Islam > Quran > Tajweed > Questions: idghaam saghir and letters in contact
Updated on 04 October 2026 at 11:01 PM
📖 5 min readThe mutamathilayn (identical) are the two letters that share the same name, the same makhraj and the same sifat, like the two dals in وَقَدْ دَخَلُوا. The mutaba'adan (distant) are the two letters far apart in makhraj and differing in sifat, like the ta with the kha in تُخْرَجُونَ, or far apart in makhraj and sharing the sifat, like the kaf with the ta in فَاكْتُبُوهُ.
The mutamathilayn are divided into three categories: the saghir (small), when the first of the two letters is sakin and the second mutaharrik, as in اذْهَبْ بِكِتَابِي هَذَا; the kabir (large), when the two letters are mutaharrik, in a single word as in مَنَاسِكَكُمْ or in two words as in الرَّحِيمِ، مَالِكِ; the mutlaq (absolute), when the first is mutaharrik and the second sakin, as in مَا نَنْسَخْ.
Its ruling is obligatory idghaam, except in two cases: if the first of the two letters is a letter of madd, as in يَا لَيْتَ قَوْمِي يَعْلَمُونَ, the ruling is obligatory izhaar so that the madd does not disappear through the idghaam; and if the first is the ha of sakt, in مَالِيَهْ، هَلَكَ, two options are permitted in Hafs: izhaar and idghaam, izhaar being the more likely. It was named "small" for the sukun of its first letter and the movement of the second, which makes its idghaam easy given the slight execution it requires.
Its ruling is obligatory izhaar in Hafs, except in two words: تَأْمَنَّا in Yusuf, where two options exist, idghaam with ishmaam (closing the two lips as a sign that the origin is a damma) and the rawm of the first noon; and "makanni" in قَالَ مَا مَكَّنِّي فِيهِ رَبِّي, where Hafs read with the idghaam of the first noon into the second. It was named "large" because the two letters are there mutaharrik, and the execution is more plentiful since the first letter must be given a sukun before being merged.
It is that the first of the two letters be mutaharrik and the second sakin, as in مَا نَنْسَخْ. They were named "absolute" because they are restricted neither to the small nor to the large. Their ruling: obligatory izhaar with all the readers.
The mutaqariban are distributed into three types. The first: the two letters brought close by the makhraj and by the sifat, like the ta with the tha in كَذَّبَتْ ثَمُودُ. The second: brought close by the makhraj and not by the sifat, like the dal with the seen in قَدْ سَمِعَ. The third: brought close by the sifat and not by the makhraj, like the dhal with the jim in إِذْ جَاءُوكُمْ. Each of these types includes three divisions: the saghir, the kabir and the mutlaq.
The mutaqariban saghir, in the three types, has izhaar as its ruling in Hafs, except in thirty-two cases on which consensus is established not to make them apparent, among which what is merged (idghaam), what is changed (iqlaab) and what is concealed (ikhfa), and one disputed case between complete idghaam and incomplete idghaam: the qaf with the kaf in نَخْلُقْكُمْ.
The mutajanisan (of the same kind) are the two letters that share the makhraj and differ in sifat. They include three divisions: the saghir, like the ta with the dal in أُجِيبَتْ دَعْوَتُكُمَا; the kabir, like the ta with the emphatic ta in الصَّالِحَاتِ طُوبَى; the mutlaq, like the ta with the emphatic ta in أَفَتَطْمَعُونَ.
The mutajanisan saghir has obligatory izhaar as its ruling in absolute terms, except in eight cases: six on which consensus is established for complete idghaam, like the ba followed by the meem in ارْكَبْ مَعَنَا and the tha followed by the dhal in يَلْهَثْ ذَلِكَ; one for incomplete idghaam, the emphatic ta followed by the ta in أَحَطتُ; and one disputed between izhaar and ikhfa, the sakin meem followed by the ba in تَرْمِيهِمْ بِحِجَارَةٍ.
The mutaba'adan saghir has izhaar as its ruling in absolute terms, except in two cases where consensus establishes ikhfa: the sakin noon followed by the qaf, as in انقَلَبُواْ, and the sakin noon followed by the kaf, as in أَنكَالًا. The mutaba'adan kabir and mutlaq has izhaar as its ruling at all times.
Proceed in two steps: 1. identify the type of the two letters: mutamathilayn if they unite in makhraj and sifat, mutajanisan if they share the makhraj without the sifat, mutaqariban where there is between them a closeness, mutaba'adan where their makharij are far apart with the divergence of the sifat; 2. specify the division: small if the first is sakin, large if the two are mutaharrik, absolute if the first is mutaharrik and the second sakin; then apply the ruling of each division seen in the sheets.
Review: Mutamathilayn, Mutaqariban, Mutajanisan and Mutaba'adan