Mīm Sākinah and Ghunnah
Labial ikhfāʾ and idghām, iẓhār, doubled nūn and mīm
Core idea
A mīm with sukūn has three rules, set by the letter after it: hidden with ghunna before bāʾ, merged into a following mīm with ghunna, and clear before all other letters. A doubled nūn or mīm is held with ghunna for two counts.
Why it matters
The mīm sākinah is common in the Quran, especially in plural pronoun endings such as ʿalayhim and lakum. Mistakes happen mostly in the labial letters: clearing a mīm that should be hidden before bāʾ, or merging one where there is no merging. One letter after the mīm settles it.
Lesson
The mīm sākinah is a mīm with no vowel. It mostly comes at the end of a word, as in the plural pronoun endings ʿalayhim and lakum.
The three rules are set by the letter after the mīm, whether in the same word or the next one: - Ikhfāʾ shafawī: before bāʾ alone. The mīm is hidden with ghunna, then the bāʾ is said. - Idghām shafawī: before mīm alone. The first mīm merges into the second, making one doubled mīm with ghunna. - Iẓhār shafawī: before all the other letters. The mīm is said clearly, with no extra ghunna.
Ghunna is a sound from the nasal passage, about two counts long. It also accompanies every doubled nūn and mīm, as in inna and thumma.
In practice: look at the letter after the mīm. Bāʾ means hide it, mīm means merge it, anything else means say it clearly.
In detail, with examples
1. Ikhfāʾ shafawī — before bāʾ
Before bāʾ alone. The mīm is hidden, with ghunna.
2. Idghām shafawī — before mīm
Before mīm alone. The mīm merges into the next mīm, with ghunna; it happens only across two words.
3. Iẓhār shafawī — before the other letters
Before every letter except bāʾ and mīm. No colour in the mushaf: the mīm is read as written.
4. Doubled nūn and mīm
A doubled nūn or mīm is held with ghunna for two counts everywhere, at the start or the middle of a word.
In your mushaf
Ikhfāʾ shafawī and idghām shafawī are green in the app's mushaf, since both carry the ghunnah (lesson 1). Iẓhār shafawī has no colour. Doubled nūn and mīm take the ghunnah colour. Change these colours in Settings and the examples here change too.
Key points
- 1
The mīm sākinah has three rules: ikhfāʾ before bāʾ, idghām before mīm, iẓhār before every other letter.
- 2
Ikhfāʾ shafawī happens only before bāʾ, idghām shafawī only before mīm; both usually fall across two words.
- 3
Ikhfāʾ and idghām shafawī carry about two counts of ghunna; iẓhār shafawī adds no ghunna.
- 4
A doubled nūn or mīm is held with ghunna for two counts everywhere, as in inna and thumma.
- 5
The letter after the mīm decides the rule, even when the mīm ends one word and the letter starts the next.
Glossary
المِيم السَّاكِنَة
al-mīm al-sākinah
a mīm with no vowel
الإخْفَاء الشَّفَوِيّ
al-ikhfāʾ al-shafawī
hiding the mīm before bāʾ, with ghunna
الإدْغَام الشَّفَوِيّ
al-idghām al-shafawī
merging the mīm into a following mīm, with ghunna
الإظْهَار الشَّفَوِيّ
al-iẓhār al-shafawī
saying the mīm clearly before the other letters
الغُنَّة
al-ghunnah
a sound from the nasal passage, about two counts
المُشَدَّد
al-mushaddad
a letter with a shadda: doubled in pronunciation
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