The Mudood (Lengthenings) Part 1

The Lengthening
Its linguistic definition: Extra

Its applied definition: Lengthening of the sound with a letter of the

medd letters.

The medd letters are in the following three cases:

1. The alif is always in this state, which is an alif saakinah,

preceded by a fathah:

2. The saakinah preceded by a kasrah

3. The saakinah preceded by a dhammah:

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

examples:

The leen letters

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

2. The sakinah preceded by a fat-hah), such as:

The medd is divided into two groups:

1. (The Original Medd)

2. (The Secondary Medd)

The Natural Lengthening
Its definition: It is the medd (lengthening) that without which the
letter cannot exist (the timing), and it does not stop due to a hamzah
or a sukoon.
Its indications: There should not be a hamzah before it, and there
should not be a hamzah or sukoon after it.
It is named original because it is the origin of all mudood
(lengthenings). It is called natural because the person with a natural
measure will not increase its measure nor decrease it.
Its timing: It is lengthened two vowel counts.
The timing of each count depends on the speed of the reciter. Each
vowel should be equal in count to the other, and the mudood of two,
four, five, and six counts should be equal to that many vowels.

Examples of (the natural lengthening ):

In all these three words, have a natural medd with different medd
letters and will have the timing of two vowel counts. A note, the word

has a natural medd as long as we do not stop on the

word. As stated before in the indications of the natural medd there
cannot be a sukoon after the medd letter. If we were to stop on this

word, the letter would acquire a presented sukoon, and the

medd would no longer be considered a natural medd, but would be a
different kind of medd, to be discussed in future tidbit lessons.

Included in is the group of letters " ", which are

letters that start some surahs of the Qur’an. If any one of these letters
is at the beginning of a surah, the letter is read with two vowel counts.

An example of this would be: . Another example is in the

letters and pronounced as in the opening verse of

surah Maryam: .
The Mudood (Lengthenings) Part 2

That Which Follows the Natural Lengthening Rules

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

count of the natural medd , meaning they also have two

vowel counts.

1. The Lesser Connective Lengthening

2. The Substitute Lengthening

This lesson will discuss the “lesser connective lengthening”, or

. Insha’ Allah the upcoming lesson will cover the

“substitute lengthening, or .

The Lesser Connecting Medd

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

possessive pronoun ) which meets the following conditions:

A on the end of a word (last letter) that is not part of the

original make up of the word, representing the singular third person
male. It is voweled either with a dhammah or a kasrah, positioned
between two voweled letters, the reader is not stopping on it, and it is
not followed by a hamzah. When all these requirements are met the
dhammah on the (if there is one) becomes lengthened into a

lengthened or the kasrah on the becomes lengthened

like a lengthened . When stopping on this we stop with a

regular sukoon, and the two count medd is dropped.

Examples:

In this above phrase from the Glorious Qur’an there are two examples
of the lesser connecting medd. The first example is in the first word.

The last letter of the first word is a pronoun not part of the
original word, representing a male third person, located between two

voweled letters (the with a fat-h before it and the with a

fat-h after), the has a dhammah on it, and not followed by a

hamzah. Therefore, if we read this in continuation with the next word
(meaning we do not stop on this word), we lengthen the dhammah on

the so that it becomes the length of a lengthened , which

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

. This tells us that there is an extra .

The second example of the lesser connecting medd is in the third

word. Again, it fulfils all the required conditions of the lesser

connecting medd, but this time the possessive has a kasrah on

it. When we read this word in continuum with what follows it, we

lengthen the kasrah so that it becomes a lengthened , getting

two vowel counts. Here, you can also note the symbol denoting a
small after the ; it somewhat looks like a lesser sign in
mathematics.

If the has a sukoon on it (when continuing and when stopping),

there is no lengthening of the vowel on the . If the letter

before, and or after the has a sukoon, there is no lengthening

of the vowel of the .

Exceptions to :

There are only two exceptions to the rule:

The First:

Here there is NO medd of the even though all the conditions

are met.

The Second:

Here there IS a medd, even though all of the conditions have not been

met (there is a sukoon before the ).

This is the way Hafs ‘an ‘Aasim reads these ‘aayaat.

The pronoun of the female noun which means “this”
referring to a female object, follows lesser connecting medd rule if it is
between two voweled letters. As in:

The Mudood (Lengthenings) Part 3

What Follows the Natural Lengthening Rules

The Substitute Lengthening

The last tidbit, now located in the tidbit archives mentioned that there
are two different medd that follow the count of the natural medd,
meaning they have two vowel counts. The first lengthening of this

sort, The Lesser Connective Lengthening, or , was

described last lesson. This lesson the second of these two

lengthenings, The Substitute Lengthening, or will be

explained.

It is substituting a lengthened alif for the tanween with a fath, when

stopping on it. The lengthening is two counts, which means, the

length of two vowels, the same as the counts of , or natural

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

Examples:
The tanween is usually a sign of a noun, but there are a two cases
when verbs have a tanween on them representing the light

emphasized , and not part of a noun. The two places are

highlighted in red in the following aayaat:

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

appropriate saakinah rules applied, just as in the examples of

the nouns above.

