Principles of Tajweed

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

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

2. Its formation
The words of the Glorious Qur'an and some said Honorable Hadiths also.

3. Its fruits
It is preserving the tongue from mistakes in pronunciation of the Glorious Qur'an during reading.

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

5. Its place within the sciences

It is one of the Islamic Law sciences that are related to the Glorious Qur'an.

6. Its founder
The rule setter from the practical point of view is the Messenger of Allah because the Qur'an was revealed to him from Allah, the most High, with tajweed, and he, was instructed on it from the Trustworthy, Jibreel, peace be upon him, and taught it to his companions, who then taught it to their followers and so on until it came to us by these chains. The rule setters from the scientific point of view are the scholars of Qur'anic sciences, such as Abu 'Ubaid Al-Qasim bin Sallaam.

7. Its precept
Knowledge of tajweed is fardh kifayaah, meaning some of the Muslim community must know it, and its application is fardh ain, required by all Muslims (men and women) who have the complete Qur'an or part of it memorized, even if only one surah.

8. Reasons for its rules

Guarding the Glorious Qur'an and preserving it from distortion. The Arabs mixed with non-Arabs after the spread of Islam, and the Muslims feared that the Arab tongue would become corrupted with this intermixing. It then became mandatory for rules to be put down that would preserve the recitation of the Qur'an from mistakes, and guarantee the reader of the Qur'an integrity of pronunciation.

9. Its principles
The knowledge of tajweed is contingent on four matters: 1. 2. 3. 4. Knowledge of the articulation points of the letters Knowledge of the characteristics of the letters Knowledge of what rules change in the letters due to the order of letters Exercising the tongue and a lot of repetition.

Places of Articulation
Introduction to articulation points of the Arabic letters

The articulation point of a letter is the place the letter is emitted, meaning a sound that comes out of the mouth relying on a specific place of articulation or an approximate one. Using the correct articulation point of a letter is necessary to utter the letter correctly, and of course this is even more important when reciting the book of Allah, the Holy Qur an. Almost all the articulation points in Arabic are specific places, but there are some that have a general area of articulation. There are ways for you to see what articulation point YOU are using for a letter (not necessarily the correct one), so that you can compare what you are using to the correct way of articulating a letter: 1. Pronounce the letter with a shaddah; in other words, double the letter.

2. Pronounce the letter with no vowel and put a hamzah before the letter you are checking. You can then check the position of your tongue, mouth, or feel what area of the throat you are using. There are five general areas of the throat and mouth that have within them the specific or general articulation points of the Arabic letters.
1. The empty space in the mouth and throat has in it one articulation point for the three lengthened letters, which are wow with no vowel with a dhammah before it, ya with no vowel with a kasrah before it, and an alif with a fath before it. 2. The Throat: It has three articulation points for six different letters which are pronounced from the deepest, middle, and closest part of the throat 3. The Tongue: It has ten articulation points for eighteen letters 4. The Two Lips: The lips have two articulation points for four letters 5. The nasal passage: From the hole of nose towards the inside of the mouth, here there is one articulation point, that of the ghunnah The following pictures shows these areas:

The empty space in the throat and mouth

The empty space in the mouth and throat is a place and an articulation point at the same time. The three medd (lengthened) letters originate from this general area, these letters are: 1.The alif preceded by a letter with a fat-hah (and the true alif is only in this state); the Arabic alif never takes a vowel and is always preceded by a fathah ( )

2. The wow with a sukoon preceded by a letter with a dhammah 3. The ya with a sukoon preceded by a letter with a kasrah These three medd letters do not have a specific place that they are pronounced from, unlike all the other letters; instead these letters finish articulating with the stopping of the sound. The medd letters are lengthened two counts if they are not followed by a hamzah or a sukoon.

The articulation points of the throat

There are three places of articulation in the throat, each place has two letters emitted from therein.
1. The deepest part of the throat 2. The middle part of the throat 3. The closest part of the throat (closest to the mouth) The deepest part of the throat

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

The middle part of the throat

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

and

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

Articulation points of the Deepest part of the Tongue

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

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

Areas of the tongue used for articulation

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

Middle of the Tongue

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

These three letters are articulated from the middle of the tongue and what lies opposite to it from the roof of the mouth. This means the middle of the tongue collides with the roof of the mouth when these letters are articulated without a vowel, and the middle of the tongue separates with strength from the roof of the mouth when the letters are voweled. The ya here is not the medd letter ya , which was previously stated to be articulated from the non specific area of the empty space in the throat and mouth. The medd letter ya is a ya saakinah preceded by a kasrah, NOT a fath. When the ya saakinah is preceded by a fath, this currently discussed articulation point is used.

