Letter Qualities

Definition of Quality (Sifah)

A quality (sifah) is the particular manner given to a letter when pronouncing it, which distinguishes it from other letters.

Benefits of Knowing Letter Qualities

• Distinguishing letters that share the same articulation point from one another during pronunciation. For example, Thaa, Dhaal, and Zhaa are all articulated from the tip of the tongue and the edges of the upper front teeth, and can only be told apart by giving each letter its due qualities.
• Improving the pronunciation of letters by giving each one its full due, both in articulation point and quality.
• Knowing which letters are strong and which are weak in terms of quality, and consequently which letters may be merged (Idgham) and which may not, and which merge completely and which merge incompletely.

Essential and Incidental Qualities

Qualities are divided into two categories:

1. Essential Qualities (Sifat Lazimah): qualities inherent to the letter's own essence, which never leave it — such as Isti'la (elevation) and Hams (whisperedness), and the rest covered in the following sections.
2. Incidental Qualities (Sifat 'Aridah): complementary qualities that apply to a letter under certain conditions, and do not affect its essence if absent — such as Tafkheem, Tarqeeq, Idgham, Madd, and Ikhfa. These incidental qualities are detailed in their own separate sections.

Number of Essential Qualities

Scholars have differed on their number; the most well-known opinion holds that there are seventeen essential qualities.

Categories of Essential Qualities

Essential qualities are divided into two categories:

1. Opposite Qualities: five pairs, each pair consisting of two opposite qualities. If a letter has one quality of a pair, it cannot have its opposite, and every letter must have one of the two. These qualities are:
   • Hams, whose opposite is Jahr
   • Shiddah, whose opposite is Rakhawah, with Tawassut (moderateness) or Bayniyyah in between
   • Isti'la, whose opposite is Istifal
   • Itbaq, whose opposite is Infitah
   • Ismat, whose opposite is Idhlaq
2. Qualities Without an Opposite: seven qualities:
   • Qalqalah
   • Safeer
   • Inhiraf
   • Tafashshi
   • Leen
   • Istitalah
   • Takreer
   Some scholars add two further qualities without an opposite: Khafaa' and Ghunnah.

To determine the qualities of a given letter, we first go through the pairs of opposite qualities and establish one of each pair for the letter. On this basis, every letter must have five qualities from the opposite pairs.

We then check the letter against the remaining qualities without an opposite; if it has one of them, we add it to the five already established.

Thus, no letter has fewer than five qualities (the five opposite-paired ones), nor more than seven (the five plus two others).

Strong, Weak, and Moderate Qualities

Essential qualities can be divided into strong, weak, and moderate:

1. Strong Qualities: Jahr, Shiddah, Isti'la, Itbaq, Qalqalah, Safeer, Inhiraf, and Tafashshi.
2. Weak Qualities: Hams, Rakhawah, Istifal, Infitah, Leen, and Khafaa'.
3. Moderate Qualities: Tawassut (between Shiddah and Rakhawah), Ismat, and Idhlaq.

Some scholars classify qualities into only strong and weak, placing Tawassut and Idhlaq among the weak qualities, and Ismat among the strong.