What is idgham?
Idghām means "inserting" or "merging". The nun sakinah or tanwin is not pronounced as its own sound; it is absorbed into the following letter, which is then pronounced as if it had a shaddah.
The letters of idgham
Six letters, gathered in the word يَرْمَلُونَ:
- ي ر م ل و ن
Idgham only happens across two words: the nun sakinah or tanwin at the end of one word, the idgham letter at the start of the next.
1. Idgham with ghunnah
Before the four letters of يَنْمُو:
- ي ن م و
The nasal sound is held for two counts. Before ن and م the merging is complete. Before ي and و it is incomplete: a trace of the nun remains in the form of the ghunnah while the tongue already moves to ي or و.
Examples: مَن يَقُولُ، هُدًى مِّن، مِن نِّعْمَةٍ، مِن وَالٍ
2. Idgham without ghunnah
Before the two letters:
- ل ر
The nun disappears completely, there is no nasal sound, and the ل or ر is doubled.
Examples: مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ، غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ، يَكُن لَّهُ
The exceptions
If nun sakinah and ي or و meet inside one word, there is no idgham but izhar – otherwise the word would become unrecognisable. In the Quran this occurs in four words:
- الدُّنْيَا، بُنْيَانٌ، قِنْوَانٌ، صِنْوَانٌ
Also, in Ḥafṣ the nun is read with izhar in يس ۚ وَالْقُرْآنِ and ن ۚ وَالْقَلَمِ.
Typical mistakes
- Pronouncing the nun before ل or ر: "min rabbihim" instead of "mir-rabbihim".
- Forgetting the ghunnah before ي or و: "may-yaqūlu" without the nasal sound.
- Applying idgham to الدُّنْيَا ("ad-duyyā").
Practice tip
Write يَرْمَلُونَ on a card and split it into يَنْمُو (with ghunnah) and لر (without). Read Surah al-Ikhlas and Surah az-Zalzalah and mark every idgham you find.