Ibn al-Qayyim mentioned that reciting Qur’aan with a tune and in a melodious voice, if it is done naturally with no exaggeration or special teaching or training, then it is permissible. If extra effort is added to the natural tone to make it more beautiful, such as when Abu Moosa al-Ash’ari said to the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), “If I had known (you were listening), I would have made it more beautiful for you,” then that is OK. But if the reciting in a melodious voice is done in an artificial manner, with special training and musical rhythms, this is something which the salaf despised, and which they criticized and condemned. It is known that the salaf used to recite the Qur’aan in a sad tone, making their voices beautiful and giving it a sad tone sometimes and a joyful tone sometimes. This is something natural.
a fatwa of Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) stating that it is not allowed to recite according to these musical maqaamaat.
Concerning that, Ibn al-Qayyim said in Zaad al-Ma‘aad fi Hadiy Khayr al-‘Ibaad (1/493):
Everyone who has knowledge of the life of the early generations will know definitively that they had nothing at all to do with reciting Qur’an with musical tunes that require effort to learn and perform them and which are based on rhythmic movements and are measured, counted and have a specific limit. They were too pious to recite in accordance with those tunes and to allow that. It is known for certain that they used to recite Qur’an in a sad tone and in a joyful tone, and they would make their voices beautiful for the Qur’an, sometimes reciting in sad or joyful tones, or with a tone of longing. This is something instilled in and dictated by human nature, and the Lawgiver did not forbid it, because there is a strong natural inclination towards that. Rather the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) directed people to that and encouraged it, and stated that Allah would listen to one who recites the Qur’an in a beautiful voice, as he said: “He is not one of us who does not beautify his voice for the Qur’an.” This hadith may be interpreted in two ways: 1. that it is telling them something that all of us (Muslims) do; 2. that it is stating that those who do not do it are not following the guidance and way of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).
Dr Ibraaheem ibn Sa‘eed ad-Dawsari, Vice President of the Saudi Academic Committee for Qur’anic Sciences, and President of the Department of Qur’an and Its Sciences at al-Imam Muhammad ibn Saud University said:
Recitation with a tune or melody can only be one of two things:
1.
Tunes that a person naturally comes up with, without much conscious effort. This is what most people do when reciting Qur’an. So everyone who recites Qur’an in a melodious manner would not go beyond that simple way of coming up with a tune. This is permissible, and it is a type of melodious recitation that is good and praiseworthy, as the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “He is not one of us who does not beautify his voice for the Qur’an.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari in his Saheeh (7527). In this case the ruling is that it is permissible and mustahabb.
2.
Developed tunes and musical rhythms that can only be acquired by learning and training, for which there are certain measures and vocal control without which they cannot be done properly. This is not permissible, because reciting the Qur’an has its own measures and vocal control that are subject to the rules of tajweed that have been transmitted (from the time of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)), and cannot be in accord with the measures as dictated by the rules of those tunes that are used in singing, because if we tried to do that, it would undermine the rules of tajweed. This is something that is not allowed.