Tafkheem and Tarqeeq
التفخيم والترقيق
“tafkheem” means making the letter full, “tarqeeq” making it thin
Lesson 1.5 · Module 1 · The letters and where they come from
Tafkheem and Tarqeeq (التفخيم والترقيق): seven letters always heavy (خ ص ض ط ظ غ ق), three that change (alif, the lām of the name of Allah, rā), all the others light. The Quran has 16,636 of them, in 114 surahs (Hafs reading).
What does Tafkheem and Tarqeeq mean?
Tafkheem and Tarqeeq (التفخيم والترقيق): “tafkheem” means making the letter full, “tarqeeq” making it thin
Tafkheem makes a letter heavy: the tongue rises toward the palate and the sound fills the mouth. Tarqeeq keeps it light. Seven letters are always heavy, three change with their place, and all the others are light.
Tafkheem and Tarqeeq: the 7 letters
How to pronounce Tafkheem and Tarqeeq
For the seven heavy letters, raise the back of the tongue toward the palate; for the others, keep it low.
- The gesture
- Heavy letter: the tongue rises toward the palate and the sound fills the mouth. Light letter: the tongue stays low.
- Avoid
- Saying ص like س, ط like ت or ق like ك: the letter loses its heaviness and the word changes.
- The condition
- Heaviness has five degrees: strongest with a fathah followed by an alif, then the fathah, the dammah, the vowelless letter (which takes the degree of the vowel before), and weakest with the kasrah.
The five degrees of heaviness
A heavy letter is always heavy, but more or less so depending on its vowel. From heaviest to least heavy:
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1. With a fathah followed by an alif · 2,649 in the Quran
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2. With a fathah · 5,695 in the Quran
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3. With a dammah · 2,891 in the Quran
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4. Without a vowel: it takes the degree of the vowel before · 2,361 in the Quran
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5. With a kasrah · 3,040 in the Quran
Five degrees: this is the count of al-Marsafi, following the choice of Ibn al-Jazari. At the fifth degree, ق, غ and خ are read in two transmitted ways: some teachers call them light; others, and al-Marsafi leans toward them, keep them heavy at the lowest degree, never as light as a light letter. Listen to the reciter on the page.
Where the letters come from
- Tip, at the roots of the teeth ط
- Side of the tongue ض
- Tip, just above the lower teeth ص
- Tip, at the edges of the teeth ظ
- Back of the tongue, throat side ق
- Top of the throat غخ
Each point is shown on the mouth map, and each letter has its own page.
12 examples of Tafkheem and Tarqeeq in the Quran
Short surahs first. Tap ▶ to hear Tafkheem and Tarqeeq in its verse, recited by al-Husary.
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أَعْطَيْنَـٰكَ
'aʿṭaynāka
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أَطْعَمَهُم
'aṭʿamahum
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تَضْلِيلٍ
taḍlīl
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وَٱلْعَصْرِ
wal-ʿaṣr
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فَصَلِّ
faṣalli
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ظَهْرَكَ
ẓahrak
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بِٱلْحَقِّ
bil-ḥaqqi
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قُرَيْشٍ
quraysh
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ٱلْقَدْرِ
l-qadr
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أَغْنَىٰ
'aghnā
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خُسْرٍ
khusr
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خَيْرٌ
khayrum
Tafkheem and Tarqeeq: common mistakes
What is often heard, and how to fix it. The ▶ plays the right model, recited by al-Husary.
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Saying ص like س, ط like ت, ق like ك: the letter loses its heaviness. The seven heavy letters stay heavy everywhere, whatever their vowel.
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Making the alif heavy after a light letter. Alif has no weight of its own: it follows the letter before, heavy after a heavy letter, light after a light one.
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Giving the same heaviness everywhere. A heavy letter with a kasrah is less heavy than with a fathah followed by an alif: there are five degrees.
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Making غ or خ strongly heavy when vowelless after a kasrah. They stay heavy, but at the lowest degree, unless a heavy rā follows them.
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Making a light letter heavy next to a heavy one: lām, mīm or ḥā next to ص or ط stay light.
Tafkheem and Tarqeeq and neighbouring rules
| Rule | When | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Tafkheem and Tarqeeq | Seven letters are always heavy: خ ص ض ط ظ غ ق. Three are sometimes heavy, sometimes light: alif, the lām of the name of Allah, and rā. All the others are light. | A heavy letter is said with the tongue raised toward the palate: the sound fills the mouth. A light letter is said with the tongue low. |
| Qalqalah | When qāf, ṭā, bā, jīm or dāl (ق ط ب ج د) has no vowel, or when you stop on it at the end of a word. | With no vowel, five letters do not stay blocked: they give a clear bounce. |
| Ikhfa | A nūn with no vowel, or a tanwīn (final “n”), before: ت ث ج د ذ ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ف ق ك. | The nūn is not said clearly: it hides in a nasal sound, held two counts. |
By ear: two words that sound alike
Two words that sound alike: one with a heavy letter, the other with its light neighbour. Listen for the difference.
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وَقَبَ
waqab
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كَسَبَ
kasab
Your turn: heavy or light?
By eye
Is the highlighted letter heavy or light?
- An-Nasr 110:1
نَصْرُ
naṣru
- An-Nasr 110:3
تَوَّابًۢا
tawwābā
- Al-Qadr 97:5
مَطْلَعِ
maṭlaʿi
- An-Nasr 110:2
ٱلنَّاسَ
n-nāsa
By ear
Listen to the word, then choose the letter you hear: the heavy one or its light neighbour. The word appears after you answer.
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وَٱلصَّيْفِ
waṣ-ṣayf
Quraysh 106:2 -
ٱلْأَبْتَرُ
l-abtar
Al-Kawthar 108:3 -
قُلْ
qul
Al-Ikhlas 112:1
Tafkheem and Tarqeeq in numbers
16,636times in the Quran
114surahs
| Surah | Verses | Tafkheem and Tarqeeq |
|---|---|---|
| 49. Al-Hujurat | 18 | 84 |
| 60. Al-Mumtahanah | 13 | 60 |
| 65. At-Talaq | 12 | 59 |
| 73. Al-Muzzammil | 20 | 58 |
| 66. At-Tahrim | 12 | 56 |
Calculated by Tilawa on the text of the Madinah Mushaf (Hafs reading), each verse read in one go and stopped at its end: every heavy letter that is said, without silent letters or the ṣad read as sīn.
Frequently asked questions
What is Tafkheem and Tarqeeq in tajweed?
Seven letters always heavy (خ ص ض ط ظ غ ق), three that change (alif, the lām of the name of Allah, rā), all the others light.
Which letters does Tafkheem and Tarqeeq apply to?
Seven letters are always heavy: خ ص ض ط ظ غ ق. Three are sometimes heavy, sometimes light: alif, the lām of the name of Allah, and rā. All the others are light. In the Quran, the most frequent is ق (qāf): 7,034 times.
How many times does Tafkheem and Tarqeeq occur in the Quran?
16,636 times, in 114 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: 84 in 18 verses.
Tafkheem and Tarqeeq or Qalqalah: what is the difference?
Tafkheem and Tarqeeq: a heavy letter is said with the tongue raised toward the palate: the sound fills the mouth. A light letter is said with the tongue low. Qalqalah: with no vowel, five letters do not stay blocked: they give a clear bounce.
Tafkheem and Tarqeeq: 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 Tafkheem and Tarqeeq was missed or done wrong, with the word to replay in its verse.
Tilawa editorial team · Updated 2026-10-24 · Report an error