Learn Tajweed Omobolaji Neemah Fashina

GUMAYRAH LEARNING HUB - NAEEMAH FASHINA
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LEARN TAJWEED
Simplify Your Qur'an journey
Fashina Omobolaji Naeemah
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CONTENTS
CONTENTS .......................................................................................................................... 3
FOREWORD ........................................................................................................................ 8
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 9
DEDICATION .................................................................................................................... 10
ACKNOWLEDGMENT .................................................................................................... 11
TOWARDS QUR'AN REFLECTION .............................................................................. 12
BENEFITS FROM THE REFLECTION OF THE QUR’AN .......................................... 14
TAJWEED .......................................................................................................................... 17
HURUFUL HIJAI) THE ARABIC ALPHABET ............................................................. 21
HOW TO PRONOUNCE ................................................................................................... 21
SIMILAR SOUNDING LETTERS ................................................................................... 25
ARABIC ALPHABETS CHART (HURUFUL HIJAI) LETTER NAMES & SOUNDS 26
TAJWEED .......................................................................................................................... 27
TAJWEED IS DIVIDED INTO 4 GROUPS: ................................................................. 27
MAKHARIJ AL HUROOF ................................................................................................ 28
TAJWEED 1: MAKHARIJ AL HUROOF ....................................................................... 29
HOW TO PINPOINT THE MAKHRAJ OF A LETTER ................................................ 30
IMPORTANCE OF MAKHARIJ ...................................................................................... 31
POINTS OF ORIGIN (ARTICULATION) OF THE LETTERS .................................... 34
STRUCTURE OF THE TONGUE: 4 MAIN AREAS ..................................................... 39
SOUNDS OF THE LETTERS OF THE LIPS ................................................................... 43
SIFAT AL HUROOF .......................................................................................................... 46
TAJWEED 2) SIFAT AL HUROOF ................................................................................. 47
IMPORTANCE OF CORRECT APPLICATION OF THE SIFAT

(CHARACTERISTICS) ...................................................................................................... 48
SIFAT AL HUROOF (PERMANENT & TEMPORARY ATTRIBUTES) .................... 50
PERMANANT ATTRIBUTES (LAZIMAH) THAT HAVE OPPOSITE
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CHARACTERISTICS ........................................................................................................ 51
HAMS - JAHR (CONTINUATION OR STOPPAGE OF BREATH) ......................... 51

CHARACTERISTICS ......................................................................................................... 52
SHIDDAH-TAWASSUT-RAKHAWAH STOPPAGE & CONTINUATION OF
SOUND) ................................................................................................................................ 52
ISTI’LAA - ISTEFAAL (HEAVINESS & LIGHTNESS) .............................................. 53
ITBAAQ - INFITAAH (CLOSURE & OPENING OF THE INSIDE OF THE
MOUTH) ............................................................................................................................... 54
ISMAAT - IDHLAQ (PRONOUNCED WITH EFFORT & EASE) ............................ 55
PERMANENT ATTRIBUTES (LAZIMAH) WITHOUT OPPOSITES ......................... 56
SUMMARY OF PERMANANT ATTRIBUTES ............................................................ 60

(LAZIMAH) WITH THE OPPOSITES ............................................................................ 60
SUMMARY OF PERMANANT ATTRIBUTES (LAZIMAH) WITHOUT
OPPOSITES .......................................................................................................................... 61
SIFAAT OF QALQALAH ................................................................................................. 68
THE QUALITY (SIFAAT) OF QALQALAH ................................................................. 69

TWO TYPES OF SUKUN .................................................................................................. 70
THE LEVELS OF QALQALAH ....................................................................................... 72
REASON FOR QALQALAH ............................................................................................ 73

READING QALQALAH ................................................................................................... 75
EXERCISING THE TONGUE.......................................................................................... 76
& REPETITION .................................................................................................................. 76
TAJWEED 3: EXERCISING THE TONGUE & REPETITION .................................... 77
SIMILAR SOUNDING LETTERS LEAD TO SIMILAR SOUNDING WORDS .... 78

THE THREE LEVELS OF SPEED IN RECITING THE HOLY QUR’AN ............... 79
THE THREE LEVELS OF SPEED IN RECITING THE HOLY QUR’AN ................... 82
HOW DIACRITICS CONTROL WORDS ..................................................................... 83

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AHKAM AL HUROOF ...................................................................................................... 84
TAJWEED 4: AHKAM AL HUROOF ............................................................................. 85
THE RULES OF LAAM .................................................................................................... 88
AHKAM AL HUROOF: 1) RULES OF LAAM ............................................................... 89
4 TYPES OF LAAM SAAKIN ........................................................................................... 89

4 TYPES OF LAAM SAKIN – FURTHER DIVIDED .................................................. 90
LAAM SAKIN: 1) LAAM AT TA’REEF (SUN & MOON LAAM) ............................... 91
LAAM SAKIN: 1) LAAM AT TA’REEF (EXAMPLES OF EACH LETTER) ......... 92

LAAM SAKIN: 2) LAAM AL FI’IL ................................................................................. 93
UNDERSTANDING HEAVY AND LIGHT LETTERS THE ARABIC ALPHABET
................................................................................................................................................ 94
THE RULE OF LAAM: 4) LAAM AL LAFDHIL JALALI ......................................... 95
THE RULE OF LAAM: 4) LAAM AL LAFDHIL JALALI ......................................... 97
THE RULES OF NUN SAKIN ‫ ن‬and ٍ ًTANWEEN .................................................. 98

RULES OF NUN SAKIN AND TANWEEN .................................................................. 99
RULES OF NUN SAKIN AND TANWEEN ................................................................ 100
THE FOUR RULES OF NUN SAKIN AND TANWEEN .......................................... 101
THE LETTERS RELATED TO THE NUN SAKIN AND TANWEEN RULES ..... 102
NUN SAKIN AND TANWEEN ..................................................................................... 103
RULE 1: IDH’HAAR (to say CLEARLY) ..................................................................... 103
NUN SAKIN AND TANWEEN: RULE 2 IDH’GHAAM (To Merge or Join) ........ 106
TYPE 1 – IDH’GHAAM MA’AL GHUNNAH – Merging with Nasal Sound –

LETTERS ‫يمنو‬also known in acronym as YAMNU letters ............................................ 108
NUN SAKIN AND TANWEEN: RULE 2 IDH’GHAAM (To Merge or Join) ....... 109
NUN SAKIN AND TANWEEN ...................................................................................... 111
RULE 3: IKHFAA (to Hide or to Conceal) .................................................................... 111

NUN SAKIN AND TANWEEN: RULE 3 IKHFAA (To Hide or Conceal) ............. 112
NUN SAKIN AND TANWEEN ........................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
RULE 4: IQLAB/QALB (to Change or Convert) ............... Error! Bookmark not defined.
NUN SAKIN AND TANWEEN: RULE 4 IQLAB (To Change or Convert) ............ 115
NUN SAKIN AND TANWEEN: RULE 4 IQLAB (To Change or Convert) ...................... 116
NUN SAKIN AND TANWEEN SUMMARY .............................................................. 117
RULES OF NUN SHADDAH AND MEEM SHADDAH .......................................... 118
WHAT IS GHUNNAH? ................................................................................................... 119
RULES OF NUN SHADDAH AND MEEM SHADDAH .......................................... 120

THE RULES OF MEEM SAKIN ‫م‬.................................................................................. 121
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THE 3 RULES OF MEEM SAKIN ................................................................................. 122

MEEM SAKIN: RULE 2 - IKHFAA SHAFAWI (To hide or conceal) ...................... 124
MEEM SAKIN: RULE 3 – IDH’HAAR SHAFAWI (To recite clearly) .................... 125
THE RULES OF MEEM SAKIN IN BRIEF ................................................................. 127
THE RULES OFOTHER IDH’GHAM ........................................................................... 128
THE RULES OF OTHER IDH’GHAM ......................................................................... 129

WHY IDH’GHAM ............................................................................................................ 130
RULES OF OTHER IDH’GHAM – 1.) IDH’GHAM MUTAMAATHILAYN ....... 133
RULES OF OTHER IDH’GHAM – 2.) IDH’GHAM MUTAJAANISAYN ............ 134
RULES OF OTHER IDH’GHAM – 3.) IDH’GHAM MUTAQAARIBAYN .......... 136
RULES OF OTHER IDH’GHAM – 4.) IDH’GHAM MUTABAA’IDAIN ............. 139
THE RULES OF NUN QUTNI ....................................................................................... 140
NUN QUTNI (THE SMALL‫ )ن‬........................................................................................ 141

THE RULES OF RAA ‫ ر‬................................................................................................... 144
THE 8 RULES OF RAA TAFKHEEM RELATED TO FAT-HA & DHAMMA .... 146
THE RULES OF RAA TAFKHEEM .............................................................................. 147
THE 4 RULES OF RAA TARQEEQ RELATED TO KASRA ................................... 148
THE RULES OF RAA TARQEEQ ................................................................................. 149
(Light – Empty Mouth Pronounciation) .......................................................................... 149
THE 2 EXCEPTION RULES OF RAA TAFKHEEM RELATED TO KASRA ...... 150
CERTAIN WORDS WHERE BOTH TAFKHEEM AND TARQEEQ IS ALLOWED
.............................................................................................................................................. 151
AHKAM AL MUDOOD (THE RULES OF MADDAH) .............................................. 154
DURATION OF ELONGATION OF MADDAH ....................................................... 155

THE 9 TYPES OF MUDOOD ......................................................................................... 155
BREAKDOWN OF THE 9 TYPES OF MUDOOD ..................................................... 156
TYPES OF MADD: 1.) MADD AL ASLIYYA OR AT-TABEE ............................... 158
NATURAL OR ORIGINAL MADD ............................................................................. 158
WHAT IS A VOWEL COUNT OR LENGTHENED FOR 2, 4, 6 HARAKA MEAN?
.............................................................................................................................................. 159
MADD AL FAR’I: MADD CAUSED BY OTHER FACTORS ................................. 161
Madd Al Far’i: Maddah Caused by Hamza .................................................................... 165
THE 14 HURUFUL MUQATT’TA’AAT ....................................................................... 169
DIVISION OF THE 14 HURUFUL MUQATT’TA’AAT ACCORDING TO

THEIRPROLONGATION ............................................................................................... 171
THE MADD AL-HARFI IN THE HURUFUL MUQATT’TA’AAT ........................ 172
EXAMPLES OF MADD UL HARFEE MUTHAQQAL ............................................ 173
MADD AL FAR’I: MADDAH CAUSED BY SUKUN – 8.) MADD UL-LEEN .... 175
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MADD AL FAR’I: MADDAH CAUSED BY SUKUN – 9.) MADD UL-ARIDH

LISSUKUN ......................................................................................................................... 176
RULES OF HAA ............................................................................................................... 177
RULES OF HAA ................................................................................................................ 178
H A M Z A ......................................................................................................................... 181
HAMZATUL QAT’AA ‫ ء‬................................................................................................. 183

HAMZATUL QAT’AA‫ ء‬.................................................................................................. 184
HAMZATUL WASL‫ ٱ‬........................................................................................................ 186
THE RULE OF HAMZATUL WASL: SKIPPED IN CONTINOUS RECITATION
.............................................................................................................................................. 188
HAMZATUL WASL PRONOUNCED IN VERBS – Easy to remember .................. 193
HAMZATUL WASL FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER HAMZA .................................. 194
AL-WAQF (THE STOP) .................................................................................................. 195
DIVISIONS OF THE STOP ............................................................................................. 197

THE SYMBOLS OF WUQUF ......................................................................................... 198
SUMMARY OF THE SYMBOLS OF WUQUF ........................................................... 200
THE RULES OF WUQUF ............................................................................................... 202
RULES OF WAQF (STOPPING RULES) ..................................................................... 203
EXAMPLES FOR RULES OF WAQF (STOPPING RULES) ................................... 205
AS – SAKT (ARABIC) or‫( س‬The Breathless Pause)..................................................... 207
AL-IBTIDAA (The Beginning or Starting)..................................................................... 208
AL-WAQF WITH HAMZATUL WASL ....................................................................... 209
SOME EXCEPTIONS FOUND IN THE HOLY QUR’AN .......................................... 210
SOME EXAMPLES FOR PRACTICE ........................................................................... 212
TERMINOLOGY FREQUENTLY USED IN TAJWEED ........................................... 216
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FOREWORD
As a teacher of the Quran, I have always had issues with students
skipping class because they find it difficult to understand.
I have also come to realize that many students think the concepts of
tajweed are exclusive to the rules of nun saakinah and tanween only, hence
they have the notion that once they know the rules of nun saakinah and
tanween, they have understood the whole concept of tajweed.
All these and more are among the setbacks students encounter when it
comes to the area of tajweed which I have come to realize and, in a bid,
to help my students excel more, I thought of different ways to make
learning and understanding tajweed easier for them.
To get the best for them, I spoke with a more experienced colleague in
the field and he suggested the compilation of these rules in a language
students would understand easily, such that they would comprehend
and put into effective practice these rules when it comes to recitation of
the glorious Qur'an and that is what gave birth to this book.
I ask Allāh to accept this from me as an act of Ibaadah.
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INTRODUCTION
This book is compiled with great passion to aid an easier understanding
of the rules of tajweed. I also shared my thoughts on the need to improve
our connections with Allāh () through reflections in this
amazing book.
It is going to be an exemplarily beautiful experience in your Qu'ran

learning journey.
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DEDICATION
To my daughter, because of whom everything makes sense.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT
All praises to Allāh () Who has blessed my tiny efforts and made
me grow exponentially and still making me grow more. Thereafter, I
am grateful to my parents who nurtured me to greatness, may Allāh
() reward you Dad, and may Allāh () prolong your life
Mummy.
I am grateful to my siblings, may Allāh () answer all your Du’a
and keep you firm on Khayr.
Moreover, I am grateful to Ustādh Saboor Aboo Israaeel
Kewdirorunwiyy who planted the seed of this book in my head.
To Brother Yūnus Olukodo of SYO BYTES, who took it upon himself
to bring this manuscript to life, I am grateful. It was indeed a hard work.
To my bread and butter, Umm Aadam, I love you and I am honored to
be in your tribe of women. I admire your strength, my sweetheart.
Dear MBM, meeting you was nothing short of Allah's grace, thank you
so much for being awesome and also sharing the awesomeness with the
world.
I am full of gratitude to Sis Juwayriyyah Oyiza. For some reason or the
other, she sees the best in me, and she doesn't fail to remind me of my
awesomeness.
I am always in awe of your support, Sis Lateefah Abifarin, and my
dearest Zou, you are indeed a pillar to lean on.
My favorite lawyer, Fatimah Usman, may you continue to thrive in
goodness and wellness. A prayer answered is what you are to me, I love
you Allāh ().
That said, Allāh() has blessed me so much that I can continue

to type and type and still I won't be able to express all on this page.
To everyone that has crossed my path, one way or the other, you've all
been of amazing impact on my life and success, I am wholeheartedly
grateful to you all.
May Allāh() reward you all abundantly and never leave you to
your affairs in the blink of an eye. Amin.
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TOWARDS QUR'AN REFLECTION

If you know me before now, you'd know I have always been a fan of
reflection; I enjoy savoring the world of the Qur'an and being
mesmerized by its beauty. I allow my mind to wonder as to why it's a
beautiful world albeit transient.
Equally, reflection is always a way of calming myself, which explains

why I am obsessed with reflecting on the Qur'an. I have always thought
of myself as a special breed but the world broke me and I tarried away
from nature, wallowing in despair. Guess what gave me my footing
back? TADABURR. What I am trying to say is that the solution for
everything you are looking for is in the Quran and you won't get it until
you ponder on the Words of Allāh.
What is TADABURR? it simply means a time out of our day-to-day
activities to meditate and ponder on the meaning of the verses of the
Quran. Tadaburr is to contemplate and brood upon the Qur'an to gain
enlightenment and feels an increase in eeman, have deep insights into
Allāh's nature and attributes.
"He is Allāh(); there is no god but He, Knower of the unseen
and the seen; He is the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful."
‫ﯣ ﯤ ﯥ ﯦ ﯧﯨ ﯩ ﯪ ﯫﯬ ﯭ ﯮ ﯯ ﯰ ﯱ ﯲﯳ ﯴ ﯵ ﯶ‬
‫ﯷ‬
"He is Allāh; there is no god but He, the Sovereign, the Holy, the Most Perfect, the Granter
of security, the Watcher over all, the Almighty, the Compeller, the Supreme." Surah
Hashr.1
One thing I found astonishing in the Qur'an is the synergy

Allāh() has put between Him, us, and the Qur'an, such that
reading the Qur'an and trying to decipher the message feels like a
personal conversation with the Creator. The manner of approach to
which Allāh () relates helped us sort of achieve self-realization
and invariable have a strong bond with Allāh (). The most
powerful one made it easy for us to worship him. Allāh ()
doesn’t just give us a concept and expects us to fill in the gaps; he took
us through the concept with explicit explanations using parables to help
1
Surah Al-Hashr, Qur’an Chapter 59, Verse 24.
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us understand better. This makes me laugh at those who walk around

the Earth with pride saying they owe no one explanation. The One who
created us sent down the prophet and revealed the Qur’an to explain to
us the concept of Islam in clear terms.
‫ﭺ ﭻ ﭼ ﭽ ﭾ ﭿ ﮀ ﮁ ﮂ ﮃ ﮄﮅ ﮆ ﮇ ﮈ ﮉ ﮊ ﮋ ﮌ ﮍﮎ‬
‫ﮏ ﮐ ﮑ ﮒ ﮓ ﮔ ﮕ ﮖ ﮗﮘ ﮙ ﮚ ﮛ ﮜ ﮝ ﮞﮟ ﮠ ﮡ‬
‫ﮢﮣﮤﮥ‬
"Verily, Allāh is not ashamed to set forth a parable even of a mosquito or so
much more when it is bigger (or less when it is smaller) than it. And as for
those who believe, they know that it is the Truth from their Lord, but as for
those who disbelieve, they say: “What did Allāh intend by this parable?” By
it He misleads many, and many He guides thereby. And He misleads thereby
only those who are Al-Fasiqun (the rebellious, disobedient to Allāh).” 2
‫ﭿ ﮀ ﮁ ﮂ ﮃ ﮄ ﮅ ﮆ ﮇ ﮈ ﮉﮊ ﮋ ﮌ ﮍ ﮎ‬
‫ﮏﮐ ﮑ ﮒ ﮓ ﮔ‬
The parable of those who take protectors other than Allāh is that of the
spider, who builds (to itself) a house; but truly the flimsiest of houses is the
spider's house; - if they but knew.3
Another thing that stands out is the way Allāh kept repeating himself
over and over again and never deviating from the central theme of the
Quran which is MONOTHEISM.
2
Surah Al-Baqarah, Qur’an Chapter 2, Verse 2.
3
Surah Al-‘Ankabut, Qur’an Chapter 29, Verse 41.
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BENEFITS FROM THE REFLECTION OF THE QUR’AN

Irrespective of whether you believe it or not, gaining the full benefit of
pondering and reflecting on the Qur’an requires you to empty your
mind of every preconceived notion and bias so as not to project such
ideas on the book.
Reflecting on the Qur’an is a direct command from Allāh, we are
directed to ponder on the holy book for that's how we would reap the
fruits.
This is the Blessed Book that We have revealed to you, (O
Muhammad), that people with understanding may reflect over its verses
and those with understanding derive a lesson. Q37:49
The Quran has been called a blessed Book in the sense that it is highly
useful for man.
Most of us have restricted ourselves to just reading the Qur’an while it
is a very good rewardable act of worship; reading the Qur'an requires a
deep commitment to reflect and digest the Message Allāh wants us to
get. This brings me to this question:
What does the Qur'an mean to you?
How do you ponder upon the Qur'an?
What mesmerizes you about the Qur'an?
What sort of relationship do you have with the Quran?

For me, once I reflected on a particular portion of the Qur'an, I always
wish I had pondered on the verse before as I know it would have
prevented some misbehavior in the past. Before reflecting on surah al-
mutoffifn, I had always been on the defensive side when my deen or
mode of dressing is insulted or humiliated. But after understanding the
last verses of that surah, all I do is laugh at their silliness because Allāh
has defended me. What better defense do I have for myself against the
word of Allāh?
‫ﰑ ﰒﰓ ﰔﰕ ﰖﰗ‬
Verily, those who committed crimes used to laugh at those who believed. Are
not the disbelievers paid for what they used to do; meaning, `will the
disbelievers be recompensed for their mockery and belittlement against the
believers, or not. This means that they surely will be paid in full, completely,
and perfectly (for their behavior).4
4
Surah Al-Mutaffifin, Quran chapter 83, Verse 34
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Tadabur is akin to having a good relationship with the Qur'an as it

illuminates the heart and exposes the reader to the best source of
continuous learning. As far as I am concerned, the Qur'an is the most
important and complete self-development Book ever and one can only
benefit from it by constantly digesting the lesson. The Qur'an is full of
abundant blessings and knowledge and advice for those that reflect the
Qur'an.
‫ﭑﭒﭓﭔﭕ‬
"And We have indeed made the Qur’an easy to understand and remember:
then is there any that will receive admonition" 5
Amazing to me is the synergy of the beneficial relationship we can have

with the Qur'an that inspires arrays of emotions depending on where
and why you are reading. Allāh() has made the Qur'an a
companion and guideline for us where we can find assurances,
acknowledgments of our struggle, patience for our trials, solutions, and
hopes for our worries and addresses our fears, but we can only tap into
those benefit through tadaburr/Qur'an.
‫ﭳ ﭴﭵﭶ ﭷﭸﭹﭺ‬
"We certainly know that your heart is truly distressed by what they say"6
‫ﮚ ﮛ ﮜ ﮝ ﮞﮟ ﮠ ﮡ ﮢ ﮣ ﮤ ﮥ ﮦ ﮧ ﮨ ﮩ ﮪ ﮫ ﮬ‬
"On the other hand, the heart of Moses' mother was sorely distressed. Had
We not strengthened her heart that she might have full faith (in Our
promise), she would have disclosed the secret" 7
‫ﭯ ﭰ ﭱ ﭲ ﭳ ﭴ ﭵ ﭶ ﭷ ﭸﭹ ﭺ ﭻ ﭼ ﭽ ﭾ ﭿ ﮀ ﮁ‬
"And each [story] We relate to you from the news of the messengers is that
by which We make firm your heart. And there has come to you, in this, the
5 Surah Al-Waqi’ah, Qur’an Chapter 54, Verse 17.

6
Surah Al-Hijr, Qur’an Chapter 15, Verse 97.
7
Surah Al-qasas, Qur’an Chapter 28, Verse 10.
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truth and an instruction and a reminder for the believers"8
‫ﯣ ﯤ ﯥ ﯦ ﯧ ﯨ ﯩ ﯪ ﯫ ﯬﯭ ﯮ ﯯ ﯰ ﯱ ﯲ ﯳ ﯴ ﯵ ﯶ ﯷ ﯸ ﯹ ﯺ‬
We shall strip away all rancor from their hearts, and rivers shall flow
beneath them, and they shall say: 'All praise be to Allāh Who has guided us
on to this. Had it not been for Allāh Who granted us guidance, we would not
be on the Right Path.9
Reflecting on the Quran also helps to reaffirm our place with Allāh,
helping us to be steadfast and knowing the One whom we worship is
indeed the Most Powerful and the only One whom we seek help from.
"Surely Allāh defends those who believe. Certainly, Allāh has no love
for the perfidious, the thankless" 10
"Whereas those who strive against Our Signs, seeking to profane them,
they are the friends of the Fire!"11
READ THE QURAN

REFLECT s
PONDER.
8Surahul Hud, Qur’an Chapter 11, Verse 120.

