Idghām — Merging

Identical and same-point letters

Core idea

In idghām the first of two close letters is silent and merges into the one after it, so that the two become one doubled letter. The mushaf writes the shadda on the second letter. There are two main kinds: mutamāthilān, identical letters with the same makhraj and quality, and mutajānisān, letters with the same makhraj but different qualities.

Why it matters

Idghām is common in the Quran, often across two words, and the mushaf shows it only as a shadda on the second letter. If you do not recognise it, you say the two letters separately; if you merge where there is no idghām, you change the word.

Lesson

Idghām means the silent first letter merges into the letter after it, so that the two become one doubled letter. The mushaf marks the shadda on the second letter, as in «wa-qad dakhalū» (al-Mā'idah 61).

Mutamāthilān: two letters with the same makhraj and the same quality, such as dāl with dāl or bāʾ with bāʾ. - Examples: «wa-qad dakhalū» (al-Mā'idah 61) and «iḍrib bi-ʿaṣāka» (al-Baqarah 60).

Mutajānisān: two letters from the same makhraj that differ in quality, such as tāʾ with ṭāʾ: both come from the tip of the tongue and the base of the upper teeth. - Example: «hammat ṭāʾifatān» (Āl ʿImrān 122).

In practice: look at the first letter and the letter after it. If they are identical or from the same makhraj, merge them. If the makhraj differs, there is no idghām.

In detail, with examples

Idghām

Identical letters
حرفان متماثلان
Same makhraj
ذ ظ
د ت
ت د
ت ط
ل ر
ث ذ
ب م
ط ت
Close makhārij
د ض
ت ث
ل ر
ق ك
Distant makhārij
إظهار

Identical letters

Two letters identical in makhraj and qualities. If the first is sākin and not a madd letter, idghām is obligatory and they become one doubled letter. If the first is mutaḥarrik, or is a madd letter, there is no idghām.

حرفان متماثلان
Idghām is obligatory when two identical letters meet, the first sākin and not a madd letter. The examples come from different places in the Qurʾān and cover ب ت د ر ل م ن ك.
Al-Baqarah 2:282
وَلْيَكْتُب بَّيْنَكُمْ
Al-Mā'idah 5:61
وَقَد دَّخَلُوا۟
Al-Fajr 89:17
بَل لَّا
An-Nisāʾ 4:78
يُدْرِككُّمُ
لا إدغام
No idghām when the first letter is mutaḥarrik, as in yaʿlamu mā, or when the first letter is a madd letter, as in fī yawm and iṣbirū wa-ṣābirū.
Al-Infiṭār 82:12
يَعْلَمُونَ مَا
Al-Balad 90:14
فِى يَوْمٍۢ
Āl ʿImrān 3:200
ٱصْبِرُوا۟ وَصَابِرُوا۟

Same makhraj

Two letters from the same makhraj that differ in some qualities, the first sākin: idghām is obligatory. There are eight cases, each listed below.

ذ ظ
dhāl into ẓāʾ: the silent dhāl merges into the ẓāʾ after it, as in idh ẓalamtum and idh ẓalamū.
Az-Zukhruf 43:39
إِذ ظَّلَمْتُمْ
An-Nisāʾ 4:64
إِذ ظَّلَمُوٓا۟
د ت
dāl into tāʾ: the silent dāl merges into the tāʾ after it, as in qad tabayyana.
Al-Baqarah 2:256
قَد تَّبَيَّنَ
Al-Kāfirūn 109:4
عَبَدتُّمْ
Yūsuf 12:47
حَصَدتُّمْ
Al-Qamar 54:15
وَلَقَد تَّرَكْنَـٰهَآ
ت د
tāʾ into dāl: the silent tāʾ merges into the dāl after it, as in athqalat daʿawā and ujībat daʿwatukumā.
Al-Aʿrāf 7:189
أَثْقَلَت دَّعَوَا
Yūnus 10:89
أُجِيبَت دَّعْوَتُكُمَا
ت ط
tāʾ into ṭāʾ: the silent tāʾ merges into the ṭāʾ after it, as in fa-āmanat ṭāʾifa and hammat ṭāʾifatān.
Aṣ-Ṣaff 61:14
فَـَٔامَنَت طَّآئِفَةٌۭ
Āl ʿImrān 3:122
هَمَّت طَّآئِفَتَانِ
ل ر
lām into rāʾ: on al-Farrāʾ’s view they are same-makhraj, so the lām merges into the rāʾ, as in qul rabbi. On Sībawayh’s view they are close letters, and idghām is still obligatory.
Al-Muʾminūn 23:93
قُل رَّبِّ
An-Nisāʾ 4:158
بَل رَّفَعَهُ
ث ذ
thāʾ into dhāl: it occurs in yalhath dhālika, though these are same-makhraj letters. The readers differ: some show it clearly, the others merge it.
Al-Aʿrāf 7:176
يَلْهَث ۚ ذَّٰلِكَ
ب م
bāʾ into mīm: it occurs in irkab maʿanā, though these are same-makhraj letters. The readers differ: some show it clearly, the others merge it.
Hūd 11:42
ٱرْكَب مَّعَنَا
Al-ʿAnkabūt 29:21
يُعَذِّبُ مَن
ط ت
ṭāʾ into tāʾ: incomplete idghām (nāqiṣ), because the strong letter does not enter fully into the weak one. The silent ṭāʾ merges into the tāʾ and keeps its emphasis (iṭbāq), as in aḥaṭtu, basaṭta and farraṭtum.
An-Naml 27:22
أَحَطتُ
Al-Mā'idah 5:28
بَسَطتَ
Yūsuf 12:80
فَرَّطتُمْ

