Letters_Sifaat

8/7/2019 Letters_Sifaat

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'Beautif y t he Qur'an w it h your voices ( for a fine voice increases t he Qur'an in beaut y)'. B ukhari


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The Sifaat of the letters ( (Sifaat refers to the characteris tic(s) of the letter

Definition :the way in which a letter is articulated that differentiates itfrom others. T he purpose of these c haracteristic s is to distinguish theletters that s hare the s ame articulation points (makhaarij).

But why do we need s ifaat when we already know the origin of the letter( makhraj )?

Makhaarij only provides information as to where the sound of the lettercomes from, whereas sifaat provides extra information with regards tothe characteris tics of the letter in order to produce the c orrec t sound.

T his s ec tion will further explain this :

Sifaat is of two types:

Sifaat WIT H opposite (complement)1 .Sifaat WITH O UT opposites (non-complement)2 .

SIFAAT WITH OPPOSITES

O pposite

Hems

(whispered)

Jahr

(voiced)

Shiddah

(explosive)

INBET WEEN Tawassut

Rakhaawa

(softness)

Itbaaq

(closed)

Infitaah

(opened)

Ithlaaq

(flowing, eas e of exi t)

Ismaat

(sharply pronounced)

Istalaa / Tafkheem

(elevated)

Istifaal /Tarqeeq

(depressed, low)

Hems (whispered)

Definition: weak or slight continuation of breath (whispering, expulsion of air) upon pronunciation of the letter when it carries a S U KO O N

T he quality of hems is found in the following 10 letters which are


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T his is achieved by relying strongly on the makhraj or byconstricting itT he quality of shiddah is found in the following letters which are

called s hadiidah ( (

the quality of shiddah is to pronounce forcefully, that whenpronounced, the sound of the letter will be H A RD, and the so und of the lett er will end off in the makhraj

Rakhaawa (Opposite of Shiddah)

Definition: the continuation of s ound upon pronunciation of the letterwhen it carries a S A KO O N, in a soft and gentle manner

these le tters are neither shiddah nor tawass ut

rakhaawa is the continuation of SO UN D whereas hems is thecontinuation of BREA TH

Tasaw wut (in-between Rakhaawa and Shiddah)

Definition: this is moderation between the previous two. The s ound of the letter is not cut off nor allowed to c ontinue.

T he quality of tawass ut is found in the following 5 le tters which are

called mutawass itah ( (

E .g (97 :1 ) E .g (1 :7 )

Itbaaq (closed)

Definition: contact between the back of the tongue and the upper palateof the mouth.

T his c haracteristic is nec ess ary no matter what harakaat (not justwhen it carries a s akoon)T he quality of itbaaq is to pronounce in a c losed and cov eredmanner. That is, during pronunciation, the tongue is elevated tosuc h an extent that it covers the palate and the mouth remainsnearly c losedThe quality of itbaaq is found in the following letters which are

called mutbaqah ( (

E .g ( ) E .g ( )


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Infitaah (Opposite to Itbaaq)

Definition: s eparation of the tongue from the upper palate , thuspronouncing in an opened manner.

T he quality of infitaah is to pronounce in an opened manner. T hatis, during pronunciation, the tongue does not cove r the palate andthe mouth remains openT he quality of infitaah are found in the remaining letters and are

called munfatihah ( (

E .g ( ) E .g ( )

for some of these letters, the tongue may be raised, but actualcontac t will not occur (refer to ista'ala )

Ithlaaq

Definition: the speed of which the letters are pronounced bec ause of theease of the makhraj.

T he quality of ithlaaq is to pronounce in a s mooth and eas ymannerThe quality of ithlaaq is found in the following letters which are

called mudhlaqah ( (

T he area of pronunciation of these letters , that is , the edge of thetongue or the edge of the mouth namely the lips , c an becons idered as factors c ontributing to the s mooth and easy mannerof pronunciation

Ismaat (opposite to ithlaaq)

Definition: to pronounce in a heavy manner.

During pronunci ation, a certain amount of effort is required.T he quality of ismaat is found in the remaining letters which are

called musmatah ( (

Ista'ala / tafkheem (elevated)

Definition: the elevation of the bac k of the tongue to the back roof of themouth upon pronunciati on of the letter, no matter what harakaat.