9
Surah Al-Araf, Qur’an Chapter 7, Verse 43.
10 Surah Al-Hajj, Verse 38
11
Surah Al-Hajj, Verse 51
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TAJWEED
(Ahkam Al Huroof)
Application of rules due to
the order of letters.
(Makharij Al
Exercising the tongue
TAJWEED Huroof) Articulation
and repetition
points of letters
(Sifaat Al Huroof)
Characteristics of letters
Qur’an reading is the recitation of the Qur’an according to Tajweed&Tarteel

as taught by the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon
him). It is one of the Sciences from U’loom Al Qur’an (sciences of the Qur’an)
Linguistic Definition: The word Tajweed comes from the root word Jawada
which means ‘to improve’ or ‘to make better’, though linguistically, it means
“to beautify something”.
Applied Definition: Tajweed is to give every letter its right with its description
and its origination.
Tajweed refers to rules governing pronunciation during Qur’an recitation;
such as prolongation, merging, conversion, distinctness, accuracy, commas,
pauses and stopping rules. This allows the reciter to emphasise the accent,
phonetics, rhythms, fluency and
temper, where and how to pause, where the pronunciation should be long or
short, where letters should be sounded together (harf to harf) and where they
should be kept separate, and so on.
When asked about the meaning of Tarteel,Àli () replied, “It means the
Qur’an should be recited with Tajweed and with due observance to the rules
of Waqf (pausing to take a breath in the recitation of Qur’an, with the
intention of continuing).
❖ Tajweed helps the reciter to avoid making mistakes when reciting
ٌ‫ٌقَلْب‬ ٌ ٌ ٌ ٌ‫كَلْب‬
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Example: (means: Heart) (means: Dog)

❖ It is very important and a personal obligation on each individual to
learn Tajweed.
They have to know the Makharij, Sifaat and Ahkam.
❖ It is said in the Holy Qur’an in SuratulMuzzamil 73:4

“……. And recite the Qur’an in slow, measured rhythmic tones”
‫ﭢﭣﭤﭥ‬
The benefit of reciting the Holy Qur’an with Tajweed is preserving our tongue
frommistakes (LAHN) whenreading the Glorious Qur’an.
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The Science of Beautifying the Noble Qur’an
‫التجويد‬
A scholar was once asked“When a person is reciting Qur’an, is it obligatory to
observe and listen to it?”
The scholar replied, “Yes! When Qur’an is being recited to you (near you),
it is compulsory upon you to listen to it and be silent.”
‫ﯙﯚﯛﯜ‬
‫ﯝﯞﯟﯠﯡ‬
“And when the Qur’an is recited, then listen to it and remain silent, that mercy
may be shown to you.” 12
Ali () said that there is a hundred Hasanah (reward) for each letter of
the HolyQur’an that the reciter recites in prayer while standing up, fifty
while sitting down,twenty-five with Wudhoo while not praying, and ten
without Wudhoo.
This narration explains the importance of the Holy Qur’an and its words:
12
Surah Al-A’raf, Verse 204
19
Abu Sa’id () reported: The Messenger of Allah () said,

“The superiority of the words of Allah over all other words is like the
superiority of Allah over His creation.”13
13
Sunan al-Tirmidhī 2926
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HURUFUL HIJAI) THE ARABIC ALPHABET
HOW TO PRONOUNCE
HOW TO PRONOUNCE NAME AND PHONETIC ARABIC

SOUND ALPHABET
Tongue is flat in the mouth Name: Alif
and the sound comes from
the centre of the mouth Sound: (a) as in Umbrella
Mouth and lips together. Name: Baa’

One dot
below the letter Sound: (b) as in Balloon
Tongue touches the roots of Name: Taa’

the upper teeth. Two dots
above the letter Sound: (t) for Teddy
Tongue is placed between Name: Thaa’

and behind the upper
teeth. Three dots above the Sound: (th) for Thumb
letter
Pronounced as ‘Ja’ sound Name: Jiim

Ja has one dot in the
tummy Sound: (j) for Jam
Pronounced from the Name: Haa’

middle of the throat while Sound: (h) for Hello
pushing air out, with a Lightly
strong and sustained
expulsion of breath.
21
Distinctive sound like Name: Khaa’

when you are clearing the Sound: (Kh) for Khadija, ‫خ‬
throat. Khaleel., sound from the
A grating sound. Dot on Throat
head (place finger on
head)
Pronounced as ‘Da’ sound Name: Daal ‫د‬

Sound: (d) for Daddy
Keeping the tongue flat in Name: Dhaal ‫ذ‬

the mouth between the Sound: (dh) for The, This
teeth
Strongly rolled as in Name: Raa’ ‫ر‬

Spanish and somewhat Sound: (r) for Rabbit
rounded as ‘rau’ in
‘raucous’
Pronounced as ‘Z’ sound Name: Zaa’ ‫ز‬

Sound: (z) for Zahra
Sound: (Sa) for Sun, Smile Name: Seen ‫س‬

Sound: (s) for Sun, Smile
Place finger on the lips. Name: Sheen

Shhhh Sound: (sh) for Shirt ‫ش‬
Emphatic ‘s’ pronounced Name: Saad

with the tip of the tongue Sound: (ș) for ‫ص‬
touching the roots of the Swafiya
upper front teeth whistling
sound and tongue is
curved.
22
Pronounced with the Name: Daad

tongue pressing hard Sound: (d) for ‫ض‬
against the upper teeth though, that
andpalate, with a full
mouth.
Tongue touches roots of Name: Taa’

the upper teeth and is a Sound: (t) for ‫ط‬
heavy sound and tongueis Twahir
curved
Raise tongue between the Name: Zaa’

teeth and bring it down Sound: (z) for Dhohr ‫ظ‬
with force
Normally transliterated by Name: Àyn

an open Inverted comma (ʿ) Heavy sound ʿAli. Place ‫ع‬
hand on throat
Pronounced as ‘Gh’ Name: Ghayn ‫غ‬

exactly as the sound made (gh) for Green
in gargling. Care should
taken not to pronounce as
simply ‘Ga’
Pronounced as ‘Fa’ Name: Faa’

Taught as loop with one Sound: (f) for Fatima ‫ف‬
dot
A guttural sound Name: Qaaf

pronounced from the back Sound: (q) for Qasim or ‫ق‬
of the throat. It is a heavy Qamar (Moon).
‘Qa’. Taught as loop with
two dots
Name: Kaaf
23
Pronounced as ‘ka’. Sound: (k) for Kite

Tongue in centre of the ‫ك‬
mouth
Pronounced as ‘La’ Name: Laam

Sound: (l) for Lemon ‫ل‬
Pronounced as ‘Ma’ Name: Miim ‫م‬

Sound: m
Explain that it is different Name: Nuun ‫ن‬

to ‘Fa’ as it does not have (n) for Nose
a loop. Pronounced as
‘Na’
Pronounced as ‘Wa’ Name: Waaw ‫و‬

Sound: (w) for Wow,
Water
Prounounced as a normal Name: Haa’ ‫ه‬

‘Ha’ from the chest. Said Sound: (h) for Hot
heavily – place hand on
chest.
Pronounced as ‘Ya’ Name: Yaa’

Sound: (y) for ‫ي‬
Yippee, Yay, Yellow
24
SIMILAR SOUNDING LETTERS

There are some similar sounding letters in Arabic, which if not pronounced
Correctly change the meaning of the word completely.
ARABIC LETTER SOUND
A Ayn Alif
Tta Taa
Saad Sin Thaa’
Ḥa Ha
Qaf Kaf
Daad Zaad Dhaal Zaay
Ghayn Khaa’
25
ARABIC ALPHABETS CHART (HURUFUL HIJAI) LETTER NAMES

& SOUNDS
‫ج‬ ‫ث‬ ‫ت‬ ‫ب‬ ‫ا‬

Jiim (ja) The (th) Taa (ta) Baa’ (b) Alif (a-Light)
‫ر‬ ‫ذ‬ ‫د‬ ‫خ‬ ‫ح‬

Raa (r) Dhaal (dh) Daal (d) Khaa’ (kh) Haa’ (h Light)
‫ض‬ ‫ص‬ ‫ش‬ ‫س‬ ‫ز‬

Daad (d) Saad (s) Shiin (sh) Sin (sa) Zaay (z)
‫ف‬ ‫غ‬ ‫ع‬ ‫ظ‬ ‫ط‬

Faa’ (f) Ghayn (gha) Ayn(heavy) Taa (zha) Taa’ (t)
‫ن‬ ‫م‬ ‫ل‬ ‫ك‬ ‫ق‬

Nuun (n) Miim (m) Laam (l) Kaaf (k) Qaaf (q)
‫ ل‬+‫ل=ا‬ ‫ي‬ ‫ه‬ ‫و‬

(Laa) LamAlif= Alif+ Lam Yaa’ (ya) Haa (heavy) Waaw (w)
26
TAJWEED
TAJWEED IS DIVIDED INTO 4 GROUPS:
1. Makharij Al Huroof– Pinpointing the point of articulation of each letter.
Makharij Al Huroof is divided into the 5 areas of human speech were the
sound originates from.
2. Sifat Al Huroof– Defining the certain qualities or characteristics of each
letter, which distinguishes it from other sounds. Sifat Al Huroof is divided
into 2 areas which show the qualities and attributes of the Arabic Alphabet
letters.
3. Exercising the tongue & repetition.
4. Ahkam Al Huroof– Explaining the rules and the changes which occur to
the pronunciation of the letters, when combined with others. Ahkam Al-
Huroof is divided into 11 areas that show us theTajweed rules applied
when reciting the Holy Qur’an
MAKHARIJ AL HUROOF
(POINT OF ARTICULATION OF
TAJWEED
AHKAM AL HUROOF
EXERCISING (RULES OF LETTERS)
THE
TONGUE AND
REPETITION
SIFAT AL HUROOF
(QUALITY OF
LETTERS)
27
MAKHARIJ AL HUROOF
(Ahkam Al
Huroof)
Application of
rules due to the
order of letters
Excercising (Makharij Al
the tongue Huroof)
and
repetition
TAJWEED Articulation
points of
letters
(Sifaat Al Huroof)
Characteristics of
letters
28
TAJWEED 1: MAKHARIJ AL HUROOF
HUROOF MAKHARIJ AL
MAKHARIJ
HUROOF
Originates from
Originates from
the word Harf MEANS Proper
the word Makhraj
which means pronunciation of
which means to
letter. Each each letter from
Exit. The applied
letter is a sound their point of
meaning is where
that relies on a origin or point
the letters come
specific Makhraj of articulation
from
or point
ARTICULATION POINTS
❖ Articulation point is the place where a letter is pronounced from,

making its sound different from the sound of other letters.
❖ Each Quranic letter has a different articulation point.
❖ A letter is only a sound that relies on a specific articulation point.
❖ 5 major speech areas of the human body are used to pronounce
different letters.
❖ From the 5 major areas, there are 17 different articulation points used
to pronounce the 28 original letters and the 3 lengthened letters.
29
HOW TO PINPOINT THE MAKHRAJ OF A LETTER
❖ Place a Sukun on the letter and before that put a Hamza with Fat-ha,
Kasra or Dhamma
❖ Say the letter and where the sound stops, that is the Makhraj point.
Example: The makhraj point
of the letter Meem and Ha
The makhraj point of Meem is when ‫أُم‬ ‫إم‬ ‫أم‬

the 2 lips join together. Notice the
sound stops at the makhraj point. AM IM UM
The makhraj point of the letter Ha is ‫أُح‬ ‫أح‬ ‫أح‬

articulated from the middle of the
throat. Notice the sound stops at the AH IH UH
makhraj point.
30
IMPORTANCE OF MAKHARIJ
Pronouncing each letter of the Arabic language in its correct Makharij is very
important,
as mispronouncing a letter can completely change the meaning of the word.
Example 1:
Letter ‫ص‬ Letter ‫س‬

(Harf) (Harf)
Word ‫صيف‬ Word ‫يفس‬
Meaning Sword Meaning Summer
Example 2:
Letter Letter
(Harf) (Harf)
Word Word
Meaning Heart Meaning Dog
31
MAKHARIJ AL HUROOF
AL HALQ
The Throat
AL LISAAN
AL JAWF The Tongue
The Oral Cavity
AL ASH
5 MAJOR
KHAYSHOOM AREAS OF SHAFATAIN
The Nasal Cavity MAKHARI The Lips
J
Originates from
32
MAKHARIJ AL HUROOF
The 5 major areas of pronounciation originate from the human speech zone.
These arefurther divided into 17 points of articulation
5 MAJOR AREAS ARTICULA NUMBER OF

TION LETTERS
POINTS
1. AL JAWF – THE ORAL
CAVITY 1 3 lengthened
The empty space in the chest, throat letters
and mouth
2. AL HALQ – THE THROAT
These letters are pronounced from
the upper, middle and lower part of 3 6
the throat
3. AL LISAAN – THE TONGUE 10 18
4. ASH SHAFATAIN – THE 2 4
LIPS
5. AL KHAYSHOOM THE Ghunnah of the
NASAL CAVITY 1 letter Nun and
From the hole of the nose towards Mee
the inside of the mouth
The diagram below shows the 5 areas of Makharij and the letters that originate
from them.
NASAL PASSAGE From which
the ghunnah sound originates
LIPS
TONGUE
THROAT
CHEST
33
POINTS OF ORIGIN (ARTICULATION) OF THE LETTERS
MAKHARIJ AL HUROOF
1) AL 2) AL 3) AL 4) ASH 5) AL
LISAAN SHAFATAI KHAYSHOO
JAWF HALQ M
The Tongue N
The Oral The Throat The Nasal
The Lips
Cavity Cavity
10 Points
18 Letters
1) Back of
Tongue
(2 points)
1 Point 3 Points Points Al
3 Long 6 Letters 4 Letters Ghunnah
1) Top of 2) Middle of (Nasalisatio
vowels 1) Inside
the Tongue n
(1 point) lower lip
Throat of Nun &
Meem
3) Side of when
2)
2) Middle Tongue they have a
of Between Shaddah)
(2 points)
the Throat the lips
4) Tip of
3) Bottom Tongue
of the (5 points)
Throat
34
1. AL JAWF – THE ORAL CAVITY – 1 Articulation point and

3 long vowels
❖ The empty space in the mouth and throat is a place and an articulation
point at the same time.
❖ The three Madd letters (lengthened letters) originate from this non-
specific area.
❖ These letters finish with the stopping of the sound (that stops with the
air). These letters of Alif, Waw and Ya, do not have a specific space
that they finish at, like other letters do. Instead, these letters finish
with the stopping of the sound.
❖ The letters of Al-Jawf are similar to the vowel sounds in English and
are known as the Original Madd (Madd al-Asli).
❖ The Long Vowel sounds are produced by a relatively free flow of air,
they are alsocalled Al-Huroof Al-Maddiyya.
6 VOWEL SOUNDS IN ARABIC
3 lengthened vowel sounds

3 short vowel Fat-ha letter followed by Alif Sukun
sounds (AA sound) Kasra letter
Fat-ha, Kasra & followed by Ya Sukun
Dhamma (EE sound) Dhamma letter
followed by Waw Sukun
(OO sound)
Examples
Examples
JU JI JA
JUU JII JAA
35
1. AL JAWF – THE ORAL CAVITY – continued

The lengthened sounds have to be extended for 1 second
Fat-ha letter Kasra letter Kasra letter
followed followed by Ya followed by Ya
By Alif Sukun Sukun Sukun
KHII- HII - JII

KHAA- HAA - JAA KHUU- HUU - JUU
2. AL HALQ – THE THROAT – 3 Articulation points and 6 Letters
2- Middle of the Throat

(WASATAL HALQ)
1- Top of the Throat 3) Bottom of the Throat

(ADNAL HALQ) 3
(AQSAL HALQ)
Articulation
points
-----------
6 throat
letters
36
Articulation Letter Detail Makhraj

From Point
1. Top of the ‘kha’ scratching sound

Throat
‫خ‬ ‫خأ‬
(AdnalHalq)
As if water is being gargled
‫غ‬ ‘ghh’ ‫غأ‬
2. Middle of Imagine having eaten spicy
the Throat
‫ح‬ food ‘Hha’ (middle of throat ‫حأ‬
(WasatalHalq) squeezed)
As if one wants to bite a fruit
‫ع‬ ‘Aa’ (middle of throat ‫عأ‬
squeezed)
3. Bottom of Ha similar to the ‘H’ in word
the Throat
‫ه‬ He ‫هأ‬
(AqsalHalq)
Hamza equal to the ‘A’ letter
‫ءأا‬ in ‫ءأ‬
English (apple)
2. AL HALQ – THE THROAT – continued

Bottom of ‫ء‬
throat
‫ه‬
Middle of ‫ع‬
throat
‫ح‬
Top of throat ‫غ‬
‫خ‬
37
❖ The Throat letters are also known as HuroofulHalqi.

❖ Care should be taken on how they are pronounced, as similar sounding
lettersfrom the same articulation point can change the meaning of the
word
Similar sounding letters‫(ء‬Hamza)and‫(ع‬Ayn)
Word
Meaning Painful All Knowing
Add (‫)عذاب‬meaning
‘punishment’
Final meaning Painful punishment All Knowing
punishment
1. AL LISAAN – THE TONGUE – 10 Articulation points and 18 Letters
This is the widest part of the speech area and it contains different parts like
tongue, teeth and so on. The tongue touches different parts of the mouth to
articulate different letters.
Articulation The 18 Letters of the tongue
points of Al-
Lisaan
Ten
38
STRUCTURE OF THE TONGUE: 4 MAIN AREAS
TARFUL
LISAAN
(Tip of the tongue)
5 Points of Origin
4 MAIN
AREAS
WASATUL OF THE HAAFATUL
LISAAN LISAAN
TONGUE
(Middle of the
(Side of the
tongue) 1 Point
of Origin tongue) 2 Points
of Origin
AQSUL LISAAN
(Back of the
tongue)
2 Points of Origin
39
3 AL LISAAN – THE TONGUE – continued
Huroof Al-Lisaan– are 18 tongue letters that exit from 10 articulation points
and are divided into 4 parts of the tongue
Back of the
tongue
(2 Points)
Middle of
the tongue
AQSAL
(1 Point)
LISAAN
WASATU
L
LISAAN
Sides of the
tongue (2
Points) Tip of the
tongue
HAAFATUL
LISAAN (1 Point)
TARFUL
LISAAN
‫ن‬
Tip of the
tongue (1
Point)
Tip of the
TARFUL tongue
LISAAN (1 Point)
TARFUL
LISAAN
Tip of the
tongue
Tip of the
tongue (1 (1 Point)
Point) TARFUL
TARFUL LISAAN
LISAAN
40
AL LISAAN - 10 ARTICULATION POINTS 18

LETTER/S
BACK OF THE TONGUE - (AQSAL LISAAN)

1. Heavy letter, pronounced when the root of the tongue,
touches the soft part of the upper palate (closer to the
back of the tongue)
2. Light letter, pronounced when the root of the tongue,
touches the sides of the lower palate (closer to the
mouth) eg. Cake in English
MIDDLE OF THE TONGUE - (WASATUL LISAAN)
3. The centre of the tongue, touches the upper palate
directly above it. 3 letters originate from this point.
SIDE OR EDGE OF THE TONGUE - (HAAFATUL LISAAN)
4. The upturned sides of the back of the tongue are raised
to meet the edges of the top back teeth. Arabic is also
known as the language of Dhaad‫ض‬this is a unique and
difficult letter to pronounce.
5. Originates from the front edge of the tongue, touching
the back gums of the upper 6 teeth eg. Like in English
TIP OF THE TONGUE - (TARFUL LISAAN)

6. Articulated from the top part of the tip of the tongue,
touching the roots of the upper incisors (top front teeth). 3
letters originate from this point.
7. Articulated from between the tip of the tongue and the
plates of the upper and lower incisors. This leaves a small
gap between the tongue and incisors (hence the whistle
sound).3 letters originate from this point
8. Articulated from the tip of the tongue touching the

roots of the upper incisors.
(Note: In Al Khayshoom, the letter Nun is only a
Ghunnah – Nasal sound, its actual pronunciation is made
with the tongue)
9. When the tip of the tongue touches the gums of the
upper incisors – we must very slightly roll the tongue.
10. Articulated when the top of the tip of the tongue

touches the edges of the top 2 incisors (part of the
tongue will stick out)
41
2. ASH SHAFATAIN – THE LIP LETTERS – 2 Articulation points and

4 Letters
Shafataanmeans the lips

2 Articulation points
1) Between the lips2) Inside lower lip
Huroofal Shafataanmeans the letters of the lips
Between the lips
Inside lower lip
Between the lips
The Sound AW AM AB
Both the lips have to meet to make the above

sounds AND for the letter WAAW, we round
both the lips
Inside the lower lip
‫( فأ‬a unique letter) The sound of this letter is AF
42
SOUNDS OF THE LETTERS OF THE LIPS

To make the sound of a letter, we put a Sukun on the letter and a Hamza
Fat-ha before it.
3. ASH SHAFATAIN – THE LIP LETTER continue
Al-Huruf al Shafawiyyah – The Labial Letters
This letter is sounded when the

edges of the front two teethtouch the wet
portionof the bottom lip and
separate
This letter issounded when the

wetportion of the lips openfrom a closed
position
‫م‬ This letter is sounded when the dry

portion of the lips open from a closed
position
The un-lengthened Waw is articulated

by forming a circle of the
two lips without the two lips meeting
completely
4. AL KHAYSHOOM: AL-GHUNNAH – Nasalisation – continued

43
When we find ‘Nun’ or ‘Meem’ with a Shaddah, then we lengthen for 2

seconds with a Nasal sound. This Ghunnah is a very clear ‘n’ sound, it comes
automatically when we lengthen the Nun shaddah or Meem shaddah.
Try to pronounce the sound of Nun or Meem, by holding your nose and feel the
vibration.
The simplest and most common type of Ghunnah is with Nun and Meem when
they
appear with a Shaddah. We hold the Ghunnah sound in our nose for 2 counts.
Annni Annnu Annna Ammmi AmmmuAmmma
44
5. AL KHAYSHOOM: AL-GHUNNAH – Nasalisation – continued

When we find ‘Nun’ or ‘Meem’ with a Shaddah, then we lengthen for 2
seconds with a Nasalsound. This Ghunnah is a very clear ‘n’ sound, it comes
automatically when we lengthen theNun shaddah or Meem shaddah.
Jinn-na-ti Falamm-ma
Jahann-na-
Amm-ma
ma
45
SIFAT AL HUROOF
(Ahkam Al
Huroof)
Application of
rules due to the
order of letters
the tongue Huroof)
and
repetition
points of
letters
(Sifaat Al Huroof)
Characteristics of
letters
46
TAJWEED 2) SIFAT AL HUROOF

DEFINITION: These are the specific qualities and characteristics that occur
in a letter, when it reaches its articulation point and differentiates it from other
letters.
Makharij Al Huroof– Point of origin where the letters are articulated from is
permanent and the letters are also permanent.
Sifat Al Huroofis all about how the letters are pronounced. The letters change
according to the situation. If the letter is articulated properly, but not
pronounced correctly with its correct characteristic, then this letter might
change to sound like another letter.
47
IMPORTANCE OF CORRECT APPLICATION OF THE SIFAT

(CHARACTERISTICS)
Teaches the various timings of Sakin letters

(Very important aspect for good recitation)
To learn which letters flow with the sound and which

letters floe without sound
To learn which letters flow with the air and which ones
SIFAT AL HUROOF
without the air
To learn which letters have a Nasalisation (Ghunnah)

and which letters have an Echo (Qalqalah)
To differentiate between the common letters in the

Makhraj makes the letter clearer, giving it, its due right
To beautify the recitation and the pronounciation
To recognize the Strong and the Weak letters
To recognize the Light and Heavy letters
48
SIFAT AL HUROOF
(Characteristics / Qualities of the Arabic
Letters)
AS SIFAATAL AARIDHA
AS SIFAATAL LAAZIMA (characteristics that are present
(characteristics that are in some situations and not
always present in others)
there)
2.) TEMPORARY /
1.) PERMANENT / CONDITIONAL
INSEPARABLE CHARACTERISTICS
CHARACTERISTICS Characteristics present in a
Qualities that are in-built & Letter in some cases and
deep rooted in the Letter absent in other cases
These qualities never leave the Concerns the Order of the
Letter, eg. Gunnah for letters Letters, which falls under the
Meem & Nun Ahkam rulings, ie. Idh'gham,
(Divided into 2 groups - With Idh'haar - discussed in later
Opposites & Without lessons as individual topics
Opposites)
There are 7
attributes
These are 10 Without Opposites
attributes
With Opposites
49
SIFAT AL HUROOF (PERMANENT & TEMPORARY ATTRIBUTES)
PERMANENT ATTRIBUTES TEMPORARY ATTRIBUTES
also known as SIFAT AL also known as SIFAT AL

LAZIMAH, DHATIYYA or AARIDHA, MUHASSINAH or
MUQAWWIMAH MAHALLIYYAH
CHARACTERISTICS OF CHARACTERISTICS OF
PERMANENT TEMPORARY
ATTRIBUTES ATTRIBUTES
1.) They do not form an
1.) They are an intergral part integral part of the letter
of the letter (Dhatiyyah) (Aaridha)
2.) They do not constitute
2.) They constitute the
the letter, ie. the letter will
letter ie. make up of the
be pronounced without
letter (Muqawwimah)
them
3.) They are inseparable 3.) They are not present in
from the letter (Lazimah) the letter all the time at
every place (Mahalliyyah)
4.) Without any one of 4.) Their purpose is only to
these qualities, the letter add to the beauty of
will either be pronounced recitation (Muhassinah)
as just another letter or 5.) They change according
will become a non-Arabic to the arrangement of the
letter or just a sound letters
10 Attributes with Opposites