Close makhārij

Two letters close in makhraj and qualities, neither identical nor same-makhraj. Idghām is obligatory in the cases listed; in one case the readers differ on whether it is incomplete.

د ض
dāl into ḍād, as in faqad ḍalla.
Al-Aḥzāb 33:36
فَقَدْ ضَلَّ
ت ث
tāʾ into thāʾ, as in kadhdhabat thamūd.
Al-Shams 91:11
كَذَّبَتْ ثَمُودُ
ل ر
lām into rāʾ on Sībawayh’s view, which is obligatory idghām in close letters.
Al-Muʾminūn 23:97
وَقُل رَّبِّ
ق ك
qāf into kāf, as in alam nakhluqkum. The readers agree on idghām; the majority hold it is complete, with full doubling; Makkī ibn Abī Ṭālib and Abū Bakr ibn Mihrān hold it is incomplete, keeping the emphasis (istiʿlāʾ).
Al-Mursalāt 77:20
نَخْلُقكُّم

Distant makhārij

Two letters distant in makhraj and qualities: no idghām between them; the rule is iẓhār in all readings.

لا إدغام
iẓhār in every reading, as in man āmana, anʿamta ʿalayhim, yuʾminūna and tashkurūn.
An-Nāzi‘āt 79:45
مُنذِرُ مَن
Al-Fātiḥah 1:7
أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ
Al-Mursalāt 77:50
يُؤْمِنُونَ
Al-Wāqiʿah 56:70
تَشْكُرُونَ

Ḥafṣ and Qālūn

«yalhath dhālika»: iẓhār or idghām

For Qālūn both iẓhār and idghām are read in «yalhath dhālika» (al-Aʿrāf 176).

Qālūn: iẓhār or idghām: two wajhs

Al-Aʿrāf 7:176

يَلْهَث ۚ ذَّٰلِكَ

Across two words: yalhath, then dhālika.

«irkab maʿanā»: iẓhār or idghām

Qālūn has a khulf between iẓhār and idghām in «irkab maʿanā» (Hūd 42).

Qālūn: iẓhār or idghām: two wajhs

Hūd 11:42

ٱرْكَب مَّعَنَا

Across two words: irkab, then maʿanā.

«yuʿadhdhibu man»: idghām, no khulf

In «yuʿadhdhibu man yashāʾ» (al-Baqarah 284) idghām is the only wajh; it is not a khulf for Qālūn. The small idghām is the one tied to Qālūn's narration.

Qālūn: idghām, one wajh

Al-Baqarah 2:284

وَيُعَذِّبُ مَن

Across two words: wayuʿadhdhibu, then man.

In your mushaf

Idghām is grey in this lesson, because in these examples the first letter is not pronounced. In the mushaf the shadda on the second letter is what shows the idghām. Idghām with ghunnah has its own colour (lessons 3 and 4).

Key points

1
Idghām involves two letters: the first is silent, and the second carries the shadda in the mushaf.
2
Mutamāthilān are letters with the same makhraj and quality, such as dāl with dāl.
3
Mutajānisān are letters from one makhraj that differ in quality, such as tāʾ with ṭāʾ.
4
If the makhraj differs there is no idghām; distant letters are never merged.
5
In «yalhath dhālika» and «irkab maʿanā» Qālūn has a khulf between iẓhār and idghām; «yuʿadhdhibu man» has idghām only.
6
The mushaf marks full idghām by a bare first letter with the next letter doubled; incomplete idghām is a bare first letter with no doubling on the next.
7
The book names no idghām of tāʾ into dhāl. The cases with dhāl are dhāl into ẓāʾ and thāʾ into dhāl.
8
The mushaf marks full idghām by a bare first letter with the next letter doubled; incomplete idghām is a bare first letter with no doubling on the next.
9
The book names no idghām of tāʾ into dhāl. The cases with dhāl are dhāl into ẓāʾ and thāʾ into dhāl.
10
The mushaf marks full idghām by a bare first letter with the next letter doubled; incomplete idghām is a bare first letter with no doubling on the next.
11
The book names no idghām of tāʾ into dhāl. The cases with dhāl are dhāl into ẓāʾ and thāʾ into dhāl.
12
The mushaf marks full idghām by a bare first letter with the next letter doubled; incomplete idghām is a bare first letter with no doubling on the next.
13
The book names no idghām of tāʾ into dhāl. The cases with dhāl are dhāl into ẓāʾ and thāʾ into dhāl.