EXCEPTION: Not included in this medd is , or female . This

letter occurs on the end of nouns, indicates female gender, and is

represented in Arabic as: , or when linked to the letter before it, it looks

like: . This letter is always read as a saakinah when stopping on

the word, and is always read as a in the case of continuing . The

written vowel accompanying the is read with the upon reading it

in continuum with the word that follows it. When a noun with a female

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

stopped on with a saakinah and there is no alif substituted for the

tanween. This is found in such words as: and

The Secondary Medd

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

possibility of longer timing) than that of the natural medd

( ) due to a hamzah or a sukoon.

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

Its indications: The occurrence of a hamzah before or after a medd

letter, or a sukoon after it, regardless if the sukoon is permanent
(when continuing and when stopping), or if the sukoon is a presented
one.

The is divided into two groups:

1. The medd due to hamzah

2. The medd due to sukoon

The medd due to hamzah is sub-divided into four groups:

1. The Exchange lengthening

2. The Required Joined Lengthening

3. The Allowed Separated Lengthening

4. The Greater Connective Lengthening

The lengthening due to sukoon sub-divides into three types:

1. The Presented Sukoon Lengthening

2. The Soft Lengthening

3. The Compulsory Lengthening

Each of these categories will be described in detail of the next several

tidbit lessons. This lesson will focus on the first type of lengthening in
the category of "lengthening caused by a hamzah."

The Medd Caused by a Hamzah

The Exchange Lengthening

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

Examples:

It is called , which means exchange, because of the exchange of a

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

There is a grammatical rule in Arabic that if there are two juxtaposed

hamzahs in one word, the first voweled, the second not voweled, the
second hamzah is exchanged for a medd letter of the same type as
the vowel on the first hamzah. This means that if the first hamzah has
a fat-h on it, the second hamzah which has no vowel, will change into
an alif; if the first hamzah has a kasrah on it, the second hamzah which

is saakinah, changes into a saakinah; if the first hamzah has a

dhammah on it, the second hamzah which is saakinah, changes into

saakinah. A reminder, the second hamzah must be saakinah and

the first hamzah voweled before this rule is applied.

These above examples were originally as follows:

. As seen these words originally had two hamzahs, the first one had a
vowel and the second a sukoon. The second hamzah was changed
into a medd letter from the category of the vowel of the first hamzah.
Not all cases of medd badl (a hamzah preceding a medd letter) have
this origin (two hamzahs, the first with a vowel and the second with a
sukoon), but we treat all cases of hamzah before a medd letter as

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

hamzah saakinah, such as when starting the word: . This will

be covered later insha’ Allah in the tidbit lessons when the hamzah al-
wasl is discussed in depth, but a reminder for now.

This medd is lengthened for two vowel counts by the way of

recitation of Hafs ‘an ‘Aasim. One of the other readers (not the way

we read) lengthens
2, 4, or 6 vowel counts, which explains the reason this lengthening is
in the secondary lengthening category.

We lengthen this medd two counts, as long as a hamzah does not

follow it. If a hamzah follows it, we determine the lengthening

according to the rule, which will be explained later.

=============================================

The Mudood (Lengthenings) Part 5

The Required Attached Medd

Its definition: It occurs when a hamzah follows a medd letter in

the same word. It is called (required) (required) because all

readers agree that this medd is required. It is called (joined)

due to the attachment of the medd letter and the hamzah to the same
word.

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

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

on NOT . This medd will be

explained in a few more lessons, and the concept of two different
medd at the same time will be discussed, insha’ Allah, in the (stronger

of two causes) section.

Examples of :
In this above example, there is an alif, preceded by a fat-h, which all
true alifs are, then followed immediately by a hamzah in the same
word.

In this example, there are two required attached lengthenings in both

the last two words. First, there is a saakinah preceded by a

kasrah (meaning a medd letter), then there is a hamzah following it in

the same word, so we have a medd waajib mutasil ( ).

There is a tanween fat-h on the hamzah, and we know from a previous

lesson on , or substitution lengthening, that when there is a

tanween fat-h and we are stopping on the word, we substitute an alif
for the tanween. So when stopping on any of these two words, there
would be first a four or five count medd waajib mutasil, then there

would be a two count alif for the .

Examples with the hamzah as the last letter of the word

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

medd letter is an alif, in the second a . Both these medd letters

are followed by a hamzah, which happens to be the last letter of the
word. If we stop on this word, we can lengthen the medd four or five

counts for the Required Attached Medd ( ) OR we can

lengthen the medd 6 counts as a different medd, The Presented

Sukoon lengthening ( ).

Note:

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

==============================================
=

The Mudood (Lengthenings) Part 6

The Separate Allowed Lengthening

Its definition: It occurs when a medd letter is the last letter of

a word, and a hamzah qata' is the first letter of the next word.

