The 15 Ikhfa Letters and How to Pronounce Each One

The ikhfa letters are the 15 letters that cause ikhfa haqiqi (true hiding) when they come after a noon sakinah or tanween: ت ث ج د ذ ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ف ق ك. With any of them, you do not pronounce the noon clearly and you do not merge it either. You hide it, holding a nasal sound (ghunnah) for about two counts while your tongue gets ready for the next letter. In our online Tajweed classes, ikhfa is one of the first rules students polish, because it appears on almost every page of the Quran.

Below you will find a simple way to memorize the 15 letters, one Quran example for each, how the sound changes from letter to letter, and the mistakes teachers correct most often.

Where Ikhfa Fits Among the Noon Sakinah Rules

A noon sakinah (نْ) or tanween (ـًـٍـٌ) is followed by one of four rules, depending on the next letter. In Hafs ‘an ‘Asim, they are:

The four groups together cover all 28 letters. So a quick shortcut is: if the letter is not a throat letter, not one of يرملون, and not ب, it is ikhfa. For the full picture, see our guide to noon sakinah and tanween rules and the article on idgham letters in tajweed.

A Memory Line for the 15 Letters

Students traditionally memorize the ikhfa letters from a line of the Tuhfat al-Atfal poem by Imam Sulayman al-Jamzuri. The first letter of each word gives you one ikhfa letter:

صِفْ ذَا ثَنَا كَمْ جَادَ شَخْصٌ قَدْ سَمَا ، دُمْ طَيِّبًا زِدْ فِي تُقًى ضَعْ ظَالِمَا

That gives ص ذ ث ك ج ش ق س د ط ز ف ت ض ظ, exactly fifteen. Saying the line aloud a few times a day for a week is usually enough to know the letters for life.

How to Pronounce Ikhfa Correctly

Ikhfa is a state between izhar and idgham. Three things happen together:

1. The tongue does not touch the noon’s point. The tip of the tongue stays away from the gum ridge where a clear noon is made.
2. The tongue moves toward the next letter. While the ghunnah is held, your mouth is already shaped for the coming letter.
3. The sound comes from the nose. The ghunnah flows from the nasal passage (al-khayshum) for about two counts.

A simple test: pinch your nose gently while holding the ghunnah. If the sound stops, the ghunnah is coming from the right place.

The Three Levels of Ikhfa

Teachers often describe ikhfa in three levels, based on how close the next letter’s articulation point is to the noon:

• Strongest (closest to idgham): before ت د ط, which share the tip-of-the-tongue area with noon. The noon is almost completely hidden.
• Weakest (closest to izhar): before ق ك, which are made at the back of the tongue, far from the noon.
• Middle: before the remaining ten letters.

You do not need to exaggerate these differences. They come naturally when your tongue moves to the next letter correctly.

Heavy or Light Ghunnah?

The ghunnah takes the quality of the letter after it. Before the five elevated (isti’la) letters in the ikhfa group, ص ض ط ظ ق, the mouth is fuller and the ghunnah sounds heavy. Before the other ten, it stays light. Our guide to tafkheem and tarqeeq in tajweed explains heavy and light letters in more detail.

The 15 Ikhfa Letters With Examples

Each example below is from the Quran. Ikhfa can happen inside one word (noon sakinah only) or across two words (noon sakinah or tanween).

Pronunciation tips by letter group

• ت د ط: the tongue tip moves toward the gum line but must not press and produce a full noon. Before ط, round the sound fully for the heavy ghunnah.
• ث ذ ظ: the tongue tip heads toward the edges of the upper front teeth. Keep the ghunnah steady; do not let air hiss out early.
• س ز ص: the tongue approaches the whistling position. Hold the ghunnah first, then release the whistling letter cleanly.
• ج ش: the middle of the tongue rises toward the palate during the ghunnah.
• ف: keep the lips apart. Closing them turns the hidden noon into a meem sound, a very common error.
• ق ك: the back of the tongue prepares, but avoid a hard English “ng” as in “sing”, which closes the passage too fully.
• ض: prepare the side of the tongue, keeping the ghunnah heavy.

Want to check any letter quickly? Tap it in the finder below to see which rule applies after noon sakinah, tanween or meem sakinah.

Ikhfa Haqiqi vs Ikhfa Shafawi

Do not confuse the two. Ikhfa haqiqi belongs to noon sakinah and tanween and has 15 letters. Ikhfa shafawi (labial hiding) belongs to meem sakinah and has only one letter, ب, as in تَرْمِيهِم بِحِجَارَةٍ (Al-Fil 105:4). There, the lips close gently on the meem with a two-count ghunnah. Our article on meem sakinah rules covers this and the other meem rules.

Common Ikhfa Mistakes

These are the errors teachers hear most often:

1. Pronouncing a clear noon. The tongue touches the gum ridge and you hear “n”. That is izhar, not ikhfa.
2. Stretching the vowel before the ghunnah. In كُنتُمْ, the damma must stay short; it should not become “kooon”.
3. Cutting the ghunnah short or holding it too long. Aim for a steady two counts.
4. Making every ghunnah the same weight. Heavy before ص ض ط ظ ق, light elsewhere.
5. Closing the lips before ف. This creates a meem sound.

Most of these are hard to hear in your own voice, which is why live correction speeds things up. A teacher in a Tajweed rules course can catch them in your first lesson.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many ikhfa letters are there?

There are 15 ikhfa haqiqi letters: ت ث ج د ذ ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ف ق ك. They apply after noon sakinah or tanween. Meem sakinah has its own ikhfa (ikhfa shafawi) with just one letter, ب.

How long is the ghunnah in ikhfa?

About two counts in the riwayah of Hafs ‘an ‘Asim. Keep it even and consistent across the whole recitation, and match its weight to the letter that follows.

Does ikhfa happen inside one word?

Yes, with noon sakinah, as in أَنزَلْنَاهُ or يُنفِقُونَ. Tanween only ever comes at the end of a word, so with tanween ikhfa always happens across two words, as in سَمِيعٌ قَرِيبٌ.

Why is the ghunnah heavy before some letters?

The ghunnah follows the quality of the next letter. Before the elevated letters ص ض ط ظ ق, the back of the tongue rises and the sound becomes fuller. Before the other ten ikhfa letters, it stays light.

What is the easiest way to master ikhfa?

Memorize the 15 letters with the Tuhfat al-Atfal line, then practice short examples aloud daily while listening to a skilled reciter. Reciting to a qualified teacher, for example in a free trial class, is the fastest way to fix small mistakes you cannot hear yourself.

Madraset El Quran Academy

Editor@madrasatelquran.com

Madraset Elquran Academy is a world-class platform for learning Quran, Arabic, and Islamic Studies, recognized globally for its excellence. As one of the leading online Quran schools, we offer personalized one-on-one sessions with expert native Egyptian tutors, providing high-quality education for learners of all levels.

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