The word · The Qur’an
صِفاتُ الحُروف
Sifat al-Huruf
The qualities of each letter: whispered or voiced, heavy or light, tense or flowing.
Also written · Sifat · Sifaat · Sifat al huruf · Sifaat ul huroof · Hams · Jahr · Shiddah · Isti'la · Safeer · letter qualities · attributes of letters
The meaning
What Sifat al-Huruf means in Islam
Two letters can share one articulation point and still be different letters because their qualities differ, as with ta and da. Some qualities come in opposite pairs and some stand alone, like the whistle of sin or the roll of ra. Together with the makharij they are the two halves of pronouncing a letter correctly.
Evidence · Editorial · Our own summary, drawn from the sources named
Read beside it
Words that sit beside it
- Makharij al-HurufThe points in the mouth, throat and nose where each Arabic letter is produced.مَخارِجُ الحُروف
- TajwidThe rules for pronouncing the Qur'an correctly: each letter from its place, with its proper qualities.التَّجْويد
- QalqalahThe slight bounce on five letters when they carry no vowel: qaf, taa, ba, jim and dal.القَلْقَلَة
- Tafkhim and TarqiqHeavy and light pronunciation: some letters fill the mouth, others stay thin.التَّفْخيمُ وَالتَّرْقيق
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
- Hafs an AsimThe reading found in most printed mushafs today, transmitted by Hafs from his teacher Asim of Kufa.حَفْصٌ عَنْ عاصِم
- Isti'adhahSaying I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Shaytan before beginning to recite.الاسْتِعاذَة
- MufassalThe last stretch of the Qur'an, from about Surah Qaf to the end, made up of shorter surahs.المُفَصَّل
- Qira'atThe canonical ways of reciting the Qur'an, each carried by chain from the Prophet through a named reader.القِراءات
- TadwirThe middle speed of recitation, sitting between the slow tartil and the quick hadr.التَّدْوير