Question
I
have a query about the ruling for when the letter
occurs
before the letter
like
in
.
I have been told two opinions about the pronunciation.
1.
That a ruling called 'ikhfaa shafawee' applies in that the
before
the
in
is not
pronounced totally.
2.
Some have said to me that you do pronounce the
before
the
so
you hold on to the sound of the
, saying 'mimmbayni'. They say
there is no evidence for ikhfaa' shafawee.
Which is the correct
opinion?
Answer
Although the mechanism
in the end is the same, the example in your question is actually of an
, or changing of the
saakinah
into a
when
followed by a
.
The ikhfa’ shafawee is as stated in the question, a
saakinah
followed by a
, an example
of the ikhfa’ shafawee is:
.
The ikhfa’ shafawee and the iqlaab
have
the same mechanism after the
saakinah
changes into a
in
the
, for then we have a
saakinah
followed by a
, just as we
do in the ikhfa’ shafawee.
The correct method of
making the ikhfa’ shafawee is by closing the lips for the
, holding
the sound for the ghunnah, then opening the lips at the articulation point of
the
.
The method of the
ikhfa’ shafawee and the different opinions of its mechanism is not a new
question. Sheikh ‘Aamer As-Sa’eed
‘Uthman, may Allah have mercy on him, around 30 years ago, gathered all the
reciters in Egypt together, including Sheikh Mohammed Al-Husary, and ordered
all of them to recite the ikhfa’ shafawee, and iqlaab with a very small
separation of the lips to “hide” the
.
Some prominent reciters became convinced that this was the correct way
to pronounce the ikhfa’ shafawee, and started reciting this way and ordered
their students to recite this way. Scholars
of recitation in the rest of the world did not agree with this method of doing
the ikhfa’ shafawee, and instead closed their lips during the ikhfa’ of
the
saakinah
when followed by the
whether
it was in an ikhfa’ shafawee or an iqlaab.
A sheikh named Salaah Ad-Deen from Lebanon recited to Sheikh ‘Aamer
‘Uthman twice, once reciting the seven qira’aat, then years later reciting
the ten qira’aat. The first
time he recited to Sheikh ‘Aamer ‘Uthman, he recited the ikhfa’ shafawee
with his lips closed. The second time he recited to Sheikh ‘Aamer ‘Uthmaan, he
was ordered by the Sheikh to separated his lips a small bit when reciting the
ikhfa’ shafawee. We can then
see that the Sheikh ‘Aamer ‘Uthman went through two phases himself.
One, closing his lips for the ikhfa’ shafawee, the second, leaving a
small space between the lips for the ikhfa’ shafawee.
In the matters of
tajweed we have two sources for methods of recitation.
The first, that which is written in the old books by the early
generations after the Prophet
, and the second the
authentic transmission by chain of the Qur’an from generation to generation
by mouth to mouth, all recorded and documented as to who recited to who.
Research of both these ways, the books and authentic transmission show
that there is no documentation for leaving a small space between the lips for
the ikhfa’ shafawee. The fact
that a student of Sheikh ‘Aamer ‘Uthman read to the Sheikh with two
different methods leads one to the conclusion that the separation of the lips
for the ikhfa’ shafawee was of Sheikh ‘Aamer ‘Uthman’s own ijtihaad,
and not from a way of transmission that was passed down from before him.
We do not find fault in Sheikh ‘Uthman for this, but we do not take
this method from him, since it is not documented in the old books nor is it
found in any authentic chain of transmission of the Qur’an outside of those
who recited to Sheikh ‘Uthman and those who recited to the students of
Sheikh ‘Uthman.
A final note, both
methods are still named ikhfa’ shafawee, the mechanism differs, but the name
does not.
And Allah knows best.
The source of this
answer was taken from a lecture given by his eminence, the Sheikh Dr. Ayman
Rushdi Swayd, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
