Ayman Rushdi Suwayd Biography

Dr. Ayman Rushdi Suwayd is a Syrian Qur'an scholar, master reciter, and one of the most internationally recognized contemporary teachers of tajwid (the science of correct Qur'anic recitation). Born in Damascus in 1374 AH / 1955 CE into a scholarly family, he memorized the Qur'an in his youth and pursued advanced study of the qira'at — the canonical variant readings of the Qur'an — and the rules of tajwid, eventually earning ijazas (chains of authorization) in the ten major canonical readings from senior Syrian and Egyptian masters. He completed his bachelor's degree at al-Azhar in Cairo and his PhD in Qur'anic Sciences from the same institution.

Suwayd has taught Qur'anic studies at Umm al-Qura University in Mecca and served on the review committee of the King Fahd Glorious Qur'an Printing Complex in Madinah, contributing to the most widely circulated Mushaf editions in the contemporary Muslim world. His most celebrated work, al-Tajwid al-Musawwar ('Illustrated Tajwid'), a richly illustrated two-volume guide to the rules of recitation, has become a standard reference for serious students worldwide and has been translated and adapted into multiple languages. His extensive series of televised and online tajwid lessons — particularly through Iqra' Channel and his later YouTube series Kayfa Naqra' al-Qur'an ('How to Read the Qur'an') and al-Itqan li-Tilawat al-Qur'an — have introduced the technical discipline of tajwid to millions of viewers in remarkably patient, methodical fashion.

Suwayd continues to teach, supervise Qur'anic memorization programs, and produce educational content from his base in the Gulf. His distinctive contribution has been to render the highly technical classical discipline of Qur'anic phonetics accessible to ordinary Muslims around the world without sacrificing scholarly precision — a methodological achievement that has shaped the way contemporary Muslims approach their relationship with Qur'anic recitation.