Question

Could you please explain how to make heaviness (tafkheem) of  the letters when reading the Qur'an?

Answer

Tafkheem is defined as: a heaviness (fatness) that enters the body of the letter, so that the mouth is filled with its reverberation (echo)  There are letters that always have tafkheem, they are the letters in the group .  There are a few other letters that sometimes have tafkheem and sometimes have the opposite of tafkheem, which is called “tarqeeq”.  These letters are , the of the name of Allah, and (alif).  Briefly, and not completely, has tafkheem if it has a dhammah or fath on it, or is saakinah and preceded by a fath or dhammah.  The  of the name of Allah has tafkheem if the name of Allah is preceded by a dhammah or a fath. Alif follows the letter immediately before it in tafkheem or tarqeeq, meaning if the letter before the alif has tafkheem, the alif then has tafkheem, if the letter before the alif has tarqeeq, the alif then has tarqeeq.  

There are three steps to take to make proper, full tafkheem.

1. Elevating the posterior part of the tongue to the roof of the mouth (soft palate)

2. Creating more space between the roof of the mouth and the bottom of the mouth.

3. Focusing the pressure of the letter to the roof of the mouth (inside the mouth, not out). 

Caution is needed in the last step to make sure the sound is focused to roof of the mouth from the middle of the hard palate and not back near the nasal passage, otherwise there will be nasalization with the letter, and that is not correct.  The tafkheem will be, for a great part, lost, if step three is not done correctly, i.e. letting the sound run out the mouth instead of focusing it up to the roof of the mouth.