It is called (allowed) because of the permissibility of a short count

of two, as well as its lengthening with some readers. It is called

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

Its rule: Its lengthening is of the measure of four or five vowel counts,
the way we are teaching to read, which is Hafs ‘an Aasim by the way
of Shaatabiyyah

( ) . Two vowel counts for this

lengthening are not allowed in this way of reading. There is a
known way of reading also transmitted by Hafs ‘an Aasim that has two
vowel counts for this lengthening, but that way is not the way of Ash-
Shaatabiyyah, and the way of Ash-Shaatabiyyah is the way being
taught here.

• For those interested in learning about the rules for the way of

Hafs 'an 'Aasim reading four vowel counts and

two vowel counts please click here for a PDF

download outlining the rules.

Examples:
Click here to listen to this aayah

When stopping on the word that has the medd letter at the end of it,
the reader stops with the natural two count lengthening

( ) since the hamzah in the next word is the reason for

lengthening to four or five counts, and the reason is no longer present
when stopping on the first word.

NOTE: In some words such as used for calling, or for drawing

attention, the medd letter is written joined together with the following
word. When the next word begins with a hamzah, this may be
confusing when trying to ascertain whether the medd is

or . The reader needs to know that "

" (for calling) and what follows it are two separate words; and the

same can be said for " " (drawing attention) and what follows it. For

example, the “ ” for calling in: is a separate word from the

name “Ibraaheem”, and the for drawing attention in, is a

separate word from the attached second word. In this second

example, , there are two lengthenings, the first is the Allowed

Separate Lengthening

( ) with the for drawing attention ending in a medd

letter, and the first letter of the next word (which happens to be
joined) a hamzah. There is also the Required Attached Lengthening

( ) at the end of the second word, because there is a

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

IMPORTANT NOTICE: The and must
be both four counts or both five counts. It is not allowed to mix the
medd counts! There is no valid way of reading that does differently
than this.

The Greater Connecting Lengthening

Its definition: If the pronoun/possessive pronoun representing

a third person male gender is at the end of a word (meaning not part
of the original make up of the word) and it has a vowel of a dhammah
or a kasrah, is between two voweled letters, and the first letter of the
next word is a hamzah, the dhammah on the pronoun/possessive

pronoun is lengthened into a , or the kasrah is lengthened

into a and it can be lengthened four or five counts. As stated

above in the Allowed Separate Lengthening, there is a known way of
reading that also allows two counts for the lengthening, but this is not
the way that is being taught here.

This lengthening has the same requirements as the Lesser Connecting

Lengthening

( ), except in this case (meaning The Greater

Connecting Lengthening/ ), there is a hamzah as the

first letter of the next word following the pronoun/possessive pronoun

, whereas in the Lesser Connecting Lengthening

( ), there cannot be a hamzah as the first letter of the

next word after the pronoun/possessive pronoun .

This medd follows the allowed separated lengthening (
) in vowel counts, in other words, what ever the number of vowel
counts the reader is using for the allowed separated lengthening

( ), he/she must use the same amount for this

lengthening. The second in the word follows the same

rules as (or the pronoun ha') in this medd.

Examples:

Click here to listen to this aayah

The Mudood (Lengthenings) Part 7

The previous few lessons explained the different lengthenings caused

by hamzah. These lessons are now located in the tidbit archives.
This lesson starts a new subsection in the lengthenings, that of a
lengthening caused by a sukoon. Two types of lengthenings caused by
a presented (or temporary) sukoon will be explained in this lesson.
The next type of lengthening caused by permanent or fixed sukoon will
be explained insha’ Allah over several future lessons.

The Lengthening with a Presented Sukoon

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

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

hamzah there are then two medd in one, and

. This will be explained, insha’ Allah in the

or stronger of two causes section, soon.

Its rule: It is permitted to lengthen this medd two, or four, or six

counts when stopping on it. When not stopping on it, the last letter is
read with a vowel and the medd letter is lengthened two vowel counts,

the normal measure for ,or natural lengthening.

Examples:

Click here to listen to this medd with 2 counts

Click here to listen to this medd with 6 counts

The Soft Lengthening

Its Definition: It occurs when a “leen” letter

( or with a sukoon, preceded by a letter with a fathah) is

followed by one letter only in the same word and we stop on the last
letter in the word with a presented sukoon.
Its rule: It is allowed to lengthen this medd 2-4-or 6 vowel counts
when stopping on the word. When continuing reading (not stopping on
this word), there is a slight lengthening of the “leen” letter, referred by

the scholars as " " which is less than two vowel counts, but longer
than one vowel count.
Examples:

Click here to listen to this aayah

The difference between and

Its letters Two letters: The three medd letters: alif

only the
and and
and

Types of letters “Leen” Medd letters:

Alif saakinah with a fat-h
letters: before it

and saakinah with a kasrah

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

( ) is stronger than the . If the weaker of the

two ( ) precedes the stronger ( ) in a phrase,

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

When we stop at the word , we stop with the soft lengthening (

). This “leen” lengthening can be lengthened 2, 4, or 6 counts.

