The word · The Qur’an
الإِخْفاء
Ikhfa
Hiding a nun sakinah or tanwin: not clear, not merged, held with a nasal hum for two counts.
Also written · Ikhfaa · Ikhfa' · Ekhfa · Ikhfa haqiqi · Ikhfaa rules · Ikhfa shafawi · hiding · concealment
The meaning
What Ikhfa means in Islam
It applies before fifteen letters, the ones left once the letters of izhar, idgham and iqlab are taken out. The tongue moves towards the position of the coming letter without quite touching, and the sound rests in the nose. There is a related lip rule, ikhfa shafawi, for a silent meem followed by ba.
Evidence · Editorial · Our own summary, drawn from the sources named
Read beside it
Words that sit beside it
- Nun Sakinah and TanwinA nun carrying no vowel, or a tanwin ending, which triggers four tajwid rules depending on what follows.النّونُ السّاكِنَةُ وَالتَّنْوين
- GhunnahThe nasal hum carried by nun and meem, held about two counts wherever the rules require it.الغُنَّة
- IzharPronouncing a nun sakinah or tanwin clearly, with no nasal hum, before one of six throat letters.الإِظْهار
- IdghamMerging a nun sakinah or tanwin into the letter that follows, so the two are said as one.الإِدْغام
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