In the name of Allah The Compassionate The Loving.
Side Tongue Letters
Salam alaikum wa rahmatu Allahi wa BarakatuHu. Peace be upon the followers of guidance.

In this lesson we will go over the letters of the Side tongue (Hafatil Lisan).

Side Tongue Letters


The letters of the tongue are divided into four sections:

1. The far tongue (aqsal lisan) .
2. The middle tongue (wasatal lisan)
3. The side tongue (hafatul lisan)
4. The tip of the tongue (tarful lisan)

The Side tongue (hafatul lisan) have 2 letters that emit from it, ض (Dhod), ل (Laam).



ض


When ض (Dhod) is written by itself, or at the end of a word, it has the tail on the bottom. Otherwise, it is written without the tail, like in ضا .

The ض (Dhod) is a thick letter. When pronouncing thick (mufakhama) letters like ض (Dhod) keep the side of the mouth together. The thick letters have a "o" sound, and the thin letters have an "a" sound. The ض (Dhod) is pronounced from the back of the mouth, from the molar teeth.

A common mistake found in the pronounciation of ض (Dhod), very common, is reciting the ض (Dhod) from the tip of the tongue like ذ (dhal) and ظ (dha). The ض (Dhod) should be pronounced from the back of the mouth. It does take a bit of practice to get used to reciting the ض (Dhod) the right way, and Allah will give much reward for the effort to learn from our noble ulema.

The ulema of tajwid say that there are three ways to recite the ض (Dhod):

1. From the right side from the back of the mouth.

2. From the left side from the back of the mouth.

3. From both sides from the back of the mouth.



Listen to the following two ayats, paying attention ضُ and ذُ and ظُ.

{وَٱلضُّحَىٰ}

{قُلۡ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ ٱلۡفَلَقِ}

{أَوۡ كَصَيِّبٍ۬ مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ فِيهِ ظُلُمَـٰتٌ۬ وَرَعۡدٌ۬ وَبَرۡقٌ۬}

Did you notice the difference between ضُ and ذُ ? The ضُ is pronounced from the back of the mouth and the ذُ is pronounced from the tip of the tongue.

Did you notice the difference between ضُ and ظُ ? The ضُ is pronounced from the back of the mouth and the ظُ is pronounced from the tip of the tongue.

Repeat the following 3 times, being sure to pronounce ض (Dhod) from the back of the mouth:

ضَ ضِ ضُ ضً ضٍ ضٌ

ضَ ضِ ضُ ضً ضٍ ضٌ

ضَ ضِ ضُ ضً ضٍ ضٌ

Here are some examples for ض (Dhod) :

105:002 {أَلَمۡ يَجۡعَلۡ كَيۡدَهُمۡ فِى تَضۡلِيلٍ۬}

091:001 {وَٱلشَّمۡسِ وَضُحَٮٰهَا}

093:001 {وَٱلضُّحَىٰ}

001:007 {غَيۡرِ ٱلۡمَغۡضُوبِ عَلَيۡهِمۡ وَلَا ٱلضَّآلِّينَ}

094:002 {وَوَضَعۡنَا عَنكَ وِزۡرَكَ}

030:054 {ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَكُم مِّن ضَعۡفٍ۬ ثُمَّ جَعَلَ مِنۢ بَعۡدِ ضَعۡفٍ۬ قُوَّةً۬ ثُمَّ جَعَلَ مِنۢ بَعۡدِ قُوَّةٍ۬ ضَعۡفً۬ا وَشَيۡبَةً۬‌ۚ }

030:054 {ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَكُم مِّن ضَعۡفٍ۬ ثُمَّ جَعَلَ مِنۢ بَعۡدِ ضَعۡفٍ۬ قُوَّةً۬ ثُمَّ جَعَلَ مِنۢ بَعۡدِ قُوَّةٍ۬ ضَعۡفً۬ا وَشَيۡبَةً۬‌ۚ }





ل


The ل (Lam) is always pronounced thin, except in cases in the name of Allah. When pronouncing thin (muraqaqa) letters like ل (Lam) keep the side of the mouth apart. The thin letters have an "a" sound, and the thick letters have an "o" sound.

In the name of Allah, the ل (Lam) is pronounced thin like "la", if it is preceded with a ِ (qasra), like in the basmAllah. It is pronounced thick, "lo", if it is preceded by a َ (fatha) or a ُ (dhumma). This is only in the name of Allah. The ل (Lam) is always pronounced thin in every other word.

Listen to the following two ayats paying attention to the ل (Lam) in the name of Allah.

001:001 {بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ}

112:001 {قُلۡ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ أَحَدٌ}

Did you notice the different pronounciations of ل (Lam) in Allah? We pray to Allah to teach us the beneficial knowledge from our noble ulema, and allow us to spread it far and wide. Ameen.

The ل (Lam) is pronounced on the side of the tongue, more towards the front of the mouth. Some of the ulema consider the ل (Lam) to be on the tip of the tongue, instead of the side.

The ل (Lam) is not a qalqala letter, and should not be pronounced with a qalqala repetition sound. If you look at the first ayat of the last three surahs in the Quran, " قُلْ " should be pronounced as "qul" , not "qulla". Also the ل (Lam) should not be extended too long, like "qulllll".

Listen to the following ayats, paying attention to the pronounciation of the ل (Lam):



112:001 {قُلۡ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ أَحَدٌ}

113:001 {قُلۡ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ ٱلۡفَلَقِ}

114:001 {قُلۡ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ ٱلنَّاسِ}

Here are some more examples of ل (Lam) :

{أَلَمۡ نَشۡرَحۡ لَكَ صَدۡرَكَ}

{قُلۡ يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلۡڪَـٰفِرُونَ}

{ٱلۡحَمۡدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ}

{صِرَٲطَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنۡعَمۡتَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ}

{أَلَمۡ يَجۡعَلۡ كَيۡدَهُمۡ فِى تَضۡلِيلٍ۬}

(أَعُوذُ بالله مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ)