The Contrarieties’ Attributes

The contrarieties’ attributes are opposite attributes. There are five such attributes of which one is further divided into three and the remaining are arranged in pairs. Every pair consists of an attribute that complements or opposes the other character in the pair. There are 11 types of contrarieties’ attributes, and every Arabic letter should have five of them. The five contrarieties' attributes are al-hasms and al-jahr; al- sheddah, al-tawaṣut, and al-rakhāwah; al-isti`lā’ and al-istifāl; al-iṭbāq and al-infitāḥ; and al-idhlāq and al-iṣmāt (Ma`bad, 1995).

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Al-Hasms and al-Jahr

Al-hasms means ‘hidden’ or ‘to whisper’ and Surty (2000) defines it as ‘the gentle sound’. Al-hasms is the continuation of breath when pronouncing the letters Ḥā ) , ح( Thā ) , Hā (ث( ) , Shīn ه )ش(, Khā () , Ṣād خ )ص(, Fā )ف(, Sīn )س(, Kāf () , and thin Tā ك

( ت

) (Ibn al-Jazrī, 2006). Shukrī (2003) explains that the reason for the continuation is the weakness of these letters’ makhārij, and the weakness of relying on articulation’s points of the letters (Czerepinski, 2006).

Al-jahr, meaning ‘appearing’, is the opposite attribute of al-hasms and signifies the obstruction of breath when pronouncing the letters after al-hasms. Due to the strength of their makhārij (al-Qurṭubī, 2000), they rely on the letter at its articulation point.

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Al-Sheddah, al-Tawaṣuṭ, and al-Rakhāwah

Al-sheddah, meaning ‘strength’, refers to the terminology for the obstruction of sound when pronouncing the letters Qāf () , thick Ṭā (ق ) , Jīmط )ج(, Bā ) , Dālب( )د(, Hamzah () , Kāf (ء ) , and thin Tā (ك ) due to their complete reliance on their points of ت articulation, which makes the letters strong. Al-rakhawah is the opposite of al- sheddah. It is the continuation of sound when pronouncing the letters after the al- sheddah and al-Tawaṣuṭ letters because of their incomplete reliance on their points of articulation, which makes the letters weak (Czerepinski, 2006).

Al-tawaṣuṭ is the middle attribute between al-sheddah and al-rakhāwah, means ‘moderate’. Al-tawaṣuṭ is the moderate continuation of sound between al-sheddah

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and al-rakhāwah. There is no complete continuation of sound, as in al-rakhāwah, or a complete stoppage, as in al-sheddah. The sound is obstructed, and then partially flows. Al-tawaṣuṭ letters are Mīm ) , Lāmم( ) , Nūn (ل( ) , Rāن )ر(, and `Ayn ) ع( (`Abdallah, 1999).

Al- sheddah, al-tawaṣuṭ, and al-rakhāwah are not dependent on the air that is used by the letter, but rather the sound. Their strength does not relate to the strength of relying on the letter at its point of articulation; it comes from a complete or incomplete reliance on the articulation point.

On the other hand, how do Kāf (ك) and Tā (ت) have strength and weakness in their Makhraj at the same time? Both letters have a stoppage in the sound because of the strength of their makhraj and have a weakness because of the continuation of air. The stoppage occurs to the sound that is uttered first, and then the makhraj gets weaker and allows the air to exit the mouth.

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Al-Isti`lā' and Al-istifāl

In Tajwid, al-lsti`lā', meaning ‘elevated’, is the lifting of the tip of the tongue to the upper palate when pronouncing the letters Ṣād (ص), ḍād (ض), thick Ṭā (ط), thick Ẓā (ظ), ghauyn (غ), Khā (خ), and Qāf (ق). These letters are known as the permanent Tafkhīm (thick) letters. Tafkhīm means ‘heaviness’ and technically, it indicates the sound of letters that are so heavy that the mouth is full with resonation. Ḥusainī (1981) states that the thick letters have the following four levels with respect to their vowels or the vowels of the preceding letters:

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1. The strongest level is when the letter of heaviness carries a Fatḥah and is followed by Alif. For example, ḍād (ض) in aḍ-ḍāllīn (نيِلاَّضلا ) (al-Fātiḥah, 7). 2. The second level is when the letter of heaviness carries a Fatḥah but is not

followed by Alif, as in Qāf (ق) in Qablikum (مُكِل بَق ) (al-Baqarah, 214), or if it is non-vowelled and followed by Fatḥah, as in Ghauyn (غ) in aghlālan (ًْلَلا غَأ) (Yāsīn, 8).

3. The third level is when the letter carries a ḍammah, as in Qāf (ق) in Wal- Qur’an (ْ نا ءرًقلاَو ) (Yāsīn, 1), or when it is non-vowelled and preceded by

ḍammah, as in Qāf (_{ق) in muqmaḥūn نو حَم ق م}ْ)ْ ) (Yāsīn, 8).

4. The fourth level is when the letter of heaviness carries a kasrah, such as Qāf (ق) in yunqidhūn نو ذ ق ن ي (Yāsīn, 23), or if it is non-vowelled and preceded by kasrah, such as Qāf (ق) in nughriqhum م ه ق ر غ ن (Yāsīn, 44).

On the other hand, al-istifāl means ‘low’, and occurs when the tip of the tongue is kept down and away from the upper palate in the lowest part of the mouth when pronouncing the remaining letters after al-isti`lā' (Naṣr, 2000).

 Al-Iṭbāq and Al-Infitāḥ

Al-iṭbāq means, ‘to close’ or ‘adhere’ and Surty (2000) defines it as ‘to cover’. This attribute appears when the tip of the tongue covers part of the upper palate or sticks to it when pronouncing the letters Ṣād (ص), Ḍād (ض), thick Ṭā (ط), and thick Ẓā (ظ). Al-infitāḥ, meaning ‘unlock’ or ‘separation’, refers to having an open space between the tip of the tongue and the upper palate when pronouncing the remaining letters after al-iṭbāq (al-Qurṭubī, 2000).

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Al-Idhlāq and al-Iṣmāṭ

Al-ḥussainī (2000) defines al-ithlāq, meaning ‘softness’, as the speed of pronunciation of the letters Bā (ب), Lām (ل), Nūn (ن), Mīm (م), Rā (ر), and Fā (ف). Other scholars, like Shukrī (2005), explain that the reason for this speed is the ease or light pronunciation of its letters. Iṣmāt means ‘hard’ and Ḥusainī (1996) clarifies it as the sound made when it stops abruptly. Surty (2000) explains that it is the hard pronunciation for the remaining letters after idhlāq. Czerepinski (2006) omits this pair of attributes from her book, perhaps as they do not need a particular effort in their application.