Manners when reading the Qur'an

Manners of the Heart

A. Understanding of the origin of the words

This is an indication to the greatness of the words being read, and the bounty of Allah;
Glorified is He, to His creation when He addressed His creation with these words.

B. Putting into the heart the understanding that these are not the words of man.

Through this the reader should think about the characteristics of Allah the Exalted.

C. Presence of the heart while reading.

Through this the reader should throw away other thoughts while reading the Qur’an.

D. Pondering the meaning.

There is less reward in reciting the Qur'an without understanding the meaning. The
Qur'an was revealed for guidance and this can be achieved through recitation
accompanied with pondering.

E. Understanding the meaning.

This means interacting and reacting to every verse according to what is proper for it.

F. Individualization

This means that the reader feels that every message in the Qur’an is meant especially for
him personally.

External Manners for reading the Qur’an

1. Purity of body and clothes and place. Using sawak.

2. Facing the Qiblah.

3. Seeking refuge from rejected Satan and reading the basmalah. Not reading when
yawning.

4. Avoiding cutting off reading to talk with people.

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5. Stopping at a verse of warning and seeking protection with Allah, and stopping at a
verse of mercy and asking The Merciful for His Bounty.

6. Humbleness and crying when reading.

Imam An-Nawwawi may Allah be Merciful to him said: Crying when reading the Qur’an
is a characteristic of those who know Allah (know Him through His names and
Characteristics) and the feelings of the righteous.

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 Prostrations of reading
The prostration of tilawah is legislated for the reader and the listener in obedience to the
Merciful, and in contradiction to Satan. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, “If a son of
Adam reads a verse of prostration and prostrates, Satan withdraws crying and saying,
‘Woe to me, the son of Adam was ordered to prostrate and he prostrated, and for him is
Paradise, and I was ordered to prostrate and I disobeyed and the Fire is for me.” Related
by Muslim.

There are fourteen places in the Quran where we are asked to prostrate.

1. The end of surah Al-A’araaf

2. Verse 15 of surah Al-Ra’ad

3. Verse 50 of surah An-Nahl

4. Verse 109 of surah Al-Israa’

5. Verse 58 of surah Maryam

6. Verse 18 of surah Al-Hajj

7. Verse 77 of surah Al-Hajj

8. Verse 60 of surah Al-Furqan

9. Verse 26 of surah Al-Naml

10. Verse 15 of surah As-Sajda

11. Verse 38 of surah Fussilat

12. Verse 62 of surah An-Najm

13. Verse 21 of surah Al-Inshiqaq

14. Verse 19 of surah Al-A’alaq

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Seeking refuge and Saying the “Basmalah”
The meaning of: Al-isti’atha is “asking for refuge, or protection” When the reader says: "
,” he is seeking the protection and refuge with Allah from Satan before starting reading.

Allah in the Qur’an said:

(and when you read the Qur’an seek refuge with Allah from the rejected Satan) An-
Nahl 98.

1. If the reader is reading silently, he then seeks refuge silently, or if he is alone.

2. If one is about to pray the seeking refuge is also done silently.

3. If one is reading aloud, and others are present that will hear, the seeking refuge is
done out loud.

4. If the reading is done by turns (as in a classroom situation), the first reader seeks
refuge out loud and the rest do it silently.

5. If the reading is cut off by coughing, sneezing, or by talk referring to the reading or
meaning of the verses, then there is no need for repeating the seeking refuge.

6. If the reading is cut off by work or normal conversation, or by eating, then the
seeking refuge should be repeated before beginning to read the Qur’an again.

Al-Basmalah

He who says "bismillah" has said the basmalah.

It is necessary to read it before the beginning of every surah of the Qur'an with the
exception of "At-Tawbah" which is also called “Baraa’ah.”

Ways of Seeking refuge when starting recitation with the basmalah and with the
beginning of a surah

If the reader wishes to start his reading at the beginning of a surah, he needs to seek
refuge, say the basmalah and then start reciting the surah. There are four ways of doing
this.

1. Fasl Kul - Cutting all three off from each other. Meaning seeking refuge,
stopping, saying the basmalah, stopping, then starting the surah.

2. Wasl Kul - Joining all three with each other. Seeking refuge, saying the

4
 basmalah, and starting the surah all in one breath without stopping.

3. Joining the basmalah and the beginning of the surah. This means seeking
refuge, then stopping, then saying the basmalah and the beginning of the surah
in one breath.

4. Joining seeking refuge with the basmalah. This means the seeking refuge and
the basmalah are joined with one breath, then the reader stops then starts the
surah.

The Basmalah between two surahs

Hafs (the way of recitation we are explaining) always reads the basmalah between two
surahs. Meaning we read the basmalah before starting the next consecutive surah when
reading the Qur’an, except between Al-Anfal and At-Tawbah. There are four ways of
completing a surah and continuing on reading to the next surah with the basmalah in
between them. Three of them are allowed, and one not allowed.

1. Separating all of them

The reader finishes the surah, then stops and takes a breath, reads the basmalah, stops and
takes a breath, then reads the beginning of the next surah. As in the following example:

2. Joining all of them

The reader ends the surah, joining it with the appropriate vowels with the basmalah,
continuing with the same breath the reader then joins the basmalah with the beginning of
the next surah. As in:

3. Joining the basmalah with the beginning of the surah

In this way the reader finishes the last verse of the surah, stops and takes a breath, then
reads the basmalah joining it in the same breath and proper vowels with the beginning of
the next surah. As in:

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4. Not Allowed: Joining the basmalah with the end of the surah, then stopping, then
starting the next surah.
This incorrect way leads the listener to imagine that the basmalah is the last aayah of the
surah that was just finished. Here, the reader would join the end of the surah with the
basmalah, then stops and takes a breath, then starts reading the next surah. This is not
allowed.

There are three levels of reading the Quran

1. Al-Tahqeeq – It is reading the Quran slowly and with serenity while pondering
the meaning and observing the tajweed rules, giving each letter its rights as to
characteristics and articulation points, lengthening the letters of madd, which must
be lengthened, and not lengthening that which is not supposed to be lengthened.
It is to recite the heavy letters heavy and the light letters light as required by the
tajweed rules. This it the best level of reading.

2. Al-Hader – it is a swift method of reading the Quran with observation of the rules
of tajweed. The reader then must be careful not to cut off the lengthened letters,
not to do away with the ghunnah, and not to shorten the vowels to the point that
the reading is not correct.

3. Al-Tadweer – It is a reading at level between the two above levels, while

preserving and observing the rules of tajweed.

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 Principles of tajweed
One who wishes to learn a science needs to know its principles so that he will gain
insight into the sought science. There are several principles in the science of tajweed that
should be understood:

1. Its definition: Betterment

Applied definition: Articulating every letter from its articulation point and giving
the letter its rights and dues of characteristics. Rights of the letters are its required
characteristics that never leave it. The dues of the letters are its presented
characteristics that are present in it some of the time, and not present at other
times. i.e. The ghunnah, idgham.

2. Its formation: The words of the Glorious Quran and some Honorable Hadiths
also.

3. Its fruits: It is preserving the tongue from mistakes in pronunciation of the

Glorious Quran during reading.

4. Its precedence: It is one of the most honored of sciences and one of the best of
them due to its relation to Allah’s words.

5. Its place within the sciences: It is one of the Islamic Law sciences that are
related to the Glorious Quran.

6. Its founder: The rule setter from the practical point of view is the Messenger of
Allah (pbuh) because the Quran was revealed to him from Allh, the most High,
with tajweed, and he was instructed on it from the Trustworthy, Jibreel (pbuh).
He taught it to his companions, who then taught it to their followers and so on
until it came to us by these chains. The rule setters from the scientific point of
view are the scholars of Quranic sciences, such as Abu ‘Ubaid Al-Qasim bin
Sallaam.

7. Its precept: Knowledge of tajweed is (fardh kifayaah), meaning some of the

Muslim community must know it, and its application is (fardh ‘ain), required by
all Muslims (men and women) who have the complete Quran or part of it
memorized, even if only one surah.

8. Reasons for its rules: Guarding the Glorious Quran and preserving if from
distortion. The Arabs mixed with non-Arabs after the spread of Islam, and the
Muslims feared that the Arab tongue would become corrupted with this
intermixing. It then became mandatory for rules to be put down that would
preserve the Quranic reading from istakes, and guarantee the reader of the Quran

7
 integrity of pronunciation.

9. Its principles: The knowledge of tajweed is contingent on four matters:

1. Knowledge of the articulation point of the letters

2. Knowledge of the characteristics of the letters

3. Knowledge of what rules change in the letters due to the order of letters

4. Exercising the tongue a lot of repetition.

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 Al-Lahn

It is defined as a mistake and deviation from correctness when reading.

1. Its divisions: It is divided into two divisions which are:

1. Obvious and clear mistakes

It is a mistake that occurs in the pronunciation that affects the accuracy of the reading,
even if the mistake occurs in the meaning or not. This type of mistake occurs in the
make up of the word or in the letters, i.e. the reader pronounces dal, Ta. The mistake
can also occur in the vowels where one vowel is read as a completely different one,
for example: to exchange the dhammah to a fathah, or a fathah into a kasrah etc. It
can also be that the mistake occurs with the sukoon being read like the one of the
three vowels. This category is named obvious and clear because it is easy for readers
and scholars of the language to know the mistakes and point them out.

2. Obscured and hidden mistakes

It is a mistake that takes place in the pronunciation that pierces the reading, heard by
an accomplished reader, and is not a mistake in the meaning, or in the language or in
the grammar. Only those who have knowledge of Quran reading, recognize these
mistakes.

This type of mistake has two divisions:

The first: Mistakes only known by those knowledgeable in Quran reading, such as
leaving out an idgham.

The second: Mistakes only known by skilled readers of the Quran, such as unwanted
repetition of the ra. Included in this category is the mistake of reading the dhammah
as between a dhammah and a fathah, in that the two lips are not circled, nor are they
protruded forward as is required in a correct dhammah. The kasrah also can be
mistakenly read in between kasrah and a fathah. We must try as much as possible to
avoid making the mistakes within both these categories, and must certainly never
commit them purposely.

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 Places of Articulation - Makharij
Introduction to articulation points of the Arabic letters

The singular of articulation points in Arabic is: Makhraj

The articulation point: It is the place of emitting the letter when pronouncing it that
differentiates that specific letter from other letters.

The letter: is a sound that relies on a specific or approximate articulation point.

Articulation points are of two kinds:

1. Specific articulation point: It is that which relies on a specific place of the areas
of the throat, tongue or the two lips.

2. Approximate articulation point: it is that which does not rely on a specific place
from the areas of the throat, or the tongue, or the two lips. This approximate
articulation point is applied to the lengthened letters that come from the empty
space in the mouth and throat.

There are several ways to pinpoint the articulation point of a letter:

1. Say the letter without any vowel sound (with a sukoon) or say the letter with a
shaddah, which is a better way than just a sukoon; the first saakin, the second with
the vowel that occurs with the shaddah. The symbol of the shaddah is a number
three twisted on its back.

2. Precede the non-voweled letter with a hamzah with any vowel sound you choose
on the hamzah.

3. We then pronounce the letter and hear the sound, when the sound is cut off that is
the articulation point.

The scholars laid out five major areas that have within them the different articulation
points, which are a total of 17. The five major areas are:

1. The empty space in the mouth and throat has in it one articulation point for the three
lengthened letters, which are wow with no vowel with a dhammah before it, ya’ with no
vowel with a kasrah before it, and an alif with a fath before it.

