Search:     Advanced search
Browse by category:
Contact Us



Are there different sounds for the fathah?

Views: 6961
Votes: 3
Question
EsSelamu alejkum

mashaAllah, this is a beautiful and a very useful site, may Allah bless you and reward you for your efforts.

I have a question concerning the propunciation of fatha. I have learned to make a difference between fetha when it is on 'hard' letters (like q, da, ta,) on one hand, and when it is on the 'soft' letters (lika ba etc,, on the other).

What I mean is that in the first case I pronounce it as an 'a' whereas in the second case I pronounce it as an 'e' (not like an English (i) but as an short a/e like in the name Esmaa)).
And this is what I can hear when I listen to different qarias, but I have now heard that this distinction is wrong. Can you please help me on this?
Examples to help you understand what I mean:
fetha as an 'a': 'Rahiim', 'Rahmaan', 'darabe'
but I say fetha as an 'e' in: 'rejul' 'fejr' 'emiir'.

Isn't this fusha? Is it a dialect? I'm a non-arab.

Hope it is not confusing and you get my point.
EsSelamu alejkum we rahmetullahi we berekatuhu.
 
Answer
Wa alaikum assalaam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Jazakum Allahu khairan for your dua’.
 
For most letters, the fathah has one sound, the only time the fath has a different sound is when it is on a letter that has tafkheem, meaning one of the letters in the group  ,  the letter  ,  and the letter  of the Glorious name of Allah when it has tafkheem. Tafkheem is an Arabic word, translated as velarization. It means a heavy sound that fills the mouth with an echo, so when the letter has tafkheem, the accompanying fath on it, also acquires the tafkheem. 

Other than these cases, all the fathah of each letter should sound the same. Some of the examples given in the question are of the letter with a fathah, which has tafkheem, but the other letters in the examples do not have tafkheem, so the fathah on these other letters should all sound the same.
 
Insha’ Allah this helps you understand. 
Wa assalaam alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
 
Others in this Category
document How can we learn the Qur'an easily?
document What books are available for turuq of tayyibah?
document I want to learn Qur'an with tajweed
document Are there any websites or softwares with the articulation points of the letters shown?
document How long is the ghunnah?
document How can one who finds it difficult to read Arabic begin the study of tajweed?
document Should we teach tajweed theory to children?
document Clarification on the articulation point of the seen, zay, and Saad
document How should we explain hamzah al-wasl to children?
document Sajdah tilaawah, recitation speed, and new site updates
document Where can I find the Jazariyyah poem written and with a sound file? What are the steps for an ijaazah?
document How do you determine what the dagger alif is for?



RSS