Jiim, Ḥaa, Khaa, Daal, Dhaal, Raa, Zaay

Do you remember the little boat ب ت ث? Today, three new families!

The hook family: ج ح خ 5. ج Jiim: one dot inside, at the bottom. Example: جَمَل jamal, the camel 🐪 6. ح Ḥaa: no dot. It is a strong breath from the middle of the throat, like when you breathe on glasses to clean them. Example: حِصَان ḥiṣaan, the horse 🐴 7. خ Khaa: one dot above. It is said at the back of the throat, a bit like the "ch" in "Bach". Example: خُبْز khubz, bread 🍞

The little corner family: د ذ 8. د Daal: no dot. Example: دُبّ dubb, the bear 🐻 9. ذ Dhaal: one dot above. It sounds like the "th" in "this". Example: ذُرَة dhura, corn 🌽

The slide family: ر ز 10. ر Raa: no dot. It is a rolled "r" that sings with the tongue. Example: رِيشَة riisha, the feather 🪶 11. ز Zaay: one dot above. Example: زَرَافَة zaraafa, the giraffe 🦒

A little trick: in each family, the letter with no dot comes first, then its sister with a dot (except ج, which has its dot inside).

Little activity: listen to your parent or teacher say ح and خ, then repeat three times. It is fine if it is hard at first!

Understanding the lesson

Explanation More families! ج, ح and خ have the same hook shape: dot inside, no dot, dot above. د and ذ look alike, and so do ر and ز. Some sounds, like ح and خ, do not exist in English. At first they are a little hard: that is normal! We learn them by listening carefully and repeating. Good news: the Prophet ﷺ said that the one who reads the Qur'an with difficulty, stumbling over the words, gets two rewards (Bukhari 4937, Muslim 798). One for reading, and one for the effort! So Allah loves your effort, even when you make mistakes.

Lessons to draw from it • When it is hard, I do not give up: I try again. • I listen carefully to my teacher: listening is how we learn the right sound. • I never laugh at someone who makes a mistake while reading.

Key points to remember • ج: dot inside; ح: no dot; خ: dot above. • د and ذ; ر and ز: the sister with a dot sounds different. • Reading with difficulty gives two rewards (Bukhari 4937, Muslim 798).

The main message If a sound is hard, I keep going: Allah rewards my effort.