Ikhfa (hiding) is one of the four rules of the noon sakinah and tanween. A noon sakinah is a noon with a sukun (no vowel). Tanween is the double vowel at the end of a word that makes an "n" sound. When either is followed by one of fifteen letters, you hide the "n" in a nasal hum (ghunnah) of about two counts. This guide goes letter by letter. For the full picture of all four rules, start with our noon sakinah and tanween overview.
What is ikhfa in Tajweed, and which are the 15 letters?
A few plain words first, because they come up all the time. Izhar means clear pronunciation: the noon is said fully. Idgham means merging: the noon melts into the next letter. Ikhfa means hiding: the noon is neither fully said nor fully lost. Ghunnah is the nasal hum that comes through the nose. A makhraj is the point in the mouth or throat where a letter is made. The throat letters that call for clear pronunciation are in our guide to izhar and the six throat letters.
The formal name of this rule is ikhfa haqiqi (true hiding). It happens when a noon sakinah or tanween meets any of these fifteen letters:
- Ta (the light ta), tha, jim, dal, dhal, zay, sin, shin
- Sad, dad, ta (the heavy ta), za (the heavy za)
- Fa, qaf, kaf
That is 15 in all. Every other letter of the alphabet is covered by one of the other three rules: izhar for the six throat letters, idgham for ya, ra, meem, lam, waw and noon, and iqlab for ba.
Teachers give students a memory aid: a line of verse whose fifteen words begin with the fifteen letters, in order. It is usually taught like this: Sif dha thana kam jada shakhsun qad sama, dum tayyiban zid fi taqan da' zaliman. Take the first letter of each word and you have the fifteen letters. The wording of the last words differs a little between printed books, so learn the exact line from your teacher. Many students also simply memorise the letters in alphabet order, which is just as good.
How do you pronounce ikhfa? What does hiding really mean?
Hiding is a middle state. Compare the three things you can do with a noon:
- Say it clearly. The tip of your tongue touches the gum ridge behind the upper front teeth. This is izhar, and for these fifteen letters it is a mistake.
- Drop it. You skip the noon and join the letters. This is idgham, and it is also a mistake here.
- Hide it. Your tongue does not touch the gum ridge. It stays close to where the next letter is made, and the sound of the noon travels out through the nasal passage as a hum.
Here is how to feel it. Say "an" clearly, and notice the tongue tip tapping behind your teeth. Now say "anta", but keep your tongue off that spot and aim it at the "t" from the start. The "n" turns into a soft hum in the nose. Pinch your nose gently: during the hum you should feel the vibration, and the hum should stop when the next letter begins.
The hum lasts about two counts. A count here is one beat of a steady, moderate pace, roughly the time it takes to fold a finger and open it again. The whole length of the hum is the same for all fifteen letters. What changes from letter to letter is the quality of the hum, which we cover next. To go deeper into the hum itself, read our guide to ghunnah.
Do not shorten the next letter
The two counts belong to the hum. The letter after it is then said with its own full sound. Students sometimes spend so long on the hum that they swallow the letter after it.
What are the three levels of ikhfa, strong, middle and weak?
All fifteen letters are hidden, but they are not hidden equally. The books of Tajweed such as Hidayat al-Mustafid and Nihayat al-Qawl al-Mufid group them by how close each letter is to the noon in the mouth. The closer the letter, the stronger the hiding, because the tongue has hardly any distance to travel and the noon is covered most completely. The farther the letter, the lighter the hiding, because the noon is easier to hear.
| Level | Letters | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Strong | Ta, dal, heavy ta | Their makhraj is the closest to the noon: the tip of the tongue near the upper front teeth |
| Middle | Tha, jim, dhal, zay, sin, shin, sad, dad, heavy za, fa | A medium distance from the noon |
| Weak | Qaf, kaf | Their makhraj is the farthest, at the back of the tongue |
This is how the hiding is taught in most schools. Some books describe the middle group in slightly different words, so your teacher's grouping is the one to follow. What matters in practice is the feeling: with ta and dal you almost glide straight from the hum into the letter, and with qaf and kaf you must be careful that the noon does not become clear.
The level does not change the length. It is still about two counts for all of them.
What is heavy and light ikhfa, and why does it matter?
Some of the fifteen letters are heavy: the back of the tongue rises towards the roof of the mouth and the sound becomes full. Others are light: the sound is thin. If this is new to you, see our guide to heavy and light letters.
Among the ikhfa letters, five are heavy: sad, dad, heavy ta, heavy za and qaf. The other ten are light.
The rule is simple: the hiding takes on the quality of the letter that follows. Before a heavy letter the hum is made with a fuller, rounder mouth, as if the noon is already wearing the heavy letter. Before a light letter the hum stays thin and light.
- Heavy hiding, for example yansurkum and mandud: round the mouth as you hum, with the back of the tongue raised.
- Light hiding, for example anfusahum and man ja'a: keep the mouth relaxed and the sound thin.
A common test: say the hum on its own, keeping your mouth in position for the next letter, before you say the letter. If you can tell from the hum alone which letter is coming, you are doing it correctly. Qaf is the trickiest one, because it is heavy but its hiding is the weakest, so it is easy to either say a clear noon or lose the heaviness.
Is it the same for noon sakinah and tanween, and for one word or two?
Yes. The sound of ikhfa is identical whatever the source. There are two ways to look at where it appears.
Noon sakinah or tanween. The noon sakinah is a real letter with a sukun, in the middle of a word or at the end. Tanween is not a letter: it is a vowel sign that adds an "n" sound at the end of a word. Both are hidden in exactly the same way. When you recite tanween before one of the fifteen letters, you simply say the vowel (a, i or u) and then hide the "n" sound in the hum.
Same word or two words. A noon sakinah can sit inside a word, such as the noon in anta, or at the end of a word, such as min followed by the next word. Tanween always comes at the end of a word, so it is always with two words. The ruling is the same either way. This is the opposite of idgham, where the same-word case behaves differently. Here there is no special exception: if a noon sakinah or tanween meets one of the fifteen letters, you hide it.
Stopping on the word
If you stop (make waqf) on a word that ends in tanween, the tanween is not read at all and there is nothing to hide. Ikhfa applies only when you continue reading into the next word. For stopping rules see our guide to waqf signs and symbols.
What are examples of ikhfa in the Qur'an?
Here is at least one clear example for each letter, in transliteration, with the verse. Read each one aloud slowly and find the hum.
| Letter | Example | Surah and verse |
|---|---|---|
| Ta | min tahtiha | Al-Baqarah 2:25 |
| Ta (in a word) | in kuntum | Al-Baqarah 2:23 |
| Tha | man thaqulat | Al-Qari'ah 101:6 |
| Tha (tanween) | qawlan thaqila | Al-Muzzammil 73:5 |
| Jim | man ja'a | Al-An'am 6:160 |
| Dal | andadan | Al-Baqarah 2:22 |
| Dhal | man dha alladhi | Al-Baqarah 2:255 |
| Zay | fa-in zalaltum | Al-Baqarah 2:209 |
| Zay (tanween) | nafsan zakiyyah | Al-Kahf 18:74 |
| Sin | min sulalatin | Al-Mu'minun 23:12 |
| Shin | fa-man sha'a | Al-Muddaththir 74:55 |
| Sad | in yansurkum | Al-Imran 3:160 |
| Dad | mandud | Al-Waqi'ah 56:29 |
| Heavy ta | la yantiqun | Al-Mursalat 77:35 |
| Heavy ta (tanween) | halalan tayyiba | Al-Baqarah 2:168 |
| Heavy za | unzur | Al-Ma'idah 5:75 |
| Fa | anfusahum | Al-Baqarah 2:9 |
| Qaf | min qablika | Al-Baqarah 2:4 |
| Kaf | man kana | Al-Baqarah 2:97 |
Notice how many are inside one word (kuntum, andadan, mandud, yantiqun, unzur, anfusahum) and how many are across two words (man ja'a, min qablika, man kana). Ikhfa is one of the most frequent rules in the Qur'an, so you will meet it on nearly every page.
