'Beaut ify t he Qur'an w it h your voices ( for a fine voice increas es t he Qur'an in beaut y)'.

Bukhari
 The Sifaat of the letters ( ‫)ﺻِﻔَﺎﺕ ﺍﻟﺤﺮﻭﻑ‬
Sifaat refers to the c harac teris tic (s ) of the letter

Def init ion :the way in whic h a letter is artic ulated that differentiates it
from others . T he purpos e of thes e c harac teris tic s is to dis tinguis h the
letters that s hare the s ame artic ulation points (makhaarij).

But why do we need s ifaat when we already know the origin of the letter
(makhraj)?

M akhaarij only provides information as to where the s ound of the letter

c omes from, whereas s ifaat provides extra information with regards to
the c harac teris tic s of the letter in order to produc e the c orrec t s ound.

T his s ec tion will further explain this :

Sifaat is of two types :

1 . Sifaat WI T H oppos ite (c omplement)

2 . Sifaat WI T H O U T oppos ites (non- c omplement)

SIFAAT WITH OPPOSITES

O ppos ite
H ems J ahr

(whis pered) (voic ed)

Shiddah Rakhaawa

(s oftnes s )
(explos ive)

I N BE T WE E N T awas s ut
I tbaaq I nfitaah

(c los ed) (opened)

I thlaaq I s maat

(flowing, eas e of exit) (s harply pronounc ed)

G los s ary
I s talaa / T afkheem I s tifaal /T arqeeq
Site M ap
(elevated) (depres s ed, low)
Search Site

Hems (whispered)

Def init ion: weak or s light continuation of breath (whis pering, expuls ion of
air) upon pronunc iation of the letter when it c arries a SU KO O N

T he quality of hems is found in the following 1 0 letters whic h are

 c alled mahmuus ah ‫ﻣﻬﻣُﻮﺳَﺔ‬

E xamples of H ems

T he whis pering is als o pres ent when the letter has a harakaat
(other than s ukoon), but it is not as s trong (it is more of a natural
hems whereas when it c arries a s ukoon you have to emphas ize the
hems more)

E .g َ‫ﻑﻑِﻑ‬
ُ ( ) E .g َ‫ﺙﺙِﺙ‬
ُ ( )

H owever, the letters and O N L Y have hems when they c arry

a s ukoon (as they c arry another c harac teris tic , s hiddah)

E .g َ‫ﺕُﺕِﺕ‬ ( ) E .g َ‫ﻙﻙِﻙ‬
ُ ( )

A L WA Y S has s trong hems , whatever the harakaat

E .g َ‫ﺱﺱِﺱ‬
ُ ( )

C lic k 'here' to view prac tic e exerc is es for the rules of Hems

Jahr (Opposite of Hems)

Def init ion: the s toppage of breath upon pronunc iation of a letter when it
c arries a SU KO O N

T his is ac hieved by s topping the air flow at the makhraj of the

letter
T he quality of jahr are found in the remaining letters whic h are

c alled majhuurah ( ‫ﻣَﺠْﻬُﻮﺭَﺓ‬ )

E xamples of J ahr

Shiddah (Explosive/Strength)

T his c ategory has an in- between as well as an oppos ite

Def init ion: s trong s toppage of the s ound upon pronunc iation of the letter
when it c arries a S A KO O N
 T his is ac hieved by relying s trongly on the makhraj or by
c ons tric ting it
T he quality of s hiddah is found in the following letters whic h are

‫ﺷَﺪِﻳْﺪَﺓ‬
c alled s hadiidah ( )

the quality of s hiddah is to pronounc e forc efully, that when

pronounc ed, the s ound of the letter will be H A RD , and the s ound of
the letter will end off in the makhraj

Rakhaawa (Opposite of Shiddah)

Def init ion: the continuation of s ound upon pronunc iation of the letter
when it c arries a S A KO O N , in a s oft and gentle manner

thes e letters are neither s hiddah nor tawas s ut

rakhaawa is the c ontinuation of SO U N D whereas hems is the

c ontinuation of BRE A T H

Tasawwut (in-betw een Rakhaawa and Shiddah)

Def init ion: this is moderation between the previous two. T he s ound of
the letter is not c ut off nor allowed to c ontinue.

T he quality of tawas s ut is found in the following 5 letters whic h are

c alled mutawas s itah ( ‫ﻣُﺘَﻮَﺳِّﻄَﺔ‬ )

E .g (9 7 :1 ) E .g (1 :7 )

Itbaaq (closed)

Def init ion: contact between the bac k of the tongue and the upper palate
of the mouth.

