First: Ikhfāʼ and Its Letters
Ikhfāʼ is the pronunciation of nūn sākinah or tanwīn in a state between iẓhār (clear pronunciation) and idghām (assimilation), without doubling the letter (shaddah), and with maintaining the nasalization (ghunnah) for two counts, when followed by one of the letters of ikhfāʼ.
The letters of ikhfāʼ are fifteen in total. These are the remaining Arabic letters after excluding those of iẓhār, idghām, and iqlāb which are the following letters: (ص، ذ، ث، ك، ج، ش، ق، س، د، ط، ز، ف، ت، ض، ظ)
To apply ikhfāʼ, the actual articulation of nūn is omitted while placing the tongue near the articulation point of the following letter, maintaining the ghunnah for two counts. Correct articulation must be learned through oral transmission from a proficient reciter.
Second: Examples of Ikhfāʼ
Ikhfāʼ may occur within one word or between two words. Example within a word: ﴿يُنصَرُونَ﴾. Examples across two words include: ﴿فَمَن شَآءَ﴾ and ﴿عَلِيمٞ قَدِيرٞ﴾.
Here are some detailed examples by letter:
| Letter | Nūn in One Word | Nūn in Two Words | With Tanwīn |
| Ṣād | ﴿يُنصَرُونَ﴾ | ﴿أَن صَدُّوكُمۡ﴾ | ﴿رِيحٗا صَرۡصَرٗا﴾ |
| Dhāl | ﴿لِيُنذِرَ﴾ | ﴿وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِي﴾ | ﴿سِرَاعٗاۚ ذَٰلِكَ﴾ |
| Thāʼ | ﴿مَّنثُورًا﴾ | ﴿أَن ثَبَّتۡنَٰكَ﴾ | ﴿أَزۡوَٰجٗا ثَلَٰثَةٗ﴾ |
| Kāf | ﴿أَنكَالٗا﴾ | ﴿مِن كُلِّ﴾ | ﴿وَرِزۡقٞ كَرِيمٞ﴾ |
| Jīm | ﴿فَأَنجَيۡنَٰهُ﴾ | ﴿فَمَن جَآءَهُ﴾ | ﴿قَوۡمٗا جَبَّارِينَ﴾ |
| Shīn | ﴿مَنشُورًا﴾ | ﴿فَمَن شَآءَ﴾ | ﴿شَيۡءٖ شَهِيدًا﴾ |
| Qāf | ﴿يُنقِذُونِ﴾ | ﴿وَإِن قِيلَ﴾ | ﴿عَلِيمٞ قَدِيرٞ﴾ |
| Sīn | ﴿نَنسَخۡ﴾ | ﴿مِن سَبِيلٖ﴾ | ﴿وَرَجُلٗا سَلَمٗا﴾ |
| Dāl | ﴿وَعِندَهُمُ﴾ | ﴿وَمَن دَخَلَهُ﴾ | ﴿مُّسۡتَقِيمٖ دِينٗا﴾ |
| Ṭāʼ | ﴿ٱنطَلِقُوٓاْ﴾ | ﴿فَإِن طَلَّقَهَا﴾ | ﴿صَعِيدٗا طَيِّبٗا﴾ |
| Zāy | ﴿أُنزِلَ﴾ | ﴿مِّن زَوَالٖ﴾ | ﴿وَطَرٗا زَوَّجۡنَٰكَهَا﴾ |
| Fāʼ | ﴿يُنفِقُونَ﴾ | ﴿وَإِن فَاتَكُمۡ﴾ | ﴿سَفَرٖ فَعِدَّةٞ﴾ |
| Tāʼ | ﴿مُّنتَهُونَ﴾ | ﴿إِن تَتُوبَآ﴾ | ﴿زَرۡعٗا تَأۡكُلُ﴾ |
| Fourth: Common Mistakes in Pronouncing Ḍād | ﴿مَّنضُودٖ﴾ | ﴿مِن ضُرّٖ﴾ | ﴿وَكُلّٗا ضَرَبۡنَا﴾ |
| Ḍād | ﴿فَٱنظُرۡ﴾ | ﴿إِن ظَنَّآ﴾ | ﴿ظِلّٗا ظَلِيلًا﴾ |
Third: Ghunnah in Ikhfāʼ – Tafkhīm and Tarqīq
The ghunnah in ikhfāʼ follows the attribute of the following letter (the ikhfāʼ letter) as follows:
1. If the letter of ikhfāʼ is heavy (mufakhkham), the ghunnah is also heavy, e.g.: ﴿إِن ظَنَّآ﴾, ﴿ٱنطَلِقُوٓاْ﴾. The heavy letters among the ikhfāʼ group are: (ص، ض، ط، ظ، ق).
