Written by Noorislam Uddin (MArch)
قَالُوا۟ فَمَا جَزَٰٓؤُهُۥٓ إِن كُنتُمْ كَـٰذِبِينَ
[Quran 12:74]
Qólúa famá jazã-uhũ ìń kuńtum kāvibína
Some vocal sounds are quite difficult to render in sequence. Say the word ‘month‘. The ‘n‘ here is so uncomfortable (often especially for foreign speakers) that you might have just merged the ‘n‘ into the ‘th‘ – giving something like ‘mo-ng-th‘.
Pronouncing the ‘n’ sound requires two things: the tongue to press against the roof of the mouth, and air to pass through the nasal cavity (nose). To understand the importance of this latter element of pronunciation, notice the difficulty of trying to extend the word ‘pinnn‘ while pinching the nose closed. This second element of air reverberation can be isolated by lowering the tongue away from the roof of the mouth – resulting in the ‘ng‘ sound. This stripping away of ‘n’ into the ‘ng’ sound happens frequently in Arabic too, and is referred to as gunnaḧ ‘nasalisation’. Every time a reciter either reads out a Nūn (n) that has a sukūn pause on it, or stops on a word that ends with tanwīn nunation, the ‘n‘ sound stands to be potentially altered by the following letter. Another consonant that may alter likewise is [ م ] Mím (m) (also see lesson set 4. M-Pause). As it happens, there are so many letters that affect the pronunciation of the Arabic ‘n‘, that it is easier to list those that do not first. These are [ ء ] Hamzaḧ, [ ح] Ḥâ, [ خ ] Cô, [ ع ] ‘Ain, [ غ ] Goin, and [ ه ] Hâ. These five letters, and the hamzaḧ glottal stop, all give the preceding Nūn (n) what is called [ إِظْهَار ] íṿhār ‘overtness’ in Arabic, meaning that it should be pronounced clearly and fully.
There are 3 forms of Nūn sākinaḧ N-pause explained below:
- Obscurity (Ícfâ)
- Fusion (Ídgōm)
- Inversion (Íqlāb)
3.a) Obscurity (Ícfâ)
Priority: Recommended
Summary: This type of N-pause is one that is partially ‘obscured’ by the next letter. It should occur when an ‘n‘ sound is followed by one of 15 Arabic letters. These are [ ت ] Tâ, [ ث] Ṫâ, [ ج ] Jīm, [ د ] ‘Dāl, [ ذ ] Vāl, [ ز ] Zāi, [ س ] Sīn, [ ش ] Ṡīn, [ ص ] Ṣōd, [ ض ] Ḍōd, [ ط ] Ṭô, [ ظ ] Ṿô, [ ف ] Fâ, [ ق ] Qōf, and [ ك ] Kāf. In the Arabic madaniyy script, when a Nūn (n) with a pause appears before one of these letters, the [ ْ ] sukūn diacritic is omitted. To apply Ícfâ to the ‘n‘ when in such cases, hold the gunnaḧ nasalisation for 2 beats (approx. 1 second), while shaping the mouth to the letter coming after the ‘n‘ – before proceeding on.
Notes:
- • When the ‘n‘ sound appears just before one of the aforementioned 15 letters within the same word (via a sukūn pause on the Nūn (n)) the principle of Ícfâ still applies on it
E.g.
قَالُوا۟ فَمَا جَزَٰٓؤُهُۥٓ إِن كُنتُمْ كَـٰذِبِينَ
[Quran 12:74]
Qōlūa famā jazãúhũ íṅ kuṅtum kävibīna
وَقَالَ مُوسَىٰٓ إِن تَكْفُرُوٓا۟ أَنتُمْ وَمَن فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًۭا فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَغَنِىٌّ حَمِيدٌ
[Quran 14:8]
Waqōla Mūsaẽ íṅ takfurũa áṅtum wamaṅ fie alárḍi jamī’aṅa faíṇna Alllöha lagoniyyun ḥamīdun
إِذْ دَخَلُوا۟ عَلَيْهِ فَقَالُوا۟ سَلَـٰمًۭا ۖ قَالَ سَلَـٰمٌۭ قَوْمٌۭ مُّنكَرُونَ
[Quran 51:25]
Ív dacolūa ‘alaihi faqōlūa salämaṅa, qōla salämuṅ qoumuṇ ṃmuṅkarūna
3.b) Fusion (Ídgōm)
Priority: Recommended
Summary: This type of N-pause is one that is mostly or wholly ‘fused’ to the next letter. It should occur when an ‘n‘ sound is followed by one of 6 Arabic letters. These are [ ر ] Rô, [ ل] Lām, [ م ] Mīm, [ ن ] Nūn itself, [ و ] Wāu, and [ ي ] Yâ. The letters can be summarised in the Arabic mnemonic [ يَرْمَلُون ] yarmalūn (lit. ‘they are widowed’). In the Arabic madaniyy script, when a Nūn (n) with a pause appears before one of these letters, the [ ْ ] sukūn diacritic is omitted. To apply ídgōm fusion to the ‘n‘ in such cases (except Rô and Lām), hold the gunnaḧ nasalisation for 2 beats (approx. 1 second), while pronouncing the letter coming after the ‘n‘ – before proceeding on. Because an ‘n‘ with a shaddaḧ double diacritic over it is equivalent to two of the same letter with the first having a sukūn pause, stopping on a double Nūn (nn) also evokes the principle of ídgōm fusion with nasalisation for 2 beats. In the cases of Rô and Lām, the nasalisation is omitted – and the 2 beats are instead held on the Rô or Lām respectively, thereby removing the ‘n‘ sound entirely.
