Is it permissible to learn the science of Maqāmāt (musical modes) and use it in reciting the Noble Qur’an to improve performance and avoid errors, in pursuit of the virtue of its recitation?

The Maqamat are types of melodies used by singers. Practitioners of this art have collected these melodies into specific rhythms and named them "Maqamat." There are six of them: Bayat, Rast, Nahawand, Sika, Saba, and Hijaz.

As for the ruling on reciting with these Maqamat, it has been previously prohibited in earlier fatwas. The detailed explanation is that melodies that are natural to a person, without artificiality, are permissible and commendable; they fall under the praiseworthy beautification of the Quranic recitation. However, artificial melodies and musical rhythms that require learning and practice are not permissible because they contradict the rules of Tajweed, lead to the alteration of words, and divert the listener from contemplating the meanings. Ibn al-Qayyim and Ibn Kathir affirmed that the Salaf recited with melancholy (tahzeen), melodiousness (tatreeb), and beautification of voices, not with artificial musical melodies.

It is astonishing that some reciters rely on learning songs to control their recitations, while many successful reciters have moved people to tears with their recitations without learning these Maqamat.