2. إذا كان حرف الإخفاء مرققًا كانت غنة الإخفاء مرققةsuch as: ﴿إِن تَتُوبَآ﴾، ﴿أَنكَالٗا﴾، وحروف الإخفاء المرققة عشرة حروف، وهي بقية حروف الإخفاء بعد الحروف الخمسة السابقة.
Note: The degree of ghunnah's heaviness also varies depending on the strength of the ikhfāʼ letter and its case. Among the heavy letters, the order of strength is: Ṭāʼ (the heaviest), Ḍād, Ṣād, Ẓāʼ, and then Qāf (the lightest). Also, a letter with fatḥah is heavier than with ḍammah, and the least is with kasrah.
Example: Ikhfāʼ in ﴿فَإِن طَلَّقَهَا﴾ is heavier than in ﴿إِن ظَنَّآ﴾ due to ṭāʼ being stronger than ẓāʼ.
Example: Ikhfāʼ in ﴿مِن قَبۡلُ﴾ is heavier than in ﴿مِن قِطۡمِيرٍ﴾ due to qāf has a fatḥah in the first example, and kasrah in the second.
Fourth: Ikhfāʼ in the Disjointed Letters
Ikhfāʼ occurs in three locations within the disjointed letters of the Qur’an: 1. At the beginning of Surah Maryam: ﴿كٓهيعٓصٓ﴾ – between ʿAyn and Ṣād 2. At the beginning of Surah An-Naml: ﴿طسٓۚ تِلۡكَ﴾ – between Sīn and Tāʼ 3. At the beginning of Surah Ash-Shūrā: ﴿عٓسٓقٓ﴾ – between Sīn and Qāf
For example: in ﴿عٓسٓقٓ﴾ it is read as (ʿAyn Sīn Qāf), the nūn sākinah from ‘ʿAyn’ is followed by Sīn and also nūn sākinah from Sīn is followed by Qāf, hence ikhfāʼ is applied in both situations with 2 counts of Ghunnah. Ghunnah will be light before Sīn and heavy before Qāf.
Fifth: Caution
The reader must be cautious not to overextend vowel sounds before ikhfāʼ. For example:
- Do not turn ḍammah into wāw: ﴿كُنتُمۡ﴾ should not become (kūntum)
- Do not turn kasrah into yāʼ: ﴿مِنكُمۡ﴾ should not become (mīnkum)
- Do not turn fatḥah into alif: ﴿عَنكُمۡ﴾ should not become (ʿānkum)
Ar-Riʿāyah (p. 267), At-Taḥdeed (p. 117), Nihāyat al-Qawl al-Mufīd (p. 164), Hidayat al-Qari (1/168–169), Al-Tajweed al-Musawwar (p. 138), Al-Muneer (pp. 142–143).
Hidayat al-Qari (1/181–182), Al-Tajweed al-Musawwar (pp. 142–143), Al-Muneer (p. 144).
Nihāyat al-Qawl al-Mufīd (p. 166), Hidayat al-Qari (1/172), Al-Muneer (p. 144).