2. The Throat: It has three articulation points for six different letters which are

10
pronounced from the deepest, middle, and closest part of the throat

3. The Tongue: It has ten articulation points for eighteen letters

4. The Two Lips: The lips have two articulation points for four letters

5. The nasal passage: From the hole of nose towards the inside of the mouth, here there
is one articulation point, that of the ghunnah

The following pictures shows these areas:

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 1. The empty space in the throat and mouth ( )
The empty space in the mouth and throat is a place and an articulation point at the same
time. The three medd (lengthened) letters originate from this general area, these letters
are:

1.The alif preceded by a letter with a fat-hah (and the true alif is only in this state); the
Arabic alif never takes a vowel and is always preceded by a fathah

2. The wow with a sukoon preceded by a letter with a dhammah

3. The ya’ with a sukoon preceded by a letter with a kasrah

These three medd letters do not have a specific place that they are pronounced from,
unlike all the other letters; instead these letters finish articulating with the stopping of the
sound.

The medd letters are lengthened two counts if they are not followed by a hamzah or a
sukoon. The lengthening when there is a hamzah or sukoon after the medd letter will be
covered, insha’ Allah, in future lessons.

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 2. The articulation points of the throat (Al-Halq)

There are three places of articulation in the throat, each place has two letters emitted from
therein.

1. The deepest part of the throat

2. The middle part of the throat
3. The closest part of the throat (closest to the mouth)

1. The deepest part of the throat

The deepest part of the throat is the furthest away from the mouth and the closest to the
chest. Two letters are articulated from here. They are the hamzah and the ha’ .

2. The middle part of the throat

The middle part of the throat lies half way in between the beginning and the end of the
throat. The two letters that are emitted from here are: Ha’ and ayn

3. The closest part of the throat

The closest part of the throat is the beginning of the throat, or the closest to the mouth.
Two letters are articulated from this area, they are: Ghayn and Kha’

Common mistakes in these letters

These letters are uncommon to many languages, especially English, outside of the

hamzah, and many would say the ha’, but even the English “h” is often
pronounced at a position higher in the throat than the Arabic ha’.

The two letters from the middle of the throat need practice to succeed in their proper
pronunciation. The first step is getting used to using the throat, especially the middle,

then work should begin on the letter: . Think of the throat squeezing against
itself from the middle, and try to pronounce it from that point. There is plenty of air that
runs with this letter.

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 is the second letter from this area is pronounced from the same point, but has
more of a rolling sound.

The last two letters also need practice to achieve a correct pronunciation.

is often mispronounced as a “k” by non-Arabs. The “k” is not articulated

from the throat, rather it is articulated from the posterior portion of the tongue and the
roof of the mouth.

many times is mispronounced as a “g” like the first “g” in the word
“garage”. One way of finding the articulation area is by gargling. The sound emitted
with a deep gargle is close to the Arabic letter.

3. Areas of the tongue used for articulation

There are four areas of the tongue used for articulation. The deepest part, the middle,
the sides, and the tip. The following picture helps pinpoint these areas.

1. Deepest part of the tongue

There are two letters that use the deepest part of the tongue in articulation. They are

and .

Is articulated from the deepest part of the tongue and what lies opposite to it
from the roof of the mouth in the area of the soft palate.

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 Is articulated from the deepest part of the tongue and what lies opposite to it
from the roof of the mouth in the area of the hard palate. This letter is closer to the

mouth than the

Common mistakes in these letters

The non-Arab has more than a few common mistakes with these two letters. The first

letter, is not a common letter in other languages, and even the Arabs have
substituted this letter for others in different colloquial Arabic dialects. Egyptians and

Shaamis substitute a hamzah for the in their dialect. The Gulf Arabs use a
“g” sound in their dialect for this letter. There are two mistakes in articulating this when
reciting the Qur’an. Usually it is a problem in the articulation point. Either the letter is
articulated on the hard palate or close to it, so it ends up sounding like an English “k”, or
the letter is pronounced not from the tongue, but from the throat, and the resultant

incorrect sound is a cross between a and a . Native English

speakers tend to make the first type of error, and Muslims of eastern origin tend to make
the second type of error.

is often mispronounced at an articulation point further back in the mouth than

the correct articulation point. The resultant letter is often closer to a than the
correct desired sound. Muslims from the East, such as Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, and
the Philippines tend to have this error. Native English speakers sometimes pronounce
this letter a little further back in the mouth than is totally correct so there is no air heard
with the letter. In truth, there should be a running of air when this letter is pronounced
correctly.

2. Middle of the Tongue

Three letters use the middle of the tongue for their articulation. They are ,

, and the

These three letters are articulated from the middle of the tongue and what lies opposite to
it from the roof of the mouth. This means the middle of the tongue collides with the roof
of the mouth when these letters are articulated without a vowel, and the middle of the
tongue separates with strength from the roof of the mouth when the letters are voweled.

15
The ya’ here is not the medd letter ya’, which was previously stated to be articulated from
the non specific area of the empty space in the throat and mouth. The medd letter ya’ is a
ya’ saakinah preceded by a kasrah, NOT a fath. When the ya’ saakinah is preceded by a
fath, this currently discussed articulation point is used.

Common mistakes in these letters

The mistakes that may occur with these letters tend to more in the area of characteristics

than in the specific articulation point, but not exclusively so. The is often
mispronounced by Arabs and non Arabs alike, with a running of the sound, like the
French “j”. This letter, in Arabic, is a strong letter, and there is imprisonment of the
running of the sound, and imprisonment of the running of air. To pronounce it correctly,
first make sure the middle of the tongue is being used, and not the anterior portion of the
tongue, then concentrate on not letting any sound and air run out when saying the letter.

can be articulated incorrectly, especially by those with a significant overbite.

Those that may have an overbite have to take the extra measure of protruding the lower
jaw until the bottom and top teeth are aligned. It may take a little practice, but is indeed
possible to pronounce it correctly, even with the overbite. There is a lot of air that fills
the mouth and runs out with this letter. Westerners sometimes pronounce this like the
English “sh”, which has a more forward position than the Arabic .

The sometimes mistakenly is articulated with an accompanying

running of air. This letter should not have air running with it, so care needs to be taken to
control the air and suppress its excessive outward flow.

16
17
 3. The side of the tongue

There are two letters that use the side of the tongue for articulation.

They do not use the same part of the side of the tongue, rather the uses the

posterior two thirds of the side (or edge) of the tongue, and the uses the anterior
one third (closest to the mouth) portion of the side of the tongue.

The letter

This letter is articulated from the one or both sides of the tongue and from the molars and
the gum area next to the molars. The posterior one third of the side of the tongue is used
for this letter. This letter can be articulated from one side (right or left) of the tongue
alone, or from both sides of the tongue simultaneously. Articulating this letter from the
left side is easier and more common than using the right side. The Prophet
pronounced this letter from both sides of the tongue.

has the characteristic of compression of the sound, as well as tafkheem

(heaviness), so the deep part of the tongue raises up when pronouncing it and compresses
the sound at the same time.

Common mistakes in the letter

The takes practice, patience, and dua’ to perfect its articulation. The most
common mistake in its pronunciation is using the tip of the tongue instead of the side

(posterior one third). The resultant sound then is that of a . Using the middle of
the tongue and what opposes it of the middle of the roof of the mouth is another common

error. The resultant sound is sort of like a heavy .

Some Arabs even sometimes have difficulty pronouncing correctly. Some

areas of the Arab world consistently pronounce this letter using the tip of the tongue and

the teeth and the resultant sound is exactly that of a . This is most noted in

18
Sudan.

Another less common mistake is of going too far back to articulate it; back to the throat,
in this case the sound is similar to a swallowing sound mixed with a letter.

The letter

This letter has the widest articulation points of all the Arabic letters. It is articulated from
the anterior one third of the sides of the tongue until the sides end at the tip, and what lies
opposite to them of the gums of the two top front incisors, the two top lateral incisors, the
two top canines, and the two top premolars. The articulation of this letter is then in the
shape of an arc, with both sides until the tongue ends at the tip meeting up with with
gums of all the mentioned teeth. It is to be noted that it is a fine line of the sides of the
tongue that meets up with the gums, and it does not include the top of the tongue.

The articulation of the is an upward movement, not a forward movement like “L”
is in English.

Common mistakes in the letter

The most common mistake is that of using just the tip and not the sides of the tongue to
pronounce this letter, and the resultant sound is that of a noon, since the noon is

articulated very close to the . Another mistake for native English speakers is
pronouncing using the underside of the tongue and the actual plates of the two front
teeth. The resultant sound is a heavy sound, just as the English “L”.

4. The tip of the tongue (Part 1)

Articulation points of the and the

The letter

This letter is articulated from the tip of the tongue and what lies opposite to it from the

gum of the two front top incisors. is articulated a bit forward on the gums from

the place of the . This letter is not always pronounced clearly, and the articulation
point is only applied when it is pronounced clearly, namely when it has a vowel on it, or

19
if it has a sukoon on it and is followed by one of the following six letters:

The rules for the when it has no vowel (saakinah), and is not followed by one
of the above six letters, will be explained later, insha’ Allah.

Common mistakes in this letter

The mistakes with this letter tend to be few. The most common mistake is that of using
too large an area of the tongue and including the top of the tongue, instead of just the tip.

The letter

This letter is emitted from the tip of the tongue with the top of the tip and what lies
opposite to it of the gums of the two front top incisors. The tip with the top of the tip
need to strike the gums to produce this sound correctly. There should be no trilling of the
tongue when pronouncing this letter.

Common mistakes in this letter

The first and most common mistake in the is not striking the tip with the top of
the tip to the gums. The English “r” is articulated without the tongue striking on any part
of the mouth, so many native English speakers have to practice a bit to say the
correctly. One should physically feel the tongue hit the gum of the two top front
incisors.

Another mistake that some have is using the soft tissue behind the gum for a striking
place for the tongue. It is quite difficult to get the tip and the top involved when the soft
tissue area is used, so the resultant sound is deep and rolling, but not correct.

Still other make the aforementioned error of repeated trilling of the tongue when
pronouncing the . The scholars have cautioned against this. This usually can be
fixed by leaving a small space for the sound to run out at the very tip of the tongue. If the
tip is up tight against the gum, there is no place for the sound to run, pressure builds up
and can only released by the incorrect excessive trilling.

4. The tip of the tongue (Part 2)

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The articulation point of the

These letters are pronounced from the top side of the tip of the tongue and the gum line of
the two front upper incisors. The gum line is exactly where the gum meets the teeth. The
part of the tongue used in these letters is a small part of the top of the tip, not any farther
back than the very tip area.

Common mistakes in these letters

The mistake that occurs most often in these letters is using the soft elevated area behind
the gum instead of the gum line. The English “t” and “d” are articulated at this position

which is further back in the mouth than the Arabic and . When these
letters are emitted back too far, their sound gets heavy. Another problem that may occur
in all of the letters in this group is not using just the top of the tip, but instead using a
large portion of the top of the tongue. This is common in Urdu speaking Muslims as well
as native English speakers, and it contributes to a heavy sounding letter.

is a letter that has both tafkheem (heaviness) and sticks to the roof of the mouth.
It is the strongest of all the letters of the Arabic language. The most common mistake
(outside of the above mistakes) in this letter is not getting it strong enough, as well as not
sticking most of the tongue up to the roof of the mouth while pronouncing it. Since this
letter is not common to many languages, it needs practice to be proficient in its proper
articulation. Listening to a known accomplished reciter can assist in learning the proper
sound for the .

