Idgham rule is one of the basic and most important Tajweed rules. If you seek to master Quran recitation with Tajweed then that is one of the basic rules you need to master.
What are the rules of Idgham and when to use it? that’s what we will find out and so much more, let’s get started.
What is Idgham Rule in Tajweed?
Idgham rule means combining and merging two letters and pronouncing them as one sound. The tajweed rules Idgham is applied when certain letters are found in a word or at the end of one word and the beginning of the next one following a Noon Sakinah or Tanween.
Idgham Letters.
The Idgham rule is applied when one of the Idgham letters is found after a Noon Sakinah or Tanween. Then, what are the Idgham letters? They are:
ي ر م ل و ن
When any of the above letters are preceded by Tanween or Noon Sakinah then the Idgham rules are applied, merging the two letters and producing one sound. To easily memorize the letters, you can put them in the form: (لر ينمو). Why this exact form? Because it divides the letters based on the types of Idgham which we will discover next.
Types of Idgham.
There are two types of idgham, ldgham with Ghunnah (Idgham Bighunnah) and Idgham without Ghunna.
1. Idghaam with Ghunnah.
The first type of Idgham rule is Idgham with Ghunnah. When this type is found the Idgahm letter will be merged with the Noon Sakinah or Tanween making a nasal sound called Ghunnah. Idgham with Ghunnah is applied when one of the following letters follows a Noon Sakinah or Tanween:
ي (Ya).
ن (Noon).
م (Meem).
و (Waw).
Therefore, when one of the above letters follows a Noon Skainah or Tanween then the Noon Sakinah or Tanween sound is hidden and the preceding letter will be merged with the Idgham letter, and a Nasal sound is made.
Here is an idgham example from Quran:
وَجَعَلْنَا سِرَاجًا وَهَّاجًا [Surah An-Naba (78:13)]
As we can see the Idgham letter ‘Waw’ in وَهَّاجًا is preceded by Tanween. To apply the Idgham rule with Ghunnah then the Tanween sound is dropped and the ‘Jeem’ letter is merged with the Waw letter making a Nasal sound.
2. Idghaam without Ghunnah.
In the Idgham rule without Ghunnah the two letters are merged without producing a Ghunnah sound. This type is applied when one of the following Idgham letters follows a Tanween or Noon Sakinah:
ل (Lam).
ر (Ra).
When this type of Idgham rule is found the Noon Sakinah or Tanween sound is dropped and it is merged with the Idgham letter without producing a Ghunnah sound.
Here is an Example:
غفورٌ رحيم (Ghafurun Rahim)
We can see the Tanween in the word غفورٌ followed by the Idgham letter ‘Ra’ at the beginning of the word رحيم. Then the Tanween sound will be dropped and the Idgham letter ‘ra’ is merged with the ‘ra’ producing the following sound:
(Ghafoor-ur-Rahiim).
Idgham examples from Quran.
Here are some examples of Idgham rule from the Holy Quran:
فَإِنِ انْتَهَوْا فَإِنَّ اللَّـهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ (Al-Baqarah, verse 192)
We can see the Tanween in the word غفورٌ followed by the Idgham letter ‘Ra’ at the beginning of the word رحيم. Then the Tanween sound will be dropped and the Idgham letter ‘ra’ is merged with the ‘ra’ producing the following sound:
(Ghafoor-ur-Rahiim).
وَجَعَلْنَا سِرَاجًا وَهَّاجًا [Surah An-Naba (78:13)]
As we can see the Idgham letter ‘Waw’ in وَهَّاجًا is preceded by Tanween. To apply the Idgham rule with Ghunnah then the Tanween sound is dropped and the ‘Jeem’ letter is merged with the Waw letter making a Nasal sound.
أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ عَلَىٰ هُدًۭى مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ ۖ وَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُفْلِحُونَ ٥ (Surah Baqarah verse 5).
We can see the Noon Sakinah in مِّن and it is followed by the Idgham letter ‘Ra’ in the word رَّبِّهِمْ, hence Idgham Rule without Ghunnah is applied.
جَزَاءً مِّن رَّبِّكَ عَطَاءً حِسَابًا [Surah An-Naba, verse 36.]
We can see the Tanween in جَزَاءً and it is followed by the Idgham letter ‘Meem’ in مِّن , then the Idgham rule with Ghunnah is applied.
Another example of Idgham rules is:
وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَقُولُ آمَنَّا بِاللَّـهِ وَبِالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَمَا هُمْ بِمُؤْمِنِين [Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 8.]
We can see the Noon Sakinah in مَنْ and it is followed by the Idgham letter ‘Yaa’ in the word يَقُولُ, then the Idgham rule with Ghunnah is applied. The Meem letter is merged with the Yaa letter producing a Nasal ghunnah sound.
وَمَنْ أَضَلُّ مِمَّنْ يَدْعُو مِنْ دُونِ اللَّـهِ مَنْ لَا يَسْتَجِيبُ لَهُ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ [Al-Ahqaf, verse 5]
We can see the Noon Sakinah in مَنْ and it is followed by the Idgham letter ‘Lam’ in لَا, then the Idgham rule without Ghunnah is applied. The Meem letter is merged with the Lam letter without producing a Nasal ghunnah sound, to be as follows:
(Mallaa), not (Man–Laa).
Another example of Idgahm rule is:
جَزَاءً مِّن رَّبِّكَ عَطَاءً حِسَابًا (An-Naba:36).
We can see the Tanween in the wordجَزَاءً and it is followed by the Idgham letter ‘Meem’ in مِّن, then the Idgham rule with Ghunnah is applied. The Meem letter is merged with the Hamza letter producing a Nasal ghunnah sound.
وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَقُولُ آمَنَّا بِاللَّـهِ وَبِالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَمَا هُمْ بِمُؤْمِنِينَ (Al-Baqarah:8).
We can see the Noon Sakinah in مَنْ and it is followed by the Idgham letter ‘Yaa’ in the word يَقُولُ, then the Idgham rule with Ghunnah is applied. The Meem letter is merged with the Yaa letter producing a Nasal ghunnah sound, to be as follows:
Mayyyy.
Conclusion
The Idgham rule is applied when one of the Idgham letters is preceded by Noon Sakinah or Tanween. Idgham means merging two letters producing one sound. There are two types of Idgham and they are Idgham with Ghunnah and Idgham without Ghunnah.
The Idgham letters are: ي ر م ل و ن
Now that you are aware of the Idgham rule it is time to put what you learned into practice, and you will be good to go. We hope you found what you were looking for and that this article was enjoyable. Please feel free to leave a comment below if you need any assistance or have any questions.
