Tāʾ

Video of the Letter Tā’:

This short video presents the articulation and characteristics of the letter Tā’, demonstrating its correct pronunciation with Qur’anic examples, and highlighting the most common pronunciation errors made by readers.

First: The Articulation Point of Tā’:

The letter Tā’ is pronounced from the tip of the tongue touching the base of the upper incisors. It shares its articulation point with the letters Ṭā’ and Dāl, as shown in the image.

Second: The Main Characteristics of the Letter Tā’:

Shiddah (Strength), Hams (Whispering), and Istifāl (Lowering).

The image shows the tongue’s tip closing tightly against the roots of the upper incisors, not allowing flow of sound, so the sound is cut abruptly. This is what defines the characteristic of 'shiddah'(Intensity).

Tā’ is a whispered letter, meaning that its sound is accompanied by extra breath.

Both the sound and the breath are blocked initially because of closure of the Makhraj, then the Makhraj opens allowing breath to escape distinguishing the Tā’ from other letters.

Tā’ is also a lowering letter (Istifāl), meaning the back of the tongue remains lowered during pronunciation, giving it a light sound (Muraqqaq).

Third: Pronouncing Tā’ in Different States through Qur’anic Examples:

You can click on the word to hear the correct pronunciation.

First: Tā’ in the state of non-vowelled (Sukūn):
أَتْ	أُتْ	إِتْ
﴿وَأَتۡمَمۡنَٰهَا﴾	﴿أُتۡرِفُواْ﴾	﴿فِتۡنَةٞ﴾

Second: Tā’ with short vowels (Harakat):
تَ	تُ	تِ
﴿تَرۡمِي﴾	﴿تُرۡجَعُونَ﴾	﴿تِجَٰرَةً﴾

Third: Tā’ with long vowels (Madd letters):
تا	تو	تي
﴿تَابُواْ﴾	﴿تُوعَدُونَ﴾	﴿يَأۡتِي﴾

Fourth: Tā’ with shaddah (when it is doubled):
أَتَّ	أَتُّ	أَتِّ
﴿ٱلتَّوَّابُ﴾	﴿ٱلتُّرَابِ﴾	﴿ٱلتِّجَٰرَةِ﴾

Fourth: Common Mistakes in Pronouncing the Letter Tā’:

1.Failing to apply hams(whispering)when Tā’ is non-vowelled (Sukūn), as in: ﴿فِتۡنَةٞ﴾. The correct pronunciation is allowing extra breath with Tā’: ﴿فِتۡنَةٞ﴾. Allah Almighty says: ﴿وَٱلۡفِتۡنَةُ أَشَدُّ مِنَ ٱلۡقَتۡلِ﴾.
2.Over-whispering the letter when it is has a short vowel (Harakah), as in: ﴿تَتَوَفَّىٰهُمُ﴾. The correct pronunciation is: ﴿تَتَوَفَّىٰهُمُ﴾. Allah Almighty says: ﴿ٱلَّذِينَ تَتَوَفَّىٰهُمُ ٱلۡمَلَٰٓئِكَةُ طَيِّبِينَ﴾.
3.Applying Qalqalah when it is non-vowelled, as in: ﴿أَتۡرَابٗا﴾. The correct pronunciation is to avoid Qalqalah: ﴿أَتۡرَابٗا﴾. Allah Almighty says: ﴿وَكَوَاعِبَ أَتۡرَابٗا﴾.
4.Pronouning the letter heavily (Mufakham), especially when adjacent to a heavy letter (Mufakham), making it sound like Ṭā’, as in: ﴿تَطۡمَئِنُّ﴾. The correct pronunciation is keeping it light (Muraqqaq): ﴿تَطۡمَئِنُّ﴾. Allah Almighty says: ﴿أَلَا بِذِكۡرِ ٱللَّهِ تَطۡمَئِنُّ ٱلۡقُلُوبُ﴾.

الرعاية (204)، التحديد (105)، نهاية القول المفيد (53)، هداية القاري (1/68)، التجويد المصور (56)، المنير (63).

نهاية القول المفيد (51)، التجويد المصور (68)، المنير (79-80).

الرعاية (204)، نهاية القول المفيد (112)، هداية القاري (1/97)، التجويد المصور (97)، المنير (95).

Lesson Content

Lesson questions

1. الحروف العربية

Introductions

Tāʾ