4. The tip of the tongue (Part 3)

Articulation points of the

These three letters are emitted from the tip of the tongue and the plates of the two front
top incisors, at a point just above the two front lower incisors. There is a little space left
in between the tip of the tongue and the plates of the teeth when pronouncing these
letters. The term “plate” refers to the long axis of the tooth, and in this case, the long axis
that is on the internal side, rather than the external side of the teeth.

These letters are also called letters, which means “whistle”. They are called that
due to the accompany whistle type sound heard when they are emitted properly.

Common mistakes in these letters

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The most common mistake that occurs in the three letters as a group is in the lack of

(whistle). Usually this problem is due to a strong overbite. Those that have a
large overbite though, can still learn to pronounce these letters correctly by making a
compensation in the lower jaw. The lower jaw should be protruded until it aligns with
the upper jaw while saying these three letters, and insha’ Allah they will come out clearly
with the proper “whistle” sound. A note to remember, the tongue should not press up
against the plates of the teeth or the sound will be incorrectly imprisoned when trying to
say these letters.

Another mistake that occurs singularly in the is not making it heavy enough.
It is one of the tafkheem (heavy) letters, and it also has the characteristic of sticking. If

the is not made heavy enough, it sounds just like, or very close to a

. The sticking of the tongue with the is not at the articulation area,
but rather with the back of the tongue. It sticks to the very back of the soft palate while
pronouncing this letter.

4. The tip of tongue (Part 4)

Articulation point of the

These letters are emitted from the tip of the tongue (from the top side of the tip) and the
bottom edges of the two top front incisors. Care should be taken to make sure the top of
the tip is really colliding or separating (depending whether there is no vowel or a vowel)
with the edges of the teeth and not the plates of the teeth.

Common mistakes in these letters

These three letters are some of the most mispronounced letters in the Arabic language by
both Arabs and non-Arabs. The main reason for this is the corruption of pure classical
Arabic and the colloquialization of many letters to other forms. This colloquialization
unfortunately, has carried over to the way some recite the Qur’an, and with this mistake
the reciter could unintentionally change the intended meaning of the Qur’an. This error
should be attended to and fixed as soon as possible by the student of the Qur’an.

The is often mispronounced as a heavy form of “z”. The reason for this
(mechanically speaking) is not using the top of the tip with the edges of the incisors, and
instead using the back plates of the two front incisors, which as covered in the last tidbit,

is the articulation point for the . It is then

22
understandable the mechanical reason for this letter to erroneously sound like a “z” when

the incorrect articulation point is used. The is a letter that has tafkheem, or
heaviness, and that characteristic tends to be present even in the misarticulated form of
the letter, and therefore the heavy “z” sound. Some transliterations of the Qur’an, which
we caution against using, write this letter in English as “z”. This contributes to non-
Arabs also reciting this letter incorrectly. Some students of the Qur’an may have the
articulation point of this letter correct, but do not make the necessary tafkheem, or
heaviness that is needed when reciting this letter. The posterior portion of the tongue
needs to rise up to the roof of the mouth for tafkheem to take place.

The is many times mispronounced as a plain “z”. Again, Arabs as well as non-
Arabs have this error. The solution is again using the top of the tip of the tongue and the
bottom edges of the two top front incisors. There should be enough protrusion of the tip
tongue in all three of these letters so that it is visible to the observer.

The frequently is pronounced as a by mistake. This mistake can

occur with both Arabs and non-Arabs. The same reason as discussed above is the cause
for this: using the wrong articulation point.

In summary the common mistake in these three letters is using the articulation point of

the “whistle” group of letters instead of their

own unique articulation point. The tip of the tongue needs to collide or separate with the
bottom edges of the two top front incisors, and not the internal plates of the two top
incisors.

4. The Two Lips

Articulation point of the letter

The articulation point of the is between the inside of the lower lip and the
tips (or edges) of the two top front incisors. This means that there is a meeting of these
two parts of articulation to make the correct sound of this letter.

Common mistakes in this letter

The English letter “f” uses the middle of the lower lip and the edges or tips of the two
front top incisors. As mentioned above in the articulation point definition of the Arabic

, the inside of the lower lip is used. If the English speaking student of the

23
Qur’an does not make a conscience effort to use the inside of the lip, some of the

characteristic of the , namely the running of the sound as well as the breath,

will be imprisoned. The sound will not be a true Arabic then, but an English
“f”.

Some areas in the Far East do not have an “f” in their language. The natives of these
countries tend to substitute a “p” for an “f” when they are speaking a language that has an
“f”. This obviously will carry over to the recitation of the Qur’an when there is a word

with a in it. Practice is needed to pronounce the Arabic , and not

use a “p”, which does not exist in the Arabic language.

Articulation point of the two lips

There are three letters that are articulated from the two lips, but they do not all three share
the same mechanism in articulation.

The unlengthened is articulated by forming a circle of the two lips without the
two lips meeting completely.

The is articulated by closing the two lips together

The letter is articulated by closing the two lips together, but a stronger closing
than the meem.

Common mistakes in these letters

The is often mispronounced as a “v” by some Urdu speaking Muslims as well as

Turkish speaking Muslims from Turkey and former Russian republics. This is due to the

absence of in the Turkish dialects, and the presence of both the wow and va’ in
Urdu. There is no “v” in Arabic, and “v” has the same articulation point as the “f”. This
problem can be overcome by practicing using both lips and pressing on them when

pronouncing the unlengthened . At the beginning much practice will be needed

to overcome this mispronunciation. The student of the Qur’an may want to make note of

24
all the unlengthened in a passage he/she is reciting or memorizing, and practice
those phrases or words to make sure they all come out correctly.

Westerners have to take care that they really do put pressure on the two lips when

pronouncing the , otherwise the sound comes out weak like a “w”, which is not

the same sound as the Arabic .

The is not a letter that commonly has mistakes. The only thing to take heed of
is not to press the lips together too hard.

The sometimes gets air in it, which is not a characteristic of the Arabic

, and the resultant sound is that of a “p”, which as stated before, does not exist
in the Arabic language. The pressure on this letter is more on the inside of the lower lip
than the outside, whereas “p” uses more of the outside of the lips, and has running air
with it. There is an imprisonment of both the running of the sound and the running of the

breath in the letter which makes it a strong letter.

5. The nasal passage

It is the hole in the nose that continues back towards inside the mouth. His is the place
where the ghunnah comes from. It is a nasal sound coming from the nasopharynx without
any influence from the tongue. If you hold your nose closed you will not be able to
produce this sound, therefore the sound of the ghunnah comes from the nasopharynx, but
the letters themselves that have this associated sound with them are not articulated from
the nose. These letters have their own articulation point, but the ghunnah accompanying
the letters comes from the nose. The Ghunnah is a characteristic, not a letter. The
ghunnah is a characteristic of Meem and Noon that is especially prevalent when they
have a shaddah on them. It is also very noticeable on Noon and Tanween when there is
an Ikhfa’ or Iqlab and on the meem when there is a Ikhfa’.

25
 Noon Saakinah and Tanween

Noon saakinah is a noon free from any vowel . It remains unchanged in its written form
and as well as in pronunciation when continuing to read after it and when stopping on it.
Noon saakinah occurs in nouns and verbs in the middle of the word and at the end of the
word, and occurs in prepositions and particles only at the end of the word. The noon

saakinah can have a sukoon on it, as in : , or can be written with no vowel on it,

as in : . Either way, it is considered a noon saakinah

The tanween is a term for an extra noon saakinah not used for emphasis, found at the end
of nouns when continuing the reading, but absent from the noun in the written form (the
noon of the tanween is pronounced but not written), and abandoned in pronunciation
when stopping. The tanween can be accompanying a fathah, a dhammah, or a kasrah, as

in: .

When there is a noon saakinah or tanween, we need to look at the next letter following
the noon saakinah or tanween. The letter that follows determines how the noon is
pronounced, depending on the rule that is applied. There are four rules of tajweed
applied to the noon saakinah and tanween. The rules are applied to the noon saakinah in
the same way that they are applied to the tanween. The four rules are:

The Making Clear : In this case the is read clearly

The Merging : In this case the is merged into the next letter either
partially or completely.

The Changing : Here the is changed into another letter.

The Hiding : The is hidden so it is not a clear noon, but at the same
time, not merged into the next letter.

26
 The (Making clear) of the noon saakinah and tanween

The last lesson defined the saakinah and the tanween, and stated there are four

different possible rules to be applied to the saakinah and tanween. The rule that

is applied depends on the letter that immediately follows the saakinah or

tanween. This lesson describes the first of these rules, the or making clear of the

saakinah and tanween.

The word is defined linguistically as: clear or obvious.

The applied definition of the is: Pronouncing every letter from its articulation
point without a ghunnah [in this case, without a prolonged ghunnah] on the clear letter.

In other words, when this rule is applied to the saakinah or tanween,

the is pronounced clearly, and articulated from its articulation point.

There are six letters which when immediately follow the saakinah or tanween,
they cause the to be pronounced clearly. These letters are the “throat” letters, or the six
letters which are articulated from the throat:

Th

e saakinah can be in the middle of a word or at the end of the word, the tanween

is only at the end of a word, namely a noun. When the saakinah or tanween is

followed by any of these six letters, the is then pronounced clearly.

In surah ‘Abasa, aayah 18, there are examples of both a saakinah followed by a

letter of , and a tanween followed by a letter of :

. The first word of the aayah ends with

27
a saakinah, and is followed by a hamzah. The third word of the aayah ends

with a tanween kasrah, and is followed by the letter . Both the hamzah and the

are of the six letters that cause the saakinah and tanween to be said

clearly, in other words, with an .

The last aayah of surah Al-Ikhlaas has an example of an of the tanween.

An example of a saakinah in the middle of a word, followed by one of

the letters is found in the second aayah of Al-Kawthar.

In conclusion, when the saakinah or tanween are followed by any of the six

letters ,

the is then pronounced clearly. Please remember we are only

discussing saakinah, which means it has no vowel on it. If there is a vowel on

the , then it is pronounced from its articulation point with the accompanying
vowel.

28
 Merging of the saakinah and tanween

We defined the saakinah and tanween and introduced the four different possible
rules for these letters:

1. (making clear)

2. (merging)

3. (changing)

4. (hiding).
We then described the first rule pertaining to the saakinah and tanween, that of the

, or making it clear. We now move on to the second of the four possible rules, that

of , or merging of the saakinah and tanween into the next following letter.

The is defined linguistically as merging or inserting.

Its applied tajweed definition is: The meeting of a non-voweled letter with a voweled
letter, so that the two letters become one emphasized letter of the second [letter] kind.

In the idghaam of saakinah and tanween, the is a saakin (non-voweled)

letter on the end of a word, and the first letter of the next word is one of the letters that

cause the to merge or insert into it. The letters that cause this or merging

are all the letters in the group: . This means if a saakinah or tanween

are at the end of a word, and the letter or , or or

or , or is the first letter of the next word, the then merges into
this next letter.

29
There are two subdivision of the :

1. which is a complete merging, also known as which is

merging without any ghunnah (nasalization).

2. which is an incomplete merging, also known as , or

idghaam with a ghunnah (nasalization).

Idghaam with a ghunnah

In all the rules concerning the saakinah and tanween, the letter that immediately

follows the is what determines which rule is applied. Previously we stated that

when the saakinah or tanween (the tanween is only at the end of a word) is at
the end of a word, and the first letter of the next word is one of the letters in the group:

the then merges into the next letter. The idghaam, or merging of

the saakinah and tanween is further divided into two groups,

(idghaam with a ghunnah) and (idghaam without a ghunnah).

Ghunnah means nasalization.

This section will explain the other idghaam sub-group, that of , or idghaam
(merging) with a ghunnah. If we look at the letters that cause idghaam, or merging of the

saakinah and tanween, that being the letters in the group , and remove

the letters of the idghaam without a ghunnah group, the and , we have

left four letters, the , , , and , or if we put them in a

word, the letters of the word: . When there is a saakinah or tanween at

the end of a word, and the first letter of the next word is one of the four letters in the

30
group , the merges into the next letter, with a prolonged nasalization, or

ghunnah accompanying this merging. In the case of the saakinah or tanween

merging with the or the ghunnah is a left over from the ,

since this characteristic is not present in these two letters, and the merging is

(an incomplete merging), since the characteristic of the ghunnah of the

remained. In the case of the saakinah or tanween merging with the

or , the majority of scholars agree that this is a complete merging, and

the ghunnah that is heard is from the or the ,now with a shaddah that

the saakinah or tanween has merged into.

Examples of :

In this above aayah, there are two occurrences of , the first one with a

saakinah at the end of the first word of the aayah. This is followed

by a , which is the first word of the next word. The as far as an

articulating letter is not pronounced, instead we directly go from the letter before the

, which is a , to the , and hold the sound with an

accompanying ghunnah, or nasalization, which is a left over characteristic of the

. The second occurrence of idghaam in this aayah is in the last two words. The

next to the last word , ends with a tanween (which, as we know, is vowel, plus a

saakinah), and the first letter of the next following word is a . The

31
 of the tanween then merges into the with an accompanying
ghunnah, or nasalization, which is left over from the .

Other examples of are:

Idghaam without a ghunnah

The two remaining letters of the group are the letters that comprise this rule.

They are the and . When one of these two letters begins the word that
follows one that has a noon saakinah or tanween at the end of it, we then completely

merge the noon into the next letter, which is either or , with no ghunnah.

Example:

Complete and incomplete merging and

The or complete merging of the saakinah or tanween into the first

letter of the next word, is done when the saakinah or tanween are at the end of a

32
word and are followed by a or a as the first letter of the next word. As

stated, this is also known as , or idghaam without a ghunnah, since the

completely merges in to the or and there is no left over ghunnah

from the . When there is this type of , the is not pronounced

whatsoever, instead the reciter proceeds from the letter before the or the vowel
that is with the tanween, directly to the first letter of the next word which will have a

shaddah on it because of the (merging).

Examples of this are:

In this aayah, there is a tanween dhammah on the letter (this first has

nothing to do with the rule for the tanween here), followed by a as the first letter

of the next word. The reciter should go directly from the dhammah on the which

is the last letter on the first word to the that is the first letter of the next word.

The idghaam or merging of the saakinah of the tanween is complete into

the which becomes emphasized (doubled) as a result of this merging. This

doubling of the is represented by the shaddah mark.

The same process takes place whether the saakinah is actually a written

such as the next following example, or an unwritten in the case of the tanween.

33
There is agreement among the scholars also that when a noon saakinah or tanween merge

with a or , that this is (incomplete merging). The

merging is not complete because there is a ghunnah left over from the noon, and the

and do not have a ghunnah in their characteristics, whereas noon does.

This is the reason you do not see a shaddah over the and in the majority
of printings of the Quran when there is Idghaam.

Exceptions to the rule of (merging)

The idghaam of the saakinah and tanween can only occur between two words. If
a noon saakinah is followed by one of the Idghaam letters within one word there is no
Idghaam, instead we say the noon clearly, in this case it is called

(absolute). It is called this because it is not from the Ithaar Halqi category
previously described, nor of any of the other Ithaar categories that will be discussed later.

The occurrence of noon saakinah followed by one of the letters of the group in the
same word occurs in only four words in the Quran, always with the noon saakinah being
followed by either a Waw or a Ya. The four words are as follows:

The reason for Ithaar in these cases is that if the Idghaam rule was applied, the true
meaning of the word would be confusing to understand.

Another exception be illustrated in this following verse:

Aayah 27 of surah Al-Qiyaamah: . The second

word of this aayah ends with a saakinah, and the first letter of the next

word is a . Under normal circumstances, there would be , or

an idghaam without a ghunnah, since the is one of the letters that cause an

34
 when it follows a saakinah. In this aayah though, there is a
brief breathless pause, known in Arabic as a between the word , and the

next word: . This short pause without a breath prevents the saakinah of the

word from meeting with the of the following word, . There is

therefore, no , or merging, of the saakinah with the here. If

you look at the aayah, you will see a small letter above the word . This
indicates to the reciter that there is a .

The next two examples involve the individual separate letters that start some different
surahs. These letters are read as if each letter is written out, for example in surah Al-

Qalam, , the first letter , is

recited just as you would read the word: . This word ends with a

saakinah. If we were to join this individual letter, recited as the word with the next

following word, we notice that the next word starts with a . Usually if

there is a saakinah followed by a , the rule applies. In this

case, however, Hafs does not make an , but instead recites the
saakinah clearly, then recites the next word. It is preferred and most common, to stop on

the end of the individual letter , but continuing is allowed. The same things said

about this example can be said about the saakinah at the end of the individual

separate letter in the first two ayaat of surah Ya-Seen:

. The second separate letter of the first

aayah is the letter which ends with a saakinah. The first word of

the second aayah starts with the letter (actually the first word is the

35
letter ). If we were to join the first and second aayah together, there would be a

saakinah (the last letter of the word ) meeting with the letter

. As the previous lesson stated, there normally would be , but as above Hafs

does not make an idghaam when joining these two aayaat together; instead the
saakinah of the word is recited clearly, then the next word, the letter wow is read with the
accompanying vowel.

These are the exceptions to the idghaam rule for the saakinah and tanween.

36
 The (Changing) of the saakinah and tanween

The (changing) of the saakinah and tanween is defined in applied

tajweed as: The changing of noon saakinah or the tanween into a , when

followed by a with the observance of a lengthened ghunnah on the

letter .

If the letter occurs immediately after a saakinah in the same word,

or between two words (meaning the saakinah or the tanween would be at the

end of word, and the the first letter of the next word), it is then required that the

reader changes the saakinah or tanween into a hidden , with a ghunnah

present. The saakinah is changed into a meem in pronunciation, not in the

written word. You may note that most copies of the Qur’an have a very small meem
written over or under the noon in this case, or the second line of a fat-h or kasrah tanween

or dhammah of the tanween is replaced by a small meem. The little in this case
has a tail on the end of it.

The hidden, not by leaving a small space between the lips, as some modern

scholars have said, but by closing the lips and holding the for the length of the

ghunnah, then opening them with the . This is the correct way of “hiding” the

as written in the books of the old scholars, and as passed down in applied

recitation by chains of transmission that go back to the Prophet Mohammed, .

Examples of the :

37
In this first example above, the saakinah is the last letter of the next to the
last word of the written part of the aayah. The next word, starts with the letter

. The is then changed in pronunciation to a , and this

is held with a ghunnah, then the lips are separated pronouncing the letter

In this example above, the saakinah is in the middle of the word and followed

by the letter . The saakinah is changed into a just as in the

previous example.

These two different aayaat are examples of the tanween being followed by the

letter . The , or changing of the saakinah of the tanween into a

, is done in the same way as the other examples. The little can be seen

written over all of these examples. The little takes the place of the second
dhammah, fat-h, or kasrah of the tanween.

38
 The (Hiding) of the saakinah and tanween

This lesson defines the , the last of the four rules for the saakinah

and tanween. The three other rules saakinah and tanween and their
explanations are located in the tidbit archives link.

The is linguistically defined as: hiding or concealment

The applied definition of the is: The pronunciation of a non-voweled letter

stripped of any shaddah, characterized somewhere between an and an with

a ghunnah remaining on the first letter, in this case the saakinah and the
tanween.

The letters of the for the saakinah and tanween are all the remaining

letters in the Arabic alphabet after we remove the letters that cause , ,

and . There are 15 letters in the Arabic alphabet, all causing , or hiding

of the saakinah and tanween; they are:

If a saakinah or tanween is followed by any of these 15 letters, we hide

the . The can take place between two words (as will always be the case

with the tanween) or in the middle of a word. To hide the our tongue does not
touch the teeth or gum, instead our tongue moves close to, but not at, the articulation

point of the next letter, which is the letter causing the (hiding). We then hold this
sound with an accompanying ghunnah (nasalization) for the amount of timing appropriate

for the . The (or hiding) of the saakinah or tanween is also

known as .

39
The technique of the of the takes practice to perfect. There is no

difference in the or in the technique of the whether it is a written

that is being hidden, or a tanween. Some students simply keep their tongue at

the articulation point of the during the , and prolong the sound with a
ghunnah (nasalization). This is not the correct technique. Others let the back portion of
the tongue rise up to the roof of the mouth and rest it there, which is again, incorrect. The
tongue shouldn’t be touching the roof, gums, or teeth, but should be close to the
articulation point of the next letter, as stating previously.

Examples of the of the saakinah and tanween:

In this example above, there is a saakinah in the middle of the second word,

followed by the letter , one of the letters of . We don’t let our tongue

touch the articulation point of the , but instead put our tongue in a position

close to, but not touching the articulation point of the letter , and hold this
sound with a ghunnah for a period of time. The exact period of time cannot be explained
in writing, but instead should be learned and copied from a qualified Qur’an teacher. It is
not correct to state that the ghunnah is held for two counts.

In this example there is a tanween at the end of the second word, followed by a

as the first letter of the next following word. The is one of the letters that causes

hiding of the saakinah and tanween. The technique is similar to that described

above, except our tongue should get close to the articulation point of the instead

of the .

40
This aayah has a saakinah as the last letter of the first word, it is followed by

a , which is one of the letters that causes hiding of the saakinah.

Again, as previously stated, we don’t let our tongue go to the articulation point of

the , but instead bring our tongue close to, but not touching, the ,
and hold the sound with an accompanying ghunnah for the appropriate period of time.

Changes in the writing of the tanween with different rules

You may have noticed that the tanween changes slightly in the way it appears from one
word to another. The tanween appears different with different rules. When the first letter
of the word following the noun ending with a tanween is an Ithaar letter, the double
fathah, kasrah, and dhammah are aligned evenly with each other, and directly over or
under the last letter of the noun.

The double fathah, kasrah, and dhammah are not aligned over each other and are not
directly over the letter in the case of an Ikhfaa’ and Idghaam rule.

The second fathah, kasrah, dhammah of the tanween is written as a small meem when the
first letter of the next word is a Ba’, meaning there is an Iqlaab.
These different should aid the student in determining which rule to apply when reciting.

41
 The Meem Saakinah

The saakinah Rules (Part 1)

The definition of the saakinah: It is a free from any vowel, and which
has a fixed sukoon when continuing reading and when stopping.

This excludes the that was originally without a vowel, but obtained one because
the next letter also had a sukoon. In the Arabic language it is not allowed to have two
non-voweled letters next to each other; one will automatically obtain a vowel to eliminate
this problem.

The saakinah can be in the middle of a word or at the end of a word. It can be in
a noun, a verb, or a preposition or particle.

Included in the saakinah rules is (the meem of plurality). A

saakinah at the end of a word can sometimes, but not always indicate a plural,

such as the possessive “their” or “your” or “them”, such as which means: for you

plural, or , which means, “they have”.

The saakinah has three possible rules:

1. Hiding (Ikhfaa’ Shafawee)

2. Merging (Al-Idghaam Al-Sagheer) (Idghaam Sagheer)

4. Clear (Al-ithaar Al-Shafawee)

42
 The Oral Hiding
Its linguistic definition: hidden

Its applied definition: The pronunciation of a non-voweled letter, stripped of any

“shaddah”, characterized as between clear

( ) and merged ( ), with the ghunnah remaining on the first letter, which is in

this case the .

Its letters: It has one letter which is the .

If a is followed immediately by a , and this only occurs between two

words, we then close our lips for the with an accompanying ghunnah. This is

called . It is called because the has the

characteristic of the , meaning in between and since the lips are

close with the letter , then separate with the letter . It is called

because the is articulated from the two lips. A lip in Arabic is, but the

word is also used for “oral”. could be translated as “the

oral hiding”.

Examples:

The last letter of the second word of this aayah immediately above is a saakinah;

the first letter of the next word is a therefore (oral hiding)

rule is applied. The lips close on with the the sound is held with a ghunnah for

the appropriate period of time, then the lips separate with the letter .

43
In this aayah, the last letter of the first word is a saakinah, and the first letter of

the next word is a , so (oral hiding) rule is applied as

explained above.

Merging ( ) of the saakinah

As a review, the linguistic definition of is: merging, insertion.

The applied tajweed definition is: The meeting of a saakinah letter with a voweled
letter so that the two letters become one emphasized letter of the second type (of letter).

The of the saakinah occurs only with one letter: another .

Whenever a saakinah letter comes before a voweled letter of the same articulation point
and characteristics, in other words the same exact letter, there is merging of the saakinah

letter into the second letter. This merging is called , or the small

merging of two of the same. The “small” refers to the first letter of the being
saakin and the second having a vowel. It is also called Idghaam Mithlayn due to the face
that the letter merging and the letter being merged into are the same letter in articulation
points and characteristics.

If there is a saakinah followed immediately by a with a vowel in the in

the same word or between two words, we are then required to insert the saakinah

into the with a vowel, which then acquires a shaddah. There is a ghunnah then on

the with a shaddah. The only time there is an of a into another in

one word is in the case of the individual separate letters that start some surahs. The group

of letters is considered one word. In other words, is considered one

44
word, so the saakinah at the end of the written out letter merges into the

voweled which is the first letter of the written out letter . Outside of the

individual separate letters at the beginning of some surahs, the of the

saakinah into a voweled takes place between two words.

Examples

In the above aayah, there are two examples of merging of the saakinah into a

voweled . In the first example, the second word of the aayah ends with a

saakinah, and the word immediately following, has a voweled as its first

letter. The saakinah then merges into the voweled which then acquires a
shaddah, and there is an accompanying ghunnah for a period of time that should be
learned from a qualified Qur’an teacher. What was said about the first example, applies
to the second, both of which are denoted by red letters.

Another example is found in aayah 20 of surah Al-Burooj. Please note the idghaam of

the saakinah into the voweled is shown in red letters:

The Oral Clarity

The previous lessons mentioned that there are three rules for the saakinah:
1. The Ikhfa’ Shafwee (oral hiding)
2. The Idghaam Mithlayn Sagheer (the merging of the two alike)
3. The Ith-haar shafawee.

The first two rules, ikhfa’ and idghaam were already discussed, and this lesson will
explain the ith-haar rule.

45
The linguistic definition of ith-haar (as a review) is: clear, obvious

Its applied tajweed definition: Pronouncing every letter from its articulation point
without a ghunnah on the clear letter.

Its letters: 26 letters, the rest of the Arabic letters after excluding the letters of ikhfa’
shafawee and idghaam of the meem saakinah. As stated in the lesson of ikhfa’ shafawee,

the letter that causes the ikhfa’ of the saakinah is the , and in the idghaam

mithlayn of the saakinah, we learned that the letter causing this idghaam is

another . If any other letter follows a saakinah, the meem is then is

pronounced clearly. This can be in one word, or between two words.

Examples:
Within one word:

Within two words:

NOTE: There needs to be special care taken that the of the is complete

when a or a follows it. This care is needed in that the reader should

be careful to close his lips completely and say the saakinah clearly with no

partial opening of the lips. The possibility of saying the saakinah with an partial
opening of the lips before these two letters is due to the proximity of the articulation point

of the to the and , as they all use the lips for articulation.

46
TEST YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF THIS SECTION

1. What are the three possible rules of the saakinah?

2. What letter(s) cause which rule?

3. How is the ikhfa’ of the saakinah done in tajweed?

4. Can there be an idghaam of a saakinah within one word? If yes, give an

example, if no, state why.

5. When is it necessary to make extra certain we are pronouncing the

saakinah clearly?

47
 The Ghunnah and its Ranks

The Ghunnah
The ghunnah is defined as: a nasal sound that is emitted from the nose. This is a required

characteristic of the and . The ghunnah cannot be separated from

these two letters and is an inherent part of their makeup.

The ghunnah is not a letter but a characteristic of these two letters, but it has its own
distinct place of articulation.

The ghunnah is articulated from : the hole in the nose that continues back towards inside
the mouth.
It is a nasal sound coming from the nasopharynx without any influence from the tongue.
If you hold your nose closed you will not be able to produce the ghunnah sound, but the
letters themselves that have this associated sound with them are not articulated from the
nose.

The and with a shaddah

Anytime the letters and have a shaddah on them, they are held for a
length of time, and the ghunnah described above is present during the lengthening. A
shaddah represents two of any letter. When the symbol for a shaddah is over any
letter, there are two of that same letter recited, the first with a sukoon, the second with the
vowel written above or under the shaddah mark.

its linguistic definition: It is a sound that is emitted from the nasal passage, without any
function of the tongue.

Its applied definition: A unconditional nasalized sound fixed on the -even if it

is a tanween- and the .

This means that the ghunnah is an inherent sound in the and , whether

the and have a vowel or not.

48
The letters of the ghunnah: The and the . The noon includes the
tanween.

Articulation point of the ghunnah: The opening of the nose that connects with the back
of the mouth (the nasal passage). The fact that the ghunnah is emitted from the nose can
be demonstrated by closing off the nostrils, and trying to emit the sound of the ghunnah.
It is impossible.

Ranks of the ghunnah

There are four levels of the ghunnah:

1. Most Complete

2. Complete

3. Incomplete

4. Most Incomplete

1. Most complete ghunnah ( ) : This is the longest ghunnah. The with

a shaddah and with a shaddah fall into this category, as well as when there is an

(idghaam with a ghunnah) . This means when there is a saakinah or

tanween followed by one of the letters in the " " group, or when there is or a

the ghunnah is given its most complete timing. Examples of these are:

2. Complete ghunnah ( ): This is the second longest ghunnah. The hidden

49
 and ikhfa’ shafawee (hidden )fall into this category. When the

saakinah or saakinah are followed by one of the letters of ikhfa’ the

ghunnah that results from this ikhfa’ is the complete in its timing, but not as long as the
most complete ghunnah. Examples of this are:

3. Incomplete ghunnah ( ): This ghunnah is shorter in timing than the

complete ghunnah. The saakinah and saakinah that are recited

with are in this category of length of ghunnah. Examples are:

4. Most incomplete ghunnah ( ): This is the shortest ghunnah of all. The

and with vowels are in this category of length of ghunnah.

Note: The difference in timing between these different categories of ghunnah is very
minute. Only an experienced reader and listener can tell the difference.
To say the ghunnah with complete technique, it is necessary that the heaviness or

lightness of the letter that follows the of a saakinah is observed during

the ghunnah. If the saakinah or tanween is followed by one of these letters: the
ghunnah then will have tafkheem or in other words, be heavy. This tafkheem will be the
same rank of tafkheem which the next letter will have depending on its vowel, and
whether or not there is an alif after it. The concept of tafkheem and the ranks of
tafkheem will be covered in later lessons, insha’ Allah.

50
 Laam Saakinah

The Saakinah rules (Part1)

The definite article

The definition of the definite article is: It is an extra laam saakinah added to
the basic makeup of the word. This noun is preceded by a hamzah al-wasl

( ) that is read with a fat-hah when starting the word, dropped when

continuing from a previous word. This definite article is like the English word
“the”.

The noun that follows the definite article maybe a regular noun that stands on its

own without the definite article (such as or ), or it maybe

irregular in that it cannot be broken down further from the (such as ).

The of the definite article can precede a noun beginning with any of the Arabic
letters.

When there is the definite article preceding a noun (it only enters nouns) there

are only two possible rules for the :

1.

2.

We will now explain when each of these occurs.

51
The clear pronunciation of the definite article

( of )

If the definite article precedes a noun beginning with any of the fourteen letters in

the group :

The of the definite article is said clearly or with . The of the

definite article is then called .

Examples of this are in the following two words:

The saakinah of the definite article is pronounced clearly in these words. A

reminder: the first letter of the word is a hamzah wasl, and it is only used if we are

starting on the word. If we start a word that has the definite article as the second
letter, we start on the hamzah al-wasl with a fat-hah.

The merging of the definite article ( of )

If the of the definite article “the” precedes any of the fourteen remaining letters

of the Arabic alphabet, there is then an (merging) of the of the definite

article into the next letter. The fourteen letters that merges into are:

. As we know, when there is

an , the two letters merge into one, and the letter that the two merge into acquires

52
a shaddah. In this case then, the letter immediately following the , will have a

shaddah on it. This is called .

Examples of laam shamsiyyah are in the following two words:

In the above cases, the of the definite article “the” is not pronounced at all,

instead the reciter proceeds from the letter before the , which will be the fat-hah
on the hamzah al-wasl if started the word, or the last letter and its accompanying vowel

of the previous word if continuing, to the letter immediately following the . This
letter will have a shaddah on it, so will have two mechanisms of formation: first, collision

( )of the two articulating parts for the saakin part of the shaddah, then separation
( ) of the two articulating parts with the appropriate jaw and mouth movement for
the voweled part of the shaddah.

The Glorious Name of Allah has a shamsiyyah, but it is an example of a word

that cannot be broken down into a noun that stands by itself without the added definite

article .

The Saakinah rules (Part 2)

The saakinah in verbs, nouns, and prepositions/participles

The last lesson described the rules for the saakinah of the definite article “the”

that precedes nouns, when needed. This lesson describes the rules for the

saakinah that occurs in nouns, verbs, and prepositions/participles. This saakinah

can be in the beginning, middle, or end of the word.

53
The general rule for the saakinah in these cases is , or pronounced

clearly. If, however, the saakinah is at the end of a word, no matter what part of

speech it is, and the first letter of the following word is a or a , then there

is merging ( )of the saakinah at the end of the word into the or

at the beginning of the next word.