Hams------------------Jahr
Shiddah---Tawassut---
Rakhawah
Isti'laa-----------Istifaal
Itbaaq--------Infitaah
Ismaat---------Idhlaq
7 Attributes without Opposites

As - Safeer, Al - Qalqalah, Al - Leen, Al - Inhiraf, Al - Takreer,
Al - Istitaalah and Al - Tafash-shee
50

CHARACTERISTICS
HAMS - JAHR (CONTINUATION OR STOPPAGE OF BREATH)
ATTRIBUTES THEIR OPPOSITE
ATTRIBUTES
HAMS – Continuation of Breath JAHR – Stoppage of Breath
• The softness o these letters allow • Imprisonment of the
for breathing to continue freely breathwhenpronounced.
when pronouncing them. • Air does not flow with the
• Air flows with the letter due to letter dueto the strength of
the weakness of its origin,causing its origin, causingit to rely
weakness in its reliance on its greatly on its makharij
makharij • The rest of the letters have
• Amount of air depends on this quality
theMakhraj of the letter
• Letters and have least
airescaping compared to the
other 8 letters
11 LETTERS 18 LETTERS
All the letters, excluding Hams
Letters
When Hams letters are pronounced When Jahr letters are

with aSakin, air flows from the pronounced with a Sakin, air
mouth does not flow from the mouth
NOTE: Letters can have the same Makharij (Point of Origin), but
different Sifaat (Quality). Eg.‫خ‬and ‫غ‬both originate from the top of the
throat, but their Sifaat arenot the same ‫(خ‬air) ‫(غ‬no air)
51

CHARACTERISTICS
SHIDDAH-TAWASSUT-RAKHAWAH STOPPAGE &
CONTINUATION OF SOUND)

ATTRIBUTES
Shiddah - Strength TAWASSUT In RAKHAWAH
The Strong Letters Between The The Soft Letters
• Imprisonment of Moderate Letters • The
the Sound of the • This is continuation
letter due to moderationbetween ofthe sound of
complete reliance Shiddah&Rakhawah. theletter, when
on the articulation Thesound of the pronouncing it
point letter due to weakness
• The articulation is not stopped, noris in reliance of
point is closed it allowed to continue. thearticulation
completely • This is when the point.
• No running of letters are Sakin • There is no
sound collisionand the
• This is when the sound issoft.
letters are Sakin, • This is when the
which causes a letters are Sakin
strong stoppage of
the sound
8 LETTERS 5 LETTERS 16 LETTERS
52

CHARACTERISTICS
ISTI’LAA - ISTEFAAL (HEAVINESS & LIGHTNESS)

ATTRIBUTES
ISTI’LAA PART TIME HEAVY Letters of Lowering
Letters of Elevation &PART TIME LIGHT • Keeping the
LETTERS– tongue lowered
• The elevation of • In the name ofAllāh from theroof of the
the mouthwhile
(discussedelsewhere
back of the tongue pronouncing
in thisbook –
towards the roof of aletter
Lafdhil
the mouth, when Jalali) • Flat sound
pronouncing a
• Rules of • Known as Light
letter letters )Tarqeeq)
• Thick sound ‫(ر‬discussed else (Light letters – Empty
• Known as where in this mouth Includes rest of
Heavyletters book) the letters except ‫ل‬and
(Tafkheem) • Regarding letter , ‫ ر‬which have their
(Heavy letters – Full ‫(ا‬Pronouncing own rules
mouth)With Isti’laa, changes
the tongue isjust according to
raised, whereas itsposition)
forItbaaq, there is
actualcontact
7 LETTERS 2 SITUATIONS FOR 21 LETTERS
‫ا‬
LETTER (ALIF)
When it is heavy OR
when it is light
53
When Alif appears

after a Heavy letter, it
is pronounced Heavily
eg.‫ قال‬When Alif
appears after a Light
letter, it is pronounced
Lightly eg.‫مال‬

CHARACTERISTICS
ITBAAQ - INFITAAH (CLOSURE & OPENING OF THE INSIDE OF THE MOUTH)

ATTRIBUTES
ITBAAQ – Adhesion INFITAAH - Separation
• Closure between parts of the • Keeping the tongue
tongue and the upper palate of separated from the roof of
the mouth when pronouncing the mouth while
these 4 letters pronouncing a letter
• The compression of the sound • The absence of the
between the tongue and the compression of the sound
mouth • All letters of the Arabic
• These letters are also Isti’laa Alphabet, apart from the 4
letters (Heavy letters) letters of Itbaaq
• NOTE: Every Itbaaq letter is
an Isti’laa letter, but every
Isti’laa letter is not a letter of
Itbaaq
‫ظطضص‬
54

CHARACTERISTICS
ISMAAT - IDHLAQ (PRONOUNCED WITH EFFORT & EASE)

ATTRIBUTES
ISMAAT – The Hard IDHLAQ - Fluency
Pronounced • Purity in Speech
• The articulation of the letters • The articulation of the letters
with utmost strength and with utmost ease from the
stability from their makharij, sides of the tongue or lips as
without which the letter will if they are slipping away
not be articulated • Lightly Pronounced letters
• Effort is put in reciting these
letters.
• Includes all letters excluding
Idhlaq letters
55
PERMANENT ATTRIBUTES (LAZIMAH) WITHOUT OPPOSITES

1. AS-SAFEER – WHISTLING: ‫صسز‬It is the natural occurrence of a
whistle like sound emitted while pronouncing the letters. The sound
resembles that of a bird when these letters are pronounced. The
soundemerges from the tip of the tongue and upper front teeth. Note:The
letter ‫ز‬has a more buzzing sound than the whistling sound in ‫س‬and ‫ص‬
2. AL-QALQALAH – ECHOING: ‫قطبجد‬This is the most important of the

non-opposite qualities. The letters possessing this quality are called
Muqalqalah. The letters in this group are pronounced with an echoing
quality. It is the vibration of the Makharij, a breaking of tension or release
with the emergence of the letter when accompanied by Sukoon. Qalqalah
is discussed at length in another chapter.
3. AL-LEEN – SOFTNESS: ‫يو‬These letters are pronounced without

difficulty. The letters are articulated from its makharij with a natural ease
and softness present in the letter. The letters are Waw Sakinah with a Fat-
ha before it and Ya Sakinah with a Fat-ha before it.
4. AL-INHIRAF – INCLINATION: The inclination to move the makhraj

of one letter to the other during pronounciation. ‫لر‬Leaning away from one
point of articulation to another. Technically it is the ‘slight deviation of
the tongue towards the makhrajof Raa while pronouncing Laam, and
towards its back and towards Laam while pronouncing Raa.’
56
5. AL-TAKRIR – REPETITION: ‫ر‬Technically means the trilling of the

tongue while pronouncing the letter ‫ر‬that causes the letter to be
pronounced more than once.(we must abstain from this quality so that the
letter is pronounced only once)
6. AL-TAFASH-SHEE – SPREAD: ‫ش‬Spreading the sound of the letter

startingfrom its articulation point, until it collides with the inner plates of
the top teeth.
7. AL-ISTITAALAH – PROLONGATION: ‫ض‬The stretching of the

sound over the entire tongue when pronouncing the letter. The
prolongation of the sound throughout its makhraj from its beginning till
the end.
2 EXTRA PERMANENT ATTRIBUTES (WITHOUT

OPPOSITES)
8. GHUNNAH – NASAL SOUND: This is the sound coming from the
nasal passagewhen pronouncing the two letters and Nasal sound is
retained when:-
‫م‬and ‫ن‬carry a Shaddah
b) Idhghaam of ‫م‬in ‫م‬accompanied by a vowel.
c) Idhghaam of in four letters of
d) All the Ikhfaa. Ikhfaa of ‫ن‬next to the rest of the letters, and Ikhfaa
of ‫م‬next to the letter ‫ب‬
Note: These are explained in detail in chapters of rules of Idhghaam, rules of

Noon Sakinand Tanween and rules of Meem Sakin. The amount of nasal
sound retained from minimum 1 to maximum 5 is:
a) ‫م‬and ‫ن‬carrying a vowel. (This is a quality - Sifaat)
57
b) ‫م‬and ‫ن‬have the rule of Idhaar. (This is a quality - Sifaat)

c) ‫م‬and ‫ن‬have the rule of Ikhfaa. (This is a rule – Ahkam)
d) ‫ن‬has the rule of Idghaam (half Idghaam). (This is a rule – Ahkam)
e) ‫م‬and ‫ن‬carrying a Shaddah. (This is a rule - Ahkam) ‫انَّمام َّما‬

Note: These are explained in detail in chapters of rules of Idghaam, rules of
Noon Sakinand Tanween and rules of Meem Sakin.
9) NABRAH – DOMINATION OR COMMAND: Hamza is said to be

Athqal Al-Huroof, the heaviest of all letters. It has a special sharpness and
heaviness which makes it dominate and have superiority over the rest of
the letters. It is glottal stop. This quality of Hamza sometimes results in
Hamza taking different rules in the recitation of the Holy Qur’an which
affect its heaviness.
The rules of Hamza are:-
a) TAS-HEEL – TO MAKE EASY: This means to pronounce Hamza softly

without taking into consideration its quality of strength and domination
or its being a glottal stop. In the recitation of ‘Aasim by the narrator Hafs,
there is only one word which takes this rule, in Surah Fussilat, Ayah 44
The second Hamza is pronounced softly, in the middle between the sound of
Hamza and the long vowel of Alif.
b) TABDEEL – TO CHANGE: This means changing the second Hamza to

the long vowelof Alif. This rule has been set out in the writing of the Holy
Qur’an.
Example: ‫ءأمنُوا‬is changed into ‫ءامنوا‬
c) HATHF – TO ELIMINATE: This is another rule for Hamza. It means

omitting Hamzafrom the word. In the recitation of ‘Aasim by the narrator
Hafs, there is only oneword which practically takes this rule, in Surah
Hujuraat, Ayah 11:
‫بئس الس ُم‬
58
The letters ‫ل‬and ‫س‬are accompanied by Sukoon, as the rule of the joining of
two letters with Sukoon (Noon Sakin with Kasra is added), in here ‫ل‬takes a
Kasra. The Hamza after the letter ‫ل‬is omitted. When stopping at the word
the second word can be read in two ways, either as ‫الس ُم‬ or‫لس ُم‬
AS - SAFEER
(WHISTLING
)
AL - QALQALAH
AL - LEEN (ECHOING)
(SOFTNESS) Letters of
Pronounced Vibration -
Qutubjad Letters
without
difficulty AL - ISTITAALAH
(PROLONGATION
‫يو‬ )
Stretching the sound
over the entire
tongue
AL -
AL - INHIRAF
TAKREER (INCLINATION)
(REPETITION) Move the
Fast Vibration Makhraj
of one le tter to
59 the other
AL-TAFASH-
SHEE
(SPREAD)
Sound spread in the
mouth
SUMMARY OF PERMANANT ATTRIBUTES

(LAZIMAH) WITH THE OPPOSITES
QUALITY NAME & NO OF ALPHABETS

DEFINITION LETT
ERS
Hams Continuation of
breath 11
Jahr– Stoppage of 18
breath
Shiddah– Strong 8
stoppage of sound
Tawassut– In between 5
stoppageand
continuation of sound
Rakhawah– 16
Continuation of sound
60
Isti’laa– Elevated – 7
Back of tongue rises to
palate pronounced
heavily
Istefaal– Lowness 21
Tongue low from palate
(pronounced lightly)
Itbaaq– Covered – 4
Centre of tongue rises to
palate
Infitaah– Open –
Tongue separated from
palate
Ismaat– Pronounced
with effort
Idhlaq– Fluency – 6
Smooth and easy to
pronounce
SUMMARY OF PERMANANT ATTRIBUTES (LAZIMAH) WITHOUT

OPPOSITES
NO OF
QUALITY NAME & DEFINITION LETTERS ALPHABETS
Safeer – Whistling – Sound like a bird 3
Qalqalah – Echoing – Breaking of 5

tension or release
Leen – Softness – pronounced 2
without difficulty
Inhiraf – Inclination – Move 2
makharij of one into another
Takrir – Repetition – Prounouncing 1
the letter more than once (not
recommended)
61
Tafashshee – Spread – Spreading 1

around the sound ofthe word in the
mouth once (not recommended)
Istitaalah – Prolongation – Stretching 1
sound over entire
tongue.
Ghunnah – Nasal Sound – Comes 2
from the Nasal passage
Nabrah – Domination – Command 1
and Sharpness, the heaviest of all
letters
PERMANENT QUALITIES OF INDIVIDUAL LETTERS
JAHR – Stoppage of Breath

SHIDDAH – Strong letters
ISTEFAAL – Light letters
ISMAAT – Read with effort
INFITAAH – Separation of tongue and upper
palate

palate
IDHLAQ – Smooth - Read with ease
QALQALAH – Echoing or Vibration
HAMS – Continuation of Breath

palate
62

RAKHAWAH – Soft letters
palate

palate

palate

ISTI’LAA – Heavy letters
palate

palate

palate
63

TAWASSUT – In Between stoppage &
continuation of breath
palate
IDHLAQ – Smooth - Read with ease
TAKREER – Avoid trilling of the tongue when
reading letter RA
INHIRAF – Incline – Move makharij of one into
another

palate
AS SAFEER – Whistling – Sound like a bird

palate

palate
TAFASHSHEE – Spreading the sound in the
mouth

ITBAAQ – Adhesion of tongue and upper palate
64

ISTITAALAH – Prolongation – Stretching the
sound



palate

palate

palate
IDHLAQ – Read with ease

65

palate

palate

palate
INHIRAF – Incline – Move makharij of one into
another

palate
GHUNNAH – Nasal Sound from the Nasal
passage
palate
GHUNNAH – Nasal Sound from the Nasal
passage

66

palate
LEEN – Softness – pronounced without
difficulty

palate

palate

palate
LEEN – Softness – pronounced without
difficulty
67
SIFAAT OF QALQALAH
Echo or Bounce
‫ب‬
‫ج‬ ‫ط‬
QUTUBJADD
68 ‫ق‬
‫د‬
THE QUALITY (SIFAAT) OF QALQALAH
When Arabic letters are read with a Sukun, the sound of the letter is
completed. There are 5 letters that when they are pronounced with a Sukun,
their sound is not completed and they are therefore read with a Vibration or
Echo, so as to complete the sound.
DEFINITION: To pronounce with an Echoing orBouncing sound, when
the letter carries a SUKOON only. The characteristic of Qalqalah is
found in the following five letters, when they carry a Sukoon. They are
known by the acronym QUTUBJAD.
1. The 5 letters of Qalqalah are read with an Echo when they carry a Sukun,
or stopping or pausing at the end of a sentence, or even when they appear
in the middle of a sentence.
2. Example: (‫ )قأ‬try and say the word ‘AQ’, it is a little difficult as the back of
the tongue and back of the throat come together. The sound is stuck and
does not fully come out, therefore it is read with an echo, so as to release
the sound, ‘AQQ’
3. When the sound is pronounced with an echo, separation takes place
between the 2 points of articulation, therefore the sound is completed.
4. Since an additional sound is being made, care must be taken that a Sakin
letter should not sound doubled (Mushaddad - as if it is carrying a
Shaddah) or voweled (Mutaharrik – as if it has a fat-ha or a Dhamma)
69
TWO TYPES OF SUKUN
TEMPORARY SUKUN PERMANENT SUKUN
When you stop at a The Original Sukun

verse or word and
symbol
you convert the
haraka into a Sukun
‫۝‬
‫۝‬ Abnaa
kasab
70
71
THE LEVELS OF QALQALAH

The degrees of Qalqalah refer to the strength of the vibration in the non-
vowelled letter depending on its position in a word, while the division into
levels takes into consideration the strength of the inherent qualities of the
Qalqalah letters.
- The higehst level

- Found in the letter ‫ط‬
L
1
e
s
t
❖ The higehst level

❖ Found in the letter ‫ج‬
L
n
d
2
❖ The higehst level

❖ Found in the letter ‫ق ب د‬
L
d
3
e
r
STRONGEST: When making Waqf (stopping) on a

Mushaddad letter of Qalqalah
STRONG: When making Waqf (stopping) on a Sakin

letter of Qalqalah
WEAK: When the Sakin letter of Qalqalah is in the

middle of a word
WEAKEST: When the letter of Qalqalah has a harakah

(vowel)
72
REASON FOR QALQALAH

The reason that these 5 letters have this quality of Qalqalah is because they
have the qualities of strength or force and the quality of audibility.
When the letter has the quality of strength or force, the sound and air is
completely cut off and the letter is trapped in its Makhraj, hence it is not heard
when
pronounced. But these 5 letters have the quality of audibility, so they should
be heard when pronounced.
The only way it can be heard is to break the tension and

release the Makhraj, to give Qalqalah to the letter. TheQalqalah is necessary
for these 5 letters because they have the attributes of Jahr (stoppage of the flow
of breath) and Shiddah (stoppage of the flow of sound), so without Qalqalah,
there would be no sound.
73
IDENTIFYING THE QALQALAH

1. Look for one of the letters of Qalqalah
‫دجبطق‬
2. Ask yourself: Does it have a Permanent or Temporary Sukun?
3. What level of Qalqalah is it? Subtle, Medium or Strong?
SURAH LAHAB
74
READING QALQALAH
NOTE: If any of the Qalqalah appear with Sukoon, it will be read with an
Echoing sound, whether it be in the middle of a word or at the end.
If the letter of Qalqalah comes at the end of a word and you stop on it, it will
be pronounced with a strong echoing sound, and if the letter has a Shaddah it
will be pronounced even stronger.
75
EXERCISING THE TONGUE

& REPETITION
(Ahkam Al
Huroof)
Application of
rules due to the
order of letters
the tongue Huroof)
and
repetition
points of
letters
(Sifaat Al Huroof)
Characteristics of
letters
76
TAJWEED 3: EXERCISING THE TONGUE & REPETITION

Recitation of the Holy Qur’an requires one to be informed about the letters,
vowels, how letters are connected and the various rules of Tajweed, etc. Most
important is how topronounce the letters and this involves the mouth and in
particular the tongue.
There are certain mistakes that are consistent, therefore, one has to train the
parts of the tongue, so that the letters are pronounced correctly, otherwise the
meaning of the
word changes, which should be avoided completely.
The letters that occur in Arabic, are not common in other languages. Letters
can have similar sounds to other languages, but they have different
articulation points. Letters that sound similar to the untrained ear, can be very
different in pronunciation.
The Qur’an is the word of Allāh(), revealed to man as a guidance and

we have to be extremely careful to read it as best as we can.
Below are some letters that sound similar to each other. Read them correctly
and notice how different parts of the tongue are used to pronounce them, even
though they sound similar.
77
SIMILAR SOUNDING LETTERS LEAD TO SIMILAR SOUNDING

WORDS
Some similar pairs of letters from the Arabic Alphabet, when put together,
form similar sounding words. So extra care must be taken to pronounce each
letter correctly.
Below are some pairs of words which illustrate this point. Notice some of the
letters may be different but the words sound the same
78
THE THREE LEVELS OF SPEED IN RECITING THE HOLY

QUR’AN
1. TAHQEEQ – Reciting the Holy Qur’an slowly and

with serenity, whilepondering the meaning. Reciting with deeper
concentration and observing theTajweed rules. This is a slowness without
elongation. There is a possibility that when reciting slowly, one may lengthen
a letter overits limit. This results in Tamteet, elongation, which is a mistake.
Tamteetmeans giving rise to letters of Madd from the harakaat. Therefore, the
reciterhas to be extra careful when reciting with Tahqeeq.The reading level of
Tahqeeq is usually for beginners in order to train thetongue to recite the letters
according to their nature and quality and topractice the rules of recitation.
Advantages: Less Tajweed mistakes are made

Disadvantages: Less verses are recited. Time spent to recite one Juz is about
one and a half to two hours.
This type of recitation is usually recited in gatherings and meetings when there
is a special programme.
2. TAHDEER (or Hadr) – It is a swift method of reciting the Holy Qur’an
withobservation of the rules of Tajweed. The reader then must be careful
not tocut off the lengthened letters, and not to shorten the vowels to the
pointthat the reading is not correct.When reading with Hadr, there is a
danger of reducing the timing of theletters and inserting one into another.
The letters must be pronouncedcorrectly with their due rights. Therefore,
there is no problem with recitingthe Qur’an with speed, on the condition
that there is no Idh’gham (merging ofsome letters into others) or reduction
in the required timing(‘eating/swallowing’ part of the letter) This level of
reading is usually for the Haafizul Qur’an who has memorized the Qur’an.
Therefore he is fully aware of the reading laws of Tajweed and due to
repetition of his reading, he avoids mistakes
Advantages: More verses recited. Time spent to recite one Juz is about half
an hour.
Disadvantages: Recitation mistakes are made easily. This type of recitation
is usually recited in the month of Ramadhan in order to obtain greater rewards
by reciting more verses of the Holy Qur’an - This should not be encouraged
as it causes errors in recitation.
3. TADWEER – It is reciting the Holy Qur’an with an average speed, at a

medium level which is in between the two levels of Tahqeeq and Tahdeer.
In this level the rules of Tajweed are preserved and observed. It is a
79
moderated recitation that is neither fast as Al-Hadrand nor slow as

Tahqeeq. Time spent to recite one Juz is about 1 hour.
During recitation of the Holy Qur’an, regardless of which speed is being used
(Tahqeeq, Tahdeer or Tadweer) one must apply the rule of Tarteel to all of
them.
TARTEEL is TajweedulHuroofwaMa’arifatulWuqoof– it is Tajweed of the

letters and knowledge of the stops.
It is reciting the Holy Qur’an clearly, pronouncing the letters correctly one by
one and applying the rules of Tajweed with understanding and thinking about
what is recited. The intention for recitation must be seeking closeness to
Allāh(Subhānahuwata’āla) and not for getting popularity, money or such like.
Tarteel also means reading the Holy Qur’an, as the Holy Prophet Muhammad
(saw) used to recite as he was ordered by Allāh (Subhānahuwata’āla) in the
following Ayah:
‫ﭢﭣﭤﭥ‬
Rat-tilil Qur’an means pronounce each letter one by one. This means each
letter is articulated individually. If we say ‘Bismillah’, we will hear the sound
of the Ba, Seen and the Meem. We recite with Tarteel, whether we recite fast,
slow or moderately.
When asked about the meaning of Tarteel,Àli () replied: “It means that
the Qur’an should be recited with Tajweed and with due observance to the
rules of Waqf (pausing or stopping at the end of the Verse)”.
Tarteel is reciting the Holy Qur’an with an average speed, the same as
Tadweer, but in addition to observing the rules of Tajweed and pronouncing
the letters correctly, the reciter must have Tadabbur (a proper understanding
and consideration of the Ayah recited).
Man HaqqaqahTilaawah (one who recites in Tahqeeq), must recite with

Tarteel, andMan DawwaralTilaawah (one who recites in Tadweer), must
recite with Tarteel, and Man HadaraTilaawah (one who recites in Hadr),
must recite with Tarteel, articulating each letter individually.
80
The Prophet Muhammad ( ) says: ‫أال‬

‫ال خير في قراءة ال تدبر فيها‬
“Truly, reciting without proper
understanding is fruitless”
81
THE THREE LEVELS OF SPEED IN RECITING THE HOLY

QUR’AN
TAHQEEQ
Slowly with Concentration
Observes Tajweed rules
TAHDEER
Swift with Speed
Observes Tajweed rules
TADWEER
Average and Medium
Preserves & Observes

Tajweed rules
82
HOW DIACRITICS CONTROL WORDS
Arabic Diacritics are actually called ‘TASHKIL’ in Arabic. Simply put, they
are signs written above or below letters to indicate how they are pronounced.
A Diacritic can be a sign, mark, point or accent. In Arabic, the Diacritics or
Tashkil are the short vowels of Fat-ha, Kasra and Dhamma, the lengthened
long vowels and Tanween, Sukun and Shaddah.
Example: An Arabic word can have the same Three letters - in the example
below we have the letters‫م‬: ‫لس‬. By just changing the Diacritics, we can
pronounce the words in so many different ways, each word with a different
sound and meaning.
83
AHKAM AL HUROOF
(Ahkam Al
Huroof)
Application of
rules due to the
order of letters
the tongue Huroof)
and
repetition
points of
letters
(Sifaat Al Huroof)
Characteristics of
letters
84
TAJWEED 4: AHKAM AL HUROOF

