Meem sakinah and ghunnah

Meem sakinah (مْ) follows three rules, simpler than those of the noon.

1. Lip ikhfa (إِخْفَاء شَفَوِي), before ب The lips close lightly, without pressing, with a ghunnah of about two counts. • تَرْمِيهِم بِحِجَارَةٍ (105:4): "tarmiihim-biḥijaara". Some teachers have the lips close gently, others leave a very slight gap: follow your teacher. [À VÉRIFIER : avis suivi au centre]

2. Idgham of two meems (إِدْغَام مِثْلَيْن), before م The two meems merge into one doubled meem, with ghunnah. • أَطْعَمَهُم مِّن جُوعٍ (106:4): "aṭ'amahum-min juu'". • وَآمَنَهُم مِّنْ خَوْفٍ (106:4): same rule.

3. Lip izhar (إِظْهَار شَفَوِي), before all the other letters The meem is pronounced clearly, without a lengthened ghunnah. • عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ (1:7): meem sakinah then غ. • عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا (1:7): meem sakinah then و. Careful before و and ف: these letters are also said with the lips, and we tend to hide the meem. Keep it very clear.

Ghunnah on ن and م with shadda Ghunnah (غُنَّة) is the nasal sound you found in the makharij lesson. When ن or م carries a shadda, there is always a ghunnah of about two counts: • إِنَّا (108:1), إِنَّ (103:2), النَّاسِ (114:1): ghunnah on the noon. • ثُمَّ, لَمَّا: ghunnah on the meem. In "I read Arabic", you said the shadda "twice": with ن and م, this doubled sound is also held in the nose.

Surah Quraysh (106) is a good exercise: its verse 4 contains the idgham of two meems twice. Listen to it in the recitation block.

Challenge: pinch your nose while saying إِنَّا, then while saying عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ. In the first, the sound gets blocked (there is a ghunnah); in the second, hardly at all (izhar). That is the difference your ear must learn.

Understanding the lesson

Explanation The meem is said with both lips. So its rules follow its neighbours: before ب, the other letter where the lips close, it is hidden (lip ikhfa); before another م, the two identical letters merge (idgham); before all the other letters, which are different enough, it stays clear (izhar). Ghunnah is a nasal sound that naturally goes with ن and م. With a shadda, it is at its strongest: we hold it for about two counts. Common mistakes: pressing the lips too hard in lip ikhfa; lengthening the nasal sound in izhar, especially before و and ف; shortening the ghunnah of إِنَّ or ثُمَّ, or on the contrary stretching it much longer than the others.

Lessons to draw from it • We listen first, then we recite. Allah says to the Prophet ﷺ: "When We recite it, follow its recitation" (meaning of verse 75:18). • Measure your ghunnahs as you will measure your madds: the same length everywhere makes the recitation even. • In four verses, Quraysh (106) makes you practise lip izhar, the idgham of two meems and ghunnah.

Key points to remember • Meem sakinah: before ب, ikhfa; before م, idgham; before the rest, izhar. • Before و and ف: a very clear meem. • ن and م with shadda: ghunnah of about two counts (to be demonstrated by the teacher).

The main message Small rules, applied regularly, give the recitation its balance: correctness is built by listening and repeating.