Terms

1. Idgham (الإدغام) Literally means merging. In Tajweed, it refers to merging a Noon Sakinah (نْ) or Tanween into the following letter so that they are pronounced as one sound. There are two types:

• With Ghunnah (nasal sound): if followed by ي، ن، م، و

• Without Ghunnah: if followed by ل or ر

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2. Ikhfa (الإخفاء) Literally means to hide. In Tajweed, it means to partially pronounce Noon Sakinah or Tanween without showing complete Noon sound, and without merging, with a nasal sound (ghunnah). There are 15 letters that cause Ikhfa.

Letters of Ikhfaa’: ت، ث، ج، د، ذ، ز، س، ش، ص، ض، ط، ظ، ف، ق، ك

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3. Sakinah / Sukoon (السكون) Refers to a consonant letter that has no vowel sound — it has a Sukoon ( ْ ) on top of it, meaning the letter is pronounced still or quietly without a vowel.

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4. Iqlaab (الإقلاب) Literally means conversion or changing. In Tajweed, it means to change a Noon Sakinah or Tanween into a Meem (م) sound with ghunnah, when followed by the letter ب (Ba). A small meem (م) is often written on top to show this.

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5. Noon Sakinah (نون الساكنة) This refers to the letter Noon (ن) with a sukoon (i.e., no vowel). It can occur in the middle or end of a word and is subject to different rules depending on the next letter: Izhar, Idgham, Ikhfa, or Iqlaab.

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6. Tanween (التنوين) Tanween is the double vowel mark at the end of a noun or adjective, showing indefinite status (like "a" or "an" in English). It adds an "n" sound at the end:

• ـً (Fathatain)

• ـٍ (Kasratain)

• ـٌ (Dammatain)

If Tanween is followed by another word, it may affect how it’s pronounced due to Idgham, Ikhfa, or other rules.

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7. Izhar (الإظهار) Means clarity. It refers to clearly pronouncing a Noon Sakinah or Tanween without merging or hiding, when followed by the six throat letters: ء، هـ، ع، ح، غ، خ.

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8. Ghunnah (الغنة) A nasal sound that lasts for two beats. It occurs in rules like Idgham with ghunnah, Ikhfa, Iqlaab, and in letters like Meem Mushaddadah and Noon Mushaddadah (when Noon or Meem has a shaddah).

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9. Madd (المدّ) Means lengthening. It's the elongation of certain vowel sounds for two to six counts, depending on the type. Common types:

• Madd Asli (Natural Madd): 2 counts

• Madd Muttasil (Connected): 4–5 counts

• Madd Munfasil (Separated): 4–5 counts

• Madd Lazim (Compulsory): 6 counts

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10. Qalqalah (القلقلة) A bouncing or echoing sound when pronouncing certain letters with sukoon. The letters are: ق، ط، ب، ج، د There are 3 levels of Qalqalah: Minor, Medium, and Strong — depending on the position of the letter in the word.

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11. Meem Sakinah (الميم الساكنة)

Like Noon Sakinah, but it's a Meem with sukoon. It also has 3 rules:

• Ikhfa Shafawi: hidden meem when followed by ب

• Idgham Shafawi: merge when followed by another meem

• Izhar Shafawi: clear meem in all other cases

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12. Harakah

A harakah is the duration of opening one of the fingers after making the closed fist, and two harakahs is the time it takes to open two fingers, one after another.