Unit 4 · Lesson 19

Heavy and light letters

Tafkhīm and tarqīq

Some letters are heavy (tafkhīm): the back of the tongue rises, the mouth fills and the vowel sounds deeper. The others are light (tarqīq). Getting this right keeps letters like س and ص apart.

Always heavy

خ ص ض غ ط ق ظ

These seven letters, gathered in the phrase خُصَّ ضَغْطٍ قِظْ, are heavy wherever they are.

Rāʾ: it depends

Rāʾ is heavy with a fatḥa or ḍamma and light with a kasra. A rāʾ with sukūn usually follows the vowel before it.

بِرَبِّ ٱلنَّاسِbi-rabbi-n-nāsHeavyListen · An-Nas 114:1 رِجَالٌ لَّا تُلْهِيهِمْrijālul-lā tulhīhimLightListen · An-Nur 24:37

Lām: only in Allah

ٱللَّه

Lām is always light, except in the name Allah after a fatḥa or ḍamma.

قُلْ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ أَحَدٌqul huwa-llāhu aḥadHeavyListen · Al-Ikhlas 112:1 بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِbismi-llāhiLightListen · Al-Fatihah 1:1

PRACTICE

Tap an answer to check yourself.

Which letter is always heavy?

Is this rāʾ heavy or light?

رِ

Is the lām in Allah heavy or light here?

بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