Həfs ən Asim
Tajweed
The basic rules of Hafs from Asim, as read in the Madinah mushaf.
The phrase under the ayah is where the rule is heard.
Tap the ayah, then choose listen.
Separated madd here is four or five counts. Some transmissions of Hafs use two, so keep one choice. The silent ra and its finer stops are learned from a qualified teacher.
Noon sakinah and tanween
Noon sakinah is a noon with no vowel, as in «min». Tanween is an extra noon sakinah at the end of a noun: it is pronounced, but not written as a noon, as in «adhabun». The rule depends on the letter that follows.
Izhar halqi
If noon sakinah or tanween is followed by one of the six throat letters — hamza, ha, ayn, haa, ghayn, or kha — pronounce the noon clearly from its own point of articulation, with no ghunnah. Do not hide it and do not merge it.
Idgham with ghunnah
If the next letter, in a following word, is ya, noon, meem, or waw, merge the noon into that letter with a ghunnah of two counts. These letters spell «yanmu».
Idgham without ghunnah
If the next letter, in a following word, is lam or ra, merge the noon completely, with no ghunnah, so the next letter is doubled.
Izhar mutlaq
If noon sakinah and ya or waw occur inside one word, there is no idgham. This happens in four words: dunya, bunyan, sinwan, and qinwan. The noon is pronounced clearly. This is called absolute izhar.
Iqlab
If the next letter is ba, change the noon into a hidden meem with a ghunnah of two counts. In the mushaf this is marked by a small meem.
Ikhfa haqiqi
If the next letter is one of the other fifteen — ta, tha, jeem, dal, dhal, za, seen, sheen, sad, dad, ta, dha, fa, qaf, kaf — hide the noon between a clear noon and a full merge, with a ghunnah of two counts.
Meem sakinah
Meem sakinah is a meem with no vowel, as in «alayhim». It has only three rules, depending on the next letter.
Ikhfa shafawi
If meem sakinah is followed by ba, hide the meem at the ba with a ghunnah. It is called labial because both letters come from the lips.
Idgham shafawi
If the next letter is meem, merge the first meem into the second so they become one doubled meem with ghunnah.
Izhar shafawi
If the next letter is anything other than ba or meem, pronounce the meem clearly from the lips, without an added ghunnah.
Madd
Madd is lengthening the sound of a madd letter: a silent alif after a fatha, a silent waw after a damma, or a silent ya after a kasra. The length is counted in harakat. One harakah is about the time of opening or closing a finger.
Natural madd
If no hamza and no sukoon follow the madd letter, hold it for two counts only. Do not lengthen it and do not shorten it. This is also called original madd.
Connected madd
If a madd letter is followed by a hamza in the same word, hold it for four or five counts. Two counts are not enough.
Separated madd
If the madd letter ends one word and the hamza begins the next, hold it for four or five counts on the Shatibiyyah path. Some transmissions of Hafs use two counts. Pick one and keep it.
Necessary madd
If a permanent sukoon follows the madd letter, in a word or in a disjointed letter at the start of a surah, hold it for six counts. Do not shorten it, whether you stop or continue.
Madd shown by a stop
If you stop on a word, so its last letter becomes silent because of the stop, and a madd letter stands before that silence, you may hold it for two, four, or six counts. If you join the word to the next, it returns to a natural madd of two counts.
Qalqalah
Qalqalah is a light bounce on a silent letter so it is heard clearly, without turning it into a voweled letter. Its letters are qaf, ta, ba, jeem, and dal: «qutbu jad».
Lesser qalqalah
If a qalqalah letter is silent in the middle of a word, or at the end while you continue into the next word, the bounce is lesser: light and quick.
Greater qalqalah
If you stop on a qalqalah letter at the end of a word, the bounce is greater: clearer than the lesser one. Do not lengthen the letter while bouncing it.
The lam of Allah
The lam in the word Allah is not like other lams. It is made heavy or light according to the vowel immediately before it.
Light lam
If a kasra comes immediately before Allah, the lam is light. The kasra may be at the end of the previous word, as in «bismi Allah».
Heavy lam
If a fatha or a damma comes immediately before Allah, the lam is heavy. It is also heavy when you begin with the word and nothing precedes it.
The ra
This is the rule for a voweled ra, the clearest place to start. A silent ra has further cases at a stop and with elevated letters; leave those until this rule is steady.
Heavy ra
An ra with a fatha or a damma is heavy. This is the usual rule for a voweled ra.
Light ra
An ra with a kasra is light. If you stop on an ra that was broken while joining, the stop has a further detail to take from a teacher after this rule is firm.
Ghunnah
Ghunnah is a nasal sound from the nasal passage that accompanies noon and meem. In the cases below it lasts two counts.
Shaddah on noon and meem
A doubled noon and a doubled meem carry a ghunnah of two counts, in the middle of a word and at its end. The same ghunnah also accompanies idgham with ghunnah, ikhfa, iqlab, and labial idgham.
How to practice
- Read the rule once. Notice when it applies, before memorizing letter lists.
- Look at the phrase under the ayah: that is the spot you should hear.
- Tap the ayah, choose listen, and repeat that spot with the reciter three times.
- Say the phrase on your own, then go to the next example of the same rule.