Nafi'

Ibn Katheer (Al-Bazee and Qunbul)

Abu 'Amr Al-Basree (Ad-Dooree and As-
Soosiyy)
Ibn 'Aamir
'Aasim (Shu'bah and Hafs)
Hamzah
Al-Kisaa'ee (Abu Al-Haarith and Ad-
Dooree)
Abu Ja'far (Ibn Wardan and Ibn Jammaaz)
Ya'qoob (Ruways and Rawh)
Khalaf (Ishaaq and Idrees)

The (making clear) of the Noon

Saakinah and Tanween
The last tidbit lesson defined the saakinah and the tanween,
and stated there are four different possible rules to be applied to the
saakinah and tanween. The rule that is applied depends on
the letter that immediately follows the saakinah or tanween.

This lesson describes the first of these rules, the or making

clear of the saakinah and tanween.

The word is defined linguistically as: clear or obvious.

The applied definition of the is: Pronouncing every letter from

its articulation point without a ghunnah [in this case, without a
prolonged ghunnah] on the clear letter.

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

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

There are six letters which when immediately follow the

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

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

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

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

letter of : . The first word of the

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

said clearly, in other words, with an .

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

tanween. . Listen to this aayah.

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. . Listen to this aayah.

In conclusion, when the saakinah or tanween are followed by

any of the the six letters , the

is then pronounced clearly. Please remember we are only
discussing saakinah, which means it has no vowel on it. If
there is a vowel on the , then it is pronounced from its
articulation point with the accompanying vowel.
Nafi'
Ibn Katheer (Al-Bazee and Qunbul)
Abu 'Amr Al-Basree (Ad-Dooree and As-
Soosiyy)
Ibn 'Aamir
'Aasim (Shu'bah and Hafs)
Hamzah
Al-Kisaa'ee (Abu Al-Haarith and Ad-
Dooree)
Abu Ja'far (Ibn Wardan and Ibn Jammaaz)
Ya'qoob (Ruways and Rawh)
Khalaf (Ishaaq and Idrees)

Merging of the noon saakinah and

tanween part 1
The first tidbit of this series defined the saakinah and
tanween and introduced the four different possible rules for these
letters:

1. (making clear)

2. (merging)

3. (changing)

4. (hiding).

The second tidbit described the first rule pertaining to the

saakinah and tanween, that of the , or making it clear. We now

move on to the second of the four possible rules, that of , or
merging of the saakinah and tanween into the next following
letter.

The is defined linguistically as merging or inserting.

Its applied tajweed definition is: The meeting of a non-voweled
letter with a voweled letter, so that the two letters become
one emphasized letter of the second [letter] kind.
In the idghaam of saakinah and tanween, the is a
saakin (non-voweled) letter on the end of a word, and the first letter
of the next word is one of the letters that cause the to merge

or insert into it. The letters that cause this or merging are all

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

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

or or , or is the first letter of the next word,

the then merges into this next letter.

There are two subdivision of the :

1. which is a complete merging, also known as

which is merging without any ghunnah

(nasalization).
2. which is an incomplete merging, also known as

, or idghaam with a ghunnah (nasalization). .

The or complete merging of the saakinah or

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

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

stated, this is also known as , or idghaam without a

ghunnah, since the completely merges in to the or

and there is no left over ghunnah from the . When
there is this type of , the is not pronounced whatsoever,
 instead the reciter proceeds from the
letter before the or the vowel
that is with the tanween, directly to the first letter of the next word
which will have a shaddah (the little ) on it because of the
(merging).
Examples of this are:

Click here to listen to this aayah

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

first has nothing to do with the rule for the tanween here),

followed by a as the first letter of the next word. The reciter

should go directly from the dhammah on the which is the last

letter on the first word to the that is the first letter of the next
word. The idghaam or merging of the saakinah of the

tanween is complete into the which becomes emphasized

(doubled) as a result of this merging. This doubling of the is

represented by the shaddah mark, or little over the letter.
The same process takes place whether the saakinah is
actually a written such as the next following example, or an
unwritten in the case of the tanween.

