When two letters meet in writing and pronunciation, they have four names according to their relation in makhraj and quality:
| Name | Definition | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Mithlayn (المِثْلَان) | Same makhraj and qualities: the same letter twice | ﴿ٱضۡرِب بِّعَصَاكَاضْرِبْ بِّعَصَاكَ﴾ (Al-Baqarah 2:60) |
| Mutajanisayn (المُتَجَانِسَان) | Same makhraj, different qualities | ﴿قَد تَّبَيَّنَقَدْ تَّبَيَّنَ﴾ (Al-Baqarah 2:256) |
| Mutaqaribayn (المُتَقَارِبَان) | Close in makhraj or quality | ﴿وَقُل رَّبِّوَقُلْ رَّبِّ﴾ (Al-Isra 17:80) |
| Mutaba'idayn (المُتَبَاعِدَان) | Far apart in makhraj, different qualities | ﴿نَعۡبُدُنَعْبُدُ﴾ (Al-Fatihah 1:5) |
Each is of three kinds: saghir (small) when the first is silent and the second voweled; kabir (large) when both are voweled; mutlaq (absolute) when the first is voweled and the second silent. In Hafs, merging mostly occurs in the saghir kind; in the kabir kind the basic rule is Izhar except for a few words; there is no merging in the mutlaq kind.
Mithlayn Saghir
A silent letter must merge into the same letter voweled, within one word or across two, as the poet says: "the first of two identical or same-makhraj letters, if silent, merge."
Exceptions
- When the first is a Madd letter: it is not merged but lengthened, then the second is pronounced, as the poet says: "and make clear in fi yawm and qalu wa-hum": ﴿قَالُواْ وَهُمۡقَالُوْا وَهُمْ﴾ (Ash-Shu'ara 26:96) and ﴿فِي يَوۡمٖفِيْ يَوْمٍ﴾ (Al-Ma'arij 70:4).
- The Ha' of pause in ﴿مَالِيَهۡۜمَالِيَهْ﴾ (Al-Haqqah 69:28) with ﴿هَلَكَهَلَكَ﴾ (Al-Haqqah 69:29): Hafs has two ways when joining: Izhar with a light Sakt (السَّكْت), or Idgham.
Mutajanisayn Saghir
In Hafs it is merged in the following cases and pronounced clearly elsewhere:
| Letters | Examples | Type |
|---|---|---|
| ت ← د | ﴿أُجِيبَت دَّعۡوَتُكُمَااُجِيْبَتْ دَّعْوَتُكُمَا﴾ (Yunus 10:89) ﴿أَثۡقَلَت دَّعَوَااَثْقَلَتْ دَّعَوَا﴾ (Al-A'raf 7:189) | Complete |
| ت ← ط | ﴿وَقَالَت طَّآئِفَةٞوَقَالَتْ طَّآئِفَةٌ﴾ (Ali 'Imran 3:72) ﴿وَدَّت طَّآئِفَةٞوَدَّتْ طَّآئِفَةٌ﴾ (Ali 'Imran 3:69) | Complete |
| د ← ت | ﴿قَد تَّبَيَّنَقَدْ تَّبَيَّنَ﴾ (Al-Baqarah 2:256) ﴿عَبَدتُّمۡعَبَدْتُّمْ﴾ (Al-Kafirun 109:4) | Complete |
| ث ← ذ | ﴿يَلۡهَثۚ ذَّٰلِكَيَلْهَثْﵧ ذٰلِكَ﴾ (Al-A'raf 7:176) | Complete |
| ذ ← ظ | ﴿إِذ ظَّلَمُوٓاْاِذْ ظَّلَمُوْٓا﴾ (An-Nisa 4:64) | Complete |
| ب ← م | ﴿ٱرۡكَب مَّعَنَاارْكَبْ مَّعَنَا﴾ (Hud 11:42) | Complete |
| ط ← ت | ﴿بَسَطتَبَسَطْتَّ﴾ (Al-Ma'idah 5:28) ﴿أَحَطتُاَحَطْتُّ﴾ (An-Naml 27:22) ﴿فَرَّطتُمۡفَرَّطْتُّمْ﴾ (Yusuf 12:80) | Incomplete: the Itbaq and Isti'la' of Ta' remain |
Mutaqaribayn Saghir
In Hafs: a silent Lam merges into Ra', as in ﴿وَقُل رَّبِّوَقُلْ رَّبِّ﴾ (Al-Isra 17:80) and ﴿بَل رَّفَعَهُۢبَلْ رَّفَعَهُ﴾ (An-Nisa 4:158), except ﴿بَلۡۜ رَانَبَلْﶌ رَانَ﴾ (Al-Mutaffifin 83:14) because of the Sakt. A silent Qaf merges into Kaf in ﴿نَخۡلُقكُّمنَخْلُقْكُّمْ﴾ (Al-Mursalat 77:20), with two ways: complete merging, which is preferred, and incomplete merging with the Isti'la' of Qaf remaining, as the poet says: "and the difference occurred in nakhluqkum." The silent Nun merging into Lam and Ra' also belongs here.
Where clarity is required
The poet warned about words where merging might creep in because the letters are close; they must be pronounced clearly:
The kabir kind in Hafs
In Hafs the basic rule in the kabir kind is Izhar; merging occurs in a few words, such as ﴿لَا تَأۡمَ۬نَّالَا تَاْمَنَّا﴾ (Yusuf 12:11), with Ishmam (الإِشْمَام) or Rawm (الرَّوْم) as explained later, ﴿مَا مَكَّنِّيمَا مَكَّنِّيْ﴾ (Al-Kahf 18:95), ﴿فَنِعِمَّافَنِعِمَّا﴾ (Al-Baqarah 2:271) and ﴿أَتُحَٰٓجُّوٓنِّياَتُحَآجُّوْٓنِّيْ﴾ (Al-An'am 6:80).