Rules of Meem Sakinah (Ikhfaa', Idghaam, and Ithhaar)

The definition of the meem (م) saakinah: It is a meem free from any vowel, and which has a fixed sukoon when continuing reading and when stopping. This excludes the meem that was originally without a vowel, but obtained one because the next letter also had a sukoon. The meem sakinah can be in the middle of a word or at the end of a word. It can be in a noun, a verb, or a preposition or particle.

Meem Sakinah

The meem saakinah has three possible rules:

1. Ikhfa' Shafawi (الإخفاء الشفوي)

2. Idghaam Mithlayn (الإدغام المثلين)

3. Ithhaar Shafawi (الإظهار الشفوي)

The following is an explanation of the three rules

1. Ikhfa' Shafawi (الإخفاء الشفوي)

Its linguistic definition of ikhfaa’ is hidden. The applied tajweed definition is the pronunciation of a non-voweled letter, stripped of any “shaddah”, characterized as between clear (الإظهار) and merge (الإدغام) with the ghunnah remaining on the first letter, which is in this case the meem.

Al-Ikhfaa’ as-shafawi as it is called, has only one letter and that is Baa (ب). If a Meem is followed immediately by a Baa, and this only occurs between two words, we then close our lips for the Meem with an accompanying ghunnah.

This is called ikhfa' shafawi. It is called ikhfa’ because the Meem has the characteristic of the ikhfa’, meaning in between ithhaar and idghaam since the lips are close with the letter meem, then separate with the letter Ba’. It is called “shafawi” because the meem and is articulated from the two lips. A lip in Arabic is syafah, but the word shafawi is also used for “oral”. Ikhfa’ shafawi could be translated as “the oral hiding”.

Examples:

مْ ← ب = وَمَنْ يَعْتَصِمْ بِاللهِ - مَالَهُمْ بِهِ – وَمَاهُمْ بِـمُـؤْمِنِيْنَ

In the words above there is a meem saakinah and the first letter of the next word is a Baa. Therefore ikhfa’ shafawi (oral hiding) rule is applied. The lips close on with the meem the sound is held with a ghunnah for the appropriate period of time, then the lips separate with the letter Baa.

2. Idghaam Mithlayn (الإدغام المثلين)

When a Meem with sukoon (at the end of a word) and a Meem with tashkeel (at the beginning of the leading word) meet, Idghaam with ghunnah appears.

As a review, the linguistic definition of idghaam is merging, or insertion. The applied tajweed definition is the meeting of a saakinah letter with a voweled letter so that the two letters become one emphasized letter of the second type (of letter).

The idghaam of the meem saakinah occurs only with one letter: another meem. Whenever a saakinah letter comes before a voweled letter of the same articulation point and characteristics, in other words the same exact letter, there is merging of the saakinah letter into the second letter.

Examples:

مْ ← م = وَآمَنَهُمْ مِّنْ خَوْفٍ - وَخَلَقَ لَكُمْ مَّا فِي الْأَرْضِ - كُلَّمَا أَضَآءَ لَهُمْ مَّشَوْا فِيهِ

In the above aayah, there are three examples of merging of the meem saakinah into a voweled meem. In the first example, the first word of the aayah ends with a meem saakinah, and the word immediately following has a voweled meem as its first letter. The meem saakinah then merges into the voweled meem which then acquires a shaddah, and there is an accompanying ghunnah for a period of time that should be learned from a qualified Qur’an teacher. What was said about the first example, applies to the second and third.

3. Ithhaar Shafawi (الإظهار الشفوي)

All the letters after taking out the letter Baa (from Ikhfaa’ As-Shafawi) and the letter Meem (from Idghaam Al-Mithlayn) are the letters of Ith’har As-Shafawi and they are 26. So if any of the 26 letters appear after Meem As-Sakinah in one word or in two words Ith’har is formed.

The linguistic definition of ith-haar is: clear, or obvious. Its applied tajweed definition: Pronouncing every letter from its articulation point without a ghunnah on the clear letter. If any one of 26 letter other than Baa’ and Meem follows a meem saakinah, the meem is then is pronounced clearly.

Take into account at the place of Meem As-Sakinah with the letter Waw (و) and Faa (ف) to emphasize the Meem so as not to confuse the listener that one may have recited it, like reciting when there is the letter Baa.

Examples:

مْ ← أ = لِيَبْلُوَكُـمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ

مْ ← ت = لِنَجْعَلَهَا لَكُـمْ تَذْكِرةً

مْ ← ث = أَمْثَـالُـكُـمْ

مْ ← ج = وَلَأُدْخِلَنَّكُـمْ جَنَّـاتٍ

مْ ← ح = فِيْ أَمْوَالِهِمْ حَـقٌّ

مْ ← خ = أَولَئِكَ هُمْ خَيْرُ

مْ ← د = وَأَنْتُمْ دَاخِرُونَ

مْ ← ذ = وَاْتَّبَعَتْهُمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ

مْ ← ر = لَقَدْ جَاءَكُـمْ رَسُولٌ

مْ ← ز = مِنْهُمْ زَهْـرَةَ

مْ ← س = وَهُمْ سَـالِمُونَ

مْ ← ش = لَمْ يَنْقُصُوكُمْ شَيْئاً

مْ ← ص = إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقينَ

مْ ← ض = وَامْضُـواْ

مْ ← ط = أَمْثَلُهُمْ طَرِيقَةً

مْ ← ظ = وَهُمْ ظَالِمُـوْنَ

مْ ← ع = وَيَنصُرُكُـم عَلَيْهِمْ

مْ ← غ = فَعَلَيْهِمْ غَضَـبٌ

مْ ← ف = ذَرَأَكُـمْ فِي اْلأرْض

مْ ← ق = بِأَنَّهُمْ قَـومٌ

مْ ← ك = مَالَكُمْ كَيفَ تَحْكمُونَ

مْ ← ل = وَأمْـلِيْ لَهُمْ

مْ ← ن = حَـرَّمْنَـا

مْ ← ه = أَنَّـهُمْ هُم

مْ ← و = أَيْـمَانَهمْ وَهَمُّوا

مْ ← ي = لَـمْ يَنْقُصُوْكُمْ

NOTE: There needs to be special care taken that the ithhaar of the meem is complete when a Waw or a Faa follows it. This care is needed in that the reader should be careful to close his lips completely and say the meem saakinah clearly with no partial opening of the lips. The possibility of saying the meem saakinah with an partial opening of the lips before these two letters is due to the proximity of the articulation point of the meem to the Waw and Faa, as they all use the lips for articulation.

Thursday, September 15, 2022