T his c harac teris tic is nec es s ary no matter what harakaat (not jus t
when it c arries a s akoon)
T he quality of itbaaq is to pronounc e in a c los ed and c overed
manner. T hat is , during pronunc iation, the tongue is elevated to
s uc h an extent that it c overs the palate and the mouth remains
nearly c los ed
T he quality of itbaaq is found in the following letters whic h are

c alled mutbaqah ( ‫ﻣُﻄْﺒَﻘّﺔ‬ )

E .g َ‫ﺹﺹِﺹ‬
ُ ( ) E .g َ‫ﻁُﻁِﻁ‬ ( )
Infitaah (Opposite to Itbaaq)

Def init ion: s eparation of the tongue from the upper palate, thus
pronounc ing in an opened manner.

T he quality of infitaah is to pronounc e in an opened manner. T hat

is , during pronunc iation, the tongue does not c over the palate and
the mouth remains open
T he quality of infitaah are found in the remaining letters and are

c alled munfatihah ( ‫ﻣُﻨْﻔَﺘِﺤَﺔ‬ )

E .g َ‫ﺏُﺏِﺏ‬ ( ) E .g َ‫ﻥﻥ‬
ِ‫ﻥ‬ُ ( )

for s ome of thes e letters , the tongue may be rais ed, but ac tual
c ontac t will not oc c ur (refer to is ta'ala)

Ithlaaq

Def init ion: the s peed of whic h the letters are pronounc ed bec aus e of the
eas e of the makhraj.

T he quality of ithlaaq is to pronounc e in a s mooth and eas y

manner
T he quality of ithlaaq is found in the following letters whic h are

c alled mudhlaqah ( ‫ﻣُﺬْﻟَﻘَﺔ‬ )

T he area of pronunc iation of thes e letters , that is , the edge of the

tongue or the edge of the mouth namely the lips , c an be
c ons idered as fac tors c ontributing to the s mooth and eas y manner
of pronunc iation

Ismaat (opposite to ithlaaq)

Def init ion: to pronounc e in a heavy manner.

D uring pronunc iation, a c ertain amount of effort is required.

T he quality of is maat is found in the remaining letters whic h are

c alled mus matah ( ‫ﻣُﺼﻤَﺘَﺔ‬ )

Ista'ala / tafkheem (elevated)

Def init ion: the elevation of the bac k of the tongue to the bac k roof of the
mouth upon pronunc iation of the letter, no matter what harakaat.

D uring pronunc iation, the bac k of the tongue is rais ed towards the
upper palate. T his will produc e a thic k, round s ound
T hes e are known as full mouth / thic k letters and are thus
 pronounc ed with a full mouth
T he quality of is t'ala is found in the following s even letters whic h

are c alled mus ta'liyah ( ‫ﻣُﺴْﺘَﻌْﻠِﻴَﺔ‬ )

For is ta'ala the tongue is jus t RA I SE D , whereas for itbaaq it

ac tually makes C O N T A C T
T he elevation is les s when thes e letters c arry a

E .g َ‫ﻕُ ﻕِ ﻕ‬ ( ) E .g َ‫ﻍ ﻍ‬
ِ ‫ﻍ‬
ُ ( )

E xamples of I s ta'la /T afkheem

C lic k 'here' to view prac tic e exerc is es for the rules of I s ta'ala
/ Tafkheem

Tarqeeq (opposite to Tafkheem)

Def init ion: the lowering or depres s ing of the bac k of the tongue away
from the roof of the mouth upon pronunc iation of the letter.

D uring pronunc iation, the tongue is not rais ed, but kept downward
in its normal pos ition. T his downward pos ition will c aus e a flat
s ound
T hes e are als o known as empty- mouth / thin letters and are thus
pronounc ed with an empty mouth
T he quality of is tifaal is found in the remaining letters whic h are

c alled mus tafilah ( ‫ﻣُﺴْﺘَﻔِﻠَﺔ‬ )

C lic k here to view a printable c hart depic ting the qualities of SI FA A T

WI T H O P P O SI T E S

SIFAAT WITHOUT OPPOSITES

1 Safeer (whis tling s ound)

‫ﺻَﻔِﻴﺮ‬
( )

2
Q alqalah (ec hoing /
bounc ing s ound) ‫ﻗَﻠﻘَﻠﺔ‬
( )

3 L een (s oft s ound)

‫ﻟِﻴْﻦ‬
( )

4 I nhiraaf (inc lined s ound)

‫ﺇِﻧْﺤِﺮﺍﻑ‬
( )
5 T akreer (repeated s ound)
(‫ﺗَﻜْﺮِﻳﺮ‬ )

6
T afs h- s hee (s preading
s ound) (‫ﺗَﻔَﺸِّﻲ‬ )

7
I s titaalah (elongated
s ound) (‫ﺇِﺳْﺘِﻄﺎﻟﺔ‬ )

Safeer (whistling sound)

Def init ion: I t is a s ound s imilar to that of a bird, bee whic h c an be

des c ribed as either a buzzing or whis tling s ound

T he letter always has this s ound no matter what harakaat, though

the s afeer bec omes s tronger when it c arries a S A KO O N
T he quality of s afeer is found in the following 3 letters whic h are

c alled s afeerah ( ‫ﺻَﻔِﻴﺮﺓ‬ )

E xamples of Safeer

C lic k 'here' to view prac tic e exerc is es for the rules of Safeer

Qalqalah (bouncing / echoing sound)

Def init ion: to pronounc e with an ec hoing or bounc ing s ound when the
letter c arries a SU KO O N only.