What are the common mistakes in ikhfa?
- Saying a clear noon. The tongue taps the gum ridge, so the "n" is heard. Keep the tongue off that spot. This is the most common mistake with kaf and qaf.
- Over-nasalising. Making the hum too loud, too high or too long, so it sounds like a hum from a song. It should be soft and steady.
- Cutting the hum short. Giving it one count or less. Give it about two counts.
- Stretching it too far. Holding it for three or four counts, which turns it into a long madd. Two counts is the measure.
- Dropping the noon like idgham. Running the vowel straight into the next letter with no hum at all.
- Wrong heaviness. Thinning the hum before sad, dad, heavy ta, heavy za or qaf, or making it heavy before a light letter such as sin or kaf.
- Swallowing the next letter. Spending so long on the hum that the following letter is rushed or lost.
- Closing the mouth as if for a meem. The lips stay open; the hum is a noon-hum and not a meem-hum.
How can I practise ikhfa at home, and test myself?
A short daily routine of ten minutes is enough to see progress in a few weeks:
- 1. Hum alone. Hum a steady "nnn" through your nose for two counts, tapping a finger on your knee. Do it ten times.
- 2. Mirror check. Say "an" clearly, then "anta" with hiding. In the second case your tongue tip should not touch behind your teeth. A finger lightly on the side of the nose will feel the hum.
- 3. Letter by letter. Take the fifteen letters in order, saying one example for each (use the table above). Say each one three times: slowly, normally, then slowly again.
- 4. Heavy and light pairs. Say a light and a heavy pair side by side, for example man sha'a then mandud, and listen for the change in the hum.
- 5. Record yourself. Read a page of the Qur'an you know well, and mark each ikhfa with a pencil. Play it back and count the hums.
- 6. Recite to a teacher. A teacher who listens to you recite is the best way to fix sounds. Books and recordings help, but only a listening ear can tell you if your noon is truly hidden.
Our Basic Tajweed course takes you through this rule one to one with a teacher. The guide to makharij shows where each of the fifteen letters is made, which makes the levels easier to feel.
Quick quiz: 5 questions
1. How many letters cause ikhfa haqiqi?
2. About how many counts is the hum?
3. Which three letters give the strongest hiding?
4. Name the five heavy letters among the fifteen.
5. Does the tongue touch the gum ridge during ikhfa?
Answers. 1. Fifteen. 2. About two counts. 3. Ta, dal and the heavy ta. 4. Sad, dad, heavy ta, heavy za and qaf. 5. No: the tongue stays off the gum ridge and the noon is hidden in a hum.
When you are ready, try more questions in our Tajweed quiz, and look at the Tajweed rules for beginners to see where ikhfa sits among the rest.
Sources
- The Qur'an: the verses quoted in the examples table, read in the riwayah of Hafs 'an 'Asim.
- Ibn al-Jazari, al-Muqaddimah al-Jazariyyah: the chapter on the rules of the noon sakinah and tanween.
- Ibn al-Jazari, al-Nashr fi al-Qira'at al-'Ashr: the chapter on ikhfa and ghunnah.
- Sulayman al-Jamzuri, Tuhfat al-Atfal: the section on the four rules of the noon sakinah and tanween.
- Hidayat al-Mustafid fi Ahkam al-Tajwid: ikhfa haqiqi and its levels.
- Muhammad Makki Nasr al-Juraysi, Nihayat al-Qawl al-Mufid fi 'Ilm al-Tajwid: ikhfa haqiqi, its letters and the strong, middle and weak levels.