Written by Noorislam Uddin (MArch)
أَنِ ٱعْمَلْ سَـٰبِغَـٰتٍۢ وَقَدِّرْ فِى ٱلسَّرْدِ ۖ وَٱعْمَلُوا۟ صَـٰلِحًا ۖ إِنِّى بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌۭ
[Quran 34:11]
Àni a‘mal sābigōẗiņ waqoddir fie alssardi, waa‘malúa ṣōliḥana, ìnnie bimá ta’malúna baṣíruņ
The ‘weight’ of a letter in Arabic relates to the nature of its macroj ‘exit point’ from the mouth, and its corresponding vowel ṣifaḧ ‘characteristic’. Though there is plenty for English-speakers to struggle with when learning to speak Arabic, vowels need not be one of them. Vowels are sounded by gently exhaling while vibrating the vocal tract; they are then distinguished by the shape of the lips during this process. The Arabic vowels ‘a‘, ‘u‘, and ‘i‘, are expressed in Arabic writing with harokát diacritics, and letters [ ا ] Alif, [ و ] Wau, and [ ي ] Yâ respectively. Though Arabic vowels are commonly taught as being three, there are more precisely four, as the Arabic fatḥaħ/Àlif is actually used to represent two English vowel sounds. To understand this, read out for example, the words ‘bat‘ and ‘ball‘. Did you notice how each vowel sounds different, despite being spelled with the same letter? English spelling is notorious, and we could have more intuitively written ‘boll’ instead of ‘ball’. However, this example helps us understand more about the Arabic fatḥaħ/Àlif, which is also used to represent two vowel sounds. In English, these two sounds are conventionally referred to as ‘light a‘, and ‘heavy a‘. There is also a subtle distinction that the trained ear can hear between the Arabic light and heavy ‘i‘, and even less so between light and heavy ‘u‘. The reason why these two vowel sound weights are usually not distinguished in Arabic education however, is because the sound is technically attached to the letter before it; it is actually the consonants that are categorised as either [ مُفَخَّم ] mufaccom ‘heavy‘ (giving the following vowel a heavy sound), or [ مُرَقَّق ] muroqqoq ‘light‘ (giving the following vowel a light sound). This ‘heavy a‘ sound in Arabic is practically an ‘o‘ sound, like that of ‘lock‘, and is thus represented as an ‘o‘ in transliteration here. It should be sounded as such whenever a heavy Arabic consonant is followed by the fatḥaħ/Àlif. There are 2 forms of tafcím heaviness explained below:
- Permanent heaviness (Tafcím ul’lázim)
- Temporary heaviness (Tafcím ul’áriḍ)
1.a) Permanent heaviness (Tafcím ul’lázim)
Priority: Mandatory
There are 7 Arabic consonants that carry a ‘permanent’ heaviness, in all their attached vowel sounds due to the nature of their macórij exit points. These are [ خ ] Cô, [ ص] Ṣód, [ ض ] Ḍód, [ ط ] Ṭô, [ ظ ] Ṿô, [ غ ] Goin, and [ ق ] Qóf. The letters can be summarised in the Arabic mnemonic [ خُص ضَغطٍ قِظ ] cuṣ ḍogṭin qiṿ. They are articulated by curving the tongue downwards, as if there is a ‘heavy’ ball placed on it, so allowing air to fill the mouth while the letters are pronounced.
E.g.
أَنِ ٱعْمَلْ سَـٰبِغَـٰتٍۢ وَقَدِّرْ فِى ٱلسَّرْدِ ۖ وَٱعْمَلُوا۟ صَـٰلِحًا ۖ إِنِّى بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌۭ
[Quran 34:11]
Àni a‘mal sābigōẗiņ waqoddir fie alssardi, waa‘malúa ṣōliḥana, ìnnie bimá ta’malúna baṣíruņ
وَٱلَّذِى جَآءَ بِٱلصِّدْقِ وَصَدَّقَ بِهِۦٓ ۙ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُتَّقُونَ
[Quran 39:33]
Waallavie jã-a bialṣṣidqi waṣoddaqo bihiẽ ùulãìka humu almuttaqúna
أَلَا يَعْلَمُ مَنْ خَلَقَ وَهُوَ ٱللَّطِيفُ ٱلْخَبِيرُ
[Quran 67:14]
Àlá ya’lamu man colaqo waHuwa allLaṭífu alCobíru
1.b) Temporary heaviness (Tafcím ul’áriḍ)
Priority: Recommended
There are 2 Arabic consonants that carry a ‘temporary’ heaviness, in that their proceeding vowel sounds are only heavy in certain circumstances. These are [ ر ] Rô, and [ ل ] Lám. The Rô is only heavy when followed by a fatḥaħ ‘o‘ or ḍommaħ ‘u‘. The Lám is only heavy when it is in the grand name ‘Allōh‘ God, except when this word is commenced with the kasroḧ ‘i‘ vowel, for example in ‘liLlāhi‘.
E.g.
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
[Quran 1:1]
Bismi Alllāhi alrRoḥmāni alrRoḥími
بَرَآءَةٌۭ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦٓ إِلَى ٱلَّذِينَ عَـٰهَدتُّم مِّنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ
[Quran 9:1]
Barõàtuņ mmina Alllōhi warosúlihiẽ ìlae allavína ‘āhadttum mmina almuṡrikína
مَّا يُقَالُ لَكَ إِلَّا مَا قَدْ قِيلَ لِلرُّسُلِ مِن قَبْلِكَ ۚ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَذُو مَغْفِرَةٍۢ وَذُو عِقَابٍ أَلِيمٍۢ
[Quran 41:43]
Mmá yuqólu laka ìllá má qod qíla lilrrusuli miń qoblika; Ìnna Robbaka lavú magfiroẗiņ wavú ‘iqóbin àlímiņ
Allah knows best.
Last updated:
Further tajwíd enhancement study:
- Arabic 101 [Last Updated November 10, 2023], The BEST 30-day Tajweed Program (Intermediate). https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6TlMIZ5ylgoA27YCmZYMCQCX7EUkfyHp.
- Tajweed.me [February 13, 2013], Tajweed Me All for Quran and Tajweed. https://tajweed.me/tag/tajweed-rules.
- Getquranic.com [November 1, 2021], A Quick Guide to Tajweed. https://www.getquranic.com/a-quick-guide-to-tajweed/#Ikhfaa_to_hide.
Jazak-Allah for reading. All knowledge, opinions, and translations expressed in our articles are the earnest study and reflections of the writer, prioritising honest interpretations of the Quran and authentic Hadith as evidence. We ask for forgiveness for presenting any information that comes to be incorrect or misleading, and accept that Allah is the Most-Knowing One.