Ikhfa shafawi

Islam > Quran > Tajweed > Ikhfa shafawi

Ruling of the meem saakin. For the ikhfa of the noon saakin and the tanween, see Ikhfa haqiqi.

The letter of the ikhfa

Ikhfa shafawi has a single letter: the ba'. When the meem saakin is followed by the ba' (and this occurs only between two words), the ikhfa is allowed: it is called ikhfa shafawi (labial ikhfa), and it is necessarily accompanied by the ghunnah.

Examples of the ikhfa

وَكَيْفَ تَكْفُرُونَ وَأَنتُمْ تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْكُمْ ءَايَـٰتُ ٱللَّهِ وَفِيكُمْ رَسُولُهُۥ ۗ وَمَن يَعْتَصِم بِٱللَّهِ فَقَدْ هُدِىَ إِلَىٰ صِرَٰطٍۢ مُّسْتَقِيمٍۢ

Aal 'Imran, 101

ٱلَّذِينَ يَصُدُّونَ عَن سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ وَيَبْغُونَهَا عِوَجًۭا وَهُم بِٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ كَـٰفِرُونَ

al-A'raf, 45

ٱلَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُم بِٱلْغَيْبِ وَهُم مِّنَ ٱلسَّاعَةِ مُشْفِقُونَ

al-Mulk, 12

Why this name "ikhfa shafawi"?

As for its name ikhfa: it is because the meem saakin is concealed (yukhfa) at the meeting with the ba', because of the proximity between the two letters: they meet at the point of articulation and share most of the characteristics. The ikhfa in this situation results in the ease of pronunciation.

As for its name shafawi (labial): it is because the meem and the ba' both come out from the lips. This ruling is the view chosen by the masters of execution (ahl al-ada'), while a group opted for izhaar; but this view contradicts the most correct view, because of the consensus on the ikhfa in the iqlaab.

Remark: the 2 types of ikhfa

The author of Nihayat al-Qawl al-Mufid says: know that the ikhfa divides into two: an ikhfa of the vowel, and an ikhfa of the letter¹.

The ikhfa of the vowel consists in its partialization (ta'bidh), as in لا تَأْمَنَّا of Surah Yusuf. Two recitations are reported from Imam Hafs for this verse: the first is ar-rawm: consisting in giving the two thirds of the vowel; the second is al-ishmaam: joining the lips after the sukoon of the letter. It is here the first recitation that is meant, that is, the rawm which some call al-Ikhtilas.

As for the ikhfa of the letter, it is of two types:

• The first: the partialization of the letter and the concealment of its identity in the phrase, like the meem saakin before the ba', whether original or coming from a noon saakin or from the tanween.
• The second: the total annihilation of the identity of the letter while keeping its characteristic, which is the ghunnah: it is the ikhfa of the noon saakin and the tanween before the fifteen advanced letters.

End of quotation.

Additional examples (Qawa'id al-Tajwid on the recitation of Hafs)

وَتَحْسَبُهُمْ أَيْقَاظًۭا وَهُمْ رُقُودٌۭ ۚ وَنُقَلِّبُهُمْ ذَاتَ ٱلْيَمِينِ وَذَاتَ ٱلشِّمَالِ ۖ وَكَلْبُهُم بَـٰسِطٌۭ ذِرَاعَيْهِ بِٱلْوَصِيدِ ۚ لَوِ ٱطَّلَعْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ لَوَلَّيْتَ مِنْهُمْ فِرَارًۭا وَلَمُلِئْتَ مِنْهُمْ رُعْبًۭا

Surah 18, 18: Ikhfa shafawi: the meem saakin of كلبهم is concealed before the ba' of باسط.