Idgham Mutajanisayn, Mithlayn and Mutaqaribayn Explained

Idgham mutajanisayn is the merging of a silent letter into the next letter when the two share one makhraj (point of articulation) but differ in their qualities, as when the dal of قَد disappears into the ta of تَّبَيَّنَ in Al-Baqarah 2:256. It sits beside idgham mithlayn (identical letters) and idgham mutaqaribayn (close letters).

These three terms describe what happens whenever two letters meet in recitation. This guide is for learners who know the basic makharij and keep meeting pairs like بَسَطتَ, ٱرْكَب مَّعَنَا and قُل رَّبِّ. You will learn each relationship, which pairs merge in Hafs 'an 'Asim, which stay clear, and how to read them straight from the mushaf.

What is idgham mutajanisayn?

Idgham mutajanisayn is the idgham of two letters that are born in exactly the same place in the mouth but sound different because their sifat (characteristics) differ. Idgham means merging, putting one thing into another. Mutajanisayn (also spelled mutajanisain) means two letters of the same kind. In the pairs where Hafs merges, listed below, the first letter has no vowel and the second has one, so the first is dropped into the second and you say a single doubled letter with the sound of the second.

What is the difference between mithlayn, mutajanisayn and mutaqaribayn?

The difference between mithlayn, mutajanisayn and mutaqaribayn is how closely the two meeting letters are related: identical, born in the same place, or born in neighbouring places. Imam Sulayman al-Jamzuri sets this out in Tuhfat al-Atfal, the short tajweed poem many students memorise. Two letters that agree in makhraj and sifat are mithlayn; two that share a makhraj but differ in sifat are mutajanisayn; two whose makharij are close and whose sifat differ are mutaqaribayn. Later books add a fourth term, mutaba'idayn, for letters whose makharij are far apart; those are simply read clearly.

What is idgham mithlayn?

Idgham mithlayn (also called idgham mutamathilayn) is the merging of a silent letter into the identical letter that follows it, so that the two become one letter with a shaddah. You hold the letter for a doubled beat instead of saying it twice. In Hafs it applies whenever the first letter is silent and the second is vowelled, inside one word as in يُدْرِككُّمُ or across two words as in رَبِحَت تِّجَـٰرَتُهُمْ, with the exceptions below.

Two pairs carry a ghunnah (nasal sound) when they merge: meem into meem and nun into nun. A meem sakinah before a vowelled meem is the rule called idgham shafawi, explained in our guide to meem sakinah rules. In both, hold the nasal sound for about two counts.

When are identical letters not merged?

Identical letters are not merged when the first one is a madd letter. In ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ (Ar-Ra'd 13:29) the waw at the end of amanu lengthens the vowel before it, so you hold it for two counts and then begin the next waw cleanly. Ibn al-Jazari gives فِى يَوْمٍ and قَالُوا۟ وَهُمْ as examples of the same point. A waw with a fatha before it is not a madd letter, though, so ءَاوَوا۟ وَّنَصَرُوٓا۟ (Al-Anfal 8:74) is read with a doubled waw.

Which letters are mutajanisayn?

The mutajanisayn pairs that merge in Hafs come from three makharij and form seven pairs. The tip of the tongue against the base of the upper front teeth produces ط, د and ت; the tip of the tongue against the tips of the upper front teeth produces ظ, ذ and ث; and the two lips produce ب and م. If you want to feel those points first, our guide to makharij al-huruf, where every Arabic letter is born walks through them one at a time. Other letters that share a makhraj, such as ح and ع in the middle of the throat, are mutajanisayn by definition but are read clearly: فَٱصْفَحْ عَنْهُمْ (Az-Zukhruf 43:89) keeps the sukun on its ح.

Complete and incomplete idgham: the case of basatta

Complete idgham (idgham kamil) means the first letter vanishes without a trace; incomplete idgham (idgham naqis) means the letter itself goes but one of its qualities can still be heard. Among the mutajanisayn pairs, the incomplete one is ط into ت. In بَسَطتَ, أَحَطتُ (An-Naml 27:22) and فَرَّطتُمْ (Yusuf 12:80) you say neither a full ط nor a plain ت. The tongue stays pressed up towards the roof of the mouth for a moment, so the heaviness (itbaq) of the ط colours the sound, and then you release a light ت.

Two places to know by heart: 7:176 and 11:42

Two places deserve attention because some books record a second way of reading them: يَلْهَث ذَّٰلِكَ (Al-A'raf 7:176), where the tha merges into the dhal, and ٱرْكَب مَّعَنَا (Hud 11:42), where the ba merges into the meem. The printed Madinah mushaf marks both with a shaddah on the second letter, the idgham reading, so read them that way unless your teacher has taught you otherwise. In 7:176 there is also a stop sign after يَلْهَث; if you stop there, the tha is said clearly with its sukun.

Is mutaqaribayn always merged in Hafs?

Mutaqaribayn are not always merged in Hafs: the default is to read both letters clearly, and merging happens only in a few set cases. Shaykh Abdul Aziz al-Qari states this in his book on the tajweed rules of the reading of Hafs. So in قَدْ سَمِعَ (Al-Mujadilah 58:1) the dal is said clearly before the sin even though their makharij are neighbours, and in كَذَّبَتْ ثَمُودُ (Ash-Shams 91:11) the ta stays clear before the tha.

Three details matter here. In بَلْ ۜ رَانَ (Al-Mutaffifin 83:14) Hafs makes a saktah, a short pause without a breath, on the lam of بَلْ, so nothing merges; the small س above the line is the sign, and the same saktah keeps the nun of مَنْ ۜ رَاقٍ (Al-Qiyamah 75:27) clear. In أَلَمْ نَخْلُقكُّم the mushaf prints a shaddah on the kaf, a full merge, while Ibn al-Jazari records a difference over keeping some of the qaf's heaviness, so learn the version your teacher reads. And a silent nun or tanwin merging into ي ر م ل و ن has a chapter of its own: see the nun sakinah and tanwin rules.

How do you know from the mushaf when to merge two letters?

The printed Madinah mushaf shows when to merge two letters through a pair of signs. No sukun on the first letter and a shaddah on the next means merge fully. No sukun and no shaddah means merge partly (or, for a nun, hide it with ikhfa). A sukun on the first letter means say it clearly. A madd letter is the one exception to these signs: it carries no sukun, yet it is never merged. All the marks are explained in our guide to the symbols on the Qur'an page.

What mistakes do beginners make with two-letter idgham?

Most mistakes with two-letter idgham come from doing too much or too little: bouncing a letter that should vanish, or merging a pair that should stay clear. The bounce is an easy trap, because د, ب and ط are all among the five qalqalah letters, and qalqalah only belongs to a letter you actually pronounce.

How can you practise two-letter idgham?

You can practise two-letter idgham by taking one pair a day from the tables above: read its example slowly several times, then read the whole ayah at your normal pace and listen back to a recording of yourself. Allah commands measured recitation in Surah al-Muzzammil:

If the joins feel clumsy at first, that is normal, and the effort is rewarded. The Prophet ﷺ said of the learner who finds recitation hard:

Because two-letter idgham is learned by ear, it helps to have someone listen. If you would like a teacher to check your joins pair by pair, you can find a Qur'an teacher who suits your level and timetable.