بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ
bismillaaHirrahmaanirrahiim
To reflect a more accurate pronunciation of transliterated Arabic words/sentences, especially from the Quran and Hadith, the following is proposed:
1) Usage of the English alphabets and number to represent the Arabic alphabets:
2) New sentences in transliterations need not start with an upper case of the English alphabet, since the lower or upper cases of the English alphabets will reflect a specific Arabic alphabet. If one needs to separate two ayat, a fullstop after the first ayat should suffice.
E.g.:
qul HuwallaaHu ahadd. allaaHuSSamadd. lamyalidd walam yuuladd. walam yaku[n]l laHu kufuwan ahadd.
(قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ. اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ. لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ. وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ)
3) Vowels and mad (lengthening) to show single or longer harakat.
E.g.
insyaa allaaH (إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ)
walaa khaufun 3alaiHim wa laa Hum yahZanuun (وَلاَ خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلاَ هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ)
4) shaddaH, should be reflected by indicating the alphabet twice.
E.g. illa (إِلاَّ), al-hayatuddunyaa (الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا), innamaa (إِنَّمَا)
5) HamzaH sakinaH, can be reflected with a ' sign at the end.
E.g. falyastajibuu lii walyu'minuu bii la3allakum yarshuduun
(فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُواْ لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُواْ بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ)
6) There are some other tajweed rules that can be reflected in transliterations.
E.g.
a) idgham bii laa ghunnaH / merging without nasal sound, it is needed to reflect that an alphabet is there, but not pronounced.
E.g. fai[n]llam taf3aluu (فَإِن لَّمْ تَفْعَلُواْ)
b) idgham bii ghunnaH / merging with nasal sound can be indicated with a {g}
E.g. wa lan{g}taf3aluu (وَلَن تَفْعَلُواْ)
c) iqlab for tanwin or nun sakinaH, which has the 'm' sound can be indicated with a {m}
E.g. wa yu'min{m} billaaHi faqadistamsaka bil 3urwatilwuthqaa
( وَيُؤْمِن بِاللّهِ فَقَدِ اسْتَمْسَكَ بِالْعُرْوَةِ الْوُثْقَىَ)
d) qalqalaH can be reflected by indicating the alphabet twice at the end.
E.g. walam yaku[n]llaHu kufuwan ahadd. (وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ)
Transliterations cannot effectively reflect every tajweed rule in the Quran, and should only be used to aid pronunciation/reading for those who do not know or are beginners in reading Arabic. If they have come across every tajweed rule in the Quran, it can be safely assumed that the person has, by then, learnt how to read Arabic.
In providing transliterations, in feasible situations, it is highly recommended to accompany it with the original Arabic text, to aid reader's familiarisation.
For those who are beginners, if you are trying to read an ayat or learn doas by reading transliterations, do also listen to the audio (if available) and see the Arabic text (if available), and compare them with the transliterations to ensure that you are getting them right.
Hopefully, this guide may aid more accurate readings for those still learning. May Allaah guide us, and reward us and ease our affairs. Aamiin.
