Summary lessons on Tajweed for the Holy Quran

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## Lesson Five
### Incidental Characteristics of Letters (Rules of Tajwid)

These are the characteristics that affect a letter depending on its **vowel, its proximity to another letter, or the characteristics and vowel of the neighboring letter**.

They are divided into **four sections**:

1. Tafkhīm and Tarqīq (Heaviness and Lightness)
2. Idghām (Assimilation)
3. Rules of the Silent Nūn, Tanwīn, and Silent Mīm
4. Shortening and Lengthening (Qaṣr and Madd)

—

# 1. Tafkhīm and Tarqīq

**Tafkhīm** in language means **thickening or magnifying**, and its opposite is **Tarqīq**, meaning **lightening or thinning**.

In technical terms:

– **Tafkhīm** is the heavy sound produced when the back of the tongue rises toward the upper palate (uvula area).
– **Tarqīq** occurs when the back of the tongue lowers and spreads, producing a lighter sound.

These rules particularly concern the letters **Lām (ل)** and **Rā’ (ر)**.

—

# The Lām in the Word “Allah” (Lām al‑Jalālah)

The vowel preceding the word **Allah** determines whether the **Lām** is pronounced heavy or light.

### The Lām is pronounced heavy (Tafkhīm) when:

– It is preceded by a **fatha** or **damma**, for example:
*huwa Allāh* (هو الله)
*naṣru Allāh* (نصرُ الله)

– It is preceded by a **long alif or long wāw**, for example:
*wa lā taj‘alū Allāh* (ولا تجعلوا الله)
*wa mā Allāhu bighāfil* (وما الله بغافل)

– When the recitation **begins with the word Allah**, for example:
*Allāhu lā ilāha illā huwa al‑ḥayy al‑qayyūm*.

### The Lām is pronounced light (Tarqīq) when:

– It is preceded by a **kasra**, for example:
*bismi‑llāh* (بسمِ الله)
*āyāti‑llāh* (آياتِ الله)

– It is preceded by a **long yā’**, for example:
*yujādilu fī Allāh* (يجادل في الله)

– When preceded by the **preposition lām**, for example:
*innā li‑llāhi wa innā ilayhi rājiʿūn* (إنا لله وإنا إليه راجعون)

– Also in the case of **meeting of two sukūns**, such as:
*aḥadun Allāhu aṣ‑ṣamad*.

—

# Rules of the Letter Rā’ (ر)

After discussing the rules of **Lām**, we move to the rules of **Rā’**, which can be either heavy or light depending on vowels.

—

## Cases Where Rā’ is Heavy (Tafkhīm)

– When **Rā’ is vowelled with fatha or damma**, for example:
*rabbanā*, *farajaʿa*, *qarāran*.

– When **Rā’ is silent and preceded by a letter with fatha or damma**, for example:
*Maryam*, *turjaʿūn*, *marʿāhā*.

– When **Rā’ is silent at a stopping point**, preceded by a silent letter (not **bā’**) and before it a **fatha or damma**, for example:
*wal‑fajr*, *wal‑ʿaṣr*, *fī al‑ghār*, *shakūr khusr*.

– When **Rā’ is silent and preceded by an original kasra but followed by a letter of elevation (istiʿlā’) with fatha**, for example:
*qirṭās*, *mirṣād*, *firqa*.

– When **Rā’ is silent and preceded by a connecting hamzah (hamzat al‑waṣl)**, for example:
*am irtābū*, *alladhī irtaḍā*, *in irtābū*.

—

## Cases Where Rā’ is Light (Tarqīq)

– When **Rā’ has kasra**, for example:
*rizqan*, *farīqan*.

– When **Rā’ is silent and preceded by an original kasra and not followed by a letter of elevation**, for example:
*Firʿawn*, *miryah*, *uḥṣirtum*.

Exception: the word **(فِرْق)** may be pronounced heavy or light in both stopping and continuing.

– When **Rā’ is silent at a stop**, preceded by a silent letter and before it a **kasra**, for example:
*siḥr*, *dhikr*, *khabīr*, *baṣīr*.

Exception: **Miṣr (مصر)** and **Qiṭr (قطر)** are pronounced heavy **when stopping**.

– When **Rā’ is silent at a stop**, preceded by a **silent yā’ that itself follows a fatha (a soft yā’)**, for example:
*khayr*, *ṭayr*, *ghayr*.

– The **Rā’ in the word (مَجْرَاهَا)** in Surah **Hūd (11:41)** is pronounced light due to **imālah**, meaning the sound of the **fatha and alif inclines toward kasra and yā’**, making it sound like:
*majrīhā*.