Tilawa
EN
العربيةFrançaisEnglish
Download

Lam in the Word Allah

لام لفظ الجلالة

“lafẓ al-jalālah”: the name of Allah; its doubled lām is said heavy or light

Lesson 8.2 · Module 8 · Rā and the lām of the name of Allah

Lam in the Word Allah (لام لفظ الجلالة): the lām of the name of Allah is said heavy after a fathah or a dammah, light after a kasrah. Heavy after a fathah or a dammah, and when starting with the name; light after a kasrah, whether it is in the same word or at the end of the word before.

What does Lam in the Word Allah mean?

Lam in the Word Allah (لام لفظ الجلالة): “lafẓ al-jalālah”: the name of Allah; its doubled lām is said heavy or light

In the name of Allah, the doubled lām is said heavy after a fathah or a dammah, and when starting with the name; light after a kasrah. Everywhere else, lām always stays light.

Lam in the Word Allah: when does it apply?

Heavy after a fathah or a dammah, and when starting with the name; light after a kasrah, whether it is in the same word or at the end of the word before.

Each case of the lām of the name of Allah, heavy or light, and how often it occurs in the Quran (calculated by Tilawa)
CaseHeavy or lightIn the Quran
After a fathah heavy 1,516
After a dammah heavy 440
At the start, when beginning with the name heavy 34
After a kasrah light 714

In 10:59 and 27:59, the name comes after a lengthened hamzah: it counts as a fathah, so the lām is heavy.

How to pronounce Lam in the Word Allah

After a fathah or a dammah, raise the tongue on the doubled lām; after a kasrah, keep it light. The hā that follows always stays light.

The gesture
Heavy: the lām fills the mouth. Light: it stays thin, like any other lām.
Avoid
Making the hā of the name heavy, or the hamzah at the start: only the lām becomes heavy, with the alif that follows it.
The condition
The deciding vowel is the one said just before the lām: that of a letter attached to the name (the conjunction wa, the preposition bi or li), or that of the end of the word before, when joining.

Where the letters come from

Each point is shown on the mouth map, and each letter has its own page.

12 examples of Lam in the Word Allah in the Quran

Short surahs first. Tap ▶ to hear Lam in the Word Allah in its verse, recited by al-Husary.

Lam in the Word Allah: common mistakes

What is often heard, and how to fix it. The ▶ plays the right model, recited by al-Husary.

  1. Making the lām heavy after a kasrah: after a kasrah, in the word or at the end of the word before, it is light.

    The right model · An-Nasr 110:2

  2. Keeping the lām light after a dammah: after a dammah as after a fathah, it is heavy.

    The right model · An-Nasr 110:1

  3. Making the hā of the name heavy: only the lām, and the alif after it, become heavy; the hā stays light.

    The right model · Al-Ikhlas 112:1

  4. Making the hamzah heavy when starting with the name: the hamzah stays light, only the lām is heavy.

    The right model · Al-Ikhlas 112:2

Lam in the Word Allah and neighbouring rules

RuleWhenWhat happens
Lam in the Word Allah Heavy after a fathah or a dammah, and when starting with the name; light after a kasrah, whether it is in the same word or at the end of the word before. The lām of the name of Allah is said heavy after a fathah or a dammah, light after a kasrah.
Lam Shamsiyyah When “al” is followed by one of these letters: ت ث د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ل ن. In “al”, before one of the 14 sun letters, the lām is not said: the next letter is doubled.
Heavy and Light Ra Heavy with a fathah or a dammah; light with a kasrah. When vowelless, it follows the vowel before: light after an original kasrah in the same word, unless a heavy letter follows. When stopping, what comes before it decides. Rā is said heavy or light depending on its vowel; when vowelless, depending on what comes before it.

By ear: two words that sound alike

The name of Allah twice: with a heavy lām, then with a light lām. Listen for the difference.

Your turn: heavy or light lām?

By eye

Is the highlighted lām heavy or light? Look at the vowel said just before it.

  1. وَٱللَّهُ

    wallāhu

    Al-Jumu'ah 62:5

  2. لِلَّهِ

    lillāhi

    Al-Jumu'ah 62:1

  3. وَٱذْكُرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ

    wadhkuru llāha

    Al-Jumu'ah 62:10

  4. ذِكْرِ ٱللَّهِ

    dhikri llāhi

    Al-Jumu'ah 62:9

By ear

Listen, then choose: is the lām of the name of Allah heavy or light? The words appear after you answer.

Practise: tajweed exercises with answers

Lam in the Word Allah in numbers

2,704times in the Quran

85surahs

Where to practise: the surahs of 20 verses or fewer with the most Lam in the Word Allah
SurahVersesLam in the Word Allah
49. Al-Hujurat 18 27
65. At-Talaq 12 25
60. Al-Mumtahanah 13 21
64. At-Taghabun 18 20
61. As-Saf 14 17

Calculated by Tilawa on the text of the Madinah Mushaf (Hafs reading), each verse read in one go: every name of Allah, with the vowel said just before it (that of the word before when the two are joined).

Frequently asked questions

What is Lam in the Word Allah in tajweed?

Heavy after a fathah or a dammah, and at the start; light after a kasrah.

When does Lam in the Word Allah apply?

Heavy after a fathah or a dammah, and when starting with the name; light after a kasrah, whether it is in the same word or at the end of the word before. The deciding vowel is the one said just before the lām: that of a letter attached to the name (the conjunction wa, the preposition bi or li), or that of the end of the word before, when joining.

How many times does Lam in the Word Allah occur in the Quran?

2,704 times, in 85 surahs, as computed by Tilawa on the text of the Madani Mushaf (Hafs reading). Among the surahs of 20 verses or fewer, Al-Hujurat has the most: 27 in 18 verses.

Lam in the Word Allah or Lam Shamsiyyah: what is the difference?

Lam in the Word Allah: the lām of the name of Allah is said heavy after a fathah or a dammah, light after a kasrah. Lam Shamsiyyah: in “al”, before one of the 14 sun letters, the lām is not said: the next letter is doubled.

Lam in the Word Allah: how do I know I apply it correctly?

A rule is learned by ear: recite a surah out loud in the Tilawa app, which follows your recitation word by word and shows you where Lam in the Word Allah was missed or done wrong, with the word to replay in its verse.

Tilawa editorial team · Updated 2026-10-24 · Report an error