The Teeth

The Side of the Tongue

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

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

uses the

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

This letter is articulated from the one or both sides of the tongue and from the molars and the gum area next to the molars. The posterior one third of the side of the tongue is used for this letter. This letter can be articulated from one side (right or left) of the tongue alone, or from both sides of the tongue simultaneously. has the characteristic of compression of the sound, as well as tafkheem (heaviness), so the deep part of the tongue raises up when pronouncing it and compresses the sound at the same time.
The letter

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

The Tip of the Tongue

1. Articulation points of the and the

The letter This letter is articulated from the tip of the tongue and what lies opposite to it from the gum of the two front top incisors. is articulated a bit forward on the gums from

the place of the . This letter is not always pronounced clearly, and the articulation point is only applied when it is pronounced clearly, namely when it has a vowel on it, or if it has a sukoon on it and is followed by one of the following six letters:

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

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

These three letters are emitted from the tip of the tongue and the plates of the two front top incisors, at a point just above the two front lower incisors. There is a little space left in between the tip of the tongue and the plates of the teeth when pronouncing these letters. The term plate refers to the long axis of the tooth, and in this case, the long axis that is on the internal side, rather than the external side of the teeth. These letters are also called letters, which means whistle . They are called that due to the accompany whistle type sound heard when they are emitted properly.

4. Articulation point of the

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

The articulation point of the fa' and the two lip

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

Articulation point of the two lips

There are three letters that are articulated from the two lips, but they do not all three share the same mechanism in articulation. The unlengthened is articulated by forming a circle of the two lips without the two lips meeting completely. The is articulated by closing the two lips together

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

Ranks of the ghunnah

Its linguistic definition: It is a sound that is emitted from the nasal passage, without any function of the tongue. Its applied definition: A unconditional nasalized sound fixed on the even if it is a tanween- and the . and , whether -

This means that the ghunnah is an inherent sound in the the and have a vowel or not. and the

The letters of the ghunnah: The tanween.

. The noon includes the

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

There are four levels of the ghunnah:

1. 2. 3. 4. Most Complete Complete Incomplete Most Incomplete

1. Most complete ghunnah ( with a shaddah and is an

) : This is the longest ghunnah. The

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

(idghaam with a ghunnah). This means when there is a " group, or when there

saakinah or tanween followed by one of the letters in the " is or a

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

2.

Complete ghunnah (

): This is the second longest ghunnah. The hidden ) fall into this category. When the

and ikhfa shafawee (hidden

saakinah or saakinah are followed by one of the letters of ikhfa the ghunnah that results from this ikhfa is the complete in its timing, but not as long as the most complete ghunnah. Examples of this are:

3. Incomplete ghunnah ( complete ghunnah. The

): This ghunnah is shorter in timing than the saakinah and saakinah that are recited with

, or clearly, are in this category of length of ghunnah. Examples are:

4. Most incomplete ghunnah ( and

): This is the shortest ghunnah of all. The

with vowels are in this category of length of ghunnah.

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

saakinah or tanween is followed by one of these letters:

the ghunnah then will have tafkheem or in other words, be heavy. This tafkheem will be the same rank of tafkheem which the next letter will have depending on its vowel, and whether or not there is an alif after it. The concept of tafkheem and the ranks of tafkheem will be covered in later tidbit lessons, insha Allah.
The Ghunnah

The ghunnah is defined as: a nasal sound that is emitted from the nose. This is a required characteristic of the and . The ghunnah cannot be separated from these two letters and is an inherent part of their makeup.

The ghunnah is not a letter but a characteristic of these two letters, but it has its own distinct place of articulation.
The ghunnah mouth. is articulated from : the hole in the nose that continues back towards inside the

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

The

and

with a shaddah

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

The length of time to hold the and that have a shaddah on them cannot be given in counts, instead the timing must be picked up from a teacher who has a strong background and has learned their recitation at the hands of masters in recitation. The concept of two counts for a ghunnah is not a correct concept. The ghunnah has different timings depending on whether there is a shaddah, or if there is hiding of the or , or if the two letters are recited clearly with a sukoon on them, or a vowel. The longest timing for the ghunnah is when there is a shaddah on one of the two letters. If we take a look at a few aayaat, we can pick out where the and have a shaddah on them, and therefore the sound of the ghunnah should be lengthened when reciting them. The next two aayaat there are three different that have a shaddah on them. They are in red. Each of them are held for a length of time, equal to each other with a ghunnah (nasalization) accompanying the lengthening.

