Ruling on learning recitation and tajweed of Qur’an by means of an electronic pen

Firstly: 

There is no kind of bid‘ah (innovation) in the program mentioned, in sha Allah, because this is a new educational means in which there is nothing contrary to Islam, that helps one learn how to read Qur’an correctly and helps one to memorise it and understand its meanings. 

This is like using computers, modern recording devices, videos and so on to record and broadcast lectures and the like. Such things do not come under the heading of bid‘ah. 

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Bid‘ah means worshipping Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, in ways other than what He has prescribed. Based on that, innovation does not include anything other than acts of worship. Rather, newly developed or introduced worldly matters may be examined to see whether they are halaal or haraam, but it cannot be said that they are bid‘ah. … Based on that, what people have introduced nowadays of things that are used to help in matters of worship cannot be said to be bid‘ah even if they did not exist (at the time of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)). That includes loudspeakers. Loudspeakers did not exist at the time of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him); rather they were introduced recently, but they serve a religious purpose, as they convey to the people the prayer, recitation and khutbah of the imam. The same applies to organising lectures, as they achieve good and serve the interests of the people, so they are good. Therefore buying loudspeakers for the mosque for this purpose is something that is prescribed, for which a person will be rewarded.

End quote from Noor ‘ala ad-Darb, 2/426 

Please see also the answer to question no. 3175 and 95430

Secondly: 

In the answer to question no. 88728 and 112763 we have stated that listening attentively to recitation of the Qur’an outside of prayer, whether it is recitation from a reciter or via a recorder, is not obligatory, although it is mustahabb and prescribed. 

There is nothing wrong with repeating after the reciter in order to perfect one’s recitation or to review when memorising. Using this electronic pen to help you to memorise, perfect your recitation, correct mistakes and learn about the commentary on the verses is something praiseworthy; there is nothing wrong with it in sha Allah. 

Thirdly:

With regard to reward, listening to recitation from a machine is not like listening directly to the reciter, as we have explained previously in the answer to question no. 112763

Similarly, listening is not like reciting; rather reciting it is better than listening. However, varying between prescribed acts of worship is a good thing and is something required, and it is better than not doing some of them all of the time. 

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

A person will be rewarded for his good intention and for listening to recitation of the Qur’an, commentaries thereon and Prophetic hadeeths, whether that is from the lips of a reciter or from a recorded voice on the radio or otherwise, although the basic principle with regard to listening to the recitation of the Qur’an, that was narrated from the early generations, is that it should be listening to the voice of the reciter himself, without any intermediary. And if a person recites Qur’an himself, pondering the meaning and with humble focus of mind, that is better and greater in reward. 

End quote from Fataawa wa Rasaa’il Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem, 13/81 

Reciting whilst listening to tajweed of the Qur’an and correcting mistakes is better than mere recitation in which the reciter makes mistakes, because correct recitation with tajweed is better than recitation without tajweed and that in which there are mistakes. 

That applies to the one who does not know how to recite properly with tajweed. 

But if you do not know how to recite Qur’an well, then reciting Qur’an with tajweed, following a reciter who recites with tajweed by means of the electronic pen, is better than simply reading Qur’an and making some mistakes and not reciting with tajweed. But for one who knows how to recite well with tajweed, it is better for him to stick to reciting from the Mushaf or reciting from memory, if he has memorised it, because this is the basic principle – to recite Qur’an without combining it with listening – because this is how it was done by the early generations, the imams, and the people after them. And because that helps the reciter to achieve proper focus and ponder the meanings. But sometimes it is prescribed for him to focus on listening to recitation from someone else, especially if that person recites well and it will be of greater benefit to him.  

However, there is no limit to the bounty of Allah and the blessings He bestows upon His slaves. But the recitation of one who is skilled in recitation is better than the recitation of someone else. If a person strives hard to learn properly and memorise, although that is difficult for him, Allah that will reward him for that and will make up for his shortcomings, as al-Bukhaari (4937) and Muslim (798) narrated that ‘Aa’ishah said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “The one who is skilled in reciting Qur’aan will be with the noble, honourable scribes and the one who recites Qur’aan and falters therein, and finds it difficult, will have a double reward.” 

An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

The one who is skilled is the one who has memorised it precisely, and he does not falter or find it difficult to recite because he has memorised it properly. As for the one who falters therein, he is the one who falters in his recitation because he does not have a good memory. He will have a double reward: a reward for reciting and a reward for faltering in his recitation and the difficulty he encounters. Al-Qaadi and other scholars said: It does not mean that the one who falters there in will have a greater reward than the one who recites with skill; rather the one who recites skilfully will have a better and greater reward, because he will be with the noble, honourable scribes and he will have many rewards, and this status is not mentioned for anyone else, so how can the one who did not make the effort to learn the Book of Allah properly and memorise it, perfect his knowledge of it and recite it be like one who made that effort until he became proficient in it. End quote. 

To sum up: 

As you do not recite well with tajweed and you sometimes make mistakes in recitation, and this pen helps you to correct your mistakes and recite well, whilst also learning the meaning, then your following this program is something good and is Islamically prescribed; there is no bid‘ah in it, in sha Allah. 

And Allah knows best.