The letters
A traditional way to remember them is by the first letter of each word in this line:
صِفْ ذَا ثَنَا كَمْ جَادَ شَخْصٌ قَدْ سَمَا · دُمْ طَيِّبًا زِدْ فِي تُقًى ضَعْ ظَالِمًا
Examples
| Example | Location |
|---|---|
| مِن شَرِّ | Al-Falaq 113:2 |
| أَنتُمْ | Al-Kafirun 109:3 |
| مِن قَبْلُ | Al-Baqarah 2:4 |
| يَنصُرُكُمْ | Al-Imran 3:160 |
| كُلٌّ فِي | Ya-Sin 36:40 |
How to produce it
The tip of the tongue does not touch the gum ridge as it does for a clear noon. It rests near the articulation point of the following letter while the ghunnah sounds. The ghunnah takes on some of the character of the next letter: heavier before ص ض ط ظ ق, lighter before the others.
Common mistakes
- Pronouncing a clear noon (turning ikhfa into izhar).
- Merging fully (turning ikhfa into idgham).
- Cutting the ghunnah short.
Practice
Surah Al-Falaq (113) has three ikhfa cases in five verses. Read it slowly, holding each ghunnah for two counts.
Examples of Ikhfa
- Surah Al-Baqarah 2:3
ٱلَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱلْغَيْبِ وَيُقِيمُونَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَٰهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ
يُنفِقُونَ — Nūn hidden before fā: the tongue does not touch, and the ghunnah lasts about two counts.
Who believe in the unseen, establish prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them,
- Surah Al-Falaq 113:2
مِن شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ
مِن شَرِّ — Nūn sākinah before shīn: ikhfāʾ with ghunnah.
From the evil of that which He created
- Surah Al-Fil 105:4
تَرْمِيهِم بِحِجَارَةٍۢ مِّن سِجِّيلٍۢ
تَرْمِيهِم بِحِجَارَةٍ — Ikhfāʾ shafawī: mīm sākinah hidden before bā, lips lightly closed with ghunnah.
Striking them with stones of hard clay,