AHKAM AL HUROOF – Rules of the letters – These are the changes which
occur when a letter is combined with other letters. Each letter (Huruf) is given
it’s due right by applying the correct rules.
In Ahkam, we learn how to identify and apply the rules of Tajweed when
reciting the Holy Qur’an. It is the knowledge of what rules change in the
letters due to the order of letters.
The AHKAM rules are Eleven and each are further subdivided.
THE ELEVEN AHKAM RULES
i. The rules of LAAM
ii. The rules of NUN SAKIN AND TANWEEN
iii. The rules of NUN AND MEEMMUSHADDADAH
iv. The rules of MEEM SAKIN
v. The rules of OTHER IDHGHAM
vi. The rule of NUN QUTNI
vii. The rules of RAA
viii. The rules of MADDAH
ix. The rules of HAA
x. The rules of HAMZA
xi. The rules of WUQUF
85
TAJWEED
MAKHARI
J SIFAT AL AHKAM
HUROOF EXERCISIN AL
AL G
HUROOF HUROOF
THE
TONGUE
&
MAKHARI 2 TYPES 11 RULES OF
J 1. DHATI AHKAM
2. MAHA 1. Rules of
Laam
LI 2. Rules of
Nun
Sakin&Tan
ween
5 TYPES 3. Rules of
1. AL JAWF - Nun
2. The Oral &Meem
Cavity AL Mushaddad
HALQ - The h
Throat 4. Rules of
3. AL LISAAN - MeemSakin
The Tongue 5. Rules of
4. ASHSHAFAT otherIdhgha
AIN – The m
Lips 6. Rule of Nun
Qutni
5. ALKHAISHO
7. Rules of Raa
OM - The
8. Rules of
Nasal Cavity Maddah
9. Rules of
Haa
10. Rules of
Hamza
11. Rules of
Wuquf
86
87
THE RULES OF LAAM
LAAM
AT
TA'REEF
RULES
LAAM OF LAAM
AL HARF LAAM AL
FI'IL
LAAM
AL
LAFDHIL
JALALI
88
AHKAM AL HUROOF: 1) RULES OF LAAM

LaamSakin appears in the Holy Qur’an, in many ways, as in a Noun, or a
Verb or as a Definite Article. How and where the LaamSakin appears,
determines the way in which it will be pronounced. The 4 types of Laam are
further Sub-divided into 2 sections each. There are those that are Idh’haar
(where the LaamSakin appears and is pronounced clearly) and Idh’ghaam
(where the LaamSakin is written but merged or joined into the letter)
4 TYPES OF LAAM SAAKIN

LAAM AT
TA'REEF
Whenthe ‫ل‬appears in the beginning of a Noun
When a Noun (names of places, things, people) begins with a LaamSakin,
then it becomes a specific noun and is known as Laam At-Ta'reef or in some
places as Laam Al-Ma'arifa
LAAM AL FI'IL
When the ‫ل‬appears at the end of a Verb
When the LaamSakin appears at the end of a Verb (action word), then the
pronounciation of this Verb will be determined by the word that follows this
Verb.
LAAM AL HARF
When a word ends with ‫ل‬. Only 2 words: ‫لهلب‬
• Also known as Laam of the Participle (a word that points out meaning of
another word). There are only Two words that end with LaamSakin in the
Arabic Alphabet.
They are Hal ( ‫ )هل‬and Bal ( ‫)بل‬. Their pronounciation is also determined by
the word that follows the HAL or BAL
LAAM AL
LAFDHIL JALALI
When the ‫ل‬appears in the name of Allah (swt)
• Depending on the Vowel before the Laam in the name of Allah, the
word Allah will bepronounced heavily or lightly
89
4 TYPES OF LAAM SAKIN – FURTHER DIVIDED
IDH'HAAR (Where the Laam is clearly

pronounced) in the 14 Moon letters (Qamariyyah
LAAM AT IDH'GHAAM (Where the Laam is merged and
TA'REEF not pronounced) in the 14 Sun letters
(Shamsiyyah)
LAAM AL When the Verb ends with LaamSakin and the
FI'IL word that follows it, begins with any alphabet of
the Arabic language Except Ra and Laam,then it
is IDH'HAAR (The LaamSakin is pronounced
clearly)
When the Verbs ends with LaamSakin and the
word that follows it, begins with Ra or Laam, then
it becomes IDH'GHAAM (The LaamSakin is
merged and not pronounced)
LAAM AL If the word following Hal or Bal begins with any

HARF of the Arabic Alphabet except Ra or Laam, then
IDH'HAAR applies (The LaamSakin is
pronounced clearly)
If the word following Hal or Bal begins with Ra or
Laam, then IDH'GHAAM applies (The
LaamSakin is merged and not pronounced)
LAAM AL If the letter before the name of Allāh bears a Fat-
LAFDHIL ha or a Dhamma, then the word Allāh is recited
JALALI heavily with a full mouth
If the letter before the name of Allāh bears a Kasra,
then the word Allāh is recited lightly with an
empty mouth
90
LAAM SAKIN: 1) LAAM AT TA’REEF (SUN & MOON LAAM)

The 28 Arabic alphabet are divided into 14 Sun letters (Al Huroof Al
Shamsiyyah) and 14 Moon letters (Al Huroof Al Qamariyyah). The Sun and
Moon letters follow different pronounciation ways when they come directly
after the Definite Article ‘AL’.
• In English, when we mention the words ‘an Apple’ or ‘a Pear’, this

means any Apple or Pear. When we say ‘the Apple’ or ‘the Pear’, it
means that particular Apple or Pear. In Arabic the word ‘the’ is used
as AL )a combination of Alif and Laam). AL is therefore known as
the‘Definite Article’ as it refers to a particular thing. Nouns beginning
with Sun and Moonletters have different pronounciations when they
appear directly after the AL.
IDH'GHAAM IDH'HAAR
(LAAM IS MERGED & (LAAM IS
NOT PRONOUNCED
PRONOUNCED)
Sun letters always carry a
When there is Hal or
Shaddah and when the
Definite article AL is before
Bal and the word that
a Sun letter, the Laam follows it begins with
Saakin in NOT pronounced any letter of the Arabic
Alphabet except Ra &
14 SUN LETTERS ALL LETTERS OF THE

ARABIC ALPHABET
EXCEPT
RA & LAAM
EXAMPLES
EXAMPLES
Read as ASH Read as AL

SHAJARATU & not as KITABU
AL SHAJARATU
Read as AL
Read as AR SINATIKUM
RASUULU &
not as AL RASUULU
91
LAAM SAKIN: 1) LAAM AT TA’REEF (EXAMPLES OF EACH

LETTER)
NOTE: All Sun letters following the ‘AL’ always have a shaddah(The sound
therefore doubles and pronounciation of the word is easier). The laambefore the
Sun letter does
Not have a Sakin sign. The ALIF in the ‘AL’ is always a FAT-HA.
Word after AL’ Word after AL’ Moon letter

bignining with Sun bignining with Moon
letter Sun letter letter
92
LAAM SAKIN: 2) LAAM AL FI’IL
IDH'GHAAM IDH'HAAR
(LAAM IS MERGED & (LAAM IS
NOT PRONOUNCED
PRONOUNCED) CLEARLY)
When there is Hal or When there is Hal or

Bal and the word Bal and the word that
that follows it begins follows it begins with
with Ra or Laam any letter of the Arabic
Alphabet except Ra &
Laam
ONLY 2 LETTERS RA
ALL LETTERS OF THE
or LAAM ARABIC ALPHABET
EXCEPT
RA & LAAM
EXAMPLES
EXAMPLES
Read as HALLAKUM
and not as
HAL LAKUM Read as HAL
ATAAKA
Read as BAR RAFA
AHULLAHU
and not as BAL RAFA
Read as BAL
AHULLAHU
KAANA
This rule of Idh'ghaam applies to all the Ra or

Laam that follow either Hal or Bal, EXCEPT, the
word BAL RAANA, because the compulsory
pause (sakt) prevents assimilation
(SURAH MUTAFFIFEEN 83:14)
93
UNDERSTANDING HEAVY AND LIGHT LETTERS THE

ARABIC ALPHABET
TAFKHEEM TARQEEQ
(THICKENING/TO (THINNING/TO MAKE
MAKE HEAVY) LIGHT)
In recitation of the Holy In recitation of the Holy
Qur’an it means giving the Qur’anit means giving the
letter a quality of heaviness letter a quality of lightness by
by elevation of the tongue to lowering the tongue away
the roof of the mouth (filling from the roof of the mouth.
the space of the mouth with
the sound of the letter)
LETTERS THAT ARE:

SOMETIMES HEAVY & SOMETIMES
LIGHT
(The letters RA & LAAM – these will be
discussed in the other chapters)
The letters that have a

Heavyquality are the 7 The letters that have a
letters ofHuruful Light quality are the rest
Halqiyya (Throat letters) of the Alphabet apart
from the Throatletters (19
Letters)
94
THE RULE OF LAAM: 4) LAAM AL LAFDHIL JALALI

The letter LAAM is normally recited lightly with a thin sound. However,
when it appears in the name of ‫للَا‬ َّ (LafdhilJalalah), or in ‫اللَّ ُه َّم‬, it’s
pronounciation depends on the following 2 rules:
RULE 1: Read with a Full mouth

(TAGHLEEDTH)
When a FAT-HA or a DHAMMA appears on the letter before the word

Allah, the LAAM
in the word Allah is pronounced heavily with a full mouth.
Full mouth if a letter with a Full mouth if a letter with a FAT-HA

DHAMMA isbefore the word Allah is beforethe word Allah
RULE 2: Read with an Empty

mouth (TARQEEQ)
When a KASRA appears on the letter before the word Allah, the LAAM in
the word Allah,
is pronounced lightly with an empty mouth.
Empty mouth if KASRA before the word Allah
NOTE: This rule applies only when is in the word Allah. The rule does
not apply when

95
the is NOT in the word Allah. Example: ََ‫( ُه َوالَّ ِذيْن‬Has a Fat-ha, but
recited lightly)
96
THE RULE OF LAAM: 4) LAAM AL LAFDHIL JALALI
LAAM (Lafdhil Jalalah) in

the Exalted name of Allah
If the letter before the If the letter before the

name of Allah has a Fat- name of Allah has a
ha or a Dhamma Kasrah
(Read the LAAM heavily) (Read the LAAM lightly
Anywhere else that Laam

Shaddahappears and it is not in
the name of Allah
(Read the Laam lightly)
97
THE RULES OF NUN SAKIN ‫ ن‬andٌ ٍ ًTANWEEN
IDH'HAR to
show/be clear
Nun Sakin
& Tanween
IKH'FAA ٌٍ _______
IQLAB to
to hide change
IDH'GHAM
to merge/
assimilate
98
RULES OF NUN SAKIN AND TANWEEN
When letters of the Arabic Alphabet appear after a Nun Sakin or Tanween
letter, then there are 4 rules which affect their pronounciation. All the Arabic
letters are divided into these 4 rules.
The Nun Sakin and letters with Tanween both have the same sound at the
end, the Nunation sound, as in An, In and Un.
NUN SAKIN TANWEEN
The Nun can be with or All Letters of the Alphabet

without the Sukun Symbol that have either symbol
and both are known as Nun Fat-hatain, Kasratain or a
Sakin Dhammatain
(Pronounced with a (Pronounced with a

Nunation Sound) Nunation sound)
Examples Examples
99
RULES OF NUN SAKIN AND TANWEEN

Nun Sakin is the Nun with or without the Sukun whereas, Tanween is
basically Nun Sakin added to the end of the word. Nun Sakin is a Nun free
from any vowel (Fat-ha, Kasra or Dhamma). Tanween is written as a double
Fat-ha, Kasra or Dhamma. In Tajweed, Nun Sakin and Tanween are the
same. So whatever applies to Nun Sakin, also applies to Tanween.
In continuous recitation of the Holy Qur’an, it is pronounced.

How it is pronounce How it is The Word
of pausing or pronounced in
stopping continuous recitation
However, when pausing or stopping, the Nun Sakin is omitted and not
pronounced.
This is the Nun with or without a Sakin sign

• It's pronounciation depends on the letter which
follows it.
• It can be found in continuous reading as well as
when one stops
• It is present in all parts of speech of the Arabic
language(Noun, Verb and Particle)
• The Tanween appears in connected speech. It is

thepronounciation of an additional non-vowelled
Nun at the end of a word.
• It is not pronounced when a stop is made at the end
of a word
• The Nun is not written, It's sign is either two Fat-
ha, two Kasrah or two Dhamma.
100
THE FOUR RULES OF NUN SAKIN AND TANWEEN
IDH'HAAR
(To recite
clearly)
\
\
IQLAAB
(To turn or IDH'GHAA
RULES OF
convert) M (To
NUN
merge or
SAKIN & join)
\
\
IKHFAA
(To hide or
to conceal)
101
THE LETTERS RELATED TO THE NUN SAKIN AND

TANWEEN RULES
Name Letters that follow Ruling
Idh’haar Nun Sakin or Tanween will be

pronounced clearly (NO hiding
or merging)
Idh’gaam Nun Sakin will be merged into
the following letter and be
pronounced with Ghunnah
Nun Sakin will be merged into

the following letter but no
Ghunnah will take place
Ikhfaa Nun Sakin or Tanween will be
pronounced with a Ghunnah of
2 harakah. The Ghunnah
must be strong because it is
hidden.
Iqlab Nun Sakin or Tanween will be

changed tothe letter ‘meem’ and
pronounced withGhunnah of 2
harakah.
102
NUN SAKIN AND TANWEEN
RULE 1: IDH’HAAR (to say CLEARLY)
NUN SAKIN AND TANWEEN: RULE 1 IDH’HAAR (to say

CLEARLY)
a) WHAT IS THE MEANING OF IDH’HAAR– To recite the Nun Sakin
or TanweenClearly. The Nun sound has to be touched and let go with a
slightghunnah, it should not be extended. The letter following the Nun
Sakin or Tanween should also be pronounced clearly with NO change.
Note: Slight Ghunnah to be applied due to the Nun
Nun Sakin example Tanween example
b) THE DIFFERENT STEPS IN APPLYING IDH’HAAR

Step 1: Find Nun Sakin or TanweenorTanween
Step 2: Look at the letter immediately after Nun Sakinor Tanween
Step 3: The letter after must be a HuroofulHalqi letter (Throat letter)
Step 4: Recite the Nun Sakin or Tanween clearly.
c) THE LETTERS OF IDH’HAAR – These are the 6 Throat letters

(HurufulHalqiyyah) also known as the Idh’haar letters.
103
d) IDENTIFYING & APPLYING IDH’HAAR – The Nun should NOT be

pronounced as if it is carrying a vowel, it should be a quick passing and
clear with slight ghunnah, otherwise it will sound as if it is carrying a
Shaddah.
NUN SAKIN AND TANWEEN: RULE 1 IDH’HAAR (to

say CLEARLY)
PRACTICING RULE OF IDH’HAAR – Nun is an original Ghunnah letter.

Therefore even if it is in Idh’haar, a slight Ghunnah must be applied. The
Ghunnah of Idh’haar Nun Sakina is 1 haraka (pause or gap)
READING IDH’HAAR WITH EACH OF THE THROAT LETTERS
104
REMEMBER: An Alif with any of the vowels is also known as a Hamza.

Hamza is the King of Letters provided with a seat. Hamza Alif is just a seat
of Hamza, therefore we pronounce the Hamza sound because Alif is a silent
letter or Maddiya letter. In the Arabic script, when Alif appears without the
Hamza, it is a vowel and when it appears with a Hamza, it is a consonant.
105
NUN SAKIN AND TANWEEN: RULE 2 IDH’GHAAM (To Merge or

Join)
IDH'GHAAM
LETTERS (Merge
or join)
IDH'GHAAM IDH'GHAAM
BILA GHUNNAH MA'AL GHUNNAH
(Join without (Join with
Ghunnah) Ghunnah)
a) WHAT IS THE MEANING OF IDH’GHAAM - To merge or join one

letter into the other. We join the letter of Nun Sakin or Tanween with the
letter of the following word. In this rule, when pronouncing the letters,
you have to hide the sound of Nun Sakin and Tanween, by adding a Nasal
sound (Ghunnah)
NOTE: Care must be taken when adding the nasal sound to avoid pulling
too much. Idh’ghaam cannot be applied in a single word but must be the
joining of 2 separate words, thus making them into one emphasized word.
Example:
Nun Sakin example Tanween example

ُ‫أمن يُجيب‬ ‫تواب رحيم‬
Ammayyyujeebu Tawwa Bur Raheemun
Notice the sound of Nun Sakin and Tanween is hidden and is not
pronounced
b) THE LETTERS OF IDH’GHAAM are: These letters can be

remembered by memorising the acronym YARMALUN
106
c) THE DIFFERENT STEPS IN APPLYING IDH’GHAAM

Step 1: Find Nun Sakin or Tanween
Step 2: Look at the letter immediately after Nun Sakin or Tanween
Step 3: The letter after must be a YARMALUN letter (‫)نولمري‬
❖ With Ghunnah‫ونمي‬
❖ Without Ghunnah‫رل‬
Step 4: Join or merge the letter of the Nun Sakin or Tanween with the
Yarmalun letter of the following word.
d) THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF IDH’GHAAM – There are two types

ofIdh’gham. The type of Idh’ghaam pronounced depends, on which letter
from theletters of Yarmalun, follows the Nun Sakin and Tanween.
107
TYPE 1 – IDH’GHAAM MA’AL GHUNNAH – Merging with Nasal

Sound – LETTERS ‫يمنو‬also known in acronym as YAMNU letters
Whenever a word ends with Nun Sakin or Tanween, and the next word starts
with the letters Ya, Nun, Meem or Waw, then these letters are pronounced in
one of the following two manners:
❖ Full Ghunnah - Letters ‫ –من‬Complete Merging letters which when

they appear, will have a Shaddah and are pronounced from the nose
(with Ghunnah – 2 counts)
‫جزاء من‬ ‫من نطفة‬
❖ Partial Ghunnah – Letters ‫ –وي‬Incomplete Merging letters which are

literally hummed. Sometimes these appear with NO Shaddah sign
‫قريبا يوم‬ ‫سراجا وهاجا‬
108
NUN SAKIN AND TANWEEN: RULE 2 IDH’GHAAM (To

Merge or Join)
TYPE 1 – IDH’GHAAM MA’AL GHUNNAH – Merging with Ghunnah

of 2 harakah
TYPE 2 – IDH’GHAAM BILA GHUNNAH – Merging without Nasal

Sound - LETTERS
‫رل‬- Whenever a word ends with Nun Sakin or Tanween, and the next word
starts with the letters Laam and Ra, then the letters Laam and Ra are
pronounced with a Shaddah and both the Nun Sakin and Tanween are
dropped completely. The Nun is hidden.There is no trace of Nun in the
recitation and there is NO Ghunnah (Nasal sound)
109
e) IDENTIFYING & APPLYING IDH’GHAAM

Idh’ghaamMa’alGhunnah – Merging with Nasal Sound (Ghunnah)
Idh’ghaam Bila Ghunnah – Merging without Nasal Sound (Ghunnah)
f) EXCEPTIONS TO THE IDH’GHAAM RULE

In these words, rule of Idh’ghaam is not applied as the Yarmalun letter
appears after the Nun Sakin and Tanween in one word and not in two
separate words.This is known as IZHAAR MUTLAQ.
Ghunnahofharakah is applied.
Qinnwaanun Sinnwaanun Bunnyaanun Dunnya
110
NUN SAKIN AND TANWEEN
RULE 3: IKHFAA (to Hide or to Conceal)
IKHFA
A (To
hide or
conceal)
111
NUN SAKIN AND TANWEEN: RULE 3 IKHFAA (To Hide or

Conceal)
a) WHAT IS THE MEANING OF IKHFAA - Whenever Nun Sakin and
Tanween precede one of the fifteen Ikhfaa letters, then the actual sound of
Nun is concealed or covered to a point where only its nasal sound is
evident and is stressed for the count of two.
Question: What is hiding or concealed in Ikhfaa
Both Nun Sakin and the Tanween end with the Nun Sound. In Ikhfaa, the
full Nun sound is NOT pronounced. We partly hide the makharij of the Nun
sound and hold it (do Ghunnah for two counts), then it continues, behind the
makharij of the Ikhfaa letter that is coming up. Example:
Notice when you read as Antum, the tip of the ‫أَنتُم‬

tongue touches the upper palate, but when you Read as Annn Tum
hide the full Nun and do Ghunnah, the tongue is And not Antum
floating, as it prepares to say the letterTa, which
is the next letter
b) THE LETTERS OF IKHFAA - 15 Letters - The letters that are in shaded

boxes are heavy letters
An easy way to remember the Ikhfaa letters. All the 28 letters of the Arabic
alphabet are divided into the 4 rules of Nun Sakin and Tanween, therefore we
remove all the letters of Idh’haar, Idh’ghaam and Iqlab, the rest are all Ikhfaa
letters
IDH’HAAR – 6 Throat
Letters
(HurufulHalqiyya)
IDH’GHAAM – 6
Yarmalun letters
IQLAB – 1 Qalb letter
112
IKHFAA – All the rest

of the Arabic Alphabet –
15
letters
NUN SAKIN AND TANWEEN: RULE 3 IKHFAA (To Hide or

Conceal)
c) The Different Steps In Applying Ikhfaa

Step 1: Find Nun Sakin or Tanween
Step 3: The letter after must be an Ikhfaa letter (from the 15 letters)
❖ heavy letters, read with heavy Ikhfaa‫صضطظق‬

❖ 10 light letters, read with light Ikhfaa‫تثجدذزسشفك‬
Step 4: The full sound of Nun is hidden and we partially pronounce it and
hold for 2 counts (ghunnah), then join it with the Ikhfaa letter that follows it.
d) THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF IKHFAA- 2 Types

❖ Heavy Ikhfaa – If the letter after Nun Sakin and Tanween, is a letter of
Ikhfaa and a heavy letter, recite the Ikhfaa heavily
❖ Light Ikhfaa – The rest of the Ikhfaa letters are read lightly.
113
e) IDENTIFYING & APPLYING IKHFAA
114
NUN SAKIN AND TANWEEN: RULE 4 IQLAB (To Change or

Convert)
a) WHAT IS THE MEANING OF IQLAB – To change or convert. The
Nun Sakin or Tanween is converted into a Meem. Therefore, one letter
changes into another.
NOTE: The ‘MEEM’ here refers to the small ‘MEEM’ between or on top
of a word. It is always very small and shaded. In most copies of the
Qur’an, a small ‘MEEM’is written above Nun or Tanween, as a reminder
of the rule.
Example:
NUN SAKIN TANWEEN
MimmmBa’di SamiiAmmBaseeraa
b) THE DIFFERENT STEPS IN APPLYING IQLAB Step 1: Find Nun

Sakin or Tanween
Step 3: The letter after must be the letter baa ‫ب‬
Step 4: Convert the Nun Sakin or Tanween into a Meem. Pronounce the
Meem with a
Nasal sound and hold the Meem sound for 2 counts.
c) THE LETTER OF IQLAB is the letter baa ‫ب‬when it appears after

theNun Sakin or Tanween.
d) IDENTIFYING & APPLYING IQLAB IN THE QUR’AN – In the rule

ofIqlab, the letter Meem ( ‫ )م‬hides in the letter Be ( ‫ )ب‬in such a way, that
thelips do not meet, they get near each other and a very narrow space will
be left,sufficient for a very thin paper to pass through.
AnToobsalaNafsummbimaaKasabat
115
NUN SAKIN AND TANWEEN: RULE 4 IQLAB (To Change or

Convert)
In the rule of Al Qalb, the lips should not entirely be pressed
together, this will allow the Meem sound to come through the nasal
passage. The mouth should be prepared to say the Baa after sounding
the Meem for two counts.
IMPORTANT TO NOTE: Do not mix up the two types of

Meem that appear on top of the letters. The full shaped Meem ( ‫ )م‬indicates
Iqlab or change and the cut Meem ( ‫م‬ ) indicates a compulsory stop.
EXAMPLES:
Compulsory Stop Meem ‫م‬ Iqlab – Change Baa To Meem
‫م‬
Quran 10:65 Qur’an 2:95
116
NUN SAKIN AND TANWEEN SUMMARY
Look for Nun Sakin or Tanween
Look at the letter after Nun Sakin or Tanween
‫ء‬
‫ي‬
‫هـ‬
‫و‬ ‫ل‬
‫ع‬
‫م‬
‫ب‬
‫غ‬ ‫ر‬
The rest of
‫ن‬ the letter
‫ح‬
IDH’GHAAM with
Ghunna IDH’GHAAM
without Ghunna IQLAB
Ikhfaa
‫ح‬
Hide or conceal
IDH’HAAR
Recite Clearly
Merge or Join Convert
117
RULES OF NUN SHADDAH AND MEEM SHADDAH
Nun Shaddah and Meem Shaddah are also known as Nun and Meem
Mushaddadah (meaning a doubled letter or letters bearing a Shaddah)
When these two letters appear with a Shaddah sign in any word, a Ghunnah
has to be applied for a period of 2 counts. This is because the Shaddah is
already a double letter + the Ghunnah (2 counts).
The Ghunnah is applied to Nun and Meem Mushaddadah, whether they

occur in the middle or the end of a word, in continuous reading or when
stopping and in all parts of speech.
GHUNNAH
(TO BE APPLIED FOR 2 SECONDS
When the Nun & Meem

