir ض to be such an error. For that matter, some of its proponents even consider the Ẓāʾī ض to be valid, and the Ṭāʾī ض to be an alternate valid pronunciation. As can be seen, there is no practical reason why one should want to follow the Ṭāʾī ض. On the other hand, if we were to suppose that the Ẓāʾī ض were correct, the mutawātir ض could only be considered laħn k͟hafī (a minor error), meaning that it would not have any effect on the validity of a person’s recitation, as the most that could possibly be argued against it is that its rak͟hāwah is insufficient and that it mixes part of the mak͟hraj of other letters with the proper mak͟hraj of ض.

Although it is also true that according to the view that the mutawātir ض is correct, the Ẓāʾī ض would also only constitute laħn k͟hafī, this is far from the only problem arising from the claim of the Ẓāʾī ض. While the error in pronunciation is relatively small, the major issues stemming from the Ẓāʾī ض are the implications that the claim entails, that lead to attacking the mass transmission and consensus of the leading scholars of the Qurʾān worldwide. The claim of the Ẓāʾī ض also causes harsh (unnecessary) dispute among Muslims, to the extent that its supporters often tend not to even recite with it in large public congregational prayers, and instead recite with the Ṭāʾī ض (which is invalid according to both groups!) which they believe to be what the mutawātir ض is, claiming that it is acceptable due to it being unavoidable and because of the necessity of avoiding strife and conflict. As can be seen, not only are the Ṭāʾī ض and the Ẓāʾī ض based on inaccurate claims and distorted methodologies, but they also serve no practical benefit, and lead to many harms. 

After having reached these conclusions, it remains important to note that it is crucial for people, especially those who seek to learn and recite the Qurʾān, to work to the full extent of their ability to learn the proper pronunciations of the letters of the Arabic language. The claims of the Ṭāʾī ض and the Ẓāʾī ض lead to the important realization that many reciters may make errors when pronouncing the ض, sometimes changing its mak͟hraj to or mixing it with that of ط\د or that of ظ, or also changing its ṣifāt and/or their strengths. One who seeks to be a proficient reciter of the Qurʾān should seek a thorough understanding of its sciences, including the sciences of tajwīd and the Arabic language, and should put their best effort into making sure their pronunciation and tajwīd is as precise as possible.