The definition of tafkheem:Fattening
The Heavy Letters (AtTafkheem) The letters of Arabic are divided into two, the light, and the heavy. Most of the letters are light, but some are heavy. The heavy letters are ﻕ ﺥ ﻍ ﺹ ﻅ ﻁ ﺽ. The heavy letters are also known as the letters of tafkheem. Arabic words for heavy include كثيف, ثقيل, كثيفة, ضخم, شديد التحدر, خطير, نعسان, بطيء, حاد and سكير. Find more Arabic. Displaying top 8 worksheets found for - Tajweed Letters. Some of the worksheets for this concept are Simple rules of tajweed, Reach the goal via tajweed rules, Rules of learn quran read quran with proper, Tajweed rules of the quran, Ahsanul qawaid workbook part 3 of 3, In arabic letter we have heavy and light and we have the, Learn how to read al quran.
Its applied definition:It is a heaviness that enters the body of the letter, so that the mouth is filled with its reverberation (echo). The method of making a letter have the characteristic of tafkheem is: elevating the posterior tongue to the roof of the mouth (soft palate), creating more space between the roof of the mouth and the bottom of the mouth, and focusing the pressure of the letter to the roof of the mouth.
The linguistic definition of tarqeeq :Thinness
Its applied definition:It is a thinness that enters the body of the letter, so the mouth is not filled with its reverberation (echo).
The Arabic letters are divided into three groups as to tafkheem and tarqeeq:
1. Letters that always have tafkheem. These are the seven letters in the group . They are also called the tafkheem letters.
2. Letters that have tafkheem sometimes and tarqeeq other times.
a) The lengthened alif.
b) The in the Glorious name of .
c) The
3. Letters that always have tarqeeq. This group consists of the rest of the Arabic alphabet.
The Letters That Always Have Tafkheem
The seven letters of group make up this category. The letters of are
. These letters do not all have the same degree if tafkheem, instead there are differences according to the letter’s characteristics, and the strength or weakness of these characteristics. Every time a letter has a strong characteristic, its tafkheem is stronger. letters ( ) are stronger in tafkheem than the rest of letters due to the adhesion of the tongue to the roof of the mouth in conjunction with the elevation of the tongue. The ranking of letters from strongest is then , then , then , then , then , then
Levels of Tafkheem
There are two different schools of thought when it comes to tafkheem. Both are correct, but the reader should follow one or the other in their reading.
Three Levels of Tafkheem
This school of thought has three different levels in tafkheem. The strongest being the tafkheem letter that has a fat-h, the second being the tafkheem letter with a dhammah, and the third level, the tafkheem letter with a kasrah. The saakin tafkheem letter follows the level of tafkheem of the vowel on the letter before it. This means if the tafkheem letter is saakin, and the letter before it has a fat-ha, then the tafkheem letter will be at the highest level of tafkheem (as the in: ) . The saakin letter of tafkheem preceded by a dhammah would have the second level of tafkheem (as the in : . The saakin tafkheem letter preceded by a kasrah is at the lowest level of tafkheem (such as the in : . Sheikh Mohammed Al-Mutawali described these levels in the following lines:
(Then the heavy ones come
with three levels and they are
The one with a fath, then the dhammah, then the kasrah,
and the saakin follows what preceded it
So what came before it in a vowel,
then assume for it as a harakah that vowel.)
The Five Levels of Tafkheem
The second school of thought of tafkheem has five levels. The highest level being a tafkheem letter being followed by a long alif (for example the in: ). The second level is a tafkheem letter with a fathah on it (such as the and in: ). The next level that of a tafkheem letter having a dhammah (as in ). The next level is a tafkheem letter with a sukoon (for example ). And the last level, that of a tafkheem letter with a kasrah (such as the in: ). This school of thought as to tafkheem varies from the previous three level school in a few ways. First, the tafkheem letter with a fathah has two categories, that of a fath followed by an alif, and then a fathah not followed by an alif. This school also varies from the previous one in that the tafkheem letter with a sukoon has its own level of tafkheem, whereas the other school of thought has the saakin letter following the tafkheem level of the vowel on the letter preceding it. This means that there will be a difference of tafkheem between the saakin letters in this group, which are not affected by the vowel of the letter preceding it, and the other group which is totally affected by the vowel on the letter preceding it. For example, a saakin tafkheem letter preceded by a fathah in the three level school of thought, will have the highest ranking of tafkheem, whereas a saakin tafkheem letter of this five level school of thought, will have the 4th degree of tafkheem. Ash-Sheikh Al-Mutawali described the five levels of tafkheem in the following lines:
(and it is said, no the one with the fat-hah followed by an alif
and after it a fat-hah without an alif
the one with the dhammah, the saakin, the one with the kasrah;
so that is five, its mention came to you.
and if it is in the lowest level
It has tafkheem, cut off from the istifaal (lowering of the tongue)
So it cannot be said it has tarqeeq
Like its opposite, that is the truth.