Mushaddadah appear in any
word
‫ن‬ ‫م‬
118
WHAT IS GHUNNAH?
a) Ghunnah is applied when Nun and Meem have a Shaddah.

b) Ghunnah is a sound emitted from the Nasal Passage, without any function
of the tongue.
c) This is when a certain sound is held in the nasal cavity (Nasalisation) for
a length that is longer than the short harakah (about 2 beats)
d) Professional Qur’an reciters pay much attention to these sounds.
e) Application of Ghunnah by the reciter, adds beauty to the recitation.
NOTE: Ghunnah is divided into 4 parts:
➢ In ‫م‬and ‫ن‬, the Ghunnah is applied for 2 counts (2 Harakah)

➢ In ‫م‬and ‫ن‬, in Idh’haar the Ghunnah is applied for 1 count (1 Harakah)
➢ In ‫م‬and ‫ن‬, in Idh’ghaam the Ghunnah is applied for 2 counts (2
Harakah)
➢ In ‫م‬and ‫ن‬, with Short vowels, the Ghunnah is applied for ½ count
(1/2 Harakah)
119
RULES OF NUN SHADDAH AND MEEM SHADDAH

EXAMPLES: The letters Nun and Meem have original Nasal sounds. Notice
the Meem Shaddah and Noon Shaddah are stretched through the Nasal cavity
and not the tongue.
120
THE RULES OFMEEM SAKIN ‫م‬
Idh'ghaam
Shafawi to merge
(Ghunna 2 into
counts)
Ikhfaa
Shafawi
to hide (hidden sound
(Ghunna 2
counts) of )
Idh'haar Clear sound
of Meem =
Shafawi
to show 26 letters of
(No
Ghunnah) Idh'har +
THE RULES OF MEEM SAKIN ‫م‬

Meem Sakin is simply a Meem with a Sukun sign. The Meem Sakin can
appear with or without a Sukun symbol.
Example:
Meem Sakin with a ALHAMDU

sukun
Meem Sakin without TARMEEHIMMM
a sukun BIHIJARATIN
The pronounciation of the Meem Sakin depends on the letter which follows
it. There are 3 rules that take place when certain letters appear after the Meem
Sakin.
a) Idhghamshafawi
b) Ikhfaashafawishafawimeans articulated from
c) Idh’har shafawi the two lips
121
THE 3 RULES OF MEEM SAKIN
2.) Ikhfaa Shafawi

(To hide or conceal)
1.) Idh'ghaam 3.) Idh'haar

Shafawi (To Shafawi (To recite
merge or join) clearly)
RULES OF
MEEM SAKIN
MEEM SAKIN: RULE 1 - IDH’GHAAM SHAFAWI (To merge or join)
f) WHAT IS THE MEANING OF IDH’GHAAM SHAFAWI –

Idh’ghaam means to merge or join. When Meem Sakin‫م‬is followed by
another Meem carrying a vowel, instead of reading 2 meems, they merge
into each other and the sound of meem is held in a ghunnah. There is a
difference between Idh’ghaam and Idh’ghaamShafawi. Example:
IDH’GHAAM SHAFAWI IDH’GHAAM

Meem Sakin followed Nun Sakin followed by the
another Meem letter Meem
Ghunnah is applied to both the above for 2 harakah,

Meem Shaddah + Meem Sakin = 2 counts of ghunnah
122
g) THE DIFFERENT STEPS IN APPLYING IDH’GHAAM SHAFAWI

Step 1: Find Meem Sakin
Step 2: Look at the letter immediately after Meem Sakin
Step 3: The letter after must be the letter Meem: ‫م‬
Step 4: The first Meem is assimilated (or disappears) into the second
Meem. The second Meem takes on a Shaddah during pronounciation,
indicating Idh’ghaam. Nasal sound (Ghunnah) is applied with the lips
closed for 2 counts.
h) IDENTIFYING & APPLYING IDH’GHAAM SHAFAWI –
123
MEEM SAKIN: RULE 2 - IKHFAA SHAFAWI (To hide or conceal)
a) WHAT IS THE MEANING OF IKHFAA SHAFAWI – Ikhfaa means

to hide or conceal – to partly hide or conceal the sound of Meem Sakin in
the nose. When Meem Sakin‫م‬is followed by the letter Ba, the letter Meem
‫م‬is concealed by it and a nasal sound is retained. The Meem is hidden with
Ghunnah (Nasal Sound) to a count of two. The lips should not be
completely closed to avoid making theevident. There is a difference
between Ikhfaa and IkhfaaShafawi.
Example:
IKHFAA SHAFAWI IKHFAA

Meem Sakin followed by Ikhfaa in the rules of Nun
the letter Ba Sakin
b) THE DIFFERENT STEPS IN APPLYING IKHFAA SHAFAWI

Step 3: The letter after must be the letter Ba: ‫ب‬
Step 4: The Meem is concealed or hidden by the Ba and the word is
pronounced with a nasal sound (Ghunnah) held for 2 counts, with a paper
thin gap between the lips.
c) IDENTIFYING & APPLYING IKHFAA SHAFAWI – The rule

applied for all the words below is the same and Ghunnah of 2 counts will
be applied as we partly hide the sound of Meem Sakin in our nose
(flattening the lips).
Read Read as
IMPORTANT NOTE: - Do not confuse the small Meem of Iqlab‫م‬with the

Baa and Meem Sakin of IkhfaaShafawi.
124
MEEM SAKIN: RULE 3 – IDH’HAAR SHAFAWI (To recite clearly)

a) WHAT IS THE MEANING OF IDH’HAAR SHAFAWI – Idh’haar
means to recite clearly – to show. When Meem Sakin is followed by any
of the 26 letters (apart from Ba and Meem), then the Meem Sakin is
pronounced clearly and distinctly from its makharij, without the nasal
sound (ghunnah) There is a difference between Idh’haar and
Idh’haarShafawi. Example:
IDH’HAAR SHAFAWI IDH’HAAR

Meem Sakin followed by Idh’haar in the rules of
any of the 26 letters (apart Nun Sakin
from Ba & Meem)
b) THE DIFFERENT STEPS IN APPLYING IDH’HAAR SHAFAWI

Step 3: The letter after must be any of the 26 letters of the alphabet, except
for the letter Ba: ‫( ب‬which falls under the rule of IkhfaaShafawi) and the
letter Meem: ‫( م‬which falls under the rule of Idh’ghaamShafawi)
Step 4: The Meem is recited clearly, without a nasal sound (no ghunnah)
c) IDENTIFYING & APPLYING IDH’HAAR SHAFAWI: When

pronouncing the letter Meem Sakin with Idh’har note the following:
1. It should not be given a sound as if it is carrying a vowel. A clear
pronounciation and a quick passing of the letter Meem Sakin should be
observed, otherwise it will sound as if it is carrying a Shaddah.
2. If the letter Meem is followed by either Fa or Waw extra effort should be
made to retain Idh’har, because the letter Meem easily becomes hidden
next to the letter Fa and is easily merged in the letter Waw.
125
THE 3 RULES OF MEEM SAKIN
126
THE RULES OF MEEM SAKIN IN BRIEF

1. IDH’GHAM of Meem Sakin– If after Meem Sakin, comes a Meem, there
will be Idh’gham of the lips (Idh’gham Ash Shafawi - Both Meems will
Assimilate into each other) with a nasal sound.
Idghaam of two identical letters ‫م = م‬+‫م‬
Second Meem takes First Meem is joined

on a Shaddah into the second Meem
2. IKHFAA of Meem Sakin– If after Meem Sakin, comes a Ba, there will be
Ikhfaa of the lips (Ikhfaa Ash Shafawi). Ikhfaa literally means to hide, the
qualities of Meem are concealed and instead a nasal sound is produced.
Hidden sound of Meem ‫ب = م‬+‫م‬
Second word begins First word ends with

with Ba that bears a Meem Sakin (read with
vowel Ghunna)
3. IDH’HAR of Meem Sakin– If after Meem Sakin, comes any letter besides
Ba or Meem, there will be Idh’har of the lips (Idh’har Ash Shafawi - to
make clear) and the Meem Sakin will be pronounced normally, without a
nasal sound (no ghunnah)
Clear sound of Meem 26 letters of Idh’har ‫م‬
127
THE RULES OFOTHER IDH’GHAM
IDH'GHAM
MUTAMAATHILAYN
OTHER
IDH'GHAM IDH'GHAM
TYPES OF
MUTAQAARIBAYN MUTAJAANISAYN
IDH'GHA
M
IDH'GHAM
MUTABAA'IDAYN
128
THE RULES OF OTHER IDH’GHAM

Idh’gham means to merge, blend, assimilate or absorb. It is the merging of a
letter carrying a Sukun into the following letter, which carries a vowel, so that
they become one. The letter accompanied by a Sukun is omitted and the
following letter is then pronounced with a Shaddah. This merging can be
either complete or incomplete:
➢ Complete merging or Idh’gham al-Kaamilimplies a complete
blending of a letterinto the letter it follows, to a point where there is
no trace of the first letter inpronounciation.
➢ Incomplete merging or Idh’gham an-Naaqisimplies a partial
blending of a letterinto the letter it follows.
IDH'GHAM AL-KAAMIL Complete

Merging
IDH'GHAM
IDH'GHAM AN-NAAQIS
Incomplete Merging
129
WHY IDH’GHAM
Idh’gham is designed for easy pronunciation. It is difficult to pronounce two
similar letters, one after the other. Idh’gham is applied to remove this
difficulty. There are different types of Idh’gham
TYPES OF OTHER IDH’GHAM
1. Idh’ghamMutamaathilayn – Merging of same letters, with the same

Makharij andsame Sifat.
2. Idh’ghamMutajaanisayn – Merging of related letters, with the same
Makharij butdifferent Sifat.
3. Idh’ghamMutaqaaribayn – Merging of similar letters, that are close to
each other inMakharij and Sifat.
4. Idh’ghamMutabaa’idayn – Merging of distant letters, whose Makharij is
far fromeach other. There is NO Idh’gham between distant letters.
IDH’GHAM MUTABAA’IDAIN – Letters whose Makharij is far from

each other. There is NO Idh’gham between two distant letters
130
OTHER IDH’GHAM
1.) IDH'GHAM 2) IDH'GHAM 3.) IDH'GHAM

MUTAMAATHILAYN MUTAJAANISAY MUTAQAARIBAYN
Merging of Identical Merging of Related Merging of

letters letters Similar letters
(Same Makharij
(Same Makharij & BUT different Sifat) (Close to each
Sifat - Same Letters) other in Makharij
AND Sifat)
131
RULES FOR OTHER TYPES OF

IDH'GHAM
1.) IDH'GHAM 2.) IDH'GHAM 3.) IDH'GHAM

MUTAMAATHILAY MUTAJAANISAYN MUTAQAARIBAY
N N
Merging of Merging of Merging of

Identical letters Related letters Similar letters
AS-SAGHEER AS-SAGHEER AS-SAGHEER

SMALL (When the SMALL (When the SMALL (When
1st letter has a Sukun the 1st letter has a
1st letter has a Sukun and the 2nd letter Sukun and the
and the 2nd letter has a Haraka) Rule is 2nd letter has a
to MERGE Haraka) Rule is to
has a Haraka) Rule is
‫ما عبدتم‬ MERGE
to MERGE
‫ب‬
ّ ‫قل ّر‬
‫يدرككم‬
AL-KABEER BIG AL-KABEER BIG AL-KABEER BIG

(Both the (Both the letters (Both the
letters have a have a Haraka) letters have a
Haraka) ‫الصالحات طوبى‬ Haraka)
‫ب‬ّ ‫قال ّر‬
‫حجج‬
ٍ
132
RULES OF OTHER IDH’GHAM – 1.) IDH’GHAM

MUTAMAATHILAYN
The assimilation of same letters. This rule is applied when two identical letters
follow each other in either the same word or in between two words, where the
first one is Sakin and the Second one has a vowel, the Sakin letter is
assimilated (merged) into the one with the vowel and the vowelled letter is
pronounced as if it has a Shaddah.
Examples of Identical Letters: ‫ط‬

َ ‫م َم نن د َد ط‬
Example: Merging of Identical Letters.
NOTE: Ghunnah is applied, whenever two Nuns or two Meems are

assimilated into one.
CAUTION: If a Sakin letter is a letter of Maddah (Alif, Waw and Ya), then
it will not be assimilated. Below is an example of two identical letters of
which, one letter is a letter of Maddah
Note: Two similar letters ‘YA’ are next to each other. In this
example the Ya Sakin or Waw Sakin, will not be assimilated
(merged), as they are acting as a Maddah
‫الذييوسوس‬ ‫فييوم‬ ‫ءامنواوعملوا‬
133

MUTAJAANISAYN
The assimilation of related letters. The term related letters used here refers to
the letters that are from the same Makharij (point of origin) but having
different Sifat (qualities, characteristics).
When two letters from the same Makharij but having different qualities,
follow each other, in either, the same word or in between two words, where
the first letter has a Sakin and the second letter has a vowel, the Sakin letter is
assimilated into the letter with the vowel and the vowelled letter is
pronounced as if it has a Shaddah.
Examples of Related Letters:
NOTE: Ghunnah is applied on the Meem Mushaddadah.
OBSERVE: With the exception of the letter Ta ( ‫)ط‬, all the Sakin letters of
Idh’ghamMutajaanisayn undergo a complete assimilation and are not
pronounced. The letter ( (‫ ط‬involves a partial merging, where it will have a
trace of its characteristics in pronounciation.
MUTAJANISAYN EXCEPTION: One exception of two related letters

which occurs only in the case of letters Ba ( ‫ )ب‬and Meem ( ‫ )م‬appears only
in Surah Hood, Ayah 42
Read as: Written as:

‫إرك ّمعنا‬ ‫إركبمعنا‬
134
Examples of Idh’ghamMutajaanisayn – Related letters
‫أثقلدعوللاا‬ ‫أثقلتدعوللاا‬ ‫تد‬

‫قتّبيّن‬ ‫قدتبين‬ ‫دت‬
‫ودّطائفة‬ ‫ودتطائفة‬ ‫تط‬
ّ‫بست‬ ‫بسطت‬ ‫طت‬
‫يلهثذالك‬ ‫يلهثذالك‬ ‫ثذ‬
‫ظلموا‬ ّ ‫ا‬ ‫إذذهب‬ ‫ذظ‬
Common mistakes of 2 words that are merged, where they should NOT
be merged.
‫بس ْطت‬ ‫فقدض ّل‬

And ‫ت‬have the same Makhraj The Makharij for ‫د‬is different
from theMakharij of ‫ضض‬is
point but different Sifaat. ‫ط‬is from the edge of the tongue,
from the heavy letters. We whereas ‫د‬is from the tip of the
have to be careful to pronounce tongue. Therefore both ‫د‬and
the heaviness of the ‫ض‬are read with their
‫ط‬Therefore both ‫ط‬and ‫ت‬are characteristics and not merged.
read with their characteristics
and not merged.
135

MUTAQAARIBAYN
The assimilation of similar letters or letters that are next to each other. Similar
letters refer to the letters that:
➢ Their Makharij (articulation point or place of origin) and Sifat

(attributes, characteristics) are very similar to each other
➢ Their Makharij is the same and their Sifaat is different
➢ Their Makharij is different and their Sifaat is the same When similar
letters follow each other in either the same word or in between two
words, where the first one is Sakin and the second letter has a vowel.
The Sakin letter is completely merged into the vowelled letter, to a
point where there is no trace of the Sakin letter and the vowelled letter
is pronounced as if it has a Shaddah.
‫قك‬
‫لر نر‬
Letters with same

Makharij but
different Sifaat
Letters with Letters with different

similar Makharij Makharij but
& Sifaat same Sifaat
IDH'GHAM
MUTAQAARIBAYN
136
‫‪GUMAYRAH‬‬ ‫‪LEARNING HUB‬‬ ‫‪-‬‬ ‫‪NAEEMAH‬‬ ‫‪FASHINA‬‬
‫كَ‬ ‫ق‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ر ل‬
‫منوليَ‬ ‫ألمنخلقكم‬ ‫لساءة‬ ‫وقلرب‬
‫يكنله‬ ‫والشمس‬ ‫بلرفعهاهلل‬
‫‪137‬‬
How The Rules OfIdh’ghamMutaqaribayn Are Read
138

MUTABAA’IDAIN
Distant Letters are two letters whose Makharij is far from each other. They
are articulated from two different areas. For example: ( ‫ )ح‬,( ‫ ح‬- ‫ )ي‬is
articulated from the throat and ( ‫ )ي‬is articulated from the tongue. And if the
letters are articulated fromone area they must be separate by at least one
Makharij or more. For example: ( ,(‫هر‬- ‫ ) )خهر‬is articulated from the deepest
part of the throat and ( ‫ )خ‬is articulated from the part of the throat nearest to
the mouth. The Makhraj of the mid-throat separates them.
NOTE: There is NO Idh’gham between two distant letters
139
THE RULES OFNUN QUTNI
140
NUN QUTNI (THE SMALL‫)ن‬

RULE: Two Sukun letters cannot be read in the Qur’an. Example:
‫ىؤمئذ السلم‬
‫َنَََََََََََل‬+َ‫(َذَ=َذ‬as it appears)
‫ ذََََََََََََل‬+َََ‫(ذَ = ن‬changed to)
Here the 2 Sakin meet each other or the Tanween is followed by
the Sakin. Therefore, the Nun Sakin of the Tanween letter is
converted into a Nun with a Kasrah. In Arabic 2 Sukun cannot
be pronounced, therefore ‫ن‬is added. When reading Qur’an with
an Uthmani script, one is expected to know this and do the
conversion themselves, whereas in the Majeedi script, a small
Nun with a Kasrah is indicated. This small Nun is known as
NUN QUTNI
QUR’AN WITH MAJEEDI QUR’AN WITH UTHMANI

SCRIPT SCRIPT
Preferred by those from Used by those familiar with
Indo/Pak, South Africa & the Arabic Language
other countries
‫ىومئذنَالسل َم‬ ‫يومئذَالسل َم‬
Nun in the Tanween is always The Tanween is followed by
converted into a Nun Kasrah. LaamSakin and you have to
The small Nun Kasrah convert the Nun in the
indicates this Tanween into Nun Kasrah
There is no indication and the
reader has to be aware of the
rules
Both the above are pronounced as yawmaidhinissalama
NOTE: The Uthmani and Majeedi script Qur’an both produce
the same results in terms of final pronounciation. The difference
is in their fonts and some indications which are different.
141
NUN QUTNI (SMALL NUN ‫)ن‬
Nun Qutni Nun Qutni

Uthmani Script
Majeedi Script
‫ابنه‬ ‫ن‬ ‫نوح‬
Read as ‫ ن‬+ ‫ُح‬ ‫ح‬

NUUHU NIBTAHU
Read as
NUUHU NIBTAHU
PRACTICE READING NUN QUTNI
142
NUN QUTNI (SMALL NUN ‫)ن‬
When the Nun Qutni appears after a full stop, there are 2 options:
❖ The reciter can stop at the full stop and then start the new sentence
with the Nun Sakin of the Nun Qutni OR
❖ The reciter can choose not to stop and just ontinue
Example
143
THE RULES OF RAA
‫ر‬
THE RULES OF RAA ‫ر‬
The letter Raa( ‫ )ر‬is sometimes pronounced with Tafkheem (heavy, with a
full mouth), and sometimes pronounced with Tarqeeq (light, with an empty
mouth). When Raa( ‫ )ر‬is pronounced with Tafkheem (heavy, with a full
mouth), the tip of the tongue moves upward towards the roof of the mouth
and the lips are rounded. When Raa( ‫ )ر‬is pronounced with Tarqeeq (light,
with an empty mouth), the tip of the tongue moves towards the gum of
theNtop incisors and the lips stretched to form a smile
144
15 RULES OF RAA
ََُ ََ8 rules to Fat-ha Dhamma,always read as

Tafkheem(Heavy,with a full mouth)
ََ4
ِ rules related toKasrah, always read as Tarqeeq (Light,
with an empty mouth)
ََ2
ِ exception rules for Kasra, always read as
Tafkheem(Heavy,with a full mouth)
Certain words where both Tafkheem and Tarqeeq are

allowed
145
THE 8 RULES OF RAA TAFKHEEM RELATED TO FAT-HA &

DHAMMA
Raa is pronounced with Tafkheem (full mouth) when it is bearing a Fat-ha
or a Dhamma or a Fat-hatain or a Dhammatain, or the last sound before the
Raa (when it is bearing a Sakin or when it appears at the end of the sentence
– at stops) is the letter with a Fat-ha or a Dhamma.
8 RULES OF RAA TAFKHEEM WITH EXAMPLES

1) When Raa is bearing a Fat-ha (Rule 1) OR a Dhamma (Rule 2) or the
Tanween of Fat-ha or Dhamma. Even when there is a Shaddah sign with
the Fat-ha or Dhamma, it will still be pronounced with a full mouth –
Tafkheem
ْ ‫ْس‬
‫َالب َْر‬ َ ‫َََر َحمإ ْءََلَي‬ َ ‫َََر ِز ُقَََقُد َِر‬
ٌ ‫ََر ِح َم‬ ُ ‫ض‬ ْ ‫فَ َر‬
2) When Raa is bearing a Sukun, preceded by a letter carrying a Fat-ha (Rule

3) OR a Dhamma (Rule 4)
3) When Raa is bearing a Sukun, preceded by a letter with a Sukun, preceded

by aletter carrying a Fat-ha (Rule 5) OR a Dhamma (Rule 6). This rule is
used at stopsand difficult to pronounce. To practice this, listen to a Qari.
4) When Raa is bearing a Sukun, preceded by Alif – the long vowel (Rule 7)
OR Waw – the long vowel (Rule 8). This is a rule used at stops.
146
THE RULES OF RAA TAFKHEEM
(Heavy – Full mouth pronounciation)
‫َر‬ or ‫ُر‬
+ً‫ ر‬+ ًُOr ًَ

‫ ر‬+ ًُ or ًَ
Raa Tafkheem
(Heavy
pronunciation -
Full mouth - or
a
(heavy‫ ر‬+ً bit of a rattling
letter without ‫ر‬+ ‫و‬or ‫ا‬
Kasra in (long vowel
the same word
‫و‬and (
‫ر‬+ ‫ٱ‬
‫ا‬
147
THE 4 RULES OF RAA TARQEEQ RELATED TO KASRA

Raa is pronounced Tarqeeq (Lightly with an Empty mouth) when it is
bearing a Kasrah, OR the last sound before the Raa (when it is bearing a Sakin
or when it appears at the end of the sentence – at stops) is Kasra
1) When Raa is bearing a Kasra or the Tanween of Kasra. Even when there
is a Shaddah sign with a Kasra, it will be pronounced with an empty
mouth – Tarqeeq.
2) When Raa is bearing a Sukun and preceded by a letter carrying a Kasra
3) When Raa is bearing a Sukun, preceded by a letter carrying a Sukoon,

preceded by a letter carrying a Kasra. This rule is used at stops and difficult
to pronounce. To practice this, listen to a Qari.
4) When Raa is bearing a Sukun, preceded by Yaa – the long vowel or Yaa
Sakin – Yaa bearing Sukun). This rule is used at stops.
148
THE RULES OF RAA TARQEEQ

(Light – Empty Mouth Pronounciation)
‫ر‬
‫ر‬+ً
‫ ر‬+ +ً Raa Tarqeeq
(Light
Pronunciation -
Empty mouth)
‫ر‬+‫ي‬
‫ر‬+ً
(long vowel
Yaa)
149
THE 2 EXCEPTION RULES OF RAA TAFKHEEM RELATED TO

KASRA
When RaaSakin (Raa bearing a Sukun) is followed by a Tafkheem letter
(Heavy letter), OR preceded by HamzatulWasl, the Raa is pronounced with
Tafkheem (full mouth).
2 EXCEPTION RULES WITH EXAMPLES
1. When the Raa is bearing a Sukun and is preceded by the connecting

Hamza (HamzatulWasl) in any circumstance.
When RaaSukun is preceded with HamzatulWasl, with whatever sound the

HamzatulWasl is to be pronounced (even if it is a Kasra – even if the letter
before the Hamzatul
Wasl is a Kasra), the letter ( ‫ )ر‬will be pronounced with Tafkheem)
2. When Raa is bearing a Sukun and although preceded by a letter carrying

a Kasra,it is followed by a heavy elevation letter of Iste’laa, then it is
pronounced withTafkheem (heavy). The Heavy letters are:
‫ص ض ط ظغ خ ف‬
For the above rule to be followed correctly, the following conditions have to
take place:
a) There has to be a heavy letter. i.e. A Kasra letter, then RaaSakin, followed
by a heavy letter.
b) The Heavy letter should NOT be having a Kasra
c) The heavy letter has to be in the same word, i.e. A Kasra letter, then
RaaSakin, then followed by the heavy letter, all in one word.
Heavy letter,
without a kasra,
in the same word Raa Sakin Any Kasra letter
If the above 3 conditions are not met, then the Raa is to be pronounced lightly
150
CERTAIN WORDS WHERE BOTH TAFKHEEM AND

TARQEEQ IS ALLOWED
There are some words in the Holy Qur’an which can be pronounced heavily
or lightly.
Both Tafkheem and Tarqeeq

can be applied if reading
continues andthere is no Surah Shuara, Verse 63
stopping.
Both Tafkheem and Tarqeeq
can beapplied if stopping.
Surah Yunus, Verse 87
Other words are in:
Surah Yusuf, Verse 21

In Surah Wal-Fajr: verse 4
Surah Yusuf, Verse 99

In Surah Wal-Qamar: verse 16
Surah Zukhruf, Verse 51

In Surah Hud: verse 81,
Surah Al-Hijr: verse 65,
Surah Duhaa: verse 77,
Surah Ash-Shu’a’raa: verse
52,and Surah Ad-Dukhan: verse Surah Sabaa, Verse 12
23
NOTES to remember:
1. The general rule in the pronunciation of the letter Raa‫ر‬is that the short
vowels Fat-ha and Dhamma are the cause of heavy pronunciation.
2. The short vowel Kasra is the cause for light pronunciation of letter Raa‫ر‬
151
3. The vowels Fat-hateen and Dhammateen , and the long vowel Alif ‫ا‬and
Waw ‫و‬are similar as the short vowels of Fat-ha and Dhamma , and they
all are the cause of heavy pronunciation of the letter Raa‫ر‬
4. The vowel Kasrateen, and the long vowel Yaa ‫ى‬are similar as the short
vowel Kasra, they are the cause of light pronunciation of the letter Raa‫ر‬
5. ‫ر‬RaaSukun can sometimes be pronounced as both Tafkheem (Heavy)

and Tarqeeq (Light) eg the word ‫(فرق‬Surah Ash-Shu’araa, Ayah 63),
Tafkheem because it is followed by a letter of elevation and Tarqeeq
because it is accompanied by Sukun and is situated between two letters
that are accompanied by Kasra.
The letter Raa in the word MAJRIIHA in Surah Hud: verse 41 is

pronounced with Tarqeeqbecause the long vowel of ( ‫ )ا‬has the rule of the
big lean.
152
RULES OF RAA
153
AHKAM AL MUDOOD(THE RULES OF MADDAH)
AHKAM AL MUDOOD - THE RULES OF MADDAH
The linguistic meaning of Madd is to prolong or to do something extra.