The only prepositions or particles that have a saakinah are and

Examples of of the saakinah, other than the definite article “the”:

In these above examples, and all similar examples in the Quran where there is a

saakinah followed by any letter other than a or a , the saakinah

is pronounced clearly (with ) and there should be (collision) of the two

articulating parts of the saakinah when articulating it.

Examples of (merging) of the saakinah, other than the definite article

“the”:

54
In these above examples, the saakinah at the end of the word merges into the

next letter, either another or a , so is not pronounced at all. The next

letter acquires a shaddah, which represents a saakin of the letter plus a voweled letter of

the same kind, as previously stated, either a or a .

NOTE: There is no place in the Quran where is followed by

Exception:

There is an exception to the rule in verse 14 of surah Al-Mutaffifeen

In this verse the participle is followed by a ; the first letter of the next
word, but there is no merging, since the reciter Hafs has a breathless pause, or
between these two words. A is a stop without taking a breath, for a period
of time less than that of a normal stop.

TEST YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF THIS SECTION:

1. What is ?

2. What parts of speech does this exist in?

3. What are the possible rules for ? When is each rule used?

4. What is the general rule for other saakinah?

5. When is there another rule for other saakinah?

6. Are there any exceptions to these rules?

55
 Mudood (Lengthenings)

The Mudood (Lengthenings) Part 1

The Lengthening

Its Linguistic definition: Extra

Its Applied definition: Lengthening of the sound with a letter of the medd letters.

The medd letters are in the following three cases:

1. The alif is always in this state, which is an alif saakinah, preceded by a fathah:

2. The saakinah preceded by a kasrah

3. The saakinah preceded by a dhammah:

All three of these medd letters appear in one word in the following examples:

The leen letters:

1. The saakinah preceded by a fat-hah, such as:

2. The saakinah preceded by a fat-hah such as:

The medd is divided into two groups:

1. (The original method)

2. (The secondary method)

56
 The natural lengthening
Its definition – It is the medd (lengthening) that without which the letter cannot exist (the
timing), and it does not stop due to a hamzah or a sukoon.

Its indications – There should not be a hamzah before it, and there should not be a
hamzah or sukoon after it.

It is named original because it is the origin of all mudood (lengthenings). It is called

natural because the person with a natural measure will not increase its measure nor
decrease it.

Its timing – It is lengthened two vowel counts. The timing of each count depends on the
speed of the reciter. Each vowel should be equl in count to the other, and the mudood of
two, four, five and six counts should be equal to that many vowels.

Examples of (the natural lengthening):

All these three words, have natural medd with different medd letters and will have the

timing of two vowel counts. A note, the word has a natural medd as long as
we do not stop on the word. As stated before in the indications of the natural medd there
cannot be a sukoon after the medd letter. If we were to stop on this word, the letter
would acquire a presented sukoon, and the medd would no longer be considered
a natural medd, but would be a different kind of medd, to be discussed in future lessons.

Included in is the group of letters “ which are letters that start

some surahs of the Quran. If any one of these letters is at the beginning of a surah, the

letter is read with two vowel counts. An example of this would be: . Another

example is in the letters and pronounced as in the

opening verse of surah Maryam:

57
That which follows the natural lengthening rules

The following are two different medd (or lengthenings) that follow the count of the

natural medd , meaning they also have two vowel counts.

1. The lesser connective lengthening

2. The substitute lengthening

This lesson will discuss the “lessor connective lengthening”, or .

The lesser connecting medd

It is a medd that comes from the vowel on a (pronoun or possessive pronoun

) which meets the following conditions:

A on the end of a word (last letter) that is not part of the original make up of the
word, representing the singular third person male. It is voweled either with a dhammah
or a kasrah, postioned between two voweled letters, the reader is not stopping on it, and it
is not followed by a hamzah. When all these requirements are met the dhammah on the

(if there is one) becomes lengthened into a lengthened or the kasrah on

the becomes lengthened like a lengthened . When stopping on this

we stop with a regular sukoon, and the two count medd is dropped.

Examples:

In this above phrase from the Quran there are two examples of the lesser connecting
medd. The first example is in the first word. The last letter of the first word is a pronoun

not part of the original word, representing a male third person, located between

two voweled letters (the with a fat-hah before it and the with a fat-hah

58
after), the has a dhammah on it, and not followed by a hamzah. Therefore, if we
read this in continuation with the next word (meaning we do not stop on this word), we

lengthen the dhammah on the so that it becomes the length of a lengthened

, which would be two vowel counts. Please note the small after the

. This tells us that there is an extra .

The second example of the lesser connecting medd is in the third word. Again, it fulfils
all the required conditions of the lesser connecting medd, but this time the possessive

has a kasrah on it. When we read this word in continuum with what follows it,

we lengthen the kasrah so that it becomes a lengthened , getting two vowel

counts. Here, you can also note the symbol denoting a small after the

; it somewhat looks like a lesser sign in mathematics.

If the has a sukoon on it (when continuing and when stopping), there is no

lengthening of the vowel on the . If the letter before, and or after the

has a sukoon, there is no lengthening of the vowel of the .

Exceptions to :

There are only two exceptions to the rule:

The First:

Here there is NO medd of the even though all the conditions are met.

The Second:

59
Here there IS a medd, even though all of the conditions have not been met (there is a

sukoon before the .

This is the way Hafs reads these aayat.

The pronoun of the female noun which means “this” referring to a

female object, follows lesser connecting medd rule if it is between two voweled letters.
As in:

The substitute lengthening

The last lesson mentined that there are two different medd that follow the count of the
natural medd, meaning they have two vowel counts. The first lengthening of this sort,

The lesser Connective Lengthening, or , was described. This lesson

the second of these two lengthenings, The Substitute Lengthening, or will be

explained.

It is substituting a lengthened alif for the tanween with a fath, when stopping on it. The
lengthening is two counts, which means, the length of two vowels, the same as the counts

of , or natural lengthening. This medd takes places whether there is an alif

written after the letter with the tanween or not. When continuing reading and not
stopping on the word that has the tanween with a fath, this lengthening disappears, and
the noon sakinah rules are applied to the tanween. If there is an alif written after the
tanween, it is dropped when continuing.

Examples:

The tanween is usually a sign of a noun, but there are two cases when verbs have a

tanween on them representing the light emphasized , and not part of a noun. The
two places are highlighted in red in the following aaayat.

60
The rule is the same when stopping on these two words; a two vowel count alif is
substituted for the tanween when stopping. When continuing on, these words are recited

with the tanween and the appropriate saakinah rules applied, just as in the
examples of the nouns above.

Exception:

Not included in this medd is , or female . This letter occurs on the

end of nouns, indicates female gender, and is represented in Arabic as: , or when

linked to the letter before it, it looks like: . This letter is always read as a

saakinah when stopping on the word, and is always read as a in the

case of continuing. The written vowel accompanying the is read with the
upon reading it in continuum with the word that follows it. When a noun with a

female has a tanween with a fath on the tanween, the word should be stopped

on with a saakinah and there is no alif substituted for the tanween. This is found

in such words as: and .

The Secondary Medd

Its definition: It is a lengthening that has a longer timing (or the possibility of longer

timing) than that of the natural medd (due to a hamzah or a sukoon ).

The medd letters, without this hamzah or sukoon stand on their normal timing of two
vowel counts.

61
Its indications: The occurrence of a hamzah before or after a medd letter, or a sukoon
after it, regardless if the sukoon is permanent (when continuing and when stopping), or if
the sukoon is a presented one.

It is divided into two groups:

1. The medd due to hamzah

2. The medd due to sukoon

The medd due to hamzah is subdivided into four groups:

1. The Exchange lengthening

2. The required joined lengthening

3. The allowed separated lengthening

4. The greater connective lengthening

The lengthening due to sukoon subdivides into three types:

1. The presented sukoon lengthening

2. The soft lengthening

3. The compulsory lengthening

62
 Medd due to Hamzah

The exchanged medd

Its definition: The letter hamzah precedes any of the three medd letters
Note: The vowel of the medd letter is on the hamzah

Examples:

It is called , which means exchange, because the exchange of a medd letter for a
hamzah. In these three above examples, there is a hamzah followed by a medd letter, and
as noted previously, the vowel that is part of the medd letter is on the hamzah.

These above examples were originally as follows:

As seen these words originally has two hamzas, the first one had a vowel and the second
a sukoon. The second hamzah was changed into a medd letter from the category of the
vowel of the first hamzah. For examples, if the first hamzah has a kasrah the second
hamzah changes into a Ya, and if the first hamzah has a dhammah the second becomes a
Wow. Not all cases of hamzah preceding a medd letter have this origin (two hamzas the
first with a vowel and the second with a sukoon), but we treat all cases of hamzah before
a medd letter as medd al-badl. This medd is lengthened for two counts (or two vowel
lengths) with all of the different types of readers. One of the other readers (not the way
we read) lengthens the medd al-badl 2 or 4 or 6 counts. We therefore lengthen this medd
two counts, as long as a hamzah does not follow it. If a hamzah follows it, we determine
the lengthening according to the stronger of the two reasons rule, which will be explained
later.

Note: This same grammatical rule comes into effect when we start on a verb that has a
hamzah wasl and the second letter of that word is a hamzah saakinah, such as when

starting the word: . This will be covered later inshallah when the hamzah
al-wasl is discussed in depth.

Medd al-badl has four states:

1. That which is observed when continuing and when stopping.

63
 2. That which is observed when continuing, but not when stopping
3. That which is observed when stopping, but not when continuing
4. That which is observed only when beginning with the word.

The Required attached method

Its definition: It occurs when a hamzah follows a medd letter in the same word. It is
called (required) becaused all readers agree that this medd is required. It is called

(joined) due to the attachement of the medd letter and the hamzah to the same
word.

Its rule: It is lengthened four or five vowel counts.

When the hamzah that follows the medd letter is the last letter of the word, and the reader
is stopping on the word (meaning the hamzah now has a presented sukoon), the
lengthening can be four or five counts, as mentioned, or six counts. The reader who
lengthens this medd six counts when stopping on the hamzah is stopping on

NOT . This medd will be explained in a few more

lessons, and the concept of two different medd at the same time will be discussed.

Examples of :

In these words, again there is a medd letter, in the first example the medd letter is an alif,

in the second a . Both these medd letters are followed by a hamzah, which
happens to be the last letter of the word. If we stop on this word, we can lengthen the

medd four or five counts for the required attached medd , OR we can
lengthen the medd 6 counts as a different medd, the presented sukoon lengthening
.

Note:
There are some copies of the Quran that do not write in hamzahs on alifs, instead the alif
is written with a vowel over it. These are really hamzahs. Any time there is a vowel on
an alif, it is a hamzah. An example of this kind of script is:

64
The separate allowed lengthening
Its definition: It occurs when a medd letter is the last of a word, and a hamzah qata’ is

the first letter of the next word. It is called (allowed) because of the permissibility
of a short count of two, as well as its lengthening with some readers. It is called

(separate) due to the separation of the medd letter and hamzah, meaning they are
in separate words, but next to each other.

Its rule: Its lengthening is of the measure of four or five vowel counts, the way we are
teaching to read, which is Hafs. Two vowel counts for this lengthening are not
allowed in this way of reading.

Examples:

When stopping on the word that has the medd letter at the end of it, the reader stops with
the natural two count lengthening since the hamzah in the next word is the
reason for lengthening to four or five counts, and the reason is no longer present when
stopping on the first word.

