The characteristics of the letters (sifat)
The qualities of sound that distinguish letters sharing a makhraj: necessary and occasional, and the five pairs and seven single qualities among the necessary ones.
Some letters share the same makhraj: the same spot where their sound is made. So what makes them sound different from each other? Their sifat: special sound-qualities like being soft, hard, or bouncy.
Take qalqalah as an example. The letters ق ط ب ج د have a little bounce or echo in their sound when they are sakin (still, with no vowel), like a small knock. That bounce is their sifah, and it's part of reciting them correctly.
Sifat are the qualities through which letters are articulated: the features that let one letter be told apart from another even when both share the same makhraj. Sifat are of two kinds: necessary sifat, always present in a letter and inseparable from it (remove them and the letter itself is gone), and occasional sifat, whose absence leaves the letter intact but diminishes its beauty and strength.
The necessary sifat are further divided into contradictory ones, which have an opposite, and non-contradictory ones, which do not.
| Quality | Letters | Its opposite |
|---|---|---|
| Hams (a weak, breathy sound) | ت ث ح خ س ش ص ف: 10 letters (with ک and ه also counted by some) | Jahr: a strong, full sound. Every other letter. |
| Shiddah (a hard, blocked sound) | ج ب ت د ط ق ک پ: 8 letters | Rukhwah: a soft, continuing sound. 16 letters, including ا ث ح خ ذ ز س ش ص ض ظ غ ف و ہ ی. Tawassut sits between the two: ر ع ل م ن, neither fully blocked nor fully continuing. |
| Isti'laa (the tongue rises) | خ ص ض ط ظ غ ق: 7 letters, pronounced heavier and fuller | Istifaal: the tongue stays low. All the remaining letters, pronounced lighter. |
| Itbaq (the middle of the tongue presses up) | ص ض ط ظ: 4 letters | Infitah: the tongue does not press up. All the remaining letters. |
| Izlaq (a sliding, easy sound from the tongue or lip edges) | ب ر ف ل م ن: 6 letters | Ismaat: a heavier sound, not from the edges. All the remaining letters. |
Tawassut is not treated as a separate, sixth quality; it is a middle state between shiddah and rukhwah, mentioned alongside them for completeness.
| Quality | Letters | What it sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Safir (whistling) | ص ز س | A sharp, whistle-like sound. |
| Qalqalah (a bounce) | ق ط ب ج د | A slight vibration or echo when the letter is sakin. |
| Leen (softness) | و ی | Pronounced so softly, when sakin after a matching vowel, that the sound can be drawn out easily. |
| Inhiraf (deviation) | ل ر | For lam, the sound shifts to the edge of the tongue; for ra, it shifts toward the back of the tongue, near lam's own point. |
| Takrir (repetition) | ر only | A slight repeating vibration, one to be careful not to overdo, so it doesn't sound like several ra's instead of one. |
| Tafashi (spreading) | ش only | The sound spreads out inside the mouth. |
| Istitalah (elongation) | ض only | The sound stretches from its articulation point toward the end, so the point of articulation itself feels extended. |
Ṣifāt are the qualities of articulation that distinguish letters sharing a single makhraj. They fall into two classes: ṣifāt lāzimah (necessary), inseparable from the letter, without which the letter ceases to be itself, and ṣifāt ʿāriḍah (occasional), whose absence leaves the letter's identity intact while diminishing its beauty and force. The necessary ṣifāt subdivide further into mutaḍāddah (contradictory, each with an opposite) and ghayr mutaḍāddah (non-contradictory, with no opposite).
| Quality | Letters | Its opposite |
|---|---|---|
| Hams: weakening of the sound, allowing breath to continue | ت ث ح خ س ش ص ف (ten letters by the fuller count) | Jahr: the sound is cut off firmly and strongly at the makhraj. Every letter not counted among the mahmūsah. |
| Shiddah: the sound hardens and the breath is immediately blocked | ج ب ت د ط ق ک پ (eight letters) | Rukhwah: the sound stays soft and the breath continues. Sixteen letters: ا ث ح خ ذ ز س ش ص ض ظ غ ف و ہ ی. Tawassuṭ (ر ع ل م ن) sits between the two, combining some hardness with some softness; the source does not count it as a separate, sixth quality, precisely because it is a blend of shiddah and rukhwah rather than something outside them. |
| Istiʿlāʾ: the tongue rises toward the palate, deepening the sound | خ ص ض ط ظ غ ق (seven letters) | Istifāl: the tongue does not rise, keeping the sound lighter. All letters other than the mustaʿliyah. |
| Iṭbāq: the middle of the tongue presses against the palate | ص ض ط ظ (four letters) | Infitāḥ: the middle of the tongue does not press against the palate, keeping the sound more open. All letters other than the muṭbaqah. |
| Izlāq: articulated from the edges of the tongue or lips, making pronunciation fluid | ب ر ف ل م ن (six letters); the labial ones (b, f, m) from the lip edges, the rest from the tongue edges | Iṣmāt: not articulated from those edges, and heavier on the tongue as a result. All letters other than the mudhlaqah. |
Terms on this page
Related
- The articulation points of the letters (makharij) The seventeen points in the mouth, throat and nose from which the twenty-nine Arabic letters are pronounced, and how to find a letter's own makhraj.
- The rules for lam, ra, mim sakin, nun sakin, madd and hamzah When lam and ra are pronounced heavy or light, how a silent mim and a silent nun behave before the next letter, the letters of prolongation, and two rules for hamzah.
- What is tajweed? The meaning of tajweed, the two kinds of recitation mistake (lahn jali and lahn khafi), and when to say the isti'adhah and the basmalah.
- The seven pillars (arkan) of prayer The seven internal pillars of prayer that cannot be left out, from the opening Takbir to ending the prayer, with what each requires.