Three words later, if we stop on the last word of the aayah , we

stop with a presented sukoon lengthening that must be equal to the
selected length of the “leen” medd or stronger. If for example we stop

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

with our choice of 2, 4, or 6 counts, since all are equal to or

greater than the two vowel counts we used for the “leen” lengthening.

If however, we stop on the “leen” lengthening on the word with

four vowel counts, we can only stop on the word with the
presented sukoon lengthening with either four or six vowel counts.
When the stronger medd which is the presented sukoon lengthening

( ) precedes the weaker soft lengthening ( ),

the weaker medd then must be equal or less in length than the
stronger one. An example of this is in the aayah:
If we stop on the word there is a presented sukoon lengthening,
since there is an alif before the last letter, and we put a presented
sukoon on the last letter when stopping. We can stop on the

presented sukoon lengthening ( ) with 2, 4, or 6 vowel

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

There is a saakinah preceded by a fat-h making a “leen” letter

and this is followed by only one letter. When stopping on this word,
we put a presented sukoon on the last letter of the word, in this case

, and now have a soft lengthening ( ). The “leen”

lengthening must be equal or less than the presented sukoon

lengthening. If we stop on the word with four vowel counts, we

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

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

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

word with six vowel counts, we then can stop on the word

with two, four, or six vowel counts, since all are equal or less
to the six vowel counts we used for the presented sukoon lengthening

on the word .
The Mudood (Lengthenings) Part 8

Its definition: An original (or fixed) sukoon is positioned after a

medd letter, in a word or a letter.
By original it is meant that the sukoon is part of the original make up
of the word, and is present when continuing the reading and when
stopping.

Its Divisions: is divided into two groups:

1. The Compulsory Word Lengthening

2. The Compulsory Letter Lengthening

Each of these two divisions is further divided into two more

divisions. We therefore, have four divisions of the .

1. The Compulsory Heavy Lengthening in a Word

2. The Compulsory Light Lengthening in a Word

3. The Compulsory Heavy Lengthening in a Letter

4. The Compulsory Light Lengthening in a Letter

We will explain the first two (The Compulsory Heavy Word Lengthening
and The Compulsory Light Word Lengthening) this tidbit lesson, and
the next two, insha’ Allah in the next lesson

The Compulsory Heavy Lengthening in a Word

Its definition: It is when an original sukoon (the letter has a

shaddah on it ) comes after a medd letter in a word.

The word heavy refers to the shaddah. A shaddah indicates two

letters of the same, the first one with a sukoon, and the second with
the vowel that is accompanying the shaddah. The two letters have
merged

( ) into each other, and thence the shaddah. It is called due

the permanent, or original sukoon found when the reader stops or
continues, or because all readers agree that this lengthening must be

6 vowel counts. It is called due to the fact that the medd

letter is in one word.
Examples:

Click here to hear this lengthening

The Compulsory Light Lengthening in a Word

Its Definition: It occurs when an original sukoon that is not

merged (no shaddah on it), follows a medd letter in a word.
The word light ( ) comes from the letter not being merged. This
refers to the letter with the sukoon that follows the medd letter.

Places of this lengthening:

There are only two places of occurrence in

one word of this kind of lengthening in the Qur’an.

Its measure: 6 vowel counts

The Mudood (Lengthenings) Part 8

Its definition: An original (or fixed) sukoon is positioned after a

medd letter, in a word or a letter.
By original it is meant that the sukoon is part of the original make up
of the word, and is present when continuing the reading and when
stopping.

Its Divisions: is divided into two groups:

1. The Compulsory Word Lengthening

2. The Compulsory Letter Lengthening

Each of these two divisions is further divided into two more

divisions. We therefore, have four divisions of the .

1. The Compulsory Heavy Lengthening in a Word

 2. The Compulsory Light Lengthening in a Word

3. The Compulsory Heavy Lengthening in a Letter

4. The Compulsory Light Lengthening in a Letter

We will explain the first two (The Compulsory Heavy Word Lengthening
and The Compulsory Light Word Lengthening) this tidbit lesson, and
the next two, insha’ Allah in the next lesson

The Compulsory Heavy Lengthening in a Word

Its definition: It is when an original sukoon (the letter has a

shaddah on it ) comes after a medd letter in a word.

The word heavy refers to the shaddah. A shaddah indicates two

letters of the same, the first one with a sukoon, and the second with
the vowel that is accompanying the shaddah. The two letters have
merged

( ) into each other, and thence the shaddah. It is called due

the permanent, or original sukoon found when the reader stops or
continues, or because all readers agree that this lengthening must be

6 vowel counts. It is called due to the fact that the medd

letter is in one word.
Examples:

Click here to hear this lengthening

The Compulsory Light Lengthening in a Word

Its Definition: It occurs when an original sukoon that is not

merged (no shaddah on it), follows a medd letter in a word.

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

Places of this lengthening:

There are only two places of occurrence in

one word of this kind of lengthening in the Qur’an.