Next tidbit lesson, insha' Allah will continue with tafkheem and tarqeeq, moving on to explain the letters that sometimes have tafkheem and sometimes tarqeeq.
Lesson (2): The Arabic Alphabet (Writing Letters)
It is used by many to begin any Language by teaching its Parts of Speech; however, logically it is better to begin our trip by teaching the Arabic Alphabet (Arabic Letters) as it is the reasonable starting point. Consider the absence of Alphabets then how we can form words and/or sentences?!
Arabic Alphabet Chart [29]
| pronunciation | Transliterated | Isolated | Isolated | pronunciation | Initial | Medial | Final | Transcription |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| أَلِف | ̛ālif | ا | Like A in Apple | ا | ـا | ـا | ā | |
| بَاء | bā̛ | ب | Like B in Baby | بـ | ـبـ | ـب | b | |
| تَاء | tā̛ | ت | Like T in Tree | تـ | ـتـ | ـت ـة | t | |
| ثَاء | thā̛ | ث | Like the Th in Theory | ثـ | ـثـ | ـث | th | |
| جِيم | jim | ج | Sometimes like the G in Girl or like the J in Jar | جـ | ـجـ | ـج | j | |
| حَاء | hā̛ | ح | Like the h in he yet light in pronunciation | حـ | ـحـ | ـح | h | |
| خَاء | khā̛ | خ | Like the Ch in the name Bach | خـ | ـخـ | ـخ | kh | |
| دَال | dāl | د | Like the D in Dad | د | ـد | ـد | d | |
| ذَال | zāl | ذ | Like the Th in The | ذ | ـذ | ـذ | z | |
| رَاء | rā̛ | ر | Like the R in Ram | ر | ـر | ـر | r | |
| زَاي | zāy | ز | Like the Z in zoo | ز | ـز | ـز | z | |
| سِين | sin | س | Like the S in See | سـ | ـسـ | ـس | s | |
| شِين | shin | ش | Like the Sh in She | شـ | ـشـ | ـش | sh | |
| صَاد | sād | ص | Like the S in Sad yet heavy in pronunciation | صـ | ـصـ | ـص | s | |
| ضَاد | dād | ض | Like the D in Dead yet heavy in pronunciation | ضـ | ـضـ | ـض | d | |
| طَاء | tā̛ | ط | Like the T in Table yet heavy in pronunciation | طـ | ـطـ | ـط | t | |
| ظَاء | ẓā̛ | ظ | Like the Z in Zorro yet heavy in pronunciation | ظـ | ـظـ | ـظ | ẓ | |
| عَينٍ | عain | ع | Has no real equivalent sometimes they replace its sound with the A sound like for example the name Ali for علي /عali/ | عـ | ـعـ | ـع | ع̛ | |
| غَين | ghain | غ | Like the Gh in Ghandi | غـ | ـغـ | ـغ | gh | |
| فَاء | fā̛ | ف | Like the F in Fool | فـ | ـفـ | ـف | f | |
| قَاف | qāf | ق | Like the Q in Queen yet heavy velar sound in pronunciation | قـ | ـقـ | ـق | q | |
| كَاف | kāf | ك | Like the K in Kate | كـ | ـكـ | ـك | k | |
| لاَم | lām | ف | Like the L in Love | لـ | ـلـ | ـل | l | |
| مِيم | mim | م | Like the M in Moon | مـ | ـمـ | ـم | m | |
| نُون | nun | ن | Like the N in Noon | نـ | ـنـ | ـن | n | |
| هَاء | hā̛ | ه هـ | Like the H in He | هـ | ـهـ | ـه | h | |
| وَاو | wāw | , | Like the W in the reaction of astonishment saying: WAW! | ـو | ---- | ـو | W(aw, au, u) | |
| يَاء | yā̛ | ي | Like the Y in you | يـ | ـيـ | ـي | Y (ay, ai, ῑ) | |
| هَمزَة | hamza | ء أُ إِ أَ | Seen latter because it differs according to case and context | Latter will be discussed separately | أ ؤ | ـئـ | ئ | ̛ |
Now, you can deduce from the herein above Chart that Arabic letters are 29 with the letter hamza, sometimes is regarded as a separate Letter. Further, in the first column above, you can see some dashes or symbols on the Arabic Letter above or below them; they are called Arabic vowels (Described later).
