THE IDEAL MUSLIMAH

To recite the Qur’aan with tajweed is in fact an implementation of Allah’s command. Allah ('azza wa jall) says, “And recite the Qur'ân (aloud) in a slow, (pleasant tone and) style.” [Qur’aan [73]:4]

Women today, as in the past, have not lagged behind in serving this science. Around the world we see women ardently working to teach themselves, their children and their community how to correctly pronounce and recite the words of their Creator. Some have done so by teaching in masaajid and schools, others by writing and setting up websites.

One such sister is Kareema Carol Czerepinski, an author of one of the most famous books on tajweed in the English language.

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Kareema Carol Czerepinski is the author of a series of three books called ‘Tajweed Rules of the Qur'aan’, one of the best books in the English language for learning tajweed rules. Although it is advised for those who would like to study the books to find a teacher who is proficient in tajweed, these books are an excellent addition to the bookshelf of any student of knowledge. Not only that, she also runs the famous website for tajweed: www.abouttajweed.com.

American by nationality and upbringing, she is a teacher at ‘Daar Al Hudaa’ (a school in which sisters memorize the Qur’aan) in Jeddah. In Daar al Hudaa there is a three-year course in which these three books are taught. She mentions two of her teachers in the introduction to her book:

As for Al-Sheikh Dr. Ayman Rushdi Swayd, he is an internationally renowned scholar in tajweed. He has a Ph.D. from Al Azhar and a Ph.D. from Umm al Quraa’ University, Makkah al Mukarramah. Further, he has many ijaazaat [licenses] from great scholars. For 20 years he has worked with ‘The Qur’aan Memorization Society’ in Jeddah. In the preface of the book he writes,

“…My joy was then immense with the great work that the honorable sister, Al-Ustatha Kareema Carol Czerepinski did when she wrote a book on the first level of tajweed in the English language which is considered to be the international language of this age. She has closed a wide gap in the Islamic library with this work.

Ustaathah Kareema has the capability to write on this subject. She has memorized the complete Qur’an and mastered its recitation in the way of Hafs ‘an ‘Aasim, by the way of Shatabiyyah, and then by the way of Tayyibat An-Nashr, receiving authentication [permission] in both ways, and now intends to learn the different ways of recitation [al-qiraa’aat], this is while she is of American nationality and upbringing. “This is Allah’s bounty, He gives it to whom He desires…”

In her introduction, Sister Kareema Carol Czerepinski writes the reason behind why she compiled these three books,

“This book started out, not as a dream of my own, but as a suggestion from his eminence Ash-Sheikh Dr. Ayman Rushdi Swayd, may Allah extend his life, increase his good deeds, and make him of the companions of the highest Paradise. He suggested that I write a tajweed book in English, using the computer. I was teaching a class in tajweed for a group of non-Arabs and realized that the need for a complete textbook in English in tajweed was very necessary. My husband, may Allah reward him with Al-Firdaws, bought a computer, and the task began. The book has been in the formative stages for the last three years. It has been used as text for the classes at Dar Al-Huda Qur’aan School in Jeddah, and editing has been done every year…”

Darrussalaam have scanned a few pages of the book and converted it into a PDF file:

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May Allah ('azza wa jall) reward her and those who helped her with His abounding mercy and grace.

Certainly He is the All-Able, the All-Hearer. Aameen.