At-Taghanni: To "Sing" the Qur'an

Question :

Noble Shaykh, what is the meaning of At-Taghanni with regard to the Qur'an?

Answer:

The encouragement for At-Taghanni with the Qur'an is reported in the authentic Sunnah. This merely means to beautify the voice, it does not carry the same meaning as that of "singing," but to beautify the voice during its recitation. There is an authentic Hadith in this regard:
"Allah has not listened to anything like His listening to the Prophet reciting the Qur'an aloud with a beautiful voice."

He ﷺ also said :
"He is not one of us who does not Yataghanni the Qur'an aloud.

Now this listening, which is attributed to Allah (in the first Hadith) like all of His attributes does not resemble a characteristic of His creatures.

The same is said, for Allah's listening and hearing, as is said for the rest of His attributes, that this is so, in a manner that befits Allah Almighty:
"There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All Hearer, the All Seer."

At-Taghanni then, means to recite aloud with a beautiful voice, with a sense of tranquility, so that one's heart is moved, because the purpose is that one's heart be moved by this Qur'an, until it is calm, attentive and tranquil, so it will bring benefit.

In this regard, there is the story of Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari, may Allâh be pleased with him, whom the Prophet ﷺ while he was reciting the Qur'an. The Prophet ﷺ passed by stopped to listen, and then said :
"Indeed, this one has been given a Mizmar from the Mizmars of the family of Dawud.

When Abu Musa approached the Prophet ﷺ, the Prophet ﷺ informed him of what he said, and Abu Musa said, "Had I known, O Messenger of Allah, that you were listening to me, I would have adorned (my recitation) even more.'

The point here is that the Prophet ﷺ did not then reproach him for saying this, a silent approval which shows that beautifying one's voice when reading the Qur'an is recommended, so that both the reader and the listener can spiritually benefit from the recitation.