In this aayah, there are two different with a shaddah on them. One in the second word, the other in the third word. Each of them should be held for a period of time, equal to the other, elongating the sound with a ghunnah emitted from the nose.

Noon Saakinah and Tanween

Noon saakinah is a noon free from any vowel . It remains unchanged in its written form and as well as in pronunciation when continuing to read after it and when stopping on it. Noon saakinah occurs in nouns and verbs in the middle of the word and at the end of the word, and occurs in prepositions and particles at the end of the word. The noon saakinah can have a sukoon on it, as in : can be written with no vowel on it, as in : saakinah only , or

. Either way, it is considered a noon

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

dhammah, or a kasrah, as in:

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

The Merging : In this case the partially or completely. The Changing : Here the

is changed into another letter.

The Hiding: The is hidden so it is not a clear noon, but at the same time, not merged into the next letter. Over the next few weeks, Insha Allah, each of these rules will be discussed with an explanation of their application in recitation.

The (making clear) of the Noon Saakinah and Tanween

IZHAR
The word is defined linguistically as: clear or obvious.

The applied definition of the is: Pronouncing every letter from its articulation point without a ghunnah [in this case, without a prolonged ghunnah] on the clear letter. In other words, when this the rule is applied to the saakinah or tanween,

is pronounced clearly, and articulated from its articulation point. saakinah or tanween,

There are six letters which when immediately follow the

they cause the to be pronounced clearly. These letters are the throat letters, or the six letters which are articulated from the throat: . The saakinah can be in the middle of a word or at the end of the word, the tanween is only at the end of a word, namely a noun. When the letters, the saakinah or tanween is followed by any of these six

is then pronounced clearly. saakinah followed by :

In surah Abasa, aayah 18, there are examples of both a a letter of , and a tanween followed by a letter of

. The first word of the aayah ends with a saakinah, and is followed by a hamzah. The third word of the aayah ends with a tanween kasrah, and is followed by the letter are of the six letters that cause the clearly, in other words, with an . of the tanween. . Both the hamzah and the saakinah and tanween to be said

The last aayah of surah Al-Ikhlaas has an example of an . An example of a

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

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

In conclusion, when the letters

saakinah or tanween are followed by any of the the six , the is then pronounced saakinah, which means it has , then it is pronounced from its

clearly. Please remember we are only discussing no vowel on it. If there is a vowel on the articulation point with the accompanying vowel.

IDGHAM
The is defined linguistically as merging or inserting. Its applied tajweed definition is: The meeting of a non-voweled letter with a voweled letter, so that the two letters become one emphasized letter of the second [letter] kind. In the idghaam of saakinah and tanween, the is a saakin (nonvoweled) letter on the end of a word, and the first letter of the next word is one of the letters that cause the to merge or insert into it. The letters that cause this . This means if a or , or

or merging are all the letters in the group:

saakinah or tanween are at the end of a word, and the letter or or , or then merges into this next letter. There are two subdivision of the 1. 2. The

is the first letter of the next word, the

: which is , or

which is a complete merging, also known as merging without any ghunnah (nasalization). which is an incomplete merging, also known as idghaam with a ghunnah (nasalization). . or complete merging of the

saakinah or tanween into the first saakinah or tanween are at the end as the first letter of the next word. , or idghaam without a ghunnah, since the or and there is no left over , the is not

letter of the next word, is done when the of a word and are followed by a As stated, this is also known as completely merges in to the ghunnah from the or a

. When there is this type of

pronounced whatsoever, instead the reciter proceeds from the letter before the or the vowel that is with the tanween, directly to the first letter of the next word which will have a shaddah (the little ) on it because of the (merging).

Examples of this are:

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

(this first

has

nothing to do with the rule for the tanween here), followed by a as the first letter of the next word. The reciter should go directly from the dhammah on the which is the last letter on the first word to the the next word. The idghaam or merging of the complete into the that is the first letter of saakinah of the tanween is

which becomes emphasized (doubled) as a result of this is represented by the shaddah mark, or little saakinah is actually a written in the case of the

merging. This doubling of the over the letter.