Its measure: 6 vowel counts

The Separate Letters that begin some surahs

Preface: The letters that begin some of the surahs of the Qur’an are
fourteen in number. These fourteen letters are found in the phrase:

" " These letters are divided into four groups:

1. That which has no medd at all: This refers to the alif (

) as it has no medd letter in it.

2. That which has a medd of two counts: The letters in this

category can be found in the phrase:

" " meaning the letters are recited as when found in

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

( ).

3. That which has a medd of six vowel counts: The rest of

the letters from the fourteen that start some surahs of the Qur’an fall
into this category. These letters are seven in number, and can be

found in the phrase: " ". All are lengthened six counts. The

letters of the group are categorized into to two groups:

The Light Compulsory Lengthening in a letter

and The Heavy Compulsory Lengthening in

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

The Heavy Compulsory The Light Compulsory Lengthening in

Lengthening in a letter a letter
 A. The letter when A. The letter when written out
written out consists of three consists of three letters
letters
B. The middle of the three letters
B. The middle of the is a medd letter
three letters is a medd letter
C. A saakin letter follows the
C. A merged letter medd letter, but it is not merged with
follows the medd letter, the letter that comes after it
meaning that the third letter
is merged with the letter that
follows it.

4. The " ": The can be lengthened four or six vowel

counts, according to the rules of the way we read, which is the way of:
Hafs ‘an ‘Aasim from the way of Shatibiyyah

( ). This is due to the fact that the as

a separate letter of an opening to a surah is found at the beginning of

surah Maryam click here to listen to this aayah,

and the beginning (second aayah) of surah Ash-Shooraa

The Compulsory Light Lengthening in Letters

Its definition: The letters of the group " " are each
individually read as a three letter word, the middle letter being a medd
letter, andthe third letter having an original (or permanent) sukoon.

The determiner of the letter being or is the last letter and

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

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

next. This is why it is called . This medd is lengthened six

vowel counts.

Examples:

Click here to listen to this aayah

In this example we can see that the when written out consists of
three letters; the middle letter is a medd letter (alif) , the last letter

(" ") has a sukoon it, and is followed by a , which the

does not merge into, and therefore it is called .

The Compulsory Heavy Lengthening in Letters

Its definition: This type of lengthening occurs when a letter of the "

" group of letters that begin some of the surahs, (as described
above), has the last letter of the three letter word representing the
individual letter, merging into the letter that comes after it. This is the

reason for it being called (heavy). This medd has a required

lengthening of six counts.

Example:

Click here to listen to this aayah

In this example, we find two letters, the and the that

consist of three letters. The has a medd letter as the middle

letter, then followed by a letter that is a sakinah, but merged

with the first letter of the next spelled out letter . The is

then . The does not have its third letter

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

Summary of different medd in the letters that begin some

surahs

No medd Follower of the leen

Two
count medd
natural Four or six vowel
medd Merged counts

( )
Not merged

( )

Six vowel
counts

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

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The Mudood (Lengthenings) Part 10

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

We learned that the Secondary Lengthening

( ) is due to two causes:

1. The hamzah
2. The Sukoon.
The lengthening due a hamzah are three kinds: The Exchange

Lengthening ( ), The Required Joined Lengthening (

), and The Allowed Separated Lengthening (

).
The medd due to a sukoon is of two kinds: The Presented Sukoon
Lengthening

( ) and the Compulsory Lengthening ( ).

The leen is considered a branch of the presented sukoon lengthening

. These lengthenings have various degrees of

strength and weakness. The strongest is the compulsory lengthening (

), the second strongest is the required joined lengthening

( ), the next the presented sukoon lengthening (

), then separated allowed lengthening

( ), and the weakest the exchange lengthening (

).
The following lines of poetry written by ِAsh-Sheikh Ibrahim Ali
Shahaatah reinforce the ranking of the various secondary
lengthenings:
Translated:
The stronger of the lengthenings is compulsory then that which is
joined,
Then presented and that which is separated, then exchange.

The Rule of the Stronger of the Two Causes for a Lengthening

If two reasons for lengthening are present in one medd letter, there
must be one stronger than the other. In this case the weak medd is
left, and we use the stronger of the two. The following lines of poetry
also written by Sheikh Ibrahim Ali Shahaatah exemplify this:

Translated:
Two causes for lengthening if they are found
Then verily the stronger of the two causes performs.

Examples:

Example 1:

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

therefore an exchange lengthening ( ). This same medd letter

is followed by a shaddah, meaning a sukoon, so we also have the

compulsory lengthening ( ). With the knowledge that the

stronger of these two medd is the , we use that medd and do

not use the exchange lengthening ( ). This medd is lengthened

six counts, that of the compulsory lengthening ( ).

