A Letter To A Friend During Difficult Times

A Clarification Regarding the Pronunciation of the Letters “Taa” and “Kaaf” With Tajweed


Answered by Shaykh Hatim Youssef

Question: Salaams,

 

I have a question in tajweed and I hope that you can help me. Please can you clarify whether the letters ‘taa’ and ‘kaaf’ are said with hams only when saakin or also when vowelled. I have found different answers on the internet and from different teachers.

Answer: Wa Alaykum Assalaam, Wa rahmatullah,

Sam’an Wa Ta’atan,

Hams, Qalqala and other Sifat [features of letters] are never found in isolation of their sounds (الصفة لا تفارق الموصوف) whether these sounds are vowelled or Saakin. However, Qalqala and Hams in particular are pronounced most clearly when the letter has a sukoon. Practically, one should not “worry” about the Hams of the Kaaf or the Taa or any of the other 8 letters of (سكت فحثه شخص) unless they are Saakin.

Please also note that the Hams of the Kaaf and the Taa is different from that of other letters. This is because they belong to (حروف الشدة) or occlusives (sounds in which the air is obstructed and then released abruptly). As you well know, one will have to learn that orally from a Tajweed sheikh.

And Allah knows best.

Wa Salaam.

Hatim

Related Course:

Practical Tajwid