NOTE: in some words such as used for calling, or for drawing attention, the
medd letter is written joined together with the following word. When the next word
begins with a hamzah, this may be confusing when trying to ascertain whether the medd

is or . The reader needs to know that (for

calling) and what follows it are two separate words; and the same can be said for

65
 (drawing attention) and what follows it. For example, the for calling in:

is a separate word from the name “Ibraheeem”, and the for drawing

attention in is a separate word from the second word. In this second

example, , there are two lengthenings, the first is the allowed separate

lengthening with the for drawing attention ending in a medd

letter, and the first letter of the next word (which happens to be joined) a hamzah. There

is also the required attached lengthening at the end of the second

word, because there is a medd letter, , followed by a hamzah in the same word.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: The and must be

both four counts or both five counts. It is not allowed to mix the medd counts! There is
no valid way of reading that does differently than this.

The greater connecting lengthening

Its definition: If the pronoun/possessive pronoun representing a third person

male gender is at the end of a word (meaning not part of the original make up
of the word) and it has a vowel of a dhammah or a kasrah, is between two voweled

letters, and the first letter of the next word is a hamzah, the dhammah on the

pronoun/possessive pronoun is lengthened into a , or the kasrah is

lengthened into a and it can be lengthened four or five counts. As stated above
in the allowed separate lengthening, there is a known way of reading that also allows two
counts for the lengthening, but this not the way that is being taught here.

This lengthening has the same requirements as the lesser connecting lengthening

, except in this case there is a hamzah as the first letter of the next

word following the pronoun/possessive pronoun whereas, in the lessor

66
connecting lengthening there cannot be a hamzah as the first letter of
the next word after the pronoun/possessive pronoun.

This medd follows the allowed separated lengthening , he/she must use

the same amount for this lengthening. The second in the word follows the same
(or the pronoun ha) rules as in this medd.

Examples:

Lengthening caused by sukoon

The previous few lessons explained the different lengthenings caused by hamzah. This
lessons starts a new subsection in the lengthenings, that of a lengthening caused by a
sukoon. Two types of lengthenings caused by a presented (or temporary) sukoon will be
explained in this lesson. The next type of lengthening caused by permanent or fixed
sukoon will be explained in the future lessons.

The lengthening with a presented Sukoon

Its definition: This medd occurs when there is only one letter after one of the three
medd letters, it is the last letter of the word, this last letter has any vowel on it, and we are
stopping on the last letter with a presented sukoon.

Just a reminder: The three medd letters are alif with a fath before it, the

saakinah with a kasrah before it, and the saakinah with a dhammah
before it. It is called presented sukoon because the sukoon is presented on the letter when
stopping on it, otherwise the letter is read with its vowel.

Note: if the last letter is a hamzah there are then two medd in one and

67
Its rule: It is permitted to lengthen this medd two, or four, or six counts when stopping
on it. When not stopping on it, the last letter is read with a vowel and the medd letter is

lengthened two vowel counts, the normal measure for or natural lengthening.

Examples:

The soft lengthening

Its definition: It occurs when a “leen” letter ( or with a sukoon, preceded

by a letter with a fathah) is followed by one letter only in the same word and we stop on
the last letter in the word with a presented sukoon.

Its rule: It is allowed to lengthen this medd two, four or six vowel counts when stopping
on the word. When continuing reading (not stopping on this word), there is a slight
lengthening of the “leen” letter, referred by the scholars as “ ” which is less than
two vowel counts, but longer than one vowel count.

Examples:

The difference between and

Its letters Two letters: only The three medd letters: alif and

the and and

68
Types of letters “Leen” letters: Meddletters: Alif saakinah with a fat-

and h before it saakinah with a

saakinah kasrah before it saakinah with a
with a fat-h dhammah before it
before them
Its state when Shorter than the The medd letters are lengthened two
continuing natural medd, but vowel counts, the natural measure of
longer than one the letter
vowel count

The presented sukoon lengthening is stronger than the .

If the weaker of the two precedes the stronger in a phrase,

the stronger should then be the same length or longer in length than the weaker. An
example of this is in the following aayah:

When we stop at the word , we stop with the soft lengthening ( ). This
“leen” lengthening can be lengthened two, four, and six counts. Three words later, if we

stop on the last word of the aayah , we stop with a presented sukoon
lengthening that must be equal to the selected length of the “leen” medd or stronger. If

for example we stop on the word with two vowel counts, we can stop on the

word with our choice of 2, 4 or 6 counts, since all are equal to or greater than
the two vowel counts we used for the “leen” lengthening. If however, we stop on the

“leen” lengthening on the word with four vowel counts, we can only stop on the

word with the presented sukoon lengthening with either four or six vowel
counts.

69
When the stronger sukoon medd which is the presented sukoon lengthening

precedes the weaker soft lengthening the weaker medd

then must be equal or less in length than the stronger one. An example of this is in the
aayah:

If we stop on the word there is a presented sukoon lengthening, since there is an

alif before the last letter, and we put a presented sukoon on the last letter when stopping.

We can stop on the presented sukoon lengthening with two, four or

six vowel counts. A second place to stop in this aayah is on the word . There

is a saakinah preceded by a fath making a “leen” letter and this is followed by

only one letter. When stopping on this word, we put a presented sukoon on the last letter
of the word in this case , and now have a soft lengthening . The “leen”
lengthening must be equal to or less than the presented sukoon lengthening. If we stop

on the word with four vowel counts, we can only stop on the word with

two or four vowel counts. If we stop on the word with two vowel counts, we can

only stop on the word with two counts. Lastly, if we choose to stop on the

word with six vowel counts, we then can stop on the word with two,
four of six vowel counts, since all are equal to or less to the six vowel counts we used for

the presented sukoon lengthening on the word

The compulsory Medd

Its definition: An original (or fixed) sukoon is positioned after a medd letter, in a word
or a letter. By original it is meant that the sukoon is part of the original make up of the
word, and is present when continuing the reading and when stopping.

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Its division: is divided into two groups:

1. The compulsory word lengthening

2. The compulsory letter lengthening

Each of these two division is further divided into two more divisions. We therefore,
have four divisions of the

1. The compulsory heavy lengthening in a word

2. The compulsory light lengthening in a word

3. The compulsory heavy lengthening in a letter

4. The compulsory light lengthening in a letter

We will explain the first two (the compulsory heavy word lengthening and the compulsory
light word lengthening) this lesson, and the next two in the next lesson.

The compulsory heavy lengthening in a word

Its definition: It is when an original sukoon (the letter has a shaddah on it) comes after a
medd letter in a word.

The word heavy refers to the shaddah. A shaddah indicates two letters of the same,
the first one with a sukoon, and the second with the vowel that is accompanying the

shaddah. The two letters have merged ( )into each other, and hence the shaddah.

It is called due to the permanent, or original sukoon found when the reader stops
or continues, or because all readers agree that this lengthening must be six vowel counts.

It is called due to the fact that the medd letter is one word.

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Examples:

The compulsory light lengthening in a word

Its definition: It occurs when an original sukoon that is not merged (no shaddah on it),

follows a medd letter in a word. The word light comes from ( )the letter not
being merged. This refers to the letter with the sukoon that follows the medd letter.

Places of this lengthening: There are only two places of occurrence in one word of this
kind of lengthening in the Quran.

Its measure: six vowel counts.

The compulsory lengthening in a letter

The separate letters that begin some surahs

The letters that begin some of the surahs of the Quran are fourteen in number. These
fourteen letters are found in the phrase:

These letters are divided into four groups:

1. That which has no medd at all: This refers to the alif as it has no medd letter in
it.

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 2. That which has a medd of two counts: The letters in this category can be found

in the phrase: “ ” meaning the letters are recited as

when found in the letters that sometimes begin a surah, and are
lengthened two counts. When these letters are written out as above, they consist
of only two letters, and are of the natural medd.

3. That which has a medd of six vowel counts: The rest of the letters from the
fourteen that start some of the Quran fall into this category. These letters are

seven in number, and can be found in the phrase: “ ”. All are

lengthened six counts. The letters of the group are categorized into
two groups:

- The light compulsory lengthening in a letter

- The heavy compulsory lengthening in a letter

The category that the letter falls into depends on whether it is merged into the next letter,
or not.

The Heavy Compulsory The Light Compulsory Lengthening in a

Lengthening in a letter letter

A. The letter when written out A. The letter when written out consists of
consists of three letters three letters

B. The middle of the three letters B. The middle of the three letters is a
is a medd letter medd letter

C. A merged letter follows the C. A saakin letter follows the medd

medd letter, meaning that the third letter, but it is not merged with the letter that
letter is merged with the letter that

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follows it. comes after it

4. The “ ”: The can be lengthened four or six vowel counts, according to

the rules of the way we read. This is due to the fact that the as s separate
letter of an opening to a surah is found at the beginning of surah

Maryam and the beginning of surah Ash-

Shooraa

The compulsory light lengthening in a letter

Its definition: The letters of the group “ ”are each individually read as a
three letter word, the middle letter being a medd letter, and the third letter having an

original (or permanent) sukoon. The determiner of the letter being or is

the last letter and whether it merges with the first letter of the next three letter word or

not. In the case of the letter, it is not merged with what comes next. This is

why it is called . This medd is lengthened six vowel counts.

Examples:

In this example we can see that the when written out consists of three letters; the
last letter, middle letter is a medd letter alif has a sukoon on it, and is followed by a

, does not merge into and therefore it is called

The compulsory heavy lengthening in a letter

Its definition: This type of lengthening occurs when a letter of the “ ”group
of letter that begin some of the surahs, has the last letter of the three letter word

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representing the individual letter, merging into the letter that comes after it. This is the
reason for it being called heavy. This medd has a required lengthening of six counts.

Examples:

In this example, we find two letter, the and the that consist of three letters.

The has a medd letter as the middle letter, then followed by a letter that is a

sakinah, but merged with the first letter of the next spelled out letter. The

is then. The does not have its third letter merging with

what comes next (there is none after the meem), so it is

Summary of different medd in the letters that begin some surahs

No Two count Follower of the

medd natural leen medd
medd
Four or six vowel
Merged ( ) Not counts
merged ( )

Six vowel counts

The different separate letters that are found at the beginning of some surahs appear in the
following combinations:

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 Stronger of the two cases
This is the last section in the mudod (lengthenings) category. In it we discuss which
medd (lengthening) we choose when two different types of lengthenings share the same
medd letter.

We learned that the Secondary Lengthening ( )is due to two causes:

1. The hamzah
2. The sukoon

The lengthening due to a hamzah are three kinds:

1. The exchange lengthening ( )

2. The Required Joined Lengthening ( )

3. The Allowed Separated Lengthening ( )

The medd due to a sukoon is of two kinds:

1. The Presented Sukoon Lengthening ( )

2. The Compulsory Lengthening ( )

The leen is considered a branch of the presented sukoon lengthening. These lengthenings
have various degrees of strength and weakness. The strongest is the compulsory

lengthening ( ), the second strongest is the required joined lengthening

( ), the next the presented sukoon lengthening

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( ), then separated allowed lengthening ( ), and
the weakest the exchange lengthening ( ).

The rule of the stronger of the two causes for a lengthening

If two reasons for lengthening are present in one medd letter, there must be one stronger
than the other. In this case the weak medd is left, and we use the stronger of the two.