Example 2:

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

exchange lengthening ( ). The same medd letter is followed by

a hamzah in the same word, so there is also a required joined

lengthening ( ). Both of these medd share the same

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

,four counts, he can stop on this medd four. Four

counts would lead to a medd with two causes, which would be, the
required joined lengthening

( )and the presented sukoon lengthening (

).
Stopping on this word with six vowel counts would be allowed only if

all of were being lengthened six vowel counts

and then only the presented sukoon lengthening

would be the reason for this lengthening
If the reader is reading the required joined lengthening (

) with five vowel counts, he can stop on this with five

vowel counts. Stopping on five vowel counts would be employing only
the required joined lengthening ( ). It is forbidden to
stop on this word using the present sukoon lengthening

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

of the stronger of the two lengthenings

( ), and since the required joined lengthening is stronger

than the the presented sukoon lengthening, the lesser count on the
presented sukoon lengthening cannot be used.

Example 3: In the above example, the hamzah precedes a

medd letter, indicating an exchange lengthening ( ). This

medd is at the end of the word, and the first letter of the next word is
a hamzah, so the allowed separated lengthening

( ) is also using this same medd letter, which is an alif.

In this case, when continuing reading, and the allowed separated
lengthening

( ) is employed, so we lengthen this medd 4, or 5

counts (by the way we read). There is a way of reading by Hafs ‘an
‘Aasim, not the way of Ash-Shatibiyyah that lengthens the allowed

separated lengthening two vowel counts. If is

lengthened two vowel counts, then the medd is shared, and both the
allowed separated lengthening and the exchange lengthening are
considered to be in use at the same time. When stopping on the first

word only the exchange lengthening ( ) is used, since the

hamzah that begins the second word is not being read, and there is
therefore no allowed separate lengthening

( ) is used.

Test your ability to find two lengthenings sharing a medd

letter:
Find in the following aayaat words that have two different
lengthenings sharing a medd letter, find the circumstances for the two
lengthenings sharing the medd letter (i.e. only when stopping, only
when continuing) and find the stronger of the two, and the length of
the medd that is employed.

1.

2.

3. Are there two lengthenings sharing a medd letter when stopping on the

word ? Why or why

The empty space in the throat and

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

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

preceded by a fathah ( )

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

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

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

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

Common mistakes in these letters

Many times a reciter lets the sound of some or all of these letters
come up from the empty space of the throat into the nose, and a
nasalization (or ghunnah) of one or all of these letters then occurs.
The most common letter for this to happen with is the lengthened

“wow”.

To rid oneself of this error, the sound needs to be focused up and out
the mouth. To practice and see if this error is present one should close
off the nostrils and say the medd letter; if the sound becomes muted
with the pinching off of the nostrils, or if it sounds like one has a cold,
it is indeed coming up through the nose, and therefore incorrect.

A less common mistake is pronouncing one or all of these letters from a

specific place in the throat. The resultant sound is usually a cross between
one of the letters that are supposed to be articulated from the throat, and
the medd letter. To tell if this mistake is present, one needs to say the medd
letter, and if there is a pull in the throat, it is then incorrect. These medd
letters should be pronounced with using only the vibration of the vocal cords
and an accompanying opening of the mouth for the alif, a circling of the lips

for the lengthened wow, and a lowering of the jaw with the lengthened

ya’.

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 and the ha’ .

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: and .

The closest part of the throat

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

are: and .

Common mistakes in these letters

These letters are uncommon to many languages, especially English,

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

The two letters from the middle of the throat need practice to succeed
in their proper pronunciation. The first step is getting used to using
the throat, especially the middle, then work should begin on the letter:

. Think of the throat squeezing against itself from the middle,

and try to pronounce it from that point. There is plenty of air that runs
with this letter.

is the second letter from this area is pronounced from the same
point, but has more of a rolling sound. One Qur’an teacher described
the sound as of that of a camel. It may not be practical for the reciter
to find a camel and practice this sound that way, so listening to a
Qur’an tape and trying to imitate the sound of the reciter will work well
instead.

The last two letters also need practice to achieve a correct

pronunciation.

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

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

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

==============================================
======
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 .

Common Mistakes in these letters

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

letters. The first letter, is not a common letter in other

languages, and even the Arabs have substituted this letter for others
in different colloquial Arabic dialects. Egyptians and Shaamis

substitute a hamzah for the in their dialect. The Gulf Arabs

use a “g” sound in their dialect for this letter.
There are two mistakes in articulating this when reciting the Qur’an.
Usually it is a problem in the articulation point. Either the letter is
articulated on the hard palate or close to it, so it ends up sounding like
an English “k”, or the letter is pronounced not from the tongue, but
from the throat, and the resultant incorrect sound is a cross between a
and a . Native English speakers tend to make the first type
of error, and Muslims of eastern origin tend to make the second type
of error.

is often mispronounced at an articulation point further back in the

mouth than the correct articulation point. The resultant letter is often closer

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

=======================================

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.

Common mistakes in these letters

The mistakes that may occur with these letters tend to more in the
area of characteristics than in the specific articulation point, but not

exclusively so. The is often mispronounced by Arabs and non

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

can be articulated incorrectly, especially by those with a significant

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

The sometimes mistakenly is articulated with an

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

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.