Maddah simply means Elongation of Sounds.
❖ Madd means the elongation of the letters (another meaning is to
stretch or to lengthen the letters)
❖ The letters of Maddah are three: ‫اوي‬
❖ The duration of the elongation is measured in terms of the length of
the vowels (Harakah)
❖ There are Three kinds of duration of the elongation for different
syllables that are regulated by certain principles.
i. QASR (Shortness) – the duration of the elongation should not be

more than 2 harakah long.
ii. TAWASSUT (Intermediate) – the duration of the elongation is
between 3 – 5 harakah long
iii. TUUL (Lengthy) – The duration of the elongation is between 4 – 6
harakah long.
Individual single Maddah are called Maddah (Singular), whereas, many

Maddah are referred to as Mudood(Plural).
154
DURATION OF ELONGATION OF MADDAH

THE 9 TYPES OF MUDOOD
The Maddah letters of Alif, Waw and Ya, have rules which determine how
the Maddiya letters are pronounced. These rules are known as the ‘Rules of
Maddah’. They are divided into 2 groups, Maddul Asli or Tabee
(Original/Natural Madd) and MaddulFar’i
(Secondary/Derived Madd).
155
BREAKDOWN OF THE 9 TYPES OF MUDOOD

1) MADD UL ASLIYYA also known as MADD UT TABEE is the Original
Madd
The rest of the Madd come under MADD UL FAR’I which is the Secondary
Madd.
CAUSED BY OTHER FACTORS
2) MADD UL-BADAL – The Substitute Madd

3) MADD UL-SILAH – The Connecting Madd
4) MADD UL-EWAD – The Replacement Madd
CAUSED BY HAMZA
5) MADD UL-MUTTASIL – The Connected Madd

6) MADD UL-MUNFASIL – The Detached Madd
CAUSED BY SUKUN
7) MADD UL-LAAZIM – The Compulsory Madd

8) MADD UL-LIN – The Gentle Madd
9) MADD UL-ARID LIS SUKUN – The Abrupt Stop Madd
156
157
TYPES OF MADD: 1.) MADD AL ASLIYYA OR AT-TABEE

NATURAL OR ORIGINAL MADD
It is named Original because it is the origin of all Mudood
(lengthening). It is called natural because it follows the sound’s
normal and natural (Tabee) way of pronounciationwithout any
decrease or increase in its timing.
CONDITION OF MADD AT-TABEE– The Madd letter Alif
should be preceded by any letter carrying a Fat-ha, the Madd letter
Yaa should be preceded by any letter carrying a Kasra and the Madd
letter Waw should be preceded by any letter carrying a Dhamma.
There should be no Hamza before the word or Hamza or Sukun after
the word.
TIMING: It is lengthened for two vowel counts
INDICATIONS OF THE ORIGINAL MADD
There should not ‫ و‬- ٌُ ‫ ي‬-ٌ ‫ ا‬-ٌ There should not

be a Hamza before be a Hamza ‫ء‬or
it When Alif is preceded by
a letter bearing a Fat-ha Sukun
sign (can be any letter) after the word
When Ya is preceded by
a letter bearing a Kasra
sign (can be any letter)
When Waw is preceded
by a letter
bearing a Dhamma sign
(can be any
letter)
158
WHAT IS A VOWEL COUNT OR LENGTHENED FOR 2, 4, 6

HARAKA MEAN?
When reading Maddah, we have to extend or lengthen the sound. How does
one measure the length of the sound? Some count the fingers on the hand and
some use the seconds of the watch. The oldest and preferred method is the
time it takes to say a haraka (vowel)
‫ب‬
َ َ‫بَبَبَب‬ ‫ب‬َ َ‫بَبَب‬ ‫ب‬
َ َ‫بَب‬ ‫ب‬
َ َ‫ب‬ ‫ب‬
َ
5 counts 4 counts 3 counts 2 counts 1 count
ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba
ba
MADD UL ASLIYYA / MADD AT TABEE

(ORIGINAL / NATURAL MADD)
Lengthening of a sound using the 3 Madd letters
Yaa Maddiyya Waw Maddiyya Alif Maddiyya

empty preceded by empty preceded by empty preceded by
any Kasra letter any Dhamma letter any Fat-ha letter
‫ي‬- ‫و‬- ‫ا‬-
159
THE ORIGINAL MADD CONDITIONS

1. The Madd letters of ‫ايو‬are empty and do not have any haraka (Fat-ha,
Kasra or Dhamma)
2. Madd letters must be preceded by its own harakai.e. Madd letter Alif by
Fat-ha, Madd letter Waw by Dhamma and Madd letter Ya by Kasra.
3. There is no Hamza before the word and no Hamza or Sukun after the
word.
4. To be extended for Two haraka OR Two counts only
MADD AL FAR’I – 8 TYPES OF MADD
MADD CAUSED BY
OTHER FACTORS
MADD CAUSED BY
HAMZA
MADD CAUSED BY
SUKUN
160
MADD CAUSED BY OTHER FACTORS
2.) MADD UL- 4.) MADD UL-

BADAL (The EWAD
Substitute Madd) 3.) MADD UL-SILAH (The Replacement
Madd) Elongation: 2
Elongation: 2
Haraka
Haraka
MADD UL-SILAH AS-SUGHRA MADD UL-SILAH AL-KUBRA

The Minor Connecting Madd The Major Connecting Madd
Elongation: 2 Haraka Elongation: 4 to 6 Haraka
MADD AL FAR’I: MADD CAUSED BY OTHER FACTORS
a) MADD UL-BADAL – The Substitute Madd – When any of

the Madd letters of‫اوي‬are preceded by a ‫ء‬, and not followed by
a Hamza or Sukun. This Madd is stretched to 2 Haraka.
b) MADD UL-SILAH – is the prolonging of the Haa( ‫ )ه‬of the

pronoun that represents a third party of male gender.
➢ The Haa( ‫ )ه‬has to fall between two voweled letters (neither
of them have a Sukun)
➢ You must continue to the next word in order to sound this
Madd. eg. If you stop on this Haa, then NO Madd.
➢ The Madd will be with Waw if the Haa has a Dhamma,
and by Yaa if the Haahas a Kasra. Eg
NOTE: Letter Haa does not bear a Fat-ha
There are 2 types of Madd ul-Silah

Madd ul-Silah as-Sughra Madd ul-Silah al-Kubra
(Lesser) (Longer)
161
➢ The two vowels between ➢ The two vowels between

which the Haa sits, should which
be a Fat-ha, Kasra or the Haa sits, should be a Fat-ha,
Dhamma and not a Kasra or Dhamma and not a
Sukun Sukun
➢ The Haa is not followed ➢ The Haamust be followed
by a Hamza ‫ )ا‬or (‫ء‬ by a
➢ Haato be stretched for 2 ➢ Hamza ( ‫ا‬or (‫ء‬Haato be
countsjust like Madd stretched for 4 – 5counts just
Tabee like Madd Munfasil
➢ ➢
➢ Notice a vowel after the ➢ Notice the Hamza after the
Haa and NOHamza Haa
162
EXCEPTIONS OF THE MADD UL-SILAH

a) Notice the word . The Haa in this word fulfils all the
conditions of Madd ul-Silah as-Sughra, yet it is not stretched
when reciting. There is a vowel before and after the Haa, and no
Hamza after the Haa, yet there is no Madd in this word (Surah
Zumar Ch. 39 Ayah 7)
b) Notice the word . The Haa in this word does not fulfil
all the conditions of Madd ul-Silah, yet it is stretched when
reciting. There is a vowel after the Haa, but there is a Sukun
before the Haa, and no Hamza after the Haa, yet a stretch of 2
counts is made on this word (Surah Furqaan Ch. 25 Ayah 69)
Note: Copies of the Qur’an printed in Arab countries usually indicate
Madd ul-Silah by a small Ya or Waw next to the Haa. These symbols
are not present in copies of the Qur’an printed in India, Pakistan and
other countries.
Examples of the small Ya or Waw in Madd ul-Silah as-Sughra
Kitaabahuu ‘ibaadihii Lahuu maa fee

waraa’a khabeeraa
Examples of the small Ya or Waw in Madd ul-Silah al-Kubra
Wathaaqahuuu Haathiheee Maalahooo

ahadun eemaanan akhladahu
Notice the small Ya & Waw have a small Madd on them
for Silah al-Kubra
5) MADD UL-EWAD – The Replacement Madd – involves

replacing the Fat’hatain that occurs at the end of a word with the
Alif Madd with Fat-ha, when a reader stops on it. This Madd is
stretched to 2 Haraka. This rule is not applicable to Kasratain or
Dhammatain.
163
NOTE: This rule applies to all letters including Hamza but not the letter
TA MARBUTA .‫ة‬Ta Marbutah is the exception to this rule as it is
pronounced as HA when it occurs at a stop.
164
Madd Al Far’i: Maddah Caused by Hamza
MADD CAUSED BY HAMZA
5.) MADD UL-MUTTASIL 6.) MADD UL-MUNFASIL

The Connected Madd The Detached Madd
Elongation: 4 to 6 Haraka Elongation: 3 to 5 Haraka
Al Madd Al-Jaa’ez Al-

l Madd Al-Wajib Al-Muttasil Munfasil
(Obligatory Prolongation) (Permissible Prolongation)
CONDITIONS: CONDITIONS:
➢ This Madd is Obligatory as ➢ This Madd is named
a Hamza follows any Madd Munfasil (separated) as it
letter of Alif, Yaa or Waw is sounded over
in ONE WORD (if it is in TWO WORDS
two words, then it is Madd ➢ Occurs when a word ends
al-Munfasil with a letter of Madd and
➢ It is prolonged for either 4 is followed by a word that
or 6 counts begins with Hamza
➢ If you choose to prolong for ➢ It is prolonged for either 3
4 counts, then this must or 5 counts
remain consistent ➢ Al Madd al-Munfasil
throughout the recitation cannot exceed Al Madd al-
Mutasil (Both have to be
the same count)
Examples: Examples:
Ja is to be stretched for 4 to 6 Da is to be stretched for 3 to 5

counts counts
Ma is to be stretched for 4 to 6 Fi is to be stretched for 3 to 5

counts counts
165
MADD AL FAR’I: MADDAH CAUSED BY SUKUN
AL-MUKHAFFAF
Light form
Elongation: 6
Harakat
AL-HARFI
Involves Letters
7.) MADD AL-MUTHAQQAL

Heavy form
ULLAZIM Elongation: 6
Harakat
AL-MUKHAFFAF
Light form
Elongation: 6
AL-KALIMI Harakat
Involves Words
MADD MADD UL-
LINThe Gentle AL-MUTHAQQAL
CAUSED Madd Heavy form
BY Elongation: 2, 4, Elongation: 6
Harakat
SUKUN 6 Harakat
AL-MAHMUZ
Madd followed by The letter
9.) MADD Hamza Elongation: 4 to 6
ULARID Harakat
LIS SUKUN
GHAY AL MAHMUZ
Madd followed by any letter
other than Hamza
Elongation: 2 to 6 Harakat
166
6) MADD UL-LAAZIM – The compulsory Madd – Occurs when any of the

Huruful Madd is followed by a letter with a Sukun(ٌ + ‫ا‬,‫و‬,‫ )ي‬or a
Shaddah(ٌ + ( ‫ا‬, ‫و‬,‫ي‬This Madd occurs in either a word (Kalimi) or in
a letter (Harfi). These are further divided into 2 parts each.
MaddulLazim al Kalimi MaddulLazim al Harafi

(Maddah in a word) (Maddah in a letter)
MaddulLazim al Kalimi MaddulLazim al Harfi al

al Muthaqqal (Heavy) Muthaqqal (Heavy)
MaddulLazim al Kalimi MaddulLazim al Harfi al
al Mukhaffaf (Light) Mukhaffaf (Light)
MADD UL LAAZIM
(When there is a permanent Sukun after any letter of
AL KALIMI AL HARFI
When the Sukun after the When the Sukun after the
letter of Madd is in a WORD letter of Madd in in a LETTER
AL KALIMIL AL KALIMIL AL HARFIL AL HARFIL

MUTHAQQAL MUKHAFFAF MUTHAQQAL MUKHAFFAF
HEAVY LIGHT HEAVY LIGHT
When the Sukun When the Sukun
When the When the
is in the form of is in the form of
a Shaddah Sukun is a Shaddah Sukun
normal is normal
NOTE: The heavy form of MaddulLazim occurs when a Maddah letter is

followed by a letter bearing a Shaddah. The Shaddah indicates that Idhgham
has taken place and also represents a doubled letter, the first of which bears a
Sukun.
167
Example: ‫ق‬
Madd UlLaazim Al Kalimi Madd UlLaazim Al Kalimi

(Muthaqqal - Heavy) (Mukhaffaf - Light)
When a Shaddah follows a When a Sukunٌ follows a
Madd letter in a word. It is Madd letter in a word. It must
stretched for 6 vowel counts be prolonged no lessthan 6
Examples vowel counts
Example - only 1 case in the
MADD UL LAAZIM
Qur'an
(Maddah caused by
Sukun)
Madd UlLaazim Al Harfi Madd UlLaazim Al Harfi

(Muthaqqal - Heavy) (Mukhaffaf - Light)
If a Madd letter is followed by If a Madd letter is followed by
a Mushaddad letter, the reader a Sakin letter, the reader is
is required to prolong the required to prolong the Madd
Madd letter. This Madd must letter. This Madd must be
be prolonged for 6 vowel prolonged to 6 vowel counts.
counts.
This Madd occurs only in the Huruful Muqat’ta’aat letters.
Examples and more details are explained in the next page
DETAILED EXPLANATION & EXAMPLES ON MADD UL-LAAZIM AL-

HARFI
The Madd ul-Laazim al-Harfi is the Madd that occurs in letters and not words
(Madd ul- Laazim al-Kalimi). In this case all the letters are from the
HurufulMuqatt’ta’aat (The Mysterious Letters – discussed elsewhere in this
book) The letters of HurufulMuqatt’ta’aat are 14 letters (half of the Arabic
Alphabets). They appear in 29 chapters in the Holy Qur’an as the opening of
the Surah and they appear in 14 different ways, as 1 letter alone, or together
as 2, 3 or more letters.
168
THE 14 HURUFUL MUQATT’TA’AAT
THE 14 HURUFUL MUQATT’TA’AAT IN THE MADD UL-LAAZIM AL-

HARFI
1) The individual letters have to be pronounced by reading out their
respective names according to their spelling.
2) The length of each letter’s prolongation will be determined by the Madd
rule inherent within the spelling of it.
3) The difference of the length of its prolongation is determined by the
number of letters that are used to spell the name of that particular letter.
4) These Madd can contain one, two, three or more letters.
5) In regards to their lengthening, the HurufulMuqatt’ta’aat are divided into
4 types
6) The divisions into these types is based on how the letters are spelt.
Important Note: When reciting the HurufulMuqatta’at, “all the letters with
a Maddah sign should be read as the letter itself, and all the letters with
thestanding Alif, should be read as the sound of that letter”
DIVISION OF THE 14 HURUFUL MUQATT’TA’AAT ACCORDING TO

THEIR PROLONGATION
1.) The letter (Alif – when we spell the letter). It does not have a Madd
in between it’s spelling, therefore we do not stretch it and say it plainly as
Alif
169
2.) The 5 letters of , are known by the acronym ‘HayyTuhr’

These letters are written with their spelling and read out without being
followed by a Hamza or Sukun
Raa haa taa yaa Haa
Notice when the above 5 letters are read by their names, they all have the Alif
Maddah in-between, this makes it Madd at-Tabee and these letters are
stretched for 2 counts
3.) The 7 letters of are known by the acronym SanaqussuLakum,

These letters are written with their spelling and read out. In these
7 letters, the letter of Madd is within it, when followed by Sukun, it is
merged and therefore is has Madd al-Harfi, which is elongated by 6
harakat.
meem kaaf laam saad qaaf noon seen
4.) The letter ARABIC(Ayn – when we spell the letter). It has the Yaa Madd
inbetween,which is the letter of ease. This makes it Madd al-Leen and it
iselongated for 2, 4 or 6 Harakat.
170
DIVISION OF THE 14 HURUFUL MUQATT’TA’AAT ACCORDING

TO THEIRPROLONGATION
ELONGATION OF HURUFUL MUQATT’TA’AAT

Written
Read
6 2 6 2 6 2 2 2 Length of
Stretch
Written
Read
6 6 6 2 2 6 1 6 6 1 Length of
Stretch
Written
Read
6 6 2 2 6 6 6 Length of
Stretch
171
THE MADD AL-HARFI IN THE HURUFUL MUQATT’TA’AAT
The 7 letters which when spelt out or individually read, have

a Madd letter in the middle and end with an original or
permenant Sukun.
Known by
the acronym
Merged into Not

the letter merged
that comes into the
after it letter that
comes after
Madd ul-Laazim Harfi Muthaqqal Madd ul-Laazim Harfi Mukhaffaf
EXAMPLE EXAMPLE
‫م‬ ‫ل‬ ‫ا‬
‫ميم‬ ‫لم‬ ‫الف‬

The Alif is read normally as Alif, the
The Alif is read normally as Alif, the
Laam ends with a (Meem Sakin) and the
Meem begins with a (Meem with a
Laam ends with a Meem Sakin and
vowel). When the Meem Sakin the Raa has one Madd, therefore
meets the Meem Kasra, Idhgham takes no merging takes place
place
172
MADD UL LAAZIM
(COMPULSORY LENGTHENING)
MADDUL LAAZIM AL KALIMI MADDUL LAAZIM AL HARFI

(6 Haraka Lengthening in a Word) (6 Haraka Lengthening in a Letter)
Compulsory Heavy Compulsory Light Compulsory Heavy Compulsory Light

Lengthening in a Lengthening in a Lengthening in a Lengthening in a
Word word Letter Letter
(Madd al Laazim (Madd al Laazim (Madd al Laazim (Madd al Laazim

Kalimi Muthaqqal) Kalimi Mukhaffaf) Harfi Muthaqqal) Harfi Mukhaffaf)
DEFINITION
DEFINITION DEFINITION ‫سنقُص *ل ُكم‬

The letters of the group
Occurs when an Occurs when an are each individually read
original Sukun that original Sukun that as a 3 letter word, the
is merged (the is NOT merged middle letter being a
letter has a (NO Shaddah on it) Madd letter, and the 3rd
Shaddah on it) follows a Madd letter having an original
comes after a letter in a WORD or permanent Sukun is:
Madd letter in a
WORD
EXAMPLES Appears in only 2 Merged into the NOT merged into

places in the Holy letter that comes the letter that
Qur’an. Surah after it, as it has a comes after it
Yunus: Ayah 51 & Shaddah
91
173
EXAMPLES OF MADD UL HARFEE MUTHAQQAL
EXAMPLES OF MADD UL HARFEE MUKHAFFAF
174
MADD AL FAR’I: MADDAH CAUSED BY SUKUN – 8.) MADD UL-

LEEN
Leen literally means Softness. Madd al-Leen occurs when certain letters are
pronounced softly and with ease. Leen letters are: -
(Waw Leen)
‫و‬ Ya Sakin or
Waw Sakin
(only if there
is a Fat-ha
letter before
them)
‫ي‬ (Ya Leen)
THE RULE OF MADD UL-LEEN: If one of the Leen letters is followed by a

letter at the end of a word, which has been Saakin due to stop (If the reader
will not stop, no Madd is applied), the reader should prolong the Leen letter.
The reader can choose to prolong it 2, 4 or 6 beats.
Examples:
YA LEEN
WAW LEEN
Examples of Maddul Leen
If stopping read as: Quraish If stopping read as: Khawf

If continuing read as: If continuing read as:
Quraishin Khawfin
175
MADD AL FAR’I: MADDAH CAUSED BY SUKUN – 9.) MADD UL-

ARIDH LISSUKUN
Madd Aridh Lis Sukun means “Temporary Madd for stopping”. The reciter
must exercise consistency with the length of the applied stretch in the entire
recitation.
CONDITIONS OF MADD UL-ARIDH LIS SUKUN

a.) The Madd should be the 2nd last letter in the word
b.) The Sukun is found in stopping on (the sound of) the last letter of the word
c.) The Madd MUST NOT have a Fat-ha, Kasra or Dhamma on it
d.) The letter before the Madd letter, must have a suitable diacritic, i.e. Fat-
habefore the Alif, Kasra before the Yaa and Dhamma before the Waw
e.) The reciter must stop after the word being recited in order to sound this
Maddfor 2, 4 or 6 counts
f.) The reciter can sound this Madd for 2 counts whether they are stopping
or not,but generally, 2 counts are sounded only when the reciter wishes to
continue,which should be considered as Madd Tabee (2 counts
elongation)
SPECIAL CASE: Where a Fat-ha precedes the Yaa Madd or Waw Madd, it
becomes known as Madd al-Leen. Al Madd al-Leen has the same principles
as Al Madd al-AridhlilSukun.
In brief MaddulArdhwi– The temporary stop Madd occurs when a letter of

Madd is followed by a letter bearing a vowel that becomes Sakin, when the
reciter stops or pauses to take a breath, usually at the end of a verse.
Examples of MaddulArdhwi
176
RULES OF HAA
‫ٌ ه ٌ ٌه‬ ‫ـه‬
ALL ARE ‘HAA’ & CAN BE
WRITTEN IN DIFFERENT WAYS
2) Haa Sakt
The Consonant
Haa 3) Haa
1) Haa Thatee
Dhameer
The Essential
The Pronoun
Haa
Haa
3
TYPES
177
RULES OF HAA
The letter Haa( ‫ )ه‬that comes at the end of words in the Holy Qur’an (‫ )همه‬is
one of the three types mentioned below:
1.) HaaThatee, the essential Haa
2.) HaaSakt, the consonant Haa
3.) HaaDhameer, the pronoun Haa
1.) HAA THATEE – THE ESSENTIAL HAA

The essential Haa is the letter ( ‫ )همه‬that comes at the end of the word and is
part of the word itself, it cannot be separated from it.
Examples:
2.) HAA SAKT – THE CONSONANT HAA
The consonant Haa is the letter ( ‫ )همه‬that comes at the end of the word, it is
not part of it and does not have any meaning. It is there to confirm the
necessity of stopping at the specified word. If you choose to continue with the
next word it should be pronounced as a consonant Haa. Examples where the
consonant Haa appears in the Holy Qur’an:
Surah Surah Surah Surah Surah Al- Surah Surah

Al- Al- Al- Al- Haaqqah Al- Al-
Baqarah An’aam Qaari’ah Haaqqah Haaqqah Haaqqah
Verse Verse 90 Verse Verse Verse Verse Verse
259 10 19 & 25 20 & 26 28 29
3) HAA DHAMEER – THE PRONOUN HAA
The pronoun Haa is the letter ( ‫ )همه‬that comes at the end of the word and
takes theplace of the name. Example
book his book from from him
The pronoun Haa never carried a Fat-ha, it always carries either a Kasra or a
Dhamma. But sometimes the short vowel of the pronoun Haa is pronounced
178
as a long vowel, with Ishbaa, meaning with repletion, and is sometimes

pronounced normally as a short vowel, without repletion.
ISHBAA– Means satiate or full. It usually refers to elongation or lengthening.