Example 1:

In this word, there is a hamzah before the medd letter ( ) this is therefore an

exchange lengthening ( ). This same medd letter is followed by a shaddah,

meaning a sukoon, so we also have the compulsory lengthening ( ), we use that

medd and do not use the exchange lengthening. This medd is lengthened six counts, that
of the compulsory lengthening.

Example 2:

In this example a hamzah precedes a medd letter ( ), so there is an exchange

lengthening ( ). The same medd letter is followed by a hamzah in the same

word, so there is also a required joined lengthening ( ). Both of these

medd share the same medd letter, the alif, and since the stronger of the two lengthenings
is the required joined lengthening, we apply that lengthening and not the exchange
lengthening. This medd is therefore lengthened four or five vowel counts. When
stopping on this same medd, or any word that has a hamzah at the end of it after a medd
letter, we have three different possibilities:

If the reader is reading the required joined lengthening, , four counts,

he can stop on this medd four. Four counts would lead to a medd with two causes, which
would be, the required joined lengthening ( ) and the presented sukoon
lengthening ( ).Stopping on this word with six vowel counts would be

allowed only if all of were being lengthened six vowel counts

and then only the presented sukoon lengthening would be the
reason for this lengthening.

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If the reader is reading the required joined lengthening ( ) with five
vowel counts, he can stop on this with five vowel counts. Stopping on five vowel counts

would be employing only the required joined lengthening ( ). It is

forbidden to stop on this word using the present sukoon

lengthening ( ) with two vowel counts. This is due to the rule of

the stronger of the two lengthenings ( ), and since the required joined
lengthening is stronger than the the presented sukoon lengthening, the lesser count on the
presented sukoon lengthening cannot be used.

Example 3:

In the above example, the hamzah precedes a medd letter, indicating an exchange

lengthening ( ). This medd is at the end of the word, and the first letter of the

next word is a hamzah, so the allowed separated lengthening ( ) is

also using this same medd letter, which is an alif. In this case, when continuing reading,

and the allowed separated lengthening ( ) is employed, so we

lengthen this medd 4, or 5 counts (by the way we read). If is lengthened two vowel
counts, then the medd is shared, and both the allowed separated lengthening and the
exchange lengthening are considered to be in use at the same time. When stopping on the

first word only the exchange lengthening ( ) is used, since the hamzah that
begins the second word is not being read, and there is therefore no allowed separate

lengthening ( ) is used.

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 The Mechanism of the formation of letter (Part 1)
The Qur’an consists of 114 surahs; each surah consists of a number of aayat; each aayah
consists of a number of words, and each word consists of different letters. We can
therefore state that the smallest unit in the make-up of the Qur’an is the letter.

Scholars studied letters from the standpoint of articulation points and characteristics of
the letters when pronouncing a letter. If the Qur’an reader pronounces each letter from its
proper articulation point, with all of each letter’s characteristics, and can read each letter
properly alone, and in conjunction with other words, he then has achieved high quality in
reading the Qur’an.

The definition of letter: It is a sound that depends on a defined part or an approximate

part (of articulation). To understand the definition of a letter we need to understand what
sound is.

The Definition of sound: It is vibration and waves in the layers of air that reaches
the human ears. If the air vibrates with a vibration that reaches human hearing levels,
then this vibration is called sound.

Human ears hear sound in the range of 20-20,000 hertz. A hertz is vibrations per second.
If the frequency of sound vibrations is higher or lower than this we cannot hear it. An
example of this is ultrasound. Air vibrates normally in nature in many ways, four
different ways that can produce audible waves are:

7. Strong collision of two bodies. An example of this is clapping of the hands.

8. Parting of two bodies from each other, and between them there is a strong bond. An
example of this is tearing paper.

9. Vibration of a body. For example, a tuning fork.

10. Strong friction of an object on another object. This could be exemplified by dragging a
heavy box on asphalt.

The Articulating Mechanism that Allah, the Exalted, Gave Humans

Human articulation uses some of the previous mentioned methods of causing sound in
voweled and non-voweled letters. The following explains how the sound of the letters is
formed in human articulation.

1. Non-Voweled letters

A. It occurs by the collision ( ) of two components of the

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 articulation parts. There is no accompanying jaw or mouth movement
that occurs with voweled letters. This is for all non-voweled letters
except the medd and leen letters, and the qalqalah letters. An example is

. The meem occurs by collision of the two lips.

B. It occurs by vibration of the vocal cords in the throat and does

not occur by a collision between two components the articulation parts.
This is only for the medd and leen letters (when there is a medd leen).
The medd and leen letters (when there is a medd leen) do have
accompanying movement of the mouth and jaw. The lengthened alif is
accompanied by the opening of the mouth. The lengthened is

accompanied by a circling of the lips. The lengthened is

accompanied by the lowering of the jaw. An example can be found in the

two joined words or the word . The sound of the

medd letters comes from vibration of the vocal cords, with the
accompanying mouth and jaw movement.

The Mechanism of the formation of letters

(Part 2)
2. Voweled letters

Voweled letters occur by the parting ( ) of two components of the

articulating parts. The sound of all letters occurs like this when voweled.
Accompanying the parting of the articulation bodies is the appropriate mouth
and jaw movements for the written vowel.
a) Opening of the mouth. This occurs with a fat-h
b) Circling of the lips. This happens with a dhammah.
c) Lowering of the jaw. This happens with a kasrah.

An example is in the following:

occurs by the separation of the two lips and the opening of the mouth.

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 occurs by the separation of the two lips and the circling of the lips.

occurs by the separation of the two lips and the lowering of the bottom
jaw.
All vowels must sound like a shortened version of its origin. The alif is the origin of

the fat-h, the long is the origin of the dhammah, and the long is
the origin of the kasrah. The reader must be careful not to pronounce these vowels
incorrectly, such as when the kasrah is pronounced in between a kasrah and a fat-
hah. Some readers mistakenly open the sides of the mouth for a fat-hah instead of
opening the mouth vertically; the result of this mistake is called imaalah, which
means tilting. Other readers do not make a complete circle of their lips for a
dhammah and the resulting sound is like that of the English “O”. Another mistake
readers may make is not lowering the jaw completely for the kasrah, and the resulting
sound is that of a short i. We should not let our mouths be lazy; the correct way of
pronouncing vowels need more mouth and jaw action than the incorrect way. The
vowel and letter formation is one of the most important items of research in the
knowledge of tajweed because it is linked to all 29 letters of Arabic. We must be
careful to pronounce these vowel sounds correctly and at the same time be careful not

to put a vowel on a saakinah letter. For example the word: The has

a dhammah, the a sukoon, the second a dhammah, and the

a sukoon. We have to be sure to say the dhammah on the , then

return our mouths to a neutral position for the , then make a dhammah for

the second , then back to a neutral position for the . This takes
practice in the mirror to accomplish the mouth movement in the proper sequence.
The most common mistake in a word like this is leaving the mouth in a dhammah for
the letters that have a sukoon on them. The resultant sound is like half a dhammah
instead of the pure sukoon sound required. This is even more pertinent when the

letter is a qalqalah letter, such as is the case of the when it has a sukoon on
it. The qalqalah should have no vowel sound accompanying it. The mechanism of
the qalqalah will be covered in future lessons, insha’ Allah.

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 The Qalqalah Mechanism
To understand this lessons, please make sure you have read and understood the two
lessons on the mechanism of articulation of letters. Letters other than the three medd
letters which have no vowels are produced by collision ( ) of the two components
of the articulating parts. Voweled letters on the other hand are produced by parting of the
two components of the articulating parts.

The medd and leen letters are produced by vibration of the vocal cords. Letters are
divided into three groups when categorized according to the length of running of their
sound.

1. Letters of strength ( )

The sound does not run at all when these letters are articulated without a vowel
(saakinah), the articulation point is completely closed when a letter of this group is
saakin. There are eight letters in this group. They are the letters in the phrase:

2. Letters in between ( )

These letters are pronounced with sound running in between the characteristic of

imprisonment in the letters and the running of sound in the letters. The
letters of this group are five in number:

3. Letters of softness ( )

These letters have clear and obvious running of the sound when they are articulated
without a vowel. Examples are in the following three saakin letters that are in the

category of : . Each of these three letters in the example should

have a running of the sound, longer than saakin letters of the other two groups. The

letters of this group are all the letters remaining when taking out the letters of and
.

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The Qalqalah

The letters of qalqalah are in the group , group of letters. If these letters
are all in the group we attempt to say one of these five qalqalah letters with a sukoon, we
would find that the articulation point closes completely, and that it causes an annoyance
in the articulation mechanism. This is due to imprisonment of the sound behind the
articulation point. When these same five letters have vowels, we do not find this
annoyance because voweled letters are pronounced parting of the two components of the
articulating parts.

The Arabs, due to the annoyance and difficulty in pronouncing these five letters when
saakinah, have violated the rule that saakinah letters are articulated by collision between
the two articulating bodies of articulation. Instead, these letters are articulated by
separation of the two articulating parts of articulation the same as voweled letters, but
without any corresponding movement of the mouth and jaw that is associated with
voweled letters.

Chart comparing the to voweled letters and non-voweled letters

Voweled letters Qalqalah letters Saakinah letters
when saakinah

The are emitted by The are emitted by The are emitted by

separation ( ) of the separation ( ) of collision ( ) of
two parts of articulation the two parts of the two parts of
articulation articulation

Accompanying Nothing (no mouth or Nothing accompanies

movement: jaw movement) it(no mouth or jaw
1. Opening of the accompanies it movement)
mouth (for the fat-h)
2. Circling of the
mouth for the dhammah
3. Lowering of the
jaw for the kasrah

From this chart we can see that a qalqalah letter is similar to a saakin letter, in that there
is no accompanying jaw and mouth movement with it. On the other hand, it is unlike the
saakin letter in that the qalqalah is articulated by separation ( )of the two parts of
articulation. The qalqalah letter is similar to the voweled letter since they both are

83
articulated separation ( ) of the two parts of articulation, but unlike it since the
qalqalah has no accompanying jaw and mouth movement and the voweled letter does.

The definition of qalqalah is as follows:

Its linguistic definition: shaking, disturbance

Its applied definition: Disturbance of the letter when it is in the state of being non-
voweled until a strong accent is heard when it is articulated by parting of the two
components of the articulating parts, not by collision, without accompanying it any
opening of the mouth, or circling of the lips, or lowering of the jaw.

A very important note: The qalqalah does not resemble a fat-h or a dhammah or a
kasrah. It does not follow the vowel of the preceding letter, nor the following letter.
If the qalqalah letters have a shaddah indicating merging of two of the same letter
( ), the first letter of the shaddah (which is saakin) is then articulated by collision, or

. For example: and . If we are stopping on the first

word in the previous example, the first of the word is pronounced

by collision, or , and the second is recited with a qalqalah.

This means that the qalqalah is pronounced with without any accompanying mouth

and jaw movement. The of the word would be the same as

the in the word .

The Qalqalah is divided into two classes: The Lesser and Greater Qalqalah

The Lesser Qalqalah : This occurs when the qalqalah in is the middle of a
word, or at the end of a word, and we are not stopping on that word. In this case we say

the qalqalah, and immediately proceed to the next letter, or word. i.e. and

The Greater Qalqalah : This happens when the qalqalah is the last letter of

a word, and we are stopping on that word. For example:

The difference between the two divisions is that there is more of a ring to the greater
qalqalah because we are stopping on it, than there is on the lesser qalqalah.

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