Mīm Sākina: The Three Lip Rules · Tajweed

Mīm sākina

Mīm sākina (مِيمٌ سَاكِنَةٌ) is a mīm carrying sukūn, as in لَمْ, عَلَيْهِمْ or أَنْعَمْتَ. It is very common because the plural pronoun endings ـهُمْ and ـكُمْ end in it. Like nūn sākina, it reacts to the letter after it, but it has only three rules, and only two letters trigger a change: ب and م. Since mīm is made with the two lips (شَفَتَانِ), each rule carries the adjective shafawī, "of the lips".

Rule 1: Ikhfāʾ shafawī: mīm hidden before bāʾ

When mīm sākina is followed by ب, the mīm is hidden: the lips come together lightly, without pressing, and the ghunna sounds through the nose for two counts before the bāʾ is released. This is the same sound as iqlāb, and for the same reason: mīm and bāʾ share the lips. In the muṣḥaf the mīm has no sukūn sign when this rule applies.

تَرْمِيهِم بِحِجَارَةٍ
tarmīhim biḥijāratin
pelting them with stones
مْ before ب: light lip contact and ghunna (105:4).
إِنَّ رَبَّهُم بِهِمْ
inna rabbahum bihim
indeed their Lord, of them
مْ before ب (100:11).
رَبُّهُم بِذَنۢبِهِمْ
rabbuhum bidhambihim
their Lord, for their sin
مْ before ب, followed in the next word by iqlāb (91:14).
وَمَا هُم بِمُؤْمِنِينَ
wa mā hum bimuʾminīn
but they are not believers
مْ before ب (2:8).

Rule 2: Idghām shafawī: mīm merged into mīm

When mīm sākina is followed by another م, the two merge into one doubled mīm with a two-count ghunna. The muṣḥaf shows this with a shadda on the second mīm and no sukūn on the first: أَطْعَمَهُم مِّن جُوعٍ. This is the easiest of the three rules; just make sure the ghunna is held and not clipped.

عَلَيْهِم مُّؤْصَدَةٌ
ʿalayhim-muʾṣada
closed in upon them
مْ merges into م with ghunna (104:8).
أَطْعَمَهُم مِّن جُوعٍ
aṭʿamahum-min jūʿ
fed them against hunger
مْ merges into م (106:4).
فَهُم مُّقْمَحُونَ
fahum-muqmaḥūn
so their heads are raised up
مْ merges into م (36:8).
بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِم مِّن كُلِّ أَمْرٍ
biʾidhni rabbihim-min kulli amr
by their Lord's permission, with every matter
مْ merges into م, then ikhfāʾ of نْ before ك (97:4).

Rule 3: Iẓhār shafawī: the clear mīm

Before any of the other twenty-six letters the mīm is pronounced clearly from the lips, with no extra ghunna and no pause. Two letters need special care: و and ف. Both are close to the mīm (wāw shares the lips; fāʾ uses the lower lip), and beginners tend to let the mīm slip into a hum before them. Before و and ف the mīm must be especially clear: عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا, هُمْ فِيهِ.

لَمْ يَلِدْ
lam yalid
He does not beget
مْ clear before ي (112:3).
أَلَمْ تَرَ
alam tara
have you not seen
مْ clear before ت (105:1).
لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ
lakum dīnukum
to you your religion
مْ clear before د (109:6).
عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ
ʿalayhim wa laḍ-ḍāllīn
upon them, nor of those astray
مْ clear before و; do not hum into the wāw (1:7).
هُمْ فِيهِ مُخْتَلِفُونَ
hum fīhi mukhtalifūn
about which they differ
مْ clear before ف (78:3).
أَنْعَمْتَ
anʿamta
You bestowed favour
مْ clear before ت inside a word (1:7).

Summary: mīm sākina

Rule	Next letter	What happens	Ghunna	Script
Ikhfāʾ shafawī	ب	lips touch lightly; the mīm is hidden in a nasal hum	two counts	no sukūn on the mīm
Idghām shafawī	م	the two mīms become one doubled mīm	two counts	no sukūn on the first mīm; shadda on the second
Iẓhār shafawī	all other letters	the mīm is pronounced clearly from the lips	none	sukūn written on the mīm