When we mention Ishbaa in Mudood, then it means the longest lengthening
of six vowel counts, when we say Ishbaa in Imaalah, it means the grand
Imaalah and when we mention Ishbaa invowels, it means lengthening the
vowel. In the case of reciting Haa with or without Ishbaa, refers to lengthening
the Haa sound with a vowel.
PRONOUN HAA READ WITH ISHBAA
The short vowel of the pronoun Haa is pronounced as a long vowel when
both sides of theletter ( ‫ )همه‬are carrying a short vowel. If it carries Dhamma
( - ٌُ) it will be pronouncedas the long vowel ( ‫ )و‬and if it carries Kasra ( -ٌ) it
will be pronounced as (‫)ي‬
Examples:
PRONOUN HAA READ WITHOUT ISHBAA

The short vowel of the pronoun Haa will be pronounced normally, with the
short vowel it is carrying when:
i. One side or both sides of the pronoun ( ‫)همه‬
are accompanied by a Sukun
ii. A letter accompanied by Shaddah follows the

pronoun (‫)ه مه‬
iii. The pronoun (‫ )همه‬is preceded by a long

vowel
NOTE:
1.) The Haa( ‫ )ه‬at the end of the word ( ), even though it is an essential
Haa, is pronounced with Ishbaa (under the rule of Ishbaa)
179
2.) The pronoun Haa( ‫ )مه‬in these two words is accompanied by Sukun, (
) inSurah Al-A’raaf, Ayah 111 and in Sura Ash-Shu’araa, Ayah 36
and ( ‫ )فالقه‬inSurah An-Naml, Ayah 28
3.) The pronoun Haa( ‫ )مه‬in ( ‫ )يرضه لكم‬in Surah Az-Zumar, Ayah 7 is
readwithout Ishbaa.
4.) The pronoun Haa( ‫ )مه‬in ) in Surah Al-Furqaan, Ayah 69
isread with Ishbaa.
180
HAMZA
181
182
HAMZATUL QAT’ ‫ء‬
HamzatulQat’aa looks like the top half of the letter ‫ع‬

. It is sometimes
referred to as the normal Hamza OR the cutting Hamza OR the dividing
Hamza.
MANY FORMS OF HAMZATUL QAT’ – In whichever form the
HamzatulQat’ appears, it is always read clearly and the sound is always ‘A’,
‘I’ or ‘U’, depending on the vowel (haraka) it appears with. The sound of the
HamzatulQat’aa is produced by cutting off the airstream at the top of the
windpipe.
‫ئ‬ ‫إ‬ ‫أ‬ ‫ء‬
Hamza on a Hamza Hamza seated Hamza by
Yaa (Note: below the on top of an itself
This Yaa has Alif (appears Alif
no dots) with the
Kasra vowel)
‫إل‬ ‫أل‬ ‫ؤ‬ ‫ئ‬
Hamza Hamza Hamza seated Hamza in
under the seated on on a Waw a joining
Alif on the the Alif in the format
letter Laam letter Laam
Alif Alif
HamzatulQat’aa is a regular consonant letter that in writing appears
anywhere in a word, either by itself or is carried by an Alif, Ya or Waw. It
can appear in any part of a word, in the beginning, in the
middle or at the end.
EXAMPLE
Hamza in the beginning of a word
AKALA AN AMTA
Hamza in the middle of a word
RA A AL MALAA IKA
Hamza at the end of a word
AS SAMAA JAA A
:
183
Head of Ayn, appears alone or on

top of the letters Alif, Waw or Ya
In written form, it has the It can appear in the beginning,

Haraka signs of Fat-ha, middle or end of a word. It is
Kasrah, Dhammah, Sukun & pronounced clearly with the
sometimes Tanween. Haraka (sign) that it carries.
WAYS OF READING HAMZA:
When it appears with a Sukun, there is a jerking or cutting

sound and it is pronounced at Half its normal length.
Mu’ sadatunand not Fa’ tuuand not Faatuu

Muusadatun
When 2 Hamzas’ appear together, next to each other, the
Hamza is pronounced clearly for both of them, continuously
with no cut
A-antum(continuously no A-anta (continuously no

cutting) cutting)
Sometimes the Hamza is not written above the Alif, only a
Sukun is written. The jerky sound (half it’s normal length) will
still be pronounced. Example:
184
As a Dhamma
As a Kasrah (oosratan)
As a Fat-ha
(iimaanun) (akhazha)
Notice for the Kasra, Notice for the Fat-ha & Dhamma,
Hamza is Below the Alif Hamza is on Top of the Alif
Wa iimaanun Wa oosratun Wa ak haza
NOTICE: Hamzatul Qat’aa is still pronounced in all

cases even though it was preceded by another letter
185
HAMZATUL WASL ‫ٱ‬

This is the connective Hamza that always appears at the beginning of nouns,
verbs and prepositions. It is represented by the symbol that looks like an Alif
with a half Saad ‫ ص‬over it, thus the name HamzatulWasl OR AlifulWasl. It
occurs only at the beginning of a word and does not have any vowel on it. In
some Qur’an, the Alif has no such sign over it, so it’s an Empty or Bare Alif.
HAMZATUL WASL
PRONOUNCED SKIPPED
(The Hamzatul Wasl is written
(The Hamzatul Wasl is read)
but not read)
When Hamzatul Wasl appears at When Hamzatul Wasl appears in

the beginning of a word continous recitation with a letter
OR before it
OR
If the reader AFTER A PAUSE
If the reader starts from the
resumes recitation from the
letter/word preceding Hamzatul
word Wasl
carrying Hamzatul Wasl
3 RULES APPLY IN THIS CASE 2 RULES APPLY IN THIS CASE
186
SKIPPED & WHEN CONTINUING

NOT READING
PRONOUNCE 1) When reading from
D the letter/word with
any vowel preceding
Hamzatul Wasl.
2) When reading and
the preceding letter
(2 rules are has a Tanween the
applicable Hamzatul Wasl is
here) written but no
pronounced.
1) IN THE DEFINITE
HAMZATUL ARTICLE'THE' ( ‫ )ال‬when
WASL something is made specific.
The Hamzatul Wasl is read
‫ٱ‬
with a Fat-ha
PRONOUNCE
D
2) NOUNS
& The Hamzatul Wasl is read with
READ a Kasra
When reading (There are some exceptions in

with the first this case)
letter as
Hamzatul
Wasl
3) VERBS
(Hamzatul Wasl will be
(3 rules are pronounced with a Dhamma if
applicable the third letter of the Verb
here) has
a Dhamma - Except for some
Verbs)
&
(Hamzatul Wasl will be
pronuonced with a Kasra if
the
third letter of the Verb has a
Fat-ha or a Kasra)
187
THE RULE OF HAMZATUL WASL: SKIPPED IN CONTINOUS

RECITATION
The 2 rules when HamzatulWasl appears in continuous
recitation with a letter before it. The HamzatulWasl is
written but skipped during recitation.
RULE 1: If the RULE 2: If the
HamzatulWasl appears in HamzatulWasl appears in
continous recitation and continous recitation and
there is no there is no pause, but the
pause, and the letter letter preceding the
preceding HamzatulWasl HamzatulWasl is a
has a Vowel, then the Tanween, then one
HamzatulWasl is dropped harakah from the
and not pronounced. Tanween is dropped and a
small Nun with Kasrah is
placed under the
HamzatulWasl. The Nun
Kasrah connects with the
next
letter.
This small Nun with
Kasrah is called NUN
QUTNI (Refer to the
Chapter on Nun Qutni
where this is covered in
detail)
EXAMPLES EXAMPLES
Notice the HamzatulWasl is Notice the HamzatulWasl
not pronounced has a Nun Kasrah under it,
the Tanween changes to
one vowel + a small Nun
Kasrah
Wal adhaabaBilmaghfirati Yaw ma idhinis Salama
RabbilAalameen KadeeruNilladhi
Mabtalahu KhairanilWasiyyah
188
THE RULE OF HAMZATUL WASL: SKIPPED IN CONTINOUS

RECITATION
RULE 1: WITH A VOWEL BEFORE THE HAMZATUL WASL

Example:
(wanhar) (Qulil Hamdu)
Rabba Haadhal Bayti Mal Qaari atu Fid Dunya
Was Samaaaai Ghairil Magh Dhoobi Siraa Tal Ladhii na
RULE 2: WITH A TANWEEN BEFORE THE HAMZATUL WASL

Example:
Majeedi Uthmani Majeedi Uthmani
Qur’an Qur’an Qur’an Qur’an
Indo-Pak Indo-Pak
Khairanil wasiyyah Yawma izinil haqqu
Bighulaami nismuhu Qawmanil llahu
1.) HAMZATUL WASL PRONOUNCED IN THE DEFINITE ARTICLE

‘THE’ ‫ال‬
In the Sun and Moon letters (HuroofulShamsiyyah and HurufulQamarriyya),
the letters are preceded by the letters Alif and Laam. This combination of Alif
and Laam is known as ‘AL’ and makes it specific. Whenever the
HamzatulWasl is followed by Laam, it is always pronounced as a Fat-ha
189
Example:
Is the letter after

YES the Hamzatul Wasl, YES
the letter Laam ( ? ( ‫ل‬
Give the Hamzatul Wasl, a Give the Hamzatul Wasl, a

Fat-ha – (ASH SHAMSUU) Fat-ha – (AL QAMARU)
IN THE SUN LETTERS IN THE MOON LETTERS

➢ The letter Laam of ➢ The letter Laam of the
the Definite article is Definite article is
NOT pronounced pronounced
➢ The Sukun shaped ➢ The Sukun shaped
diacritic is NOT diacritic is written on
written on top of the top of the Laam
Laam
➢ The HamzatulWasl ➢ The HamzatulWasl
has a Fat-ha has a Fat-ha
➢ The Definite article ➢ The Definite article
sounds as ‘a’ sounds just like its
➢ The letter following name ‘AL’
the Laam has a
Shaddah
Example: Example :
‘as samaa’ ‘al wasii mu’
190
2.) HAMZATUL WASL PRONOUNCED IN NOUNS – The

HamzatulWasl is read with a Kasra.
Example:
Is the letter after

the Hamzatul Wasl,
NO
the letter Laam ( ? (
‫ل‬
The 3rd letter has a Fat-ha, Look at the Harakah (symbol)

we give the Hamzatul Wasl on the 3rd letter of the word,
a including the Hamzatul Wasl
Kasrah - (ISHTARAWUU)
EXCEPTIONS TO THE HAMZATUL WASL

HamzatulWasl is always read with a Kasrah in the following words regardless
of what is on the third letter.
VERBS and NOUNS WHERE HAMZATUL WASL IS READ WITH A
KASRA
Ibnuu Imshuu Imdhuu
Ibnun I’tuu Iq’dhuu
Ismuhu Imru oon Imsoon
191
3.) HAMZATUL WASL READ IN VERBS – in the beginning or after a

pause
Look at the 3rd letter of the Verb
If the 3rd letter of the

If the 3rd letter of the
Verb has a Fat-ha or a
Verb has a Dhamma,
Kasra, then read the
thenread the Hamzatul
Hamzatul Wasl with a
Wasl
Kasra
with a Dhamma
ish-rab ij-lis ud-khul
if-tah im-shi ukh-ruj
izh-hab m-dhi uk-
Notice: The 3rd Notice: The 3rd Notice: The 3rd

letter in the word letterin the word letterin the word
above has a Fat-ha above has a above has a
Kasra Dhamma
192
HAMZATUL WASL PRONOUNCED IN VERBS – Easy to remember
Is the letter after

the Hamzatul Wasl,
the letter Laam ( ? ( ‫ل‬
Give the Hamzatul Wasl, a Fat-ha
Look at the Harakah (symbol) on the

3rd letter of the word, including the
Hamzatul Wasl
If the 3rd letter has If the 3rd letter has If the 3rd letter has
aDhamma a a
Fat-ha Kasrah
Un dhur Istik baaran

Izh haba
ud khuluu
it takha zhuu iq tilaafi
uq tu luu i'maluu ir ji ee
Give the Hamzatul Give the Hamzatul Give the Hamzatul

Wasl, a Dhamma Wasl, a Kasrah Wasl, a Kasrah
193
HAMZATUL WASL FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER HAMZA
Step 1: We do not pronounce the 2nd Hamza (Hamza al Qat’i– ‫)أؤئ‬, rather
we exchange it with the Madd letter it is sitting on.
Step 2: We give the HamzatulWasl, the matching symbol of the Huroof Madd
letter.
‫و‬Preceded by a Dhamma, ‫ي‬preceded by a Kasra and ‫ا‬preceded

by a Fat-ha
Step 2: The Haraka Step 1: If paused and Alladhitumina

matching the Madd recitation starts from Read with cutting
letter is placed on the the sound
HamzatulWasl. HamzatulWasl, then (If recited
In this case the Haraka we do not pronounce continuously)
Dhamma matches the the second Hamza.
letter We exchange for the
‘Waw’ Read as Madd letter it is sitting
‘UUTUMINA’ on, which is the letter
Waw, so we keep the
letter Waw
Step 2: The Haraka Step 1: If paused and Yakuulu‘ dhan

matching the Madd recitation starts from Read with cutting
letter is placed on the the sound
HamzatulWasl. In this HamzatulWasl, then (If recited
case the HarakaKasrah we do not pronounce continuously)
matches the letter the second Hamza.
‘Ya’ Read as We exchange for the
‘EEDHAN’ Madd letter it is sitting
on, which
is the letter Ya, so we
keep the letter Ya
194
AL-WAQF(THE STOP)
WAYS OF STOPPING & STARTING WHEN

RECITING THE GLORIOUS QUR'AN
AS-SAKT
AL- WAQF AL IBTIDAA
The Breathless
The Stop The Beginning
pause
AL-WAQF – The Stop
Introduction: In Arabic, the word WAQF is singular and WUQUF is plural.

Wuquf means
confinement, restriction or limitation in Tajweed. Linguistic definition of the
stop: Halt and imprisonment
Applied definition of the stop: Cutting of the sound at the end of a word,
usually for the period of time of breathing, with the intention of return to the
recitation, not with the intention of abandoning the recital.
➢ The Bismillah is required after the stop when beginning a Surah
➢ The stop can be at the end of an Aayah, or in the middle of an Aayah
➢ It can never be in the middle of the word, nor in between two words that
are joined in writing. One of the most important areas in the science of
Tajweed is the knowledge of Al-Waqf and Al-Ibtidaa, which means the
stop and the beginning. The understanding of Allāh’s words cannot be
realized, nor can comprehension be achieved, without this knowledge. Ali
() said: “Tarteel means Tajweed of the letters and knowledge of
stops.” One scholar described Al-Waqf as: “The stop is sweetness of
Tilawah, beautifies the reciter, an announcement of the succeeding,
195
understanding for the listener, pride of the scholar, and through it one
knows the difference between two different meanings….”
DIVISIONS OF THE STOP
THE OUT OF CHOICE STOP

AL WAQFUL IKH-TIYAARI
THE EXAM STOP THE FORCED STOP

AL WAQFUL IKH- AL WAQFUL IDH-
TIBAARI TIRAARI
196
DIVISIONS OF THE STOP

1.) THE EXAM or TEST STOP – AL WAQFUL IKH-TIBAARI – Occurs
when a student is being examined by a teacher. The student stops when
instructed to or when a mistake is being corrected.
2.) THE FORCED or COMPELLED STOP – AL WAQFUL IDH-

TIRAARI – Occurs when a reader has to stop due to shortness of breath,
sneezing, coughing, disability, forgetfulness, etc. In this case, it is allowed
to stop on the end of the word, even if the meaning is not complete. The
reader then starts with the word stopped on, and then joins it with what
follows if it is a sound beginning; if not, the reader then should start back
one or two or more words, until they can start with what is sound for a
beginning.
3.) THE OPTIONAL STOP or OUT OF CHOICE STOP – AL WAQFUL

IKH-TIYAARI – Occurs when the reciter chooses to stop by his own
choice, without any outside reasons. This is the Stop that needs to be
studied and applied in the correct way by the reciter of the Qur’an. The
out of choice stop has been divided into four categories:
➢ The complete stop – Taam– it is the stop on a Qur’anic word
complete in meaningand not attached to what follows it in
grammatical expression or in meaning. RULE:Best to stop on the
word that is a complete stop, then start on what follows it.
➢ The sufficient stop – Kaaf – it is the stop on a Qur’anic word that is
complete inmeaning, and is attached to what follows it in meaning,
but NOT in grammar. It canbe at the end of a verse, or in the middle
of a verse. RULE: It is advisable to stopon it and start with that which
follows, just as in the complete stop (Taam).
➢ The good stop – Hasn– it is the stop on a Qur’anic word, complete in
its meaning,but is attached to what follows it grammatically and in
meaning. RULE: It is allowedto stop on it, but not allowed to start on
what follows it due to its attachment towhat follows grammatically
and in meaning, except on the end of an aayah. Stoppingon the end
of an aayah is Sunnah.
➢ The repulsive (ugly) stop – Kabeeh– it is the stop what does not give
a correct orintended meaning, since whatever comes after it has a
strong connection in meaningand grammar. RULE: Not allowed to
stop intentionally. In case one stops due toshortness of breath or
sneezing or forgetting, then the reader must repeat one, twoor more
words, as necessary to convey the correct and sound meaning.
197
THE SYMBOLS OF WUQUF
198
THE SYMBOLS OF WUQUF
Knowledge of the rules and of the places of Waqf is critical in preventing

errors that may lead to ambiguities in the intended meaning of the verse. The
correct recitation of the Holy Qur’an requires a complete familiarity with the
rules of punctuation and the places
where one can pause.To assist the reader with this aspect of recitation, the
Qur’an contains an elaborate system of abbreviations that identify the places
and types of Waqf. These are found in the middle or the end of the ayaat and
give us an indication whether stopping/pausing is permitted or not.
Whenever more than one sign are found together, the reciter should follow
the sign that is above all (on top of) the others. The most commonly found
signs are:
An option to
stopor continue
To pause
You must withoutbreakin
Stop g thebreath
Common
symbols in
theHoly
Qur'an
Do not Stop
End of the verse
(Stop)
Stop at either
one, but not
both
199
SUMMARY OF THE SYMBOLS OF WUQUF

SYMBOL NAME WHAT TO DO
Waqf al-Laazim It is necessary to stop here and
‫م‬ (The Compulsory take a pause; otherwise, one can
stop) change the meaning of the verse
Waqf al-Muttlaq It is better to stop and take a gap
‫ط‬ (The Absolute in reciting the long passage by
pause) taking breath. After the break the
recitation should continue from
the next word. It helps in making
the reading process easier by
fully grasping the meaning of the
already read text.
Waqf al-Mamnu If this sign is at the end of verse
‫ل‬ with the circle, one can stop or
continue. If it appears in the
middle of a verse, it is prohibited
to stop, as it would change the
meaning of the Ayah
completely.
Waqf Jaa’iz It is better to pause at this sign
‫ج‬ (The Permissible but it is also permissible to
stop) continue. It points towards the
completion of the matter
discussed in that fragment of the
Ayah, so as to absorb the
meaning discussed in the
previous part, and get ready to
know about new matter in the
following part of the same verse.
Waqf Mujawwaz It is better not to pause at this
‫ز‬ (Continue reading) sign. The reciting process can
continue, although there is no
prohibition in stopping here.
Waqf Murakh- This symbol permits the reader
‫ص‬ khas(The Licensed to take a break and
pause) take a breath in case if getting
tired only, but it is highly
advisable to carry on reading.
AlwasluAwlaa This means that it is better to
‫صلى‬ (Preference for continue, with no need to stop.
continuation)
200
Qila Alayhil Waqf Not recommended to stop at this

‫ق‬ (Better not to stop) sign, but one can pause
Qif This is an order to pause, and
‫قف‬ (The Anticipation one should stop at this sign. The
mark) sign is used at all places where
the reciter would otherwise have
continued without pausing.
Saktah Here one should have a short
(The Silence symbol) pause in such a waythat the
breath is not broken. Brief pause
and continue recitation. A
breathless pause.
‫وقفت‬ The Longer pause Here the pause is longer than
Saktah. The pause is done
without breaking the breath.
Longer pause and continue
recitation.
‫مع مع‬ Waqf al-Mu’anaqah When these signs appear close to
(The Embracing each other, a pause at the first
Stop) place makes a pause at the
second prohibited, because the
meaning of the verse is
incomplete. One must pause at
any one of the signs, but not
both.
‫صل‬ QadYusal Permission to continue reading,
(The Permissible although one could stop here.
pause)
‫قال‬ Qila La Waqf Alayh It is better to continue the recital
at this sign
‫ك‬ Kadhalik(Means This sign means that the
‘Like that’) punctuation to be followed
is the same action as the
preceding symbol.
ٌ The Perfect Stop This indicates the end of the
verse. The reciter has to stop here
and take a breath before
continuing to read further.
‫ع‬ This indicates the end of a
paragraph.
201
THE RULES OF WUQUF

Besides learning the Wuquf signs, it is equally important to know how to
pause at a Waqf. There are several rules of Tajweed that apply on the last
letter of the word onwhich Waqf occurs. These rules need to be observed to
correctly recite the Qur’an. These rules have been categorised by the Diacritics
found on the last letter of the word on which the Waqf is exercised.
Definition of Diacritic– A mark, or a sign, or a phonetic character, which,

when written above or below a letter indicates a difference in pronunciation
from the same letter when unmarked or differently marked.
Simply put:
A Diacritic is a mark added to a letter,
usually to indicate a specifi pronunciation
of that letter.
Arabic Diacritics include:

a.) Harakah – These are the short vowels of Fat-ha, Kasra and Dhamma.
b.) Sukun – The Hicup sound.
c.) Tanween – The Nunation sounds of Fat-hateen, Kasrateen and
Dhammateen.
d.) Shaddah – The double letter
The Signs of Wuquf give us a guideline on where to stop, pause or continue,
whereas the Rules of Wuquf guide us on how to stop when various Diacritics
appear at the end of an Ayah
202
RULES OF WAQF (STOPPING RULES)
1.) harakahThe general rule of Waqf is to remove the of the last

letter and replace it with a Sukun / Jazm. The harakah can be a
Fat-ha, Kasrah, Dhamma or a Kasratain or a Dhammatain (Not
Fat-hatain)
Written
as
Read
as
2.) If the last letter has a Fat-hatain, take out one Fat-ha and read
with the Alif after it (If there isn’t an Alif after it, then add one)
Written
as
Read
as
3.) If the last letter is a round Taa( ‫)ة‬, change it to a small Haa ( ‫)ه‬,
and put a Sukun / Jazm on it.
Written
as
Read
as
4.) To read as it is. No change will take place when stopping: a) if
the last letter is an Alif with a Fat-ha before it; b) if the last letter
has a Sukun/Jazm; c) if the last letter has a standing Fat-ha
Written
as
Read
as
203
5.) If either Alif, Waw or Yaa (Maddah letters) come before the
last letter, then pull slightly when making Waqf
Written
as
Read
as
6.) If the last letter has a Tashdeed, pull a little when making
Waqf
Written
as
Read
as
204
EXAMPLES FOR RULES OF WAQF (STOPPING RULES)
When there is a single harakah of Fat-ha, Kasrah or Dhamma at the

end of a verse, then replace it with a Sukun
When there is a Kasratain, Dhammatain or Sukun at the end of a

word, then read as a Sukun on the last letter.
When there is a Fat-hatain at the end of a verse, whether there is an

