Two kinds of sound
- Tafkhīm (heaviness): the back of the tongue rises towards the palate, the mouth fills with sound and the letter sounds "full".
- Tarqīq (lightness): the tongue stays low and the letter sounds thin and clear.
Letters that are always heavy
The seven letters of elevation (isti'lāʾ), gathered in the phrase خُصَّ ضَغْطٍ قِظْ:
- خ ص ض غ ط ق ظ
They are heaviest with fatha, a little less with damma and lightest – but still heavy – with kasra. The strongest group is ص ض ط ظ.
The letter ra (ر)
Heavy when:
- it has fatha or damma: رَبِّ، رُسُل
- it has sukun after fatha or damma: مَرْيَم، قُرْآن
- it has sukun after a temporary kasra (e.g. a connecting hamza): ارْجِعِي
- it has sukun after kasra and is followed in the same word by a heavy letter: مِرْصَادًا
Light when:
- it has kasra: رِجَال
- it has sukun after an original kasra in the same word, with no heavy letter after it: فِرْعَوْن، مِرْيَة
- when stopping, it follows a ya sakinah or a kasra: خَيْرٌ → خَيْرْ
The lam in the name Allah
- Heavy after fatha or damma: قَالَ اللَّهُ، هُوَ اللَّهُ
- Light after kasra: بِسْمِ اللَّهِ، لِلَّهِ
- At the very start of reading (اللَّهُ ...), it is heavy.
All other lams are always light.
Typical mistakes
- Making light letters heavy by rounding the lips (e.g. a heavy ا after a light letter).
- Making heavy letters with rounded lips instead of raising the back of the tongue.
- Reading the ra of رَبِّ lightly, or the lam in بِسْمِ اللَّهِ heavily.
Practice tip
Read pairs aloud: سَ/صَ، تَ/طَ، دَ/ضَ، ذَ/ظَ، كَ/قَ، هَ/حَ. Then read Surah al-Ikhlas and mark every lam of Allah as heavy or light before reciting.