The word · The Qur’an
الغُنَّة
Ghunnah
The nasal hum carried by nun and meem, held about two counts wherever the rules require it.
Also written · Ghunna · Gunnah · Ghunnah rules · Ghunna tajweed · nasal sound · nasalisation · humming sound · Ghunnat · nasal hum
The meaning
What Ghunnah means in Islam
It comes out through the nose, not the mouth: pinch your nose and the sound is cut off. It is fullest on a nun or meem carrying a shaddah, which is why those two are called the letters of ghunnah. It also appears inside idgham, ikhfa and iqlab.
Evidence · Editorial · Our own summary, drawn from the sources named
Read beside it
Words that sit beside it
- IdghamMerging a nun sakinah or tanwin into the letter that follows, so the two are said as one.الإِدْغام
- IkhfaHiding a nun sakinah or tanwin: not clear, not merged, held with a nasal hum for two counts.الإِخْفاء
- IqlabTurning a nun sakinah or tanwin into a meem when the next letter is ba, held with a hum.الإِقْلاب
- Nun Sakinah and TanwinA nun carrying no vowel, or a tanwin ending, which triggers four tajwid rules depending on what follows.النّونُ السّاكِنَةُ وَالتَّنْوين
More from The Qur’an
- Al-Ahruf as-Sab'ahThe seven modes in which the Qur'an was revealed, an ease for the community; what a mode is stays disputed.الأَحْرُفُ السَّبْعَة
- HifzMemorising the Qur'an by heart, traditionally with a teacher who hears you every day.الحِفْظ
- Juz AmmaThe thirtieth and last part of the Qur'an, running from Surah an-Naba to the end.جُزْءُ عَمَّ
- Mujawwad and MurattalTwo recorded styles: mujawwad is slow and ornamented for listening, murattal is even and plain.المُجَوَّد وَالمُرَتَّل
- Rub' al-HizbA quarter of a hizb, shown by the small ornamental star in the margin of the mushaf.رُبْعُ الحِزْب
- TafsirExplanation of the Qur'an: what a verse means, why it came, and what it asks of you.التَّفْسير