The same process takes place whether the

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

.
Idghaam with a ghunnah

This is the fourth lesson concerning the In all the rules concerning the immediately follows the

saakinah and tanween.

saakinah and tanween, the letter that is what determines which rule is applied. The last

lesson stated that when the saakinah or tanween (the tanween is only at the end of a word) is at the end of a word, and the first letter of the next word is one of the letters in the group: idghaam, or merging of the the then merges into the next letter. The saakinah and tanween is further divided into two

groups, (idghaam with a ghunnah) and (idghaam without a ghunnah). Ghunnah means nasalization. The last lesson outlined the sub-group of

which occurs when the or .

saakinah or tanween is followed by either a

This lesson will explain the other idghaam sub-group, that of , or idghaam (merging) with a ghunnah. If we look at the letters that cause idghaam, or merging of the saakinah and tanween, that being the letters in the group and , and ,

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

, or if we put them in

a word, the letters of the word: . When there is a saakinah or tanween at the end of a word, and the first letter of the next word is one of the four letters in the group , the merges into the next letter, with a prolonged

nasalization, or ghunnah accompanying this merging. In the case of the saakinah or tanween merging with the from the merging is of the the or or the ghunnah is a left over

, since this characteristic is not present in these two letters, and the (an incomplete merging), since the characteristic of the ghunnah remained. In the case of the saakinah or tanween merging with

, the majority of scholars agree that this is a complete merging, or the ,now with a shaddah

and the ghunnah that is heard is from the that the

saakinah or tanween has merged into.

Examples of

: , the first one with a is followed by

In this above aayah, there are two occurrences of

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

a , which is the first word of the next word. The as far as an articulating letter is not pronounced, instead we directly go from the letter before the , which is a , to the , and hold the sound with an accompanying

ghunnah, or nasalization, which is a left over characteristic of the . The second occurrence of idghaam in this aayah is in the last two words. The next to the last word , ends with a tanween (which, as we know, is vowel, plus a and the first letter of the next following word is a . The saakinah), of the tanween

then merges into the left over from the Other examples of .

with an accompanying ghunnah, or nasalization, which is

are:

The idghaam of the If there is a

saakinah and tanween can only occur between two words. saakinah in the middle of a word followed by one of the idghaam is pronounced clearly saakinah

letters, there is no merging, instead the (with an followed by a

). In the Glorious Qur an this only occurs with the or a , and in only four words.

This is called:

(absolute clearness).

In the next lesson, insha Allah, we will cover exceptions to the idghaam rule.

Exceptions to the idghaam rule of the noon saakinah

Exceptions to the rule of (merging)

The last two lessons described the merging of the end of a word, with any of the letters of the group

saakinah and tanween at the at the beginning of the next

following word. The 1. 2. The

, or merging was further broken down into two sub-groups:

(idghaam without a ghunnah). (Idghaam with a ghunnah). (idghaam without a ghunnah) was described as occurring when the saakinah or tanween was at the end of a word and the first letter of the next

word was either a

or a

. The second sub-group,

(idghaam with

a ghunnah) was determined to take place when the saakinah or tanween was at the end of a word and the first letter of the next word was one of the letters of the group: .

This lesson explains a few cases in the Glorious Qur an when there is a saakinah at the end of a word, and the next word starts with one of the letters of the group or with an , but there is no . (merging), instead the is recited clearly,

The first case is in aayah 27 of surah Al-Qiyaamah: . The second word of this aayah of the next word is a ends with a saakinah, and the first letter

. Under normal circumstances, there would be is one of the letters that cause an

, or an idghaam without a ghunnah, since the

when it follows a saakinah. In this aayah though, there is a brief breathless pause, known in Arabic as a between the word , and the next word: word no . This short pause without a breath prevents the from meeting with the , or merging, of the of the following word, saakinah with the above the word saakinah of the . There is therefore, here. If you look at the . This indicates to the reciter

aayah, you will see a small letter that there is a .

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

Qalam, , is recited just as you would read the word: . This word

, the first letter ends with a

saakinah. If we were to join this individual letter, recited as the word with the next following word, we notice that the next word starts with a

. Usually if there is a saakinah followed by a , the rule applies. In this case, however, Hafs an Aasim by the way of Shatabiyyah, does not make an , but instead recites the saakinah clearly, then recites the next word. It is preferred and most common, to stop on the end of the individual letter , but continuing is allowed. The same things said about this example can be said about the saakinah at the end of the individual separate letter in the . The which ends with a starts with the letter

first two ayaat of surah Ya-Seen: second separate letter of the first aayah is the letter saakinah. The first word of the second aayah (actually the first word is the letter second aayah together, there would be a ) meeting with the letter

). If we were to join the first and saakinah (the last letter of the word

. As the previous tidbit lesson stated, there

normally would be , but as above Hafs An Aasim by the way of Shatibiyyah, does not make an idghaam when joining these two aayaat together; instead the saakinah of the word letter is recited clearly ( ), then the next word, the

is read with the accompanying vowel.

saakinah and tanween. This saakinah and tanween. The next tidbit,

These are the exceptions to the idghaam rule for the ends the explanation of the insha Allah, will explain the rule of the (changing) rule.