A c harac teris tic of this s ifa is the quic k movement of the tongue
or lips upon artic ulation
T he quality of qalqalah is found in the five following letters when

they c arry a s ukoon and are c alled muqalqalah ( ‫ﻣُﻘَﻠﻘَﻠﺔ‬ )

T his letter c an either be in the middle or end of a word (as a res ult
of a s top)
Sinc e an additional s ound is being made, c are mus t be taken that
the s aakin letter s hould not s ound doubled (mus haddad) or
vowelled (mutaharrik)

E .g (1 1 1 :1 )

T he qalqalah is nec es s ary for thes e letters bec aus e they have the
attributes of jahr (s toppage of the flow of breath) and s hiddah
(s toppage of the flow of s ound), s o without qalqalah, there would
be no s ound!

T here are 2 types :

a. Sughrah (minor)
b. Kubrah (major)
Sughrah (minor)

T he qalqalah letter will appear either in the middle or end of a word, but
the reader will c ontinue the rec itation and will not s top on it

E .g (1 0 8 :3 )

Kubrah (major)

I f the qalaqalah letter appears at the end of a word and the reader s tops
on it (for whatever reas on), the qalqalah s ound is at its c leares t /
s tronges t

E .g (1 0 9 :3 )

E xamples of Q alqalah

C lic k 'here' to view prac tic e exerc is es for the rules of

Qalqalah

Leen (dipthong / easiness)

Def init ion: A manner of artic ulation that s eeks an eas y pronunc iation.

T he quality of leen is found in the following 2 letters when they

c arry a s akoon and the letter before it c arries a Fattah. T hey are

c alled layyinah ( ‫ﻟﻴِّﻨَﺔ‬ )

'A y' s ound 'O w' s ound

T he pronunc iation has to be for the duration of 2 c ounts

E xamples of L een

C lic k 'here' to view prac tic e exerc is es for the rules of Leen

Inhiraaf (inclined sound)

Def init ion: the leaning of the tongue away from its makhraj until it nears
another makhraj.

T his quality is found in 2 letters and are c alled munharifah

‫ﻣُﻨْﺤَﺮِﻓَﺔ‬
( )

,
 T herefore, the is pronounc ed with an inc lination towards the
makhraj of the and vic e vers a
T his is more of a c aution than a rule

E xamples of I nhiraaf

Takreer (to repeat)

Def init ion: the quality of takreer is to pronounc e in a repeated manner

T he quality of takreer is found in one letter and it is c alled

mukarrarah ( ‫ﻣُﻜَﺮّﺭَﺓ‬ )

T herefore, while the is being pronounc ed from its makhraj,

naturally the tongue makes a s light vibration produc ing a repeated
s ound (i.e. rolling of the tongue). C are mus t be taken to avoid
exaggeration of the vibration, otherwis e ins tead of a s ingle there
may be 2 or ins tead of a double (mus haddad ),there may be
many
T his is more of a c aution than a rule - takreer s hould be avoided

E xamples of T akreer

Tafash-shee (spreading sound)

Def init ion: to pronounc e a letter with the filling of the mouth with air
allowing the s ound to s pread greatly over the mouth.

T he quality o tafas h- s hee is found in the letter and it is c alled

mutafas h- s hiyah ( ‫ﻣُﺘَﻔَﺸِّﻴَﺔ‬ )

T his is ac tually a natural c harac teris tic of the , and the filling
of the mouth with air applies whatever the harakaat. H owever, it is
s tronger when it c arries a s ukoon

E xamples of T afas h- s hee

C lic k 'here' to view prac tic e exerc is es for the rules of

Tafas h-s hee

Istitaalah (elongated sound or to seek something)

Def init ion: the quality of is titaalah is to pronounc e a letter in a s low and
elongated manner. When pronounc ed, the s ound of the letter will remain
from the beginning of the makhraj till the end (the extens ion of the s ound
c overs the entire s ound of the tongue)

T his quality is found in the letter

E longating the applies only if it c arries a s ukoon or

s haddah
C are mus t be taken not to exc eed the required elongation

E xamples of I s titaala
 C lic k 'here' to view prac tic e exerc is es for the rules of
I s titaala

C lic k here to view a printable c hart depic ting the qualities of SI FA A T

WI T H O U T O P P O SI T E S

C lic k on the 'Summary C hart' link on the right hand s idebar to view an
abbreviated c hart of Sifaat

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