Common mistakes in the letter

The takes practice, patience, and dua’ to perfect its

articulation. The most common mistake in its pronunciation is using
the tip of the tongue instead of the side (posterior one third). The

resultant sound then is that of a . Using the middle of the tongue

and what opposes it of the middle of the roof of the mouth is another

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

Some Arabs even sometimes have difficulty pronouncing

correctly. Some areas of the Arab world consistently pronounce this
letter using the tip of the tongue and the teeth and the resultant sound

is exactly that of a . This is most noted in Sudan.

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

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

articulation of the is an upward movement, not a forward

movement like “L” is in English.

Common mistakes in the letter

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

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

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=

The Tip of the Tongue (part one)

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

Common mistakes in this letter

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

The letter

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

Common mistakes in this letter

The first and most common mistake in the is not striking the tip
with the top of the tip to the gums. The English “r” is articulated
without the tongue striking on any part of the mouth, so many native

English speakers have to practice a bit to say the correctly. One

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

Still other make the aforementioned error of repeated trilling of the

tongue when pronouncing the . The scholars have cautioned

against this. This usually can be fixed by leaving a small space for the
sound to run out at the very tip of the tongue. If the tip is up tight
against the gum, there is no place for the sound to run, pressure builds
up and can only released by the incorrect excessive trilling.

The Tip of the Tongue (part two)

The articulation point of the

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

Common mistakes in these letters

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

mouth than the Arabic and . When these letters are

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

is a letter that has both tafkheem (heaviness) and sticks to the

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

The Tip of the Tongue (part three)

Articulation points of the

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

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

Common mistakes in these letters

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

is in the lack of (whistle). Usually this problem is due to a strong

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

Another mistake that occurs singularly in the is not making it heavy

enough. It is one of the tafkheem (heavy) letters, and it also has the

characteristic of sticking. If the is not made heavy enough, it sounds

just like, or very close to a . The sticking of the tongue with the

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

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Tip of the tongue (Part 4)

Articulation point of the

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

Common mistakes in these letters

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

The is often mispronounced as a heavy form of “z”. The reason

for this (mechanically speaking) is not using the top of the tip with the
edges of the incisors, and instead using the back plates of the two
front incisors, which as covered in the last tidbit, is the articulation

point for the . It is then understandable

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

when the incorrect articulation point is used. The is a letter that

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

The is many times mispronounced as a plain “z”. Again, Arabs as

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

The frequently is pronounced as a by mistake. This

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

In summary the common mistake in these three letters is using the

articulation point of the “whistle” group of letters

instead of their own unique articulation

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

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The articulation point of the fa' and

the two lips

Articulation point of the letter

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

Common mistakes in this letter

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

articulation point definition of the Arabic , the inside of the

lower lip is used. If the English speaking student of the Qur’an does
not make a conscience effort to use the inside of the lip, some of the

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

as the breath, will be imprisoned. The sound will not be a true Arabic

then, but an English “f”.

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

to the recitation of the Qur’an when there is a word with a in

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

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

Articulation point of the two lips

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

The unlengthened is articulated by forming a circle of the two

lips without the two lips meeting completely.

The is articulated by closing the two lips together

The letter is articulated by closing the two lips together, but a

stronger closing than the meem.

Common mistakes in these letters

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

Muslims as well as Turkish speaking Muslims from Turkey and former

Russian republics. This is due to the absence of in the Turkish

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

pressing on them when pronouncing the unlengthened . At the

beginning much practice will be needed to overcome this
mispronunciation. The student of the Qur’an may want to make note

of all the unlengthened in a passage he/she is reciting or

memorizing, and practice those phrases or words to make sure they all
come out correctly.

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

two lips when pronouncing the , otherwise the sound comes out
weak like a “w”, which is not the same sound as the Arabic .

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

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

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

running of the sound and the running of the breath in the letter which
makes it a strong letter.

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The Mechanism of the formation of

letters (Part one)

The Qur’an consists of 114 surahs; each surah consists of a number of

aayat; each aayah consists of a number of words, and each word
consists of different letters. We can therefore state that the smallest
unit in the make-up of the Qur’an is the letter.

Scholars studied letters from the standpoint of articulation points and

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

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

an approximate part (of articulation).
To understand the definition of a letter we need to understand what
sound is.
The Definition of sound: It is vibration and waves in the layers of
air that reaches the human ears. If the air vibrates with a
vibration that reaches human hearing levels, then this vibration is
called sound.

Human ears hear sound in the range of 20-20,000 hertz. A hertz is

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

1. Strong collision of two bodies. An example of this is clapping of

the hands.

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

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

4. Strong friction of an object on another object. This could be

exemplified by dragging a heavy box on asphalt.

The Articulating Mechanism that Allah, the Exalted, Gave Humans

Human articulation uses some of the previous mentioned methods of

causing sound in voweled and non-voweled letters. The following
explains how the sound of the letters is formed in human articulation.

1. Non-Voweled letters

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

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

and the qalqalah letters. An example is . The meem

occurs by collision of the two lips.

