Islam > Quran > Tajweed > Questions: sakina laams
Updated on 04 October 2026 at 11:01 PM
📖 7 min readThe sakina laams are of five types: the laam of the article "al" (the laam of definition), laam al-fi'l (the laam of the verb), laam al-harf (the laam of the particle, in "hal" and "bal" only), laam al-ism (the laam of the noun) and laam al-amr (the laam of the imperative).
Review: Laam qamariyyah and laam shamsiyyah, Laam al-fi'l, Laam al-harf, Laam al-ism and Laam al-Amr
The laam of "al" is the laam of definition (laam at-ta'rif) that enters upon nouns, and it is always superfluous to the word's structure, whether the word can stand without it, as in الْأَرْضِ, or cannot, as in الَّذِينَ. It is therefore not part of the word's structure itself.
As for the "al" whose word can stand without it, it has two states before the letters of the alphabet: the state of Izhaar and the state of Idghaam. As for the "al" whose word cannot stand without it, such as الَّذِينَ, its ruling is obligatory Idghaam if a laam follows it, and obligatory Izhaar if a yaa or a hamza follows it, as in وَالْيَسَعَ and الْآنَ, and in all of this it never leaves the word.
The laam qamariyyah is distinct by fourteen letters gathered in the phrase "ابْغِ حَجَّكَ وخَفْ عَقِيمَهُ": the hamza, the baa, the ghayn, the haa, the jeem, the kaaf, the waaw, the khaa, the faa, the ayn, the qaaf, the yaa, the meem and the haa. When one of these letters follows the laam of "al", its Izhaar is obligatory, and the sign of it is the appearance of the sukoon on the laam.
The reason for its name of lunar Izhaar is by way of analogy: the laam was compared to the star and the fourteen letters to the moon, through the common factor of each appearing with the other and neither concealing the other. Its cause is the distance of the laam's articulation point from the articulation points of these fourteen letters. Examples: ٱلْعَزِيزُ (the laam apparent before the ayn) and ٱلْخَبِيرُ (the laam apparent before the khaa).
The laam shamsiyyah is distinct by the remaining fourteen letters of the alphabet, gathered in the line "طِبْ ثم صِلْ رَحِماً تفُزْ ضِفْ ذَا نِعَمْ...": the taa, the thaa, the saad, the raa, the emphatic taa, the daad, the dhaal, the noon, the daal, the seen, the emphatic dhaal, the zay, the sheen and the laam. When one of these letters follows the laam of "al", its Idghaam is obligatory, and the sign of it is the absence of sukoon on the laam and the placing of a shaddah on the letter that follows it.
The reason for its name of solar Idghaam is by way of analogy: the laam was compared to the star and the fourteen letters to the sun, through the common factor of each concealing the other and neither appearing with the other. Its cause is identity with the laam and proximity with the other letters. The derivation of the Name of Majesty: its origin is "ilah"; the "al" entered upon it, becoming "al-ilah"; the second hamza was dropped for lightness, becoming "al-lah"; then the laam of "al" merged into the second laam by identity, becoming "Allah", with the emphasis of the laam out of veneration after fathah and dhammah, but not with the kasrah.
Laam al-fi'l is the sakina laam found in a verb, whether past as in الْتَقَى, present as in يَلْتَقِطْهُ or imperative as in وَأَلْقِ, and in each of them medial or final. It has two states before the letters of the alphabet: the state of Idghaam and the state of Izhaar.
The cause of the Idghaam: identity for the laam, as in قُلْ لا أَسْأَلُكُمْ, and proximity for the raa, as in وَقُلْ رَبِّ. As for its Izhaar before the noon in قُلْ نَعَمْ: when the sakina noon is followed by a laam, its Idghaam must be done without Ghunnah, and it is not correct for the noon to take into itself anything of what has merged into it among the letters of "yarmaloon", for fear of the disappearance of the affinity between the noon and its sisters; and the reference in all of this is auditory transmission (samaa') and narration.
Laam al-harf is the laam found in a particle, and that in "hal" and "bal" only. The ruling on "bal": obligatory Izhaar, unless a laam or a raa follows it; then Idghaam into the laam by identity, as in بَلْ لَمَّا يَذُوقُوا عَذَابِ, and into the raa by proximity, as in بَلْ رَفَعَهُ اللَّهُ إِلَيْهِ, excepting بَلْ رَانَ because of the obligatory Sakt. As for "hal": the Izhaar of its laam is obligatory at all times, unless a laam follows it; then Idghaam by identity, as in فَقُلْ هَلْ لَكَ.
Laam al-ism is the laam found in a word containing one of the marks of the noun or able to take one, and it is always medial and original, part of the word's structure, as in أَلْسِنَتِكُمْ and سُلْطَانٌ: its ruling is obligatory Izhaar without condition. Laam al-amr is the sakina laam superfluous to the word's structure, which enters upon the present verb to turn it into the imperative form, on condition that it is preceded by a thumma, a waaw or a faa, as in ثُمَّ لْيَقْضُوا تَفَثَهُمْ: its ruling is likewise obligatory Izhaar without condition.
The laam in التَّائِبُونَ is the laam of definition, frequent in the Quran; it is therefore more worthy of Idghaam to facilitate pronunciation, unlike the laam of the imperative in فَلْتَقُمْ, which is rare in the Quran, and its Izhaar involves no hardship there. The reference in this remains auditory transmission (samaa') and narration.
Proceed verse by verse: spot each sakina laam, then identify its type (laam of "al", laam al-fi'l, laam al-harf, laam al-ism, laam al-amr), then apply the ruling specific to that type before the following letter: Idghaam or Izhaar. For example, a laam of "al" before the letters of "ابْغِ حَجَّكَ وخَفْ عَقِيمَهُ" stays apparent, and before those of the line "طِبْ ثم صِلْ..." it merges.
Review: Laam qamariyyah and laam shamsiyyah and the pages of the five sakina laams
سُلْطَانٍ: laam al-ism, obligatory Izhaar. هَلْ أَتَى: laam al-harf (hal), permanent Izhaar. الرَّحْمَنُ: laam of "al", qamariyyah before the raa, Izhaar. وَقُلْ رَّبِّ: laam al-fi'l before the raa, Idghaam by proximity. وَلْيَعْفُوا وَلْيَصْفَحُوا: laam al-amr, Izhaar without condition. الْقَيُّومُ: laam of "al", qamariyyah before the qaaf, Izhaar. بَلْ طَبَعَ اللَّهُ: laam al-harf (bal) before the taa, Izhaar. يَلْهَثْ ذَلِكَ: laam al-fi'l before the dhaal, Izhaar. بَل لا تُكْرِمُونَ: laam al-harf (bal) before the laam of "la", Idghaam by identity. وَتَبَتَّلْ إِلَيْهِ: laam al-fi'l before the yaa, Izhaar. فَقُلْ هَلْ لَكَ: laam al-fi'l of قُلْ before the haa, Izhaar; and the laam of هَلْ before the laam of لَكَ, Idghaam by identity. وَرَتَّلْنَاهُ: laam al-fi'l before the taa, Izhaar.
Review: Laam qamariyyah and laam shamsiyyah, Laam al-fi'l and Laam al-harf