Islam > Quran > Tajweed > Questions: tafkheem and tarqeeq
Updated on 04 October 2026 at 11:01 PM
📖 6 min readThis notion is not detailed in this module; see the book Qawa'id al-Tajwid on the recitation of Hafs.
The letters emphasized by unanimous opinion are the seven letters of isti'aalah, gathered in the formula خص ضغط قظ: the kha, the sad, the dad, the ghayn, the emphatic ta, the qaf and the emphatic za. The letters of itbaq (emphatic ta, dad, sad, emphatic za) are the strongest of them in emphasis. The degrees of tafkheem are five according to the choice of Ibn al-Jazari in "at-Tamhid": the letter with a fatha followed by an alif as in قَالَ; the letter with a fatha not followed by an alif as in خَلَقَكُمْ; the letter carrying a damma as in يَقُول; the sakin letter as in فَيَقْتُلُونَ وَيُقْتَلُونَ; the letter carrying a kasra as in قِيلَ.
Lightened by unanimous opinion are the letters of istifaal, with the exception of the alif, the lam and the ra: "lighten the letters of istifaal... and beware of the tafkheem of the alif". The ruling varies between tarqeeq and tafkheem for these three excepted letters: the alif, the lam and the ra. The linguistic and terminological definition of tarqeeq is not detailed in this module; see the book Qawa'id al-Tajwid on the recitation of Hafs.
The alif follows what precedes it in tafkheem and tarqeeq, unlike the ghunnah which follows what follows it. If the letter preceding the alif is a letter of isti'aalah or its equivalent, such as the emphasized ra, the alif is emphasized, as in قَالَ and التَّرَاقِي. If what precedes it is a letter of istifaal whose tarqeeq is agreed upon, it is lightened, as in الْكِتَابِ. This follows from the fact that the alif involves no action of the organs, so that it cannot be described as tafkheem or tarqeeq by itself.
The basic rule in the mutaharrik lam is tarqeeq, for it is a letter of istifaal, whether it carries a fatha as in لَكُمْ, a kasra as in ذَلِكَ or a damma as in قُلُوبُهِمْ. It is emphasized only in the word of Majesty in two situations: when it follows a fatha, as in قَالَ اللَّهُ, and when it follows a damma, as in عَبْدُ اللَّهِ. When it follows a kasra, its ruling is tarqeeq in absolute terms, as in لِلَّه, بسمِ الله and قُلِ اللَّهُمَّ.
The ra has four states: the ra lightened by unanimous opinion; the ra in which tarqeeq is preferable; the ra in which tafkheem is preferable; the ra emphasized by unanimous opinion. Three cases of unanimous tarqeeq among the eight: the ra carrying a kasra, as in رِجَال and مَرِيئًا; the mumala ra, attested for Hafs in مَجْرَاهَا only; the ra sakin with an original sukun in the middle of the word after an original kasra with no letter of isti'aalah in its word, as in فِرْعَوْنُ.
Two types: the ra at a stop, preceded by a sakin carrying isti'aalah itself preceded by a kasra, and which in wasl carries a fatha: it is the word مِصْرَ without tanween, in four places in Yunus, Yusuf and al-Zukhruf, where one emphasizes by considering its state in wasl and the letter of isti'aalah as a solid barrier. And the ra at a stop, preceded by a fatha, a damma, or a sakin preceded by a fatha or a damma, and which in wasl carries a kasra: an abundant type, as in الْبَشَرِ, بِالنُّذُرِ, وَالْعَصْرِ، وَالْفَجْرِ and الْعُسْرِ; the preferable there is tafkheem, for there is before it no cause of tarqeeq.
In يَسْر at a stop, two rulings are permitted: tafkheem and tarqeeq, and tarqeeq is preferable. The one who lightens the letter considers the origin, which is the ya erased for lightening, and the wasl, since the ra there is light because of its kasra: he applies at the stop the treatment of wasl. The one who emphasizes it considers neither the origin nor the wasl, but the incidental element: the stop with the sukun and the erasure of the ya. The verse says: "lighten the ra of yasr and of asr, that is safer".
Three cases of the unanimously emphasized ra: the ra with a fatha, as in رَبِّي, بِرَبِّكُمْ or لَيْسَ الْبِرَّ in wasl; the ra carrying a damma, as in رُزِقُوا and يُبْصِرُونَ; and the ra sakin with an original sukun after a fatha, as in مَرْيَم or لا يَسْخَرْ قَومٌ, or after a damma, as in وَقُرْآنًا and فَمَنْ يَكْفُرْ بِالطَّاغُوتِ.
فرعون: unanimous tarqeeq (original sukun in the middle after an original kasra, with no letter of isti'aalah). فرق: disputed, tarqeeq preferable ("and lighten firq"). ونذر at a stop: disputed, tarqeeq preferable (ya erased for lightening). رجال: unanimous tarqeeq (kasra). مصر at a stop: disputed, tafkheem preferable. رضوان: unanimous tarqeeq (kasra). عين القطر at a stop: disputed, tarqeeq preferable (like al-qitr with nudhur). الذي ارتضى: unanimous tafkheem (original sukun after a separated secondary kasra). ارجعي: unanimous tafkheem (original sukun after an attached secondary kasra). بربكم: unanimous tafkheem (ra with a fatha). الفجر at a stop: disputed, tafkheem preferable (stop sukun after a sakin preceded by a fatha, kasra in wasl). مجريها: tarqeeq (mumala ra).