Alif attached to the word or not, take one Fat-ha off and read with
an Alif.
When you stop on a word that ends with Alif or Standing Fat-ha,
then read as it is written, NO change will take place.
If you see a round Taa‫ة‬or Haa‫ه‬with any harakah on it, then end it
as HaaSukun‫لهٌه‬, except for the Haa that has a Standing Fat-ha
205
At the end of a verse, if the word ends with any Harakah,

other than Fat-hatain - then change the Harakah into
Sukun on the last letter.
If the letter is any letter other than

Meem or Nun or Qalqalah letters - then
stop with a Sukun on both identical
letters with a small jerk (Nabr) in the
Stopping at the End of Words
reader's voice
If the letter is Meem or Nun

At the end of a verse, Mushaddad - then stop with NO
words ending with a Harakah and make Ghunnah for 2
Mushaddad letter beats
If the letter is a Qalqalah letter

- then Stop with Strong
Qalqalah
At the end of a verse, if the word ends with Taa Marbutah

- then change it into Haa Sakin (For this change – any
Harakah can be on the Taa Marbuta, except for the Haa
with a Standing Fat-ha)
Words ending with Sakin letter or with Madd letters of

Alif, Ya or Waw - THERE IS NO CHANGE - READ AS IS
At the end of a verse, if the word ends with Fat-hatain -

then change it into one Fat-ha + an Alif (if there is no Alif
at the end)
206
AS – SAKT (ARABIC) or‫( س‬The Breathless Pause)

Literally meaning: Prevention
Technically means: Cutting the sound on the last letter of a Qur’anic word for
a short time (the duration of two harakaat), without taking a breath to
continue the recitationimmediately. The symbols:
4 places in the Qur'an where it is 2 places in the Qur'an where it is

obligatory (Wajib) to do Sakt optional (Jaiz) to do Sakt
Surah Kahf - Chapter 18 Surah Haqqah - Chapter

Between Ayah 1 & 2
69Ayah 28
Can stop as end of Ayah, but if

one continues, then apply Sakt
3 ways to read:
1) Sakt - Breathless pause
2) Continue with Idhghaam
3) Complete stopping
Surah Yaseen - Chapter 36
Ayah 52
Continue with Sakt End of Surah Anfaal and

beginning of Surah Tawba
(Between Surah Nos 8 & 9)
Surah Qiyamah - Chapter 75 Ayah

27
3 ways to read:
1) Sakt - Breathless pause
Apply Sakt - No Idh-haar since 2) Continue with Iqlaab
Sakt prevents the Idh'ghaam 3) Complete stopping
Surah Mutaffifeen - Ch 83 Ayah 14
Apply Sakt - No Idh-haar since Sakt

prevents the Idh'ghaam
207
AL-IBTIDAA (The Beginning or Starting)

Technically it means: To commence reading after one has stopped reading
due to one reason or another. If one stopped due to cutting the recitation and
turning away from it, then one must observe the rules of Isti’aadha and the
Bismillah. If one simply applied a stop then there is no need to observe the
Isti’aadha and the Bismillah, since the stop was only done for rest and to take
a breath.
Al-Ibtidaais the “resumption in recitation” after a pause. Resuming of

recitation always occurs on voweled letters. Since HamzatulWasl occurs
without a vowel, one needs to be mindful of the several rules that govern the
application of particular vowels on it, in order to determine the most suitable
to use.
AL WAQF WITH HAMZATUL WASL

There are two types of Hamzah
a.) HamzatulQat’aa‫ –ء‬This is the regular consonant letter that in writing
appears anywhere in a word, either by itself or is carried by Alif, Ya or
Waw. It is always read clearly with the sounds A, I and U, depending on
the harakah it appears with.
Example:
Yu Aakhidhhu As maa i An amta
b.) HamzatulWasl also known as AlifulWasl‫ –ٱ‬This is the conjuctive or

connective Hamzah that always appears at the beginning of nouns, verbs
and prepositions. This Hamzah is always represented by the symbol that
looks like an Alif with a small Saad over it, in the Qur’an that is printed in
Arab countries (Uthmani Script Qur’an).
In other countries like India & Pakistan (Majeedi Script Qur’an), it is simply
written as an Alif. It is pronounced when starting with a word and dropped
when continuing the recitation, when joining the word that begins with it,
with the one that precedes it.
NOTE: These rules have been discussed extensively on the chapter of
HamzatulQat’aa and HamzatulWasl and the chapter on Nun Qutni, but we
will briefly touch on them in this chapter.
208
AL-WAQF WITH HAMZATUL WASL
1.) Continuing recitation with words beginning with HamzatulWasl
RULE 1: If the HamzatulWasl appears in continous recitation and there is no

pause, then the HamzatulWasl is dropped and not pronounced. Example:
Wal adhaabaBilmaghfirati
‫لغ‬
(Notice the HamzatulWasl is
not pronounced)
RULE 2: If the HamzatulWasl appears in continous recitation and there is no

pause, but the letter preceding the HamzatulWasl is a Tanween, then one
harakah from the Tanween is dropped and a small Nun with Kasrah is placed
under the HamzatulWasl. The Nun Kasrah connects with the next letter. This
small Nun with Kasrah (Nun Maksur) is called NUN QUTNI.
Example:
KadeeruNilladhi Notice the
‫ي‬
HamzatulWasl has a Nun
Kasrah under it, the Tanween
changes to one vowel + a small
Nun Kasrah
In copies of Qur’an printed in Arab countries, this Nun Qutni is not present.
However, the rule still applies.
2.) How to resume recitation with a word that starts with HamzatulWasl
after a pause
RULE 1: HamzatulWasl is always read with a Fat-ha if a Laam follows
HamzatulWasl in the same word or a word starts with ‫(ال‬Rule related to Sun
and Moon letters)
RULE 2: HamzatulWasl is read with a Dhamma if the third letter of the word
bears a Dhamma (Rule related to Nouns)
RULE 3: HamzatulWasl is read with a Kasrahif the third letter of the word
(verb) bears a Fat-ha or Kasrah (Rule related to Verbs) Detailed explanations
and examples for all the above are discussed elsewhere in this book in the
Chapters on Nun Qutni, HamzatulQat’aa and HamzatulWasl.
209
SOMEEXCEPTIONSFOUNDIN
THEHOLY QUR’AN
SOME EXCEPTIONS IN THE HOLY QUR’AN
1) In some words a small and light ‫ س‬is found written above the ‫ص‬
Examples in the Holy Qur’an (small ‫س‬above the ‫(ص‬
‫ﯯﯰﯱ‬
Surah Al-Baqarah – Chapter 2 – Ayah 245 (Read with the ‫)س‬

‫ﭧ ﭨ ﭩ ﭪ ﭫ ﭬ ﭭ ﭮ ﭯﭰ ﭱ ﭲ ﭳ ﭴ ﭵ‬
Surah Al-A’raaf - Chapter 7 - Ayah 69 (Read with the ‫)س‬
‫ﭼﭽﭾﭿﮀﮁ ﮂ‬
Surah At-Tur - Chapter 52 - Ayah 37 (can be read with

the ‫س‬or the ( ‫ص‬Preferred to be read with a ‫)ص‬
‫ﯤﯥﯦ‬
Surah Al-Ghaashiyah - Chapter 88 - Ayah 22 (Read with

the ‫ )ص‬in some Qur’an, the ‫ س‬appears under the ‫ص‬
2) The word is always read as ‫ ان‬The second Alif is not read This is
covered in detail on the topic of the ‘7 Alifaat’ elsewhere in this book.
3) Wherever the word is written, the Alif is not pronounced. Some
copies of the Qur’an have the Alif which is not to be read marked with a
prominent circle. ‫ماليه‬
210
4) The ‘yaa’ without a vowel at the end of some words is called an ‘alif
maqsurah’ or shortened alif. At this stage, it may be conveniently ignored
in pronunciation.
5) The letters Laam and Ra are also known as Idh’gham letters but are read
without a Ghunnah. If after Nun Sakin or Tanween, you see the letters
Laam or Ra then you will merge the Nun Sakin or Tanween with the
Laam or Ra but there will be no Ghunnah.
6) If you see a Ra Mushaddad (Ra with a Shaddah) bearing a Fat-ha or
Dhamma on itthen it will be read with full mouth
7) If you see a Ra Mushaddad with a Kasra on it then it will be read with
empty mouth.
Example to be read Example to be read full

empty mouth mouth
8) If you are going to stop on a Ra and before it there is a Ya Sakin, then read
the Ra with empty mouth (light Ra).
All these will be read with an empty mouth
9) If after a Ra Sakin which has a Kasra before if, you see one of the 7 full
mouth letters then this will be read with a full mouth (heavy Ra – read
with a rattling sound RRRR).
These examples will be read with a full mouth
10) The ‘alif’ in the word (ARABIC) (meaning ‘a hundred’) is written but not
pronounced.
11) The ‘alif’ at the end of certain forms of verbs is written but not pronounced.
Example:
aamanuu radhuu
12) The letter(s) coming between a vowel and a letter with a sukun on it are
not pronounced. Example:
211
Read as ‘mal qaa ri a tu’ and not as ‘maal qa

‫ا‬
ri a tu’
In the above example, the two alifs between the ‘meem’ and ‘laam’ are not
pronounced. The first ‘alif’ does not lengthen the ‘meem’.
13) The ‘waw’ in the words and is written but not pronounced
SOME EXAMPLES FOR PRACTICE

Apart from the ‘alif’ used for lengthening the vowel ‘a’, as a general rule at
this stage, do not pronounce letters without vowels or signs.
14) The following Seven words are pronounced differently when stopping at
them compared to when joining them with the next word.
❖ When they are joined to the next word, the last letter is pronounced
with Fat-ha.
❖ When stopping at them, the last letter is pronounced with the long
vowel of Alif.
The Word When Joining When Stopping
Several places in the Holy Qur’an
Surah Al-Kahf : Verse 38
Surah Al-Ahzaab : Verse 10

212
Surah Al-Insaan : Verse 4
Surah Al-Insaan : Verse 15

This word occurs twice in the same Surah. The one mentioned above
isthe first one, because the second one is in Ayah 16, and is
pronouncedwithout the long vowel of Alif either way.
15) ISHMAM – You show with your lips that you are pronouncing a
Dhamma but you don’t actually make the dhamma sound. Keeping the
lips in the position of Waw, while articulating the letter Nun.
This appears in the Holy Qur’an in Surah Yusuf, Chapter 12 – Ayah 11.
Sometimes there is a diamond shape on the word and sometimes it appears
without the diamond shape.
Note: When you hear a person reciting this Ayah, you will not be aware of
the Ishmam, but when you see the person reciting the Ayah, you will see them
forming the shape of Waw on the lips, without pronouncing the Dhamma
sound.
16) IMAALAH – To produce a sound which is between the Alif and the Yaa.
Its not an Alif (aa) or a Yaa (ii), rather it is in-between (e)
This appears in the Holy Qur’an in Surah Hud, Chapter 11 – Ayah 41.
Sometimes there is a diamond shape on the word and sometimes it appears
without the diamond shape.
213
This word is not read as Majraahaa, nor is it
read as Majriihaa. It is read as Majrehaa
17) In some words a superfluous tooth (an extra line like a Be ‫ٮ‬without the
dot) is written after the standing fat-ha. Like empty letters, this tooth is
also only written, but is not read.
214
Aataaku ihdaahumaa
m
Adraaku
m
hadaanaa
Mathwaah
u
najwaahu
m
215
TERMINOLOGY FREQUENTLY USED IN TAJWEED
TRANSLITERATION ENGLISH MEANING

Ayah A verse of the Qur’an
Ruku(Plural: Rukuat or A paragraph or section of the Qur’an,
Arkaan) containing 7 – 12ayaat. One paragraph is
called a Ruku
Surah A chapter of the Qur’an (Total – 114
Surahs) A division of the Holy Qur’an
into 30 equal parts. This allows the reciter
to complete recitation of the Whole
Qur’an in
one month.
Juz - Part (Plural: Ajza) A division of the Holy Qur’an into 7
▪ Rub ¼ part parts. This allows the reciter to complete
▪ Nisf ½ part recitation of the Whole Qur’an in one
▪ Thalatha ¾ part Week.
Manzil (Plural: Manaazil) A division of the Holy Qur’an into 7
parts. This allows the reciter to complete
recitation of the Whole Qur’an in one
Week.
Mus-haf The Arabic volume of the Holy Qur’an
Tilawah A Qur’anic recitation
Tajweed To improve or make better or beautify
(Root word: Jawada) something. To give every letter it’s right
with description and origination.
Levels of speed in Qur’an Tahqeeq – Reciting slowly with
Recitation concentration Tahdeer – Swift with speed
recitation Tadweer – Average and
medium recitation
Tarteel or Murattal Applicable to all the above speeds of
recitation. In Tarteel, each letter is
pronounced individually and clearly with
due observance to the rules of Wuqoof
Istiaadha or Ta’awwudh I seek refuge in Allāh from the rejected
Shaitaan – The phrase recited before the
Bismillah, at the time of beginning the
Qur’an recitation
Bismillah or Tasmiyya ‘In the name of Allāh, The Beneficient,
The Merciful’ – The
216
opening phrase when reciting the Holy

Qur’an. Applicable to all the Surahs of
the Qur’an except Surah At-Tawbah
Lahn Mistakes in Qur’an reading
Al-LahnulJalee Clear mistakes in Qur’an recitation
Al-LahnulKhafee Hidden mistakes in Qur’an recitation
Muqatta’aat Letters Separate letters in the beginning of a few
Surah
Harf A letter of the Alphabet
Huroof Letters
HuroofulIsmat Silent Letters
Al-Huroof Al Qamariyyah The Moon (Lunar) Letters
Al-Huroof Al Shamsiyyah The Sun (Solar) Letters
Harakaat – Symbols Short Vowels (Fat-ha, Kasra& Dhamma)
Mutaharrik Letter that carries a vowel
Fat-ha or Zabar Short vowel marked by a small line
written above the letter pronounced “a”
(symbol:
Maftooh A letter carrying a Fat-ha
Kasra or Zair A short diagonal stroke written below a
letter. It represents a short vowel “i”
(symbol: )
Maksoor A letter carrying a Kasra
Dhamma or Paish A small apostrophe-like shape written
above a letter. It represents a short vowel
“o” (like the ‘u’ sound in ‘who’ but only
stretched for 1 count) (symbol: )
Madhmoom A letter carrying Dhamma
Tanween Double Vowels that produce “nn” sound
immediately after it (Double Fat-ha,
double Kasra and double Dhamma). In
other words, it is Nunnation, duplication
sound of letter “Noon”.
Fat-hateen The two Fat-ha (symbol: )
Kasrateen The two Kasra (symbol: )
Dhammateen The two Dhamma (symbol: )
Sukoon / Jazm A circle or semi-circle above a letter
denoting that it has no haraka (non-
vowelled) (symbol: or )
Saakinah A letter bearing a Sukoon is known as a
Sakin letter
217
Shaddah / Tashdeed A small ‘w’ (symbol: ) written above a

letter. This doubles the sound of the letter
so that it is stressed.
Mushaddad A letter bearing a Shaddah is a
Mushaddad letter
Makharij Al-Huroof: (short form: Makhraj) The emission point
or Place of origin or point of articulation
from which each of the 28 letters of
They are five: Arabic are pronounced.
Al-Halq The Throat
Al-Lisaan The Tongue
Al-Jawf The interior or the empty area of the
Mouth
Ash-Shafataan (Shafawi) The Two Lips
Al-Khayshoom The Nasal Passage
Sifah Quality or Characteristic of a letter
SifaatulHuroof: How the letters are pronounced and how
they change according to the situation. If
not pronounced correctly with its
characteristic, then the letter can change
into another letter.
With Opposites: Continuation – Stoppage of breath

Hams – Jahr Strong stoppage, in-between stoppage &
Shiddah–Tawassut- continuation of sound
Rakhawah Pronounced heavily – pronounced
Isti’laa – Istifaal lightly
Covered - Open
Itbaq – Infitaah Read with effort – Read with ease
Idhlaq – Ismaat
Without Opposites:
Whistling – Sound like a bird
Safeer Echoing/vibration – Breaking of tension
Qalqalah or release
Softness – pronounced without difficulty
Leen Inclination – Move makharij of one into
another
Inhiraf Repetition – Prounouncing the letter
more than once
Takrir Spreading around the sound of the word
in the mouth
Tafashshee
218
Prolongation – Stretching sound over

Istitaalah entire tongue
Nasal Sound – Comes from the Nasal
Ghunnah passage
Command and Sharpness, the heaviest
Nabrah – Related to of all letters
Hamza: To make easy / soft
Tas-heel To change 2nd Hamza to the long vowel
Tabdeel of Alif
To Eliminate – Omitting Hamza from
Hathf the word
Tarqeeq Giving the quality of lightness or
thinness
Tafkheem Giving the quality of heaviness or
thickness
Taghleedth To make the sound thick or heavy only
in the name of Allāh
Hukum (Plural Ahkaam) Ruling or Rules
4 Types of LaamSaakin
Laam At-Ta’reef When LaamSakin appears in the
beginning of a Noun
Laam Al-Fi’il When LaamSakin appear at the end of a
Verb
Laam Al-Harf When a word ends with LaamSakin (Hal
and Bal)
Laam Al-Lafdhil Jalali When LaamSakin appears only in the
name of Allāh
Nun Sakin&Tanween
Idh’haar To recite clearly, make apparent the
pronunciation
Idh’ghaam To merge or assimilate two letters
Iqlaab To turn or convert, the letter Nun into
Meem
Ikhfaa To hide or to conceal the sound of a letter
Meem Sakin
Idh’haarShafawi To recite clearly (Meem sakin followed
by any of the 26 letters – apart from Ba
and Meem)
To merge or join (Meem Sakin followed
Idh’ghaamShafawi another Meem)
To hide or conceal (Meem Sakin
IkhfaaShafawi followed by the letter Ba)
219
Idh’gham – Merging Idh’gham Al-Kaamil – Complete

Merging
Idh’gham Al-Naaqis – Incomplete
Merging
Other Types of Idh’gham Idh’ghamMutamaathilayn– Merging of
Identical letters (Same letters, same
Makharij and Sifat)
Idh’ghamMutajaanisayn– Merging of
related letters (Same Makharij but
different Sifat)
Idh’ghamMutaqaaribayn– Merging of
similar letters (Close to each other in
Makharij and Sifat)
Idh’ghamMutabaa’idain– Letters far
from each other therefore no Idh’gham
between 2 distant letters.
Nun Qutni Small Nun
RaaTafkheem Raa pronounced heavily with a full
mouth
RaaTarqeeq Raa pronounced lightly with an empty
mouth
Maddah – 9 Types The prolongation or elongation of the
sound of a vowel
1) Madd ulAsliyya Also known as Madd utTabee – The
Original Madd
Madd caused by other
factors
2) Madd ul Badal The Substitute Madd
3) Madd ulSilah The Connecting Madd
4) Madd ulEwad The Replacement Madd
Madd caused by Hamza

5) Madd ulMuttasil
6) Madd ulMunfasil The Connected Madd
The Detached Madd
Madd caused by Sukun
7) Madd ulLaazim
8) Madd ul Lin The Compulsory Madd
9) Madd ul Arid Lis The Gentle Madd
Sukun The Abrupt Stop Madd
Haa
HaaThathee The Essential Haa
220
HaaSakt The Consonant Haa

HaaDhameer The Pronoun Haa
HamzatulQat’aa The Normal or Cutting or Dividing
HamzatulWasl Hamza
Also known as AlifulWasl – The
Connective Hamza
Saktah or Sakt A breathless pause.
Waqf To pause or to make a stop by breaking

off the breath at the end of the word
Wasl The opposite of waqf. The joining of
verses / sentences without stopping
221
222

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GUMAYRAH LEARNING HUB - NAEEMAH FASHINA

Fashina Omobolaji Naeemah

TOWARDS QUR'AN REFLECTION .............................................................................. 12

BENEFITS FROM THE REFLECTION OF THE QUR’AN .......................................... 14

HURUFUL HIJAI) THE ARABIC ALPHABET ............................................................. 21

HOW TO PRONOUNCE ................................................................................................... 21

SIMILAR SOUNDING LETTERS ................................................................................... 25

ARABIC ALPHABETS CHART (HURUFUL HIJAI) LETTER NAMES & SOUNDS 26

TAJWEED IS DIVIDED INTO 4 GROUPS: ................................................................. 27

MAKHARIJ AL HUROOF ................................................................................................ 28

TAJWEED 1: MAKHARIJ AL HUROOF ....................................................................... 29

HOW TO PINPOINT THE MAKHRAJ OF A LETTER ................................................ 30

IMPORTANCE OF MAKHARIJ ...................................................................................... 31

MAKHARIJ AL HUROOF ................................................................................................ 32

MAKHARIJ AL HUROOF ................................................................................................ 33

POINTS OF ORIGIN (ARTICULATION) OF THE LETTERS .................................... 34

STRUCTURE OF THE TONGUE: 4 MAIN AREAS ..................................................... 39

SOUNDS OF THE LETTERS OF THE LIPS ................................................................... 43

SIFAT AL HUROOF .......................................................................................................... 46

TAJWEED 2) SIFAT AL HUROOF ................................................................................. 47

IMPORTANCE OF CORRECT APPLICATION OF THE SIFAT

SIFAT AL HUROOF (PERMANENT & TEMPORARY ATTRIBUTES) .................... 50

PERMANANT ATTRIBUTES (LAZIMAH) THAT HAVE OPPOSITE

HAMS - JAHR (CONTINUATION OR STOPPAGE OF BREATH) ......................... 51

PERMANENT ATTRIBUTES (LAZIMAH) WITHOUT OPPOSITES ......................... 56

PERMANENT ATTRIBUTES (LAZIMAH) WITHOUT OPPOSITES ......................... 59

SUMMARY OF PERMANANT ATTRIBUTES ............................................................ 60

SIFAAT OF QALQALAH ................................................................................................. 68

PERMANENT ATTRIBUTES (LAZIMAH) WITHOUT OPPOSITES ......................... 69

THE QUALITY (SIFAAT) OF QALQALAH ................................................................. 69

THE LEVELS OF QALQALAH ....................................................................................... 72

REASON FOR QALQALAH ............................................................................................ 73

EXERCISING THE TONGUE.......................................................................................... 76

& REPETITION .................................................................................................................. 76

TAJWEED 3: EXERCISING THE TONGUE & REPETITION .................................... 77

SIMILAR SOUNDING LETTERS LEAD TO SIMILAR SOUNDING WORDS .... 78

THE THREE LEVELS OF SPEED IN RECITING THE HOLY QUR’AN ................... 82

HOW DIACRITICS CONTROL WORDS ..................................................................... 83

AHKAM AL HUROOF ...................................................................................................... 84

TAJWEED 4: AHKAM AL HUROOF ............................................................................. 85

THE RULES OF LAAM .................................................................................................... 88

AHKAM AL HUROOF: 1) RULES OF LAAM ............................................................... 89

4 TYPES OF LAAM SAAKIN ........................................................................................... 89

LAAM SAKIN: 1) LAAM AT TA’REEF (SUN & MOON LAAM) ............................... 91

LAAM SAKIN: 1) LAAM AT TA’REEF (EXAMPLES OF EACH LETTER) ......... 92

THE RULES OF NUN SAKIN ‫ ن‬and ٍ ًTANWEEN .................................................. 98

TYPE 1 – IDH’GHAAM MA’AL GHUNNAH – Merging with Nasal Sound –

NUN SAKIN AND TANWEEN ...................................................................................... 111

RULE 3: IKHFAA (to Hide or to Conceal) .................................................................... 111

WHAT IS GHUNNAH? ................................................................................................... 119

RULES OF NUN SHADDAH AND MEEM SHADDAH .......................................... 120

THE 3 RULES OF MEEM SAKIN ................................................................................. 122

THE RULES OFOTHER IDH’GHAM ........................................................................... 128

THE RULES OF OTHER IDH’GHAM ......................................................................... 129

THE RULES OF NUN QUTNI ....................................................................................... 140

NUN QUTNI (THE SMALL‫ )ن‬........................................................................................ 141

AHKAM AL MUDOOD (THE RULES OF MADDAH) .............................................. 154

DURATION OF ELONGATION OF MADDAH ....................................................... 155

THE 14 HURUFUL MUQATT’TA’AAT ....................................................................... 169

DIVISION OF THE 14 HURUFUL MUQATT’TA’AAT ACCORDING TO