During pronunciation, the back of the tongue is raised towards theupper palate. T his will produce a thick, round soundT hese are known as full mouth / thick letters and are thus


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5 T akreer (repeated s ound) ) (

6Tafsh-shee (spreadingsound) ) (

7Is titaalah (elongatedsound) ) (

Safeer (whistling sound)

Definition: It is a s ound similar to that of a bird, bee which c an bedesc ribed as either a buzzing or whistling s ound

T he letter always has this s ound no matter what harakaat, thoughthe safeer becomes stronger when it carries a SA KO O NT he quality of safeer is found in the following 3 le tters which are

called safeerah ) (

Ex amples of Safeer

Cl ick ' here ' to view practic e exercis es for the rules of Safeer

Qalqalah (bouncing / echoing sound)

Definition: to pronounce with an echoing or bouncing sound when theletter carries a SU KO O N only.

A characteris tic of this s ifa is the quick movement of the tongueor lips upon articulationT he quality of qalqalah is found in the five following letters when

they c arry a s ukoon and are called muqalqalah ( (

T his le tter can either be in the middle or end of a word (as a resultof a stop)Sinc e an additional sound is being made, care must be taken that

the saakin letter should not sound doubled (mushaddad) or

vowelled (mutaharrik)

E .g (111:1)

T he qalqalah is neces sary for these letters bec ause they have theattributes of jahr (stoppage of the flow of breath) and shiddah(stoppage of the flow of s ound), s o without qalqalah, there wouldbe no sound!

There are 2 types :

Sughrah (minor)a.Kubrah (major)b.


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Sughrah (minor)

T he qalqalah l etter will appear either in the middle or end of a word, butthe reader will c ontinue the recitation and will not stop o n it

E .g (108:3)

Kubrah (major)

I f the qalaqalah letter appears at the end of a word and the reader stopson it (for whatever reason), the qalqalah sound is at its cle arest /strongest

E .g (109:3)

Examples of Q alqalah

Cl ick ' here ' to view practice exercis es for the rules of Qalqalah

Leen (dipthong / ea siness)

Definition: A manner of articulation that seeks an easy pronunciation.

T he quality of leen is found in the following 2 letters when theycarry a s akoon and the letter before it c arries a Fattah. They are

called layyinah (

)

'A y' sound 'O w' sound

T he pronunciation has to be for the duration of 2 counts

Examples of Leen

Cl ick ' here ' to view practic e exercis es for the rules of Leen

Inhiraaf (inclined sound)

Definition: the leaning of the tongue away from its makhraj until it nearsanother makhraj.

T his quality is found in 2 letters and are called munharifah

) (,


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Therefore, the is pronounced with an inclination towards themakhraj of the and vice versaT his is more of a caution than a rule

Ex amples of Inhiraaf

Takreer (to repeat)

Definition: the quality of takreer is to pronounc e in a repeated manner

T he quality of takreer is found in one letter and it is called

mukarrarah ( (T herefore, while the is being pronounce d from its makhraj,naturally the tongue makes a s light vibration producing a repeateds ound (i.e. rolling of the tongue). C are must be tak en to avoidexagge ration of the vibration, otherwise instead of a si ngle theremay be 2 or ins tead of a double (mushaddad ),there may bemanyT his is more of a caution than a rule - takreer should be avoided

Examples of T akreer

Tafash-shee (spreading sound)

Definition: to pronounce a lette r with the filling of the mouth with airallowing the sound to spread greatly over the mouth.

T he quality o tafas h-s hee is found in the letter and it is called

mutafash- shiyah ( (T his is actually a natural characteris tic of the , and the fillingof the mouth with air applies whatever the harakaat. Ho wever, it is

stronger when it carries a s ukoon

Examples of Tafash-shee

Cl ick ' here ' to view practic e exercis es for the rules of Tafash-shee

Istitaalah (elongated sound or to seek something)Definition: the quality of istitaalah is to pronounce a letter in a s low andelongate d manner. When pronounced, the s ound of the letter will remainfrom the beginning of the makhraj till the end (the exten si on of the soundcov ers the entire sound of the tongue)

T his quality is found in the letter

Elongating the applies only if it carries a sukoon orshaddahC are must be take n not to excee d the required elongation

Examples of Is titaala


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Click ' here ' to view practic e exercis es for the rules of Istitaala

C lick here to view a printable chart depicting the qualities of SI FA A TWI T H O U T O P P O S I T E S

C lick on the ' Summary C hart ' link on the right hand si debar to view anabbreviated chart of Sifaat

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