Changing (iqlaab) rule of the noon saakinah and tanween

The (changing) of the saakinah and tanween is defined in applied , when tajweed as: The changing of noon saakinah or the tanween into a followed by a .

with the observance of a lengthened ghunnah on the letter

If the letter

occurs immediately after a

saakinah in the same word, or

between two words (meaning the end of word, and the the reader changes the

saakinah or the tanween would be at the

the first letter of the next word), it is then required that saakinah or tanween into a hidden , with a

ghunnah present. The saakinah is changed into a meem in pronunciation, not in the written word. You may note that most copies of the Qur an have a very small meem written over or under the noon in this case, or the second line of a fat-h or kasrah tanween or dhammah of the tanween is replaced by a small meem. The little in this case has a tail on the end of it. The hidden, not by leaving a small space between the lips, as some modern for the length of the

scholars have said, but by closing the lips and holding the ghunnah, then opening them with the

. This is the correct way of hiding the

as written in the books of the old scholars, and as passed down in applied recitation by chains of transmission that go back to the Prophet Mohammed, Examples of the : . The is then changed in pronunciation to a .

word, starts with the letter

In this first example above, the

saakinah is the last letter of , and this

the next to the is held .

last word of the written part of the aayah. The next

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

In this example above, the by the letter previous example. . The

saakinah is in the middle of the word and followed saakinah is changed into a just as in the

These two different aayaat are examples of the tanween being followed by the letter . The , or changing of the saakinah of the tanween into a can be seen

, is done in the same way as the other examples. The little written over all of these examples. The little dhammah, fat-h, or kasrah of the tanween.

takes the place of the second

Hiding (ikhfa') rule of the noon saakinah and tanween

This lesson defines the tanween. The , the last of the four rules for the saakinah and

is linguistically defined as: hiding or concealment is: The pronunciation of a non-voweled letter and an

The applied definition of the

stripped of any shaddah, characterized somewhere between an with a ghunnah remaining on the first letter, in this case the saakinah and the tanween. The letters of the for the

saakinah and tanween are all the remaining , , and

letters in the Arabic alphabet after we remove the letters that cause . There are 15 letters in the Arabic alphabet, all causing saakinah and tanween; they are:

, or hiding of the

If a

saakinah or tanween is followed by any of these 15 letters, we hide the . The can take place between two words (as will always be the case

with the tanween) or in the middle of a word. To hide the our tongue does not touch the teeth or gum, instead our tongue moves close to, but not at, the articulation point of the next letter, which is the letter causing the (hiding). We then hold this sound with an accompanying ghunnah (nasalization) for the amount of timing appropriate for the is also known as . The . (or hiding) of the saakinah or tanween

The technique of the difference in the

of the

takes practice to perfect. There is no whether it is a written

or in the technique of the

that is being hidden, or a tanween. Some students simply keep their tongue at the articulation point of the during the , and prolong the sound with a ghunnah (nasalization). This is not the correct technique. Others let the back portion of the tongue rise up to the roof of the mouth and rest it there, which is again, incorrect. The tongue shouldn t be touching the roof, gums, or teeth, but should be close to the articulation point of the next letter, as stating previously. Examples of the of the saakinah and tanween:

In this example above, there is a followed by the letter

saakinah in the middle of the second word, . We don t let our tongue

, one of the letters of

touch the articulation point of the

, but instead put our tongue in a position

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

In this example there is a tanween at the end of the second word, followed by a as the first letter of the next following word. The is one of the letters that

causes hiding of the saakinah and tanween. The technique is similar to that described above, except our tongue should get close to the articulation point of the instead of the .

This aayah has a

saakinah as the last letter of the first word, it is followed by a

, which is one of the letters that causes hiding of the saakinah. Again, as previously stated, we don t let our tongue go to the articulation point of the , but instead bring our tongue close to, but not touching, the , and hold the sound with an accompanying ghunnah for the appropriate period of time.

