7 Heavy Letters In Arabic (Tafkheem Letters) With Examples

When it comes to characteristics of letters, Arabic letters are divided into groups. The most common ones are the heavy and soft letters known as Tafkheem and Tarqeeq in Arabic. 

In this article, we will be looking at the heavy letters in Arabic, its pronunciation and examples from the Quran. 

There are diverse heavy letters in Arabic examples. They will tell you that you can change the meaning of a word with the wrong pronunciation. That’s why it’s important to be able to correctly identify heavy and light letters in Arabic.

What Are Heavy Letters In Arabic?

Heavy letters called also called Tafkheem letters and Isti’laa letters in Arabic  pronounced with a full mouth. They are seven letters that should always be pronounced heavy. The mouth should be full of echo when pronouncing these letters due to the pressuring the sound of the letter to the roof of the mouth and curving the middle of the tongue.

The heavy letters are also called the full mouth letters

7 Heavy Letters In Arabic

The 7 heavy letters are  {خ ص ض غ ط ق ظ}. These letters can be combined in a word to remember them easily which is خص ضغط قظ. This word has no meaning in Arabic but contains the heavy letters in the tajweed rule. The 7 heavy letters in Arabic are:

• Kha   خ    الخاء
• Ṣād   ص   الصاد
• Ḍād   ض   الضاد
• Ghayn   غ  الغين
• Ṭā   ط    الطاء
• Qāf   ق   القاف
• Ẓā   ظ   الظاء

How To Pronounce Heavy Letters In Arabic

The video below shows how to pronounce Arabic heavy letters correctly. So, listen to it and learn the correct pronunciation.

Pronounciation Tips For Arabic Heavy Letters

• Always direct the sound of the letter to the roof of the mouth. If you direct the sound straight outside the mouth it will not cause echo so the letter will not considered heavy.
• Never round your lips to make the letter heavy. This adds a dhammah sound to the letter which is wrong.
• We don’t pronounce (خ  غ  ق) too heavy with KASRA.

Examples Of Heavy Letters In Quran

These are the examples of heavy letters from the Holy Quran.

• خ  خَالِدِينَ
• ص  الصَّلَاةَ 
• ض  يَضْرِبُونَ
• غ  الْمَغْضُوبِ
• ط  الطَّرِيقَةِ
• ق  قَدِيرٌ
• ظ  ظَلَمُوا

What Is Tafkheem In Arabic?

The linguistic definition of tafkheem in Arabic is fattening. Its applied definition is it is a heaviness that enters the body of the letter, so that the mouth is filled with its reverberation (echo). 

The method of making a letter have the characteristic of tafkheem is elevating the posterior tongue to the roof of the mouth (soft palate), creating more space between the roof of the mouth and the bottom of the mouth, and focusing the pressure of the letter to the roof of the mouth.

7 Letters Of Tafkheem

The 7 Letters that always aave Tafkheem are (خ غ ص ض ط ظ ق ). These letters do not all have the same degree of tafkheem, instead there are differences according to the letter’s characteristics, and the strength or weakness of these characteristics.

The stronger the characteristics of the letter the stronger is the Tafkheem.

The ranking of the elevated letters from the strongest:

• ط  then
• ض then  
• ص  then
• ظ   then
• ق   then  
• غ  then
• خ

Levels Of Tafkheem

There are two different schools of thought when it comes to the levels of Tafkheem.

First: Three Levels of Tafkheem:

• The strongest being the tafkheem letter that has a fatha (ظَلَم) And if it is Sakin and the letter before it has a fat-ha (يَغْلب). 

• The second being the tafkheem letter with a dammah (قُولوا) And if it is Sakin and the letter before it has a dammah (يُصرف) .

• The third level, the tafkheem letter with a kasrah  (طِبتم) And if it is Sakin and the letter before it has a kasrah (أِطعام )

Second Level: The Five Levels of Tafkheem

• The highest level being a tafkheem letter being followed by a long alif (خَالدين).
• The second level is a tafkheem letter with a fathah on it (قَتل).
• The third level that of a tafkheem letter having a dammah (غُلبت).
• The forth level is a tafkheem letter with a sukoon (يُقتل).
• The fifth and last level, that of a tafkheem letter with a (طِباقا).

Refer to Tajweed Lessons category for more tajweed lessons in English.