The next tidbit lesson will, insha' Allah, continue with the idghaam
lesson.
Nafi'
Ibn Katheer (Al-Bazee and Qunbul)
Abu 'Amr Al-Basree (Ad-Dooree and As-Soosiyy)
Ibn 'Aamir
'Aasim (Shu'bah and Hafs)
Hamzah
Al-Kisaa'ee (Abu Al-Haarith and Ad-Dooree)
Abu Ja'far (Ibn Wardan and Ibn Jammaaz)
Ya'qoob (Ruways and Rawh)
Khalaf (Ishaaq and Idrees)

Merging of the noon saakinah and

tanween part 2
 Idghaam with a ghunnah

This is the fourth lesson concerning the saakinah and

tanween.

In all the rules concerning the saakinah and tanween, the

letter that immediately follows the 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: the then merges into the next letter. The
idghaam, or merging of the saakinah and tanween is further

divided into two groups, (idghaam with a ghunnah) and

(idghaam without a ghunnah). Ghunnah means

nasalization. The last lesson outlined the sub-group of

which occurs when the saakinah or tanween is followed by

either a or .

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 remove the letters of

the idghaam without a ghunnah group, the and , we

have left four letters, the , , , and , or if we

put them in a word, the letters of the word: . When there is a

saakinah or tanween at the end of a word, and the first letter

of the next word is one of the four letters in the group , the
merges into the next letter, with a prolonged nasalization, or
ghunnah accompanying this merging. In the case of the
saakinah or tanween merging with the or the ghunnah
is a left over from the , since this characteristic is not present
Nafi'
Ibn Katheer (Al-Bazee and Qunbul)
Abu 'Amr Al-Basree (Ad-Dooree and As-
Soosiyy)
Ibn 'Aamir
'Aasim (Shu'bah and Hafs)
Hamzah
Al-Kisaa'ee (Abu Al-Haarith and Ad-
Dooree)
Abu Ja'far (Ibn Wardan and Ibn Jammaaz)
Ya'qoob (Ruways and Rawh)
Khalaf (Ishaaq and Idrees)

Exceptions to the idghaam rule of

the noon saakinah
 Exceptions to the rule of (merging)

The last two lessons described the merging of the saakinah

and tanween at the end of a word, with any of the letters of the

group at the beginning of the next following word. The ,

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

1. (idghaam without a ghunnah).

2. (Idghaam with a ghunnah).

The (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 , but there is no

(merging), instead the is recited clearly, or with an .

The first case is in aayah 27 of surah Al-Qiyaamah:

. The second word of this aayah

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

. Under normal circumstances, there would be , or

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

that cause an when it follows a saakinah. In this

aayah though, there is a brief breathless pause, known in Arabic as

a between the word , and the next word: . This short

pause without a breath prevents the saakinah of the word

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

therefore, no , or merging, of the saakinah with the
Nafi'
Ibn Katheer (Al-Bazee and Qunbul)
Abu 'Amr Al-Basree (Ad-Dooree and As-Soosiyy)
Ibn 'Aamir
'Aasim (Shu'bah and Hafs)
Hamzah
Al-Kisaa'ee (Abu Al-Haarith and Ad-Dooree)
Abu Ja'far (Ibn Wardan and Ibn Jammaaz)
Ya'qoob (Ruways and Rawh)
Khalaf (Ishaaq and Idrees)

Exceptions to the idghaam rule of

the noon saakinah
 Exceptions to the rule of (merging)

The last two lessons described the merging of the saakinah

and tanween at the end of a word, with any of the letters of the

group at the beginning of the next following word. The ,

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

1. (idghaam without a ghunnah).

2. (Idghaam with a ghunnah).

The (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 , but there is no

(merging), instead the is recited clearly, or with an .

