What are Qalqalah letters | rules of Qalqalah applying in Tajweed of the Quran

We discuss first what the word Qalqalah means. Linguistically, Qalqalah means to vibrate or disturb, but in Tajwid it means to make a sound, as in Saakin:

(وَالفَجْر)

( قل أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ الفَلَق)

In the second verse of the Qur’an, the sound of Saakin below is pronounced with Qalqalah or a soft voice. You may have noticed that in the first two examples, the Qalqalah letters are actually Saakin, but in the last example (الفلق) there is no original Sukoon, but only Sukoon is given when it is stopped. In both cases, the letter is pronounced by Qalqalah.

Qalqalah meaning in English:

let’s discuss first what is meant by the word Qalqalah. Linguistically, Qalqalah means shaking or disturbance but in Tajweed, it refers to the echoing of the sound when it is Saakin as in:

(وَالفَجْر)(قل أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ الفَلَق)

In both verses from Quran, the underlined Saakin sounds were pronounced with Qalqalah or a light echo sound. You might have noticed that in the case of the first two examples, the letters were originally Saakin but the last example (الفلق) does not have a similar original Sukoon but it is only assigned a Sukoon when pausing. In both cases, the letters were pronounced with Qalqalah.  

Qalqalah letters in Arabic:

Qalqalah in Arabic means vibration or echo. Whilst Qalqalah in Tajweed meaning is to disturb the letter having Sukoon. This means a Saakin but with no corresponding movement of the mouth that is linked to vowel letters (letters with Fatha, Dummah, or Kasra). Qalqalah shakes to echo that letter without taking up the succeeding or preceding letter’s diacritic.

When it comes to its letters, there are 5 Qalqalah letters. The Huruful Qalqalah are:

قطب جد

In order to remember these Qalqalah letters meaning, you can remember the phrase made up قطب جد. These five letters have the attribute of Jahr – preventing the airflow when pronouncing them – and Shiddah – preventing the flow of sound when pronouncing them.

It is only observed on these letters when they have a Sukoon. In the case of a vowel sign, they are pronounced normally with no Qalqalah or echo-like sound.

Common Qalqalah mistakes:

It may become easier to get the concept of Qalqalah using a non-Qalqalah letter. When we read the word ٱل, we notice that at the end of the word, the front part of the tongue touches the upper gums. On moving our tongue away from this point, without interrupting the sound, we get the Qalqalah effect.

But, as the letter Laam is not among the Qalqalah letters, we should not make a bouncing sound for this letter. This is quite a common mistake, making Qalqalah sound for non-Qalqalah letters.

Some Common mistakes in Qalqalah :

It might be easier to get a Qalqalah concept using a non-Qalqalah concept. When we read the word ٱ, we see the front of the tongue touching the upper gums at the end of the word. When we move the tongue away from this point, we get the Qalqalah effect without cutting the sound.

But because the letter Laam is not included in the letter Qalqalah, we should not worry about this letter. This is a common mistake for making sounds for non-Qalqalah letters.

Level of Qalqalah:

Qalqalah letters are divided into three levels according to their strength. These are:

The strongest Qalqalah :

The strongest Qalqalah happens with the heavy and Mushaddad letters like الطاء (ط), which comes at the end of the word for example,  الحق و  الجد

Medium Qalqalah :

The strong Qalqalah happens with the letter Qalaqala at the end of the word but without Shadda. 

for example  حسد  

Lower Qalqalah :

 that occurs if the letter of QalqalaH comes in the middle of the word Al-Qaf (ق), البا (ب), and Al-Dal (د) in the words مقْمحون, خلقْنا, ادْخل, يبْسرون

3 Types of Qalqalah  :

There are 3 types of Qalqalah in Tajwid. In English, it is called major, medium, minor, or strong, strong, and weak.

Qalqalah Kubra (The Strongest Qalqalah) :

Qalqalah Kubra or the strongest Qalqalah is written as القلقلة الكبرة. Qalaqah Kubra occurs when one of the five letters comes at the end of the verse and it was signed by Shaddah.

What you notice here is that you stand on the last letter, that is, at the end of the word, and do not stop there, do not connect it, but “echo the letter”.

Do not make the mistake of adding letters or gestures instead of a Qalqalah.

Example of Qalqalah Kubra :

Examples of Qalqalah Kubra are as follows:

الحقّ 

الجبّ

الحجّ

مدّ

Qalqalah Wusta (Middle Qalqalah) :

middle Qalqalah in Arabic is called القلقلة الوسطة. It occurs at the end of a sentence in the middle of a verse.

This happens when the letter Qalqalah is at the end of the word, the letter Qalqalah does not have Shadda, and the reader makes a WAQF (stop) in the word.

Example Qalalah Wusta :

…العذاب

….تحيد

….حرج

….محيط

These words are in the middle of this verse, so we read them in the middle voice of Qalqalah.

Qalqalah Sughra (Light of Qalqalah) :

light Qalqalah in Arabic is called Al-Qalqalah al-Sughra. Occurs in the middle of a word at the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence.

Example Qalqalah Sughra

Examples are as follows:

أفتطْمعون

عدْن

ابْتغاء

بقدْر

مطْلع

Qalqalah letters in Quran :

These are some examples of Qalqalah letters in the Quran:

Qāf (القاف)

Allah says:

إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا فِي أَعْنَاقِهِمْ أَغْلالاً فَهِيَ إِلَى الأَذْقَانِ فَهُم مُّقْمَحُونَ

وَخَلَقْنَا لَهُم مِّن مِّثْلِهِ مَا يَرْكَبُونَ

أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا أَنَّا خَلَقْنَا لَهُمْ مِمَّا عَمِلَتْ أَيْدِينَا أَنْعَامًا فَهُمْ لَهَا مَالِكُونَ

Tàa (الطاء)

Allah says: 

وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ أَنفِقُوا مِمَّا رَزَقَكُمْ اللهُ قَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَنُطْعِمُ مَن لَّوْ يَشَاء اللهُ أَطْعَمَهُ إِنْ أَنتُمْ إِلاَّ فِي ضَلالٍ مُّبِينٍ 

أَوَلَمْ يَرَ الإِنسَانُ أَنَّا خَلَقْنَاهُ مِن نُّطْفَةٍ فَإِذَا هُوَ خَصِيمٌ مُّبِينٌ

Here you go to check one of our Tajweed simple pdf materials to learn by yourself 

Conclusion :

In conclusion, Qalqalah is an Arabic term that means echoing or shaking. This post covers everything basic about Huroof Qalqalah that you should know about. But if you wish to learn more about the letters of Qalqalah in Arabic, you can always get our assistance!

At Tipyaan Academy, we have qualified professionals with a strong command of the Arabic language and the method of reading the Quran. They can not only teach you about this in detail, but you can also get Qalqalah worksheets. So, if you or your kids wish to learn more about Qalqalah letters in detail, Join our Online Tajweed Course.

When learning Qalqalah letters, also requires you to listen to real examples, and to recall them with a qualified teacher who is licensed in the science of Tajweed to the Book of Allah, and recites it to correct you, train you day by day, and teach you the ruling until you are fully proficient in it.

That is all you need to know about Qalqalah rules but there is much more knowledge you can acquire about Quran and Tajweed rules through our courses at Tipyaan Academy such as:

Sun and Moon letter in Arabic

Noon Sakinah and Tanween rules

Idgham rules

Madd Badal

and many more

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