Question

Assalaamu alaikum.   Is there any difference in the letters of tafkheem or all are the same ? Could you give any pointers in doing it right?  Jazakumullahu khairan.

Answer

Wa alaikumu-ssalaam wa rahmatu Allahi wa barakatuhu. Wa iyyakum wa al-muslimeen. 

The letters which have the characteristic of elevation of the posterior portion of the tongue ( ) are , and are formed into the phrase: .  These letters always have tafkheem, which is defined as: It is a heaviness (fatness) that enters the body of the letter, so that the mouth is filled with its reverberation (echo).  Of these letters, four also have the characteristic of , which is a sticking or adhering of the tongue to the roof of the mouth or part of the roof of the mouth.  These four letters are:  ,and because of this second strong characteristic in addition to , or elevation of the tongue, they have a stronger tafkheem, or heaviness than the rest of the letters in the group. 

There are three steps needed to make proper tafkheem:

1. Raising the posterior part of the tongue to the roof of the mouth.

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

3. Focusing the pressure of the sound of the letter to the roof of the mouth.   

Raising the tongue in the back causes the heavy sound to enter the mouth.  Creating a little more space between the top and bottom of the mouth increases the area for the sound and helps increase the echo, and focusing the pressure of the sound of the letter to the roof of the mouth prevents the built up tafkheem from escaping out the mouth.   

The vowel on the letter on any of the letters of the group determines the level of tafkheem.  That is a lesson in itself, and we will cover it insha’ Allah in future tidbit lessons.