Consider the following three Arabic Letters Characteristics:
a- Letters are connected to form words.
b- Words have vowels on it (described later).
c- Some letters have dots on it.
Do you know that:
1- Arabic structure is different in Alphabet from any other Language.
2- Arabic letters form words by connecting them together.
3- Arabic Alphabet is written and read from right to left.
4- Arabic Letters' writing has three forms: initial, medial, and final i.e. different in shape according to their position.
5- Letters in isolation and final are mostly the same in shape.
6- Letters in the initial and medial positions are mostly the same in shape.
7- There are many print forms, types of fonts and writing forms for Arabic; yet most common of which is /̛ān-naskh/ (normal writing) النَسخ and /̛ār-ruqعa/ الرِقعة. An elementary/ intermediate Reader/ Learner is advised to use /̛ān-naskh/ writing form.
8- You can find the correct pronunciation in Arabic just from the spelling of the word which is considered a no-trouble-trick of Arabic pronunciation.
9- Arabic Letters can be divided into two groups according to their position
1st Group
- Can't be joined on the left side.
- Can be joined to a preceding letter but never to a following one.
- Then, all Arabic Letters in the Alphabet could be connected from both sides except the following mentioned Letters.(see table below)
2nd Group
- Change shape according to their position in the word.
| 1st Group (Non-Connecting Letters) | 1st Group Examples | 2nd Group (Connecting Letters) | 2nd Group Examples |
| ālif ا | سَمَاء /samā̛/ for 'sky' | عain ع | Refer to the three Arabic Letters' Writing Forms (initial – medial – final) |
| Dāl د | الدَهر /̛ād-dahr/ for 'past life' | ghain غ | Refer to the three Arabic Letters' Writing Forms (initial – medial – final) |
| zāl ذ | الذَهب /̛āz-zahab/ For 'gold' | kāf ك | Refer to the three Arabic Letters' Writing Forms (initial – medial – final) |
| rā̛ ر | الرَمَادِي /̛ā̛r-ramādy/ for 'grey color' | hā̛ ه هـ | Refer to the three Arabic Letters' Writing Forms (initial – medial – final) |
| zāy ز | الزَمَان /̛āz-zamān/ For 'past' | yā̛ ي | Refer to the three Arabic Letters' Writing Forms (initial – medial – final) |
| wāw و | الوَطَن /̛āl-watan/ for 'homeland' | hamza ء أُ إِ أَ | Refer to the three Arabic Letters' Writing Forms (initial – medial – final). NB: this letter will be discussed later |
10- Few Arabic Written Letters could be only differentiated by their dots :
| bā̛ ب tā̛ ت thā̛ ث | jim ج hā̛ ح khā̛ خ | dāl د Zāl ذ rā̛ ر Zāy ز |
| sin س shin ش | sād ص dād ض | tā̛ ط ẓā̛ ظ |
| عain ع ghain غ | fā̛ ف qāf ق | nun ن |
Heavy Letters In Arabic
11- There are Confusing Arabic Written Letters phonetically-wise:| Light Sound in Pronunciation | Heavy Sound in Pronunciation |
|---|---|
| tā̛ ت | tā̛ ط |
| Dāl د | dād ض |
| zāl ذ | ẓā̛ ظ |
| sin س | sād ص |
| Kāf ك | qāf ق |
12- The Letter tā̛ ت; sometimes it is written like the letter hā̛ in its final form ـهyet with two dots above it ـة. This letter is mostly seen in its final position to indicate a feminine gender ending and is termed ' tā̛ Marbutah'.
13- The Letters fā̛ and qāf in Moroccan Written Arabic are different in their shape as seen below:
The Heavy Letters In Arabic
| Position in word | Isolated | Initial | Medial | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Form of the letter fā̛ in Moroccan Arabic | ڢ | ڢـ | ـڢـ | ـڢ |
| Form of the letter qāf in Moroccan Arabic | ڡ | ڧـ | ـڧـ | ـڡ |