Question

Your answer to my question about qalqalah was very helpful and I now have another question about difficulty in saying the letters  and  with a dhammah - it seems that it is more difficult than when these letters have other vowels or a sukoon.  Would you have any pointers for this problem?

Again may Allah reward you greatly.

Answer

And may Allah reward you and all the Muslims with goodness. 

This problem is not uncommon, especially with .  The problem usually stems from the tongue sliding forward during a dhammah and the separation of the two articulating points not occurring at the articulation point, but forward.  The idea that needs to be kept in mind, is that the separation ( ) or collision ( ) in these letters is a vertically up or down movement, not a sideways movement.  The side (or sides) of the tongue moves up to the molar area for the , hits the molar area, then separates in strength, all in a vertical axis.  The top of the tip of the tongue moves up to the gum line for the  and separates with strength, again in a vertical axis.  In both of these cases, when there is a dhammah on the letter, the lips should move into the dhammah and not the mouth. 

Sometimes the brain and tongue take a bit of time to coordinate in this movement.  The best way to practice is to start with each letter with a fat-h, and practice saying it concentrating on the vertical separation during the articulation.  After repeated that several times, do the same vertical separation adding a dhammah to the two lips, while focusing mentally on the vertical axis of separation.  The key is not to focus on the dhammah, but the vertical movement; the lips will take care of the dhammah. This, insha’ Allah, will help.