B. It occurs by vibration of the vocal cords in the

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

mouth. The lengthened is accompanied by a circling of

the lips. The lengthened is accompanied by the

lowering of the jaw. An example can be found in the two

joined words or the word . The sound of

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

The next tidbit lesson, insha’ Allah, will discuss how voweled letters
are formed.

The Mechanism of the formation of

letters (Part 2)

2. Voweled letters

Voweled letters occur by the parting ( ) of two components

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

An example is in the following:

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

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

the origin of the fat-h, the long is the origin of the dhammah, and

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

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

has a dhammah, the a sukoon, the second a dhammah,

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

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

then make a dhammah for the second , then back to a neutral

 position for the . This takes practice in the mirror to accomplish
the mouth movement in the proper sequence. The most common
mistake in a word like this is leaving the mouth in a dhammah for the
letters that have a sukoon on them. The resultant sound is like half a
dhammah instead of the pure sukoon sound required. This is even
more pertinent with the letter is a qalqalah letter, such as is the case of

the when it has a sukoon on it. The qalqalah should have no

vowel sound accompanying it. The mechanism of the qalqalah will be
covered in future tidbit lessons, insha’ Allah.

The
Ghunna
h

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

This is a required characteristic of the and . The ghunnah

cannot be separated from these two letters and is an inherent

part of their makeup.

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

The ghunnah is articulated from : the hole in the nose that continues
back towards inside the mouth.

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

Anytime the letters and have a shaddah on them, they are held
for a length of time, and the ghunnah described above is present during the
lengthening.

A shaddah represents two of any letter. When the symbol for a shaddah

(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.

Listen to aayah
==============================================
=======

Madd & Qasr (Asli

Madd) Madd & Qasr
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"ty le = " b o -cr doella
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‫صر‬
ْ ‫َالَمّد و الَق‬
2 1
There are two types of Madd
‫ن‬ ‫ن‬
1. Asli or Basic Madd – ‫َالَمّد اَلصِلى‬
L1_25 L1_2 5
Letters of Madd are three (‫)ا و ى‬. Whenever ‫ ا‬is
ُ ُ preceded by a letter with a fatha or ‫ و‬is preceded
by a letter with a Dummah or ‫ ى‬is preceded by a

‫ن‬
‫و‬

L1_26 ُ letter having a Kasra then the combination will be

prolonged by one extra Harakah. For example, ‫ب‬
َ
is one Harakah long whereas ‫ َبا‬is two Harakah
ْ
long. Consider the following word. It contains
combinations with all three Maddah letters.

ْ‫ن ُو‬
¶<table class="MsoNormalTable" = " M s 2.
¶< ta b le c la s s border="0" Fari
oNorm or
le "c beDerived
cellspacing="0"
a lT a b 0" in"0"g =c "e Madd
‫حْيَها‬ ِ ‫ُنْو‬
"ty‫عى‬
le =ِ " b‫ر‬
ْo-cr‫َف‬do‫ال‬ellar p‫ّد‬s‫َم‬e :c‫َال‬o lla p s-ye ;mf ti-tbs lloo o4k8: 0;m s -op a d d in-aglt:0in 5 .4p t0in 5 .4p t" >¶ <
llp a d d in0"g =s-style="border-collapse:collapse;mso-yfti-tbllook:480;mso-padding
ollsr dp ea rc=cellpadding="0"

4 3

‫ح‬ ‫ح‬

L1_6 L1_6

ِ ِ

‫ي‬
 ‫ِح‬
L1_30

‫ي‬
ْ ‫ح‬
ِ
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a lT a b 0"
le "c be ollsr dp ea rc=cellpadding="0"
in"0"g =c "e llp a d d in0"g =s style="border-collapse:collapse;mso-yfti-tbllook:480;mso-padding
"ty le = " b o -cr doella
r p s e :c o lla p s-ye ;m
f ti-tbs llo
o o4k 8: 0;m s -op a d d in-aglt:0in 5 .4p t 0in 5 .4p t" >¶ <

6 5

‫ه‬ ‫ه‬

L1_27 L1_2 7

َ َ

َ‫ه‬
‫ا‬

L1_1

‫ها‬
َ

‫صر‬
ْ ‫َالَمّد و الَق‬
Fari or Derived Madd - ‫عى‬
ِ ‫الَفْر‬
ّ‫َالَمد‬
1. Wajib or Muttasil Madd – ‫صل‬ ِ ‫جب او الَمّد الُمّت‬ ِ ‫ الَمّد الَوا‬.
2. Jaiz or Munfasil Madd – ‫صل‬ ِ ‫جائز او الَمّد الُمْنَف‬َ ‫ الَمّد ال‬.
3. Silah or Talffuzi Madd – ‫وى‬ ِ ‫ الَمّد الصلة او الَمّد اللْغ‬.
4. Arid Madd – ‫رض‬ ِ ‫ الَمّد الَعا‬.
5. Lazim Madd – ‫زم‬ ِ ‫ الَمّد الل‬.