WILAYAH NEWS VOICE OF THE GLOBAL AWAKENING
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## Chapter Two
### Lesson Four
# Characteristics of the Letters (Sifat al‑Huruf)
These are the sounds and qualities that accompany letters and distinguish them from others. Through them, letters have specific rulings and names, such as:
**(Strength, Elevation, Qalqalah, Whistling, and other characteristics).**
The characteristics of the letters are divided into two types:
> **Essential (intrinsic)** and **Incidental (extrinsic)** qualities.
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# First: Essential (Intrinsic) Characteristics
These are qualities that permanently accompany a letter in all its states and never separate from it. They are of two types:
## 1) Oppositional Characteristics (With Their Opposites)
There are **eight qualities with their opposites**, grouped as follows:
– Elevation (Istʿiʿlā’) ↔ Lowering (Istifāl)
– Emphasis (Itbāq) ↔ Opening (Infitāḥ)
– Whispering (Hams) ↔ Voicing (Jahr)
– Strength (Shiddah) ↔ Softness (Rikhāwah)
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### 1. Elevation (Istʿiʿlā’)
It is the heavy (emphatic) sound produced when the back of the tongue rises toward the upper palate.
Its letters are seven, gathered in the phrase:
**(خص ضغط قظ)**
(kh, ṣ, ḍ, gh, ṭ, q, ẓ)
Its opposite is **Lowering (Istifāl)**, which is the sound produced when the tongue remains lowered and relaxed.
The letters of lowering are the remaining **21 letters**.
—
### 2. Emphasis (Itbāq)
It is the raising of the tongue and its pressing against the upper palate with a concave shape in the middle of the tongue.
Its letters are four:
**(ط، ظ، ص، ض)**
Its opposite is **Opening (Infitāḥ)**, whose letters are the remaining **24 letters**.
—
### 3. Whispering (Hams)
It is the soft sound produced by the flow of breath from the lungs through the airway and between the vocal cords **without vibration of the vocal cords**.
Its letters are ten:
**(ح ث ه ش خ ص ف س ك ت)**
They are gathered in the phrase:
**(حثه شخص فسكت)**
(“He urged him, so he whispered and became silent.”)
Its opposite is **Voicing (Jahr)**, which applies to the remaining **18 letters**.
—
### 4. Strength (Shiddah)
It is the prevention of both sound and breath from flowing at the articulation point of the letter.
Its letters are eight, gathered in the phrase:
**(أجدت طبقك)**
Its opposite is **Softness (Rikhāwah)**, which is the flow of sound and breath at the articulation point.
Its letters are **20 letters**.
—
# 2) Independent (Non-Oppositional) Characteristics
These are five:
– Qalqalah
– Istitalah (Elongation)
– Tafashshi (Spreading)
– Takrir (Repetition)
– Ghunnah (Nasalization)
—
### 1. Qalqalah (Echoing Sound)
It is a bouncing or echoing sound that accompanies a letter when it is **sākin (silent)** or when the reciter stops on it.
Its letters are:
**(ق ط ب ج د)**
There are two types:
– **Major Qalqalah (Kubrá):**
When the letter occurs at the end of speech while stopping, such as:
*al‑Hariq, Muhit, al‑Buruj.*
– **Minor Qalqalah (Sughra):**
When the letter occurs in the middle of a word while continuing recitation, such as:
*Qitmir, La‑waq‘atiha, Yadkhulun.*
—
### 2. Istitalah (Elongation)
This quality belongs only to the letter **Ḍād (ض)**.
It is the extension of the sound along one side of the tongue (right or left), from its beginning to its end.
Examples:
*ḍaraba, ‘arḍan, qaḍā, iḍṭurra, faḍluhu, wa laḍ-ḍāllīn.*
—
### 3. Tafashshi (Spreading)
This characteristic belongs only to the letter **Shīn (ش)**.
It refers to the spreading of the sound throughout the mouth before it exits.
—
### 4. Takrir (Repetition)
It is the vibration (slight trilling) of the tip of the tongue when pronouncing the letter **Rā’ (ر)**.
—
### 5. Ghunnah (Nasalization)
It is the nasal sound of **Nūn (ن)** and **Mīm (م)** produced from the nasal passage (the nose).
The ruling of ghunnah is to sustain it for **two vowel counts (two harakahs)**.
This ruling appears in four cases:
– Ikhfā’ (Concealment)
– Iqlāb (Conversion)
– Doubled Nūn and Mīm
– Certain cases of Idghām (Assimilation)
—
If you would like, I can also provide a **summary table** organizing all the characteristics in an easy comparison chart for revision.