The Influence of the Non-Arabic Tongue on Qur'anic Recitation: A Contrastive Phonetic Study of Samples from Visiting Students in the Qur'an Circles of the Sacred Mosque in Makkah

Abstract

 This research examines the impact of the mother tongue on the Quranic recitation of non-Arabic speakers, based on observations recorded by the researcher while teaching in the study circles of the Grand Mosque (Al-Masjid Al-Haram) during Rajab 1447 AH. The study observed twenty-five visiting students reciting according to the narration of Ḥafṣ ‘an ‘Āṣim: ten from West Africa and fifteen from Southeast Asia. Utilizing a descriptive-analytical approach alongside contrastive analysis, the study evaluated deviations using the criteria of manifest (al-laḥn al-jalī) and hidden (al-laḥn al-khafiyy) errors established by tajwīd scholars. The findings indicate that shared deviations between the two groups concentrate on the letters ḥā' (ح), ‘ayn (ع), and emphasized (muṭbaqah) sounds. The most prominent difference between the groups lies in the degree of deviation: complete substitution predominated among the African students, whereas approximation predominated among the Asian students—a difference the research attributes to the level of emphasis placed on tajwīd instruction. Furthermore, the study revealed causes of deviation that cannot be predicted solely by comparing the phonologies of the two languages, such as over-correction, adjacency effects (assimilation/coarticulation), and syllable constraints. It concludes with remedial exercises based on minimal pairs derived from Quranic vocabulary.

Keywords:

Non-Arabic tongue (Al-Lisān Al-‘Ajamī), Quranic performance, manifest and hidden errors (al-laḥn al-jalī and al-khafiyy), contrastive analysis, linguistic interference, Grand Mosque study circles.