Tafkheem and Tarqeeq

The definition of tafkheem: Fattening Its applied definition: It is a heaviness that enters the body of the letter, so that the mouth is filled with its reverberation (echo). The method of making a letter have the characteristic of tafkheem is: elevating the posterior tongue to the roof of the mouth (soft palate), creating more space between the roof of the mouth and the bottom of the mouth, and focusing the pressure of the letter to the roof of the mouth. The linguistic definition of tarqeeq : Thinness
Its applied definition: It is a thinness that enters the body of the letter, so the mouth is not filled with its reverberation (echo).

The Arabic letters are divided into three groups as to tafkheem and tarqeeq: 1. Letters that always have tafkheem. These are the seven letters in the group . They are also called the tafkheem letters. 2. Letters that have tafkheem sometimes and tarqeeq other times. a) The lengthened alif.

b) The c) The

in the Glorious name of

3. Letters that always have tarqeeq. This group consists of the rest of the Arabic alphabet.
The Letters That Always Have Tafkheem

The seven letters of

group make up this category. The letters of

are

. These letters do not all have the same degree if tafkheem, instead there are differences according to the letter s characteristics, and the strength or weakness of these characteristics. Every time a letter has a strong characteristic, its tafkheem is stronger. the rest of letters ) ) are stronger in tafkheem than

letters due to the adhesion of the tongue to the roof of the mouth in letters from , then , then

conjunction with the elevation of the tongue. The ranking of strongest is , then then . , then , then

ALIF
- The alif is not characterized as having tafkheem or tarqeeq, but instead it is known to follow the letter preceding it as to tafkheem or tarqeeq. If a tafkheem letter precedes it then it also has tafkheem. Examples of this are in:

and

and

If the alif occurs after a letter with tarqeeq, the alif also then has tarqeeq, as in: and . It is a common mistake not to give the alif the full level of tafkheem required after a letter of tafkheem.

The lam of the name of The Majesty

The

of the Glorious name of Allah sometimes has tafkheem and sometimes . The

tarqeeq, depending on the pronounced vowel on the letter preceding the

alif that follows the will follow the in tafkheem or tarqeeq because as stated above, the alif follows the letter preceding it. It is therefore necessary to make sure both the of the Glorious name of Allah and the accompany alif have both tafkheem and tarqeeq together, according to the rules stated below.
The lam of the Glorious name of Allah has tafkheem in the following states:
y

If what precedes the name of Allah has a fat-ha, such as in: and and

If what precedes the name of Allah has a dhammah, such as in:

y If what precedes the name of Allah is saakin and what is before that has a fat-h or a dhammah. An example of this is in:

The Lam of the Name of Allah Has Tarqeeq in the Following States:

If it was preceded by an original kasrah or presented kasrah even if it is connected to it (the name of Allah) or separated from it. For example:
y

(original permanent kasrah),

and

(presented kasrah).
y

If it was preceded by a saakin and the letter before that has a kasrah, such as

in:

and

Tafkheem of the letter

The has 8 cases in which it has tafkheem, 4 cases in which it has tarqeeq, and 2 cases that allow either tafkheem or tarqeeq. The Eight cases in which the 1. If it has a fat-hah, such as in 2. If it is saakinah and before the is a letter with a fat-ha, as in: has tafkheem:

3. If it is saakinah and the letter before it has a sukoon, and the letter before that has a fat-h, as when stopping on the word:

4. If it has a dhammah, as in : 5. If it ( ), has a sukoon, and the letter before it has a dhammah, such as in :

6. If the

is saakinah, preceded by a saakin, which is preceded by a dhammah. .

As when stopping on the word: 7. If the

is saakinah and preceded by a presented kasrah ( this is in the hamzah

wasl). The is pronounced with tafkheem when preceded by hamzah wasl, if we start on the hamzah wasl with a kasrah, or if continuing from the previous word. Examples:

8. If the

is saakinah and before is a kasrah, and after the

a letter of

that does NOT have a kasrah; meaning it has any vowel (including the sukoon) except a kasrah. As in:

These then are the eight circumstances for tafkheem of the letter

The Four Cases in Which the

1. If the has a kasrah, as in :

Has Tarqeeq

2.

If the

is saakinah, and a kasrah precedes it, such as:

3. If the is saakinah, and the letter before it is saakin, and the letter before that has a kasrah. This would occur when stopping, as in the example:

4.

If it is saakinah, and a

saakinah precedes it. The

in this case

has tarqeeq no matter what kind of vowel precedes the exemplified in the following words:

saakinah. This is

(when stopping on these words).