The first case is in aayah 27 of surah Al-Qiyaamah:

. The second word of this aayah

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

. Under normal circumstances, there would be , or

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

that cause an when it follows a saakinah. In this

aayah though, there is a brief breathless pause, known in Arabic as

a between the word , and the next word: . This short

pause without a breath prevents the saakinah of the word

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

therefore, no , or merging, of the saakinah with the
 Nafi'
Ibn Katheer (Al-Bazee and Qunbul)
Abu 'Amr Al-Basree (Ad-Dooree and As-
Soosiyy)
Ibn 'Aamir
'Aasim (Shu'bah and Hafs)
Hamzah
Al-Kisaa'ee (Abu Al-Haarith and Ad-
Dooree)
Abu Ja'far (Ibn Wardan and Ibn Jammaaz)
Ya'qoob (Ruways and Rawh)
Khalaf (Ishaaq and Idrees)

Changing (iqlaab) rule of the noon

saakinah and tanween
The (changing) of the saakinah and tanween is defined
in applied tajweed as: The changing of noon saakinah or the

tanween into a , when followed by a with the

observance of a lengthened ghunnah on the letter .

If the letter occurs immediately after a saakinah in the

same word, or between two words (meaning the saakinah or

the tanween would be at the end of word, and the the first
letter of the next word), it is then required that the reader changes

the saakinah or tanween into a hidden , with a ghunnah

present. The saakinah is changed into a meem in
pronunciation, not in the written word. You may note that most
copies of the Qur’an have a very small meem written over or under
the noon in this case, or the second line of a fat-h or kasrah tanween
or dhammah of the tanween is replaced by a small meem. The little

in this case has a tail on the end of it.

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

some modern scholars have said, but by closing the lips and holding
the for the length of the ghunnah, then opening them with the

. This is the correct way of “hiding” the as written in the

books of the old scholars, and as passed down in applied recitation
by chains of transmission that go back to the Prophet Mohammed,

Examples of the :

In this first example above, the saakinah is the last letter of

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

next word, starts with the letter . The is then changed

in pronunciation to a , and this is held with a ghunnah,

then the lips are separated pronouncing the letter .

Click here to listen to this aayah

In this example above, the saakinah is in the middle of the

word and followed by the letter . The saakinah is

changed into a just as in the previous example.

These two different aayaat are examples of the tanween being

followed by the letter . The , or changing of the

saakinah of the tanween into a , is done in the same way as

the other examples. The little can be seen written over all of

these examples. The little takes the place of the second

dhammah, fat-h, or kasrah of the tanween.
 Nafi'
Ibn Katheer (Al-Bazee and Qunbul)
Abu 'Amr Al-Basree (Ad-Dooree and As-
Soosiyy)
Ibn 'Aamir
'Aasim (Shu'bah and Hafs)
Hamzah
Al-Kisaa'ee (Abu Al-Haarith and Ad-
Dooree)
Abu Ja'far (Ibn Wardan and Ibn Jammaaz)
Ya'qoob (Ruways and Rawh)
Khalaf (Ishaaq and Idrees)

Hiding (ikhfa') rule of the noon

saakinah and tanween

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

The is linguistically defined as: hiding or concealment

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

voweled letter stripped of any shaddah, characterized

somewhere between an and an with a ghunnah

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

The letters of the for the saakinah and tanween are all
the remaining letters in the Arabic alphabet after we remove the

letters that cause , , and . There are 15 letters in

the Arabic alphabet, all causing , or hiding of the

saakinah and tanween; they are:

If a saakinah or tanween is followed by any of these 15

letters, we hide the . The can take place between two
words (as will always be the case with the tanween) or in the middle
of a word. To hide the our tongue does not touch the teeth or
gum, instead our tongue moves close to, but not at, the articulation
point of the next letter, which is the letter causing the (hiding).
We then hold this sound with an accompanying ghunnah

(nasalization) for the amount of timing appropriate for the .

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

known as .

The technique of the of the takes practice to perfect.

There is no difference in the or in the technique of the

whether it is a written that is being hidden, or a tanween.
Some students simply keep their tongue at the articulation point of

the during the , and prolong the sound with a ghunnah

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

Examples of the of the saakinah and tanween:

Click here to listen to aayah

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

the second word, followed by the letter , one of the letters of

. We don’t let our tongue touch the articulation point of the

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

Click here to listen to aayah

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 .

Click here to listen to aayah

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.