Notes:
- • Besides the case of a shaddaḧ double ‘n‘, if the ‘n‘ sound appears just before one of the aforementioned 5 letters within the same word (via a sukūn pause on the Nūn (n)) the principle of ídgōm does not apply on it
E.g.
وَمَن يَرْغَبُ عَن مِّلَّةِ إِبْرَٰهِـۧمَ إِلَّا مَن سَفِهَ نَفْسَهُۥ
[Quran 2:130…]
Wamaṇ yargobu ‘aṇ ṃmillaẗi Íbröhïma íllā maṅ safiha nafsahü…
وَفِى ٱلْأَرْضِ قِطَعٌۭ مُّتَجَـٰوِرَٰتٌۭ وَجَنَّـٰتٌۭ مِّنْ أَعْنَـٰبٍۢ وَزَرْعٌۭ وَنَخِيلٌۭ صِنْوَانٌۭ وَغَيْرُ صِنْوَانٍۢ يُسْقَىٰ بِمَآءٍۢ وَٰحِدٍۢ وَنُفَضِّلُ بَعْضَهَا عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍۢ فِى ٱلْأُكُلِ ۚ إِنَّ فِى ذَٰلِكَ لَـَٔايَـٰتٍۢ لِّقَوْمٍۢ يَعْقِلُونَ
[Quran 13:4]
Wafie alárḍi qiṭo’un ṃmutajāwirōẗuṇ wajaṇnätuṇ ṃmin á’näbiṇ wazar’uṇ wanacīluṅ ṣinwānuṇ wagoiru ṣinwāniṇ yusqoë bimã-iṇ wäḥidiṇ wanufaḍḍilu ba’ḍohā ‘alaë ba’ḍiṅ fie alúkuli; Íṇna fie välika laǎyätiṇ lliqoumiṇ ya’qilūna
وَأَنَّا ظَنَنَّآ أَن لَّن نُّعْجِزَ ٱللَّهَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَن نُّعْجِزَهُۥ هَرَبًۭا
[Quran 72:12]
Waáṇnā ṿonaṇnã áṇ llaṇ ṇnu’jiza Alllöha fie alárḍi walaṇ ṇnu’jizahü harobaṇa
3.c) Inversion (Íqlāb)
Priority: Recommended
Summary: This type of N-pause is one that is wholly ‘inverted’ to a different letter. It should occur when an ‘n‘ sound is followed by [ ب ] Bâ. To apply íqlāb inversion to the ‘n‘ in such cases, hold the gunnaḧ nasalisation for 2 beats (approx. 1 second), while pronouncing the letter like a Mīm (m) with slightly open lips – before proceeding on to the Bâ ‘b‘.
Notes:
When the ‘n‘ sound appears just before a Bâ ‘b‘ within the same word (via a sukūn pause on the Nūn (n)) the principle of iqlāb still applies on it
E.g.
وَٱلْأَرْضَ مَدَدْنَـٰهَا وَأَلْقَيْنَا فِيهَا رَوَٰسِىَ وَأَنۢبَتْنَا فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ مَّوْزُونٍۢ
[Quran 15:19]
Waalárḍo madadnähā waálqoinā fīhā rowäsiya waáņbatnā fīhā miṅ kulli ṡai-iṇ ṃmauzūniṇ
جَزَآءًۢ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ
[Quran 56:24]
Jazã-aņ bimā kānūa ya’malūna
قَالَ رَبِّ ٱغْفِرْ لِى وَهَبْ لِى مُلْكًۭا لَّا يَنۢبَغِى لِأَحَدٍۢ مِّنۢ بَعْدِىٓ ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلْوَهَّابُ
[Quran 38:35]
Qōla Robbi agfir lie wahab lie mulkaṇa llā yaņbagie, liáḥadiṇ ṃmiņ ba’diẽ íṇnaka Áṅta alWahhābu
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.