Heavy and Light Letters in Tajweed (Tafkheem and Tarqeeq)

Listen to a good reciter say قَالَ (qala) and then كَانَ (kana). The first sounds full and deep; the second sounds light and thin. That difference is tafkheem (making a letter heavy) and tarqeeq (making it light). Many English speakers make every letter light, which can make the recitation sound flat, and sometimes changes one letter into another.

This guide explains which letters are always heavy, which are always light, and the three letters that change.

What do tafkheem and tarqeeq mean?

• Tafkheem (تفخيم) means "making heavy". The back of the tongue rises towards the roof of the mouth, and the sound becomes full and deep.
• Tarqeeq (ترقيق) means "making light". The tongue stays low, and the sound is thin and clear.

A simple check: with a heavy letter, your mouth fills with sound, almost like an echo inside. With a light letter, it does not.

Group 1: the 7 letters that are always heavy

These are the letters of isti‘la (raising the tongue). They are collected in the phrase خُصَّ ضَغْطٍ قِظْ (khussa daghtin qiz):

Four of them — ص ض ط ظ — are the heaviest, because the tongue also presses against the roof of the mouth (itbaq). These letters stay heavy even with a kasra, though slightly less heavy than with a fatha.

Group 2: letters that are always light

All the other letters are light, except the three in Group 3. This includes letters English speakers often make heavy by mistake, like ل in normal words, ه, and ع.

Group 3: the letters that change

Three sounds can be heavy or light, depending on what is around them.

1. The alif (ا)

The alif has no sound of its own. It simply follows the letter before it:

• After a heavy letter, it is heavy: قَالَ (qala), طَالَ (tala).
• After a light letter, it is light: كَانَ (kana), مَالِكِ (maliki).

2. The lam in the name of Allah (اللَّه)

• Heavy if the letter before it has a fatha or a damma, or if you start reading on it: قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ (qul huwallahu ahad, 112:1) and اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ (112:2).
• Light if the letter before it has a kasra: بِسْمِ اللَّهِ (bismillah, 1:1).

3. The ra (ر)

The ra has the most detailed rules. Here are the main ones in the recitation of Hafs from ‘Asim:

There are also some exceptions to the kasra rule:

• If a heavy letter comes right after the ra sakinah in the same word, the ra stays heavy: قِرْطَاسٍ (qirtas, 6:7), مِرْصَادًا (mirsada, 78:21).
• If the kasra before the ra is only the temporary kasra of a starting hamza, the ra is heavy: ارْجِعِي (irji‘i, 89:28).
• When you stop on a ra, you look at the letter before it. For example, after a ya sakinah it is light: خَيْرٌ stopped as khayr, قَدِيرٌ stopped as qadir.

Common mistakes

• Making every letter light. This is the most common mistake for English speakers. The heavy letters lose their character.
• Making light letters heavy. For example, a heavy ل in normal words, or a heavy ر with kasra.
• Making the vowel after a heavy letter sound like "o". The fatha after a heavy letter should sound full, not like qola or khoolaqa.
• A heavy lam of Allah after a kasra. Bismillah should be light.

How to practise

1. Read these pairs slowly, one after the other: س / ص, ت / ط, ك / ق, ذ / ظ, د / ض. Feel how the back of your tongue rises for the heavy one.
1. Read Surah Al-Ikhlas and listen to the lam of Allah. It is heavy every time in this surah.
1. Read Surah Al-Fatiha and mark every ra. Decide for each one: heavy or light?
1. Record yourself and compare with a teacher. Heavy and light are much easier to hear on a recording than while you read.

Heavy and light letters are part of the wider topic of makharij (where letters come from). If you struggle with them, our guide to improving Arabic pronunciation has more exercises. See all the rules in order in our Tajweed guide, or work on them with a teacher in our online Tajweed course.