Nūn Sākina and Tanwīn III: Iqlāb and Ikhfāʾ · Tajweed

The last two rules

After the six throat letters (iẓhār) and the six letters of يَرْمَلُونَ (idghām), sixteen letters remain. One of them, ب, has a rule of its own: iqlāb, turning the nūn into a mīm. The other fifteen share ikhfāʾ, hiding the nūn. Both rules keep the ghunna, the nasal hum, for two counts, so both sound quite different from the clear nūn of iẓhār.

Rule 1: Iqlāb: nūn becomes mīm before bāʾ

Iqlāb (إِقْلَابٌ) means "turning over". Nūn and bāʾ are made at different points, and the lips would have to close suddenly after the tongue-tip nūn. Instead, the nūn is replaced by a mīm, which shares its lip position with bāʾ and its nasal quality with nūn. Pronounce a light mīm with the lips touching gently (not pressed), hold the ghunna for two counts, then release into the bāʾ. The muṣḥaf marks iqlāb with a small م above the nūn or in place of the second tanwīn sign: مِنۢ بَعْدِ.

مِنۢ بَعْدِ
mim-baʿdi
after
نْ before ب becomes mīm with ghunna (98:4).
لَيُنۢبَذَنَّ
layumbadhanna
he will surely be thrown
iqlāb inside one word (104:4).
بِذَنۢبِهِمْ
bidhambihim
for their sin
iqlāb inside one word (91:14).
لَنَسْفَعًۢا بِالنَّاصِيَةِ
lanasfaʿam-bin-nāṣiya
We will surely drag him by the forelock
tanwīn before ب becomes mīm (96:15).
سَمِيعٌۢ بَصِيرٌ
samīʿum-baṣīr
All-Hearing, All-Seeing
tanwīn before ب; a phrase that recurs many times in the Qurʾān.

Rule 2: Ikhfāʾ: the hidden nūn

Ikhfāʾ (إِخْفَاءٌ) means "concealing". Before the fifteen remaining letters the tongue does not touch the nūn's articulation point at all; it hovers near the position of the coming letter while the ghunna sounds through the nose for two counts. The result is between iẓhār and idghām: the nūn is heard as a nasal hum, but no separate n is articulated and the following letter is not doubled. The ghunna takes on the colour of the next letter: heavy before ص ض ط ظ ق, light before the others.

مِن شَرِّ
min sharri
from the evil of
nūn hidden before ش; the tongue waits near the ش position (113:2).
أَنزَلْنَاهُ
anzalnāhu
We sent it down
nūn hidden before ز inside the word (97:1).
عَن صَلَاتِهِمْ
ʿan ṣalātihim
of their prayer
nūn hidden before ص; the ghunna is heavy (107:5).
اَلْإِنسَانَ
al-insāna
man
nūn hidden before س (103:2).
مِن قَبْلِكَ
min qablika
before you
nūn hidden before ق; heavy ghunna (2:4).
يُنفِقُونَ
yunfiqūna
they spend
nūn hidden before ف (2:3).

The fifteen letters of ikhfāʾ

The first letter of each word in the verse صِفْ ذَا ثَنَا كَمْ جَادَ شَخْصٌ قَدْ سَمَا ۞ دُمْ طَيِّبًا زِدْ فِي تُقًى ضَعْ ظَالِمَا gives the fifteen letters.
Letter	Example	Letter	Example
ص	عَن صَلَاتِهِمْ	د	عِندَهُ
ذ	مَن ذَا الَّذِي	ط	مِن طَيِّبَاتِ
ث	مَن ثَقُلَتْ	ز	أَنزَلْنَاهُ
ك	عَنكَ	ف	يُنفِقُونَ
ج	أَن جَاءَهُ	ت	مِن تَفَاوُتٍ
ش	مِن شَرِّ	ض	مَّنضُودٍ
ق	مِن قَبْلِكَ	ظ	فَلْيَنظُرِ
س	اَلْإِنسَانَ

Summary: nūn sākina and tanwīn

Rule	Letters	What happens	Ghunna
Iẓhār (clear)	ء هـ ع ح غ خ	nūn pronounced plainly from its own point	none
Idghām with ghunna	ي ن م و	nūn merges into the next letter, which is doubled	two counts
Idghām without ghunna	ل ر	nūn merges completely into the next letter	none
Iqlāb	ب	nūn becomes a light mīm	two counts
Ikhfāʾ (hidden)	the other fifteen	tongue hovers near the next letter; nasal hum only	two counts