Idgham Shafawi: The One-Letter Rule of Meem Sakinah, With Quran Examples
Quran Book Academy · Quran & Tajweed Library
One letter · One merged sound · A 2-count ghunnah · Audio by Sheikh Al-Husary · Free quiz & game
Many learners read أَطْعَمَهُم مِّن جُوعٍ as hum-min — two separate meems, a small stumble that often goes uncorrected. It should be one meem carrying a shaddah, held with a gentle hum. That single fix is the whole of Idgham Shafawi, and it has exactly one trigger letter: م. It is one of the shortest rules in Tajweed, and one of the three rules of Meem Sakinah.
Also written Idgham Shafawee, Idghaam Shafawi, Idgham Mim Sakin or Idgham Meem Sakinah — in Arabic, إدغام شفوي.
⚡ The 30-second version: one trigger letter (م) · a meem sakinah meets another meem · the two merge into a single meem with a shaddah · that merged meem is held with a ghunnah of two counts · then released. You can learn the theory in sixty seconds; the rest of this page is about making your mouth do it.
Example: لَهُم مَّا · held with a ghunnah of two counts
What Is Idgham Shafawi?
Idgham Shafawi (إدغام شفوي) is the Tajweed rule that applies when a meem sakinah (مْ) is followed by another meem (م). The two meems merge into a single meem carrying a shaddah, which is pronounced with a ghunnah held for two counts. It is the only Meem Sakinah rule where two identical letters meet.
The name breaks into two halves, and both are literal. Idgham (إدغام) means merging or inserting one thing into another. Shafawi (شفوي) means “of the lips”, from shafah (شفة) — because the meem is produced by closing the two lips together, the shafatayn. So the name tells you the action and the place: a merging that happens at the lips.
Notice what that means for your mouth. Two meems in a row are not two events. What you produce is one meem, doubled by the shaddah, with the nasal sound running through it — not a meem finished and a meem begun.
The rule in one line
Meem sakinah + meem = one meem with a shaddah, held with a ghunnah of two counts. If you remember nothing else from this page, remember that sentence. Everything below is either a way of hearing it or a way of practising it.
📘 Note for advanced learners: the classical names for this rule
Classical Tajweed books file this rule under a second name: Idgham Mutamathilayn Sagheer (إدغام متماثلين صغير). Mutamathilayn means “two identical letters” — same articulation point, same attributes, the same letter twice. Sagheer, “minor”, describes the easiest possible case: the first letter is sakin (unvowelled), and the second is vowelled, so the merging happens on its own with almost no effort.
It is also classified as idgham kamil — complete — because the meem sakinah is fully absorbed into the second meem rather than partly retained. The ghunnah you hear belongs to the doubled meem itself, not to a leftover of the first one. In practice this changes nothing about how you recite it: you still produce one meem with a shaddah and a two-count ghunnah. It simply explains why classical books call this merging “complete” while some other cases of idgham are called “incomplete”.
Idgham Shafawi Letters: Just One
There is one Idgham Shafawi letter: م. That is the entire list. If a meem sakinah is followed by another meem, this rule applies — every time, in every position, with nothing further to memorise.
What is worth memorising is how that one letter sits against the other two rules of the chapter:
The three rules of Meem Sakinah and their trigger letters
| Meem Sakinah rule | How many trigger letters | Which |
|---|---|---|
| Idgham Shafawi (this page) | 1 | م |
| Ikhfa Shafawi | 1 | ب |
| Izhar Shafawi | 26 | Every other letter |
The only trigger letter
Meem sakinah followed by م → Idgham Shafawi
How to spot it in the mushaf
Here is a detail that is easy to miss, and it turns the rule into something you see rather than something you work out. In the Madani script the first meem is written bare — no sukoon sign on it — and the second meem carries a shaddah and its vowel:
لَهُم مَّا
The shaddah on the second meem is your signal. That is the mark that tells you a merging has taken place, and it is the one to train your eye on. The bare first meem is a supporting clue rather than the rule itself — printings differ, and some editions mark the merged letter in their own way, so read the shaddah first and let the rest confirm it.
⚠️ Taught separately: a doubled meem inside a single word, such as أُمَّة or مُحَمَّد. There is no meem sakinah ending one word and meeting a meem that begins the next; the shaddah belongs to the word itself. It is still read with a two-count ghunnah, and it is usually taught under the rules of noon and meem mushaddadah — covered with the rules of Meem Sakinah. See FAQ Q8 for how references classify these cases.
How to Pronounce Idgham Shafawi (4 Steps)
The rule first, then the technique. The rule is that the two meems merge into one meem with a shaddah, pronounced with a two-count ghunnah. The four steps below are how teachers get a student’s mouth to produce that — they are practical guidance, not the definition.
1. Do not pronounce the two meems separately
The meem sakinah is not given a beat of its own and does not end the first word with a click of the lips. It is absorbed into the meem that follows, so what leaves your mouth is one letter, not two.
2. Close your lips once, for the merged meem
Close your lips gently for the doubled meem, without excessive pressure. The lips close here because meem itself is made at the lips — it is not something every doubled Arabic letter needs. One closure is all the merged meem needs, and it is the fastest way to feel the difference between one meem and two.
3. Hold the ghunnah for two counts
With the lips still closed, let the sound resonate through the nose for the length of two harakahs at your recitation pace. Two counts is a relative measure, not a fixed number of seconds — it stretches when you recite slowly and shortens when you recite quickly. Keep it level, and keep it the same length every time.
4. Release into the next vowel cleanly
Open the lips straight into the vowel that follows. لَهُم مَّا is pronounced continuously — roughly lahu-mmm-mā — as one stream with no break in it.
👃 Optional: feel the nasal resonance
Gently pinch your nose while you hum the merged meem of لَهُم مَّا, then let go. The sound changes, because ghunnah resonates through the nose. That is all this demonstrates: that meem carries nasal resonance.
Every meem has some of that resonance — even a short one that is not held — so pinching cannot tell you whether you held the ghunnah for the right length or articulated the letter correctly. Take that model from a qualified teacher or a trusted recitation.
Idgham Shafawi Examples in the Quran
Start with Surah Quraysh. Ayah 4 carries two instances of the rule in a single verse — and many learners already know this surah by heart, which makes it a quick first win. In each example, the word ending in the merged meem sakinah is marked blue, solid underline, and the word beginning with the meem that carries the shaddah is marked orange, dashed underline. Whole words are highlighted so the Arabic letters stay correctly joined.
Surah Quraysh walkthrough · both occurrences in ayah 4
Speed and repeat apply to every recitation on this page, including the quiz.
Tap a line to hear it.
The Arabic on this page is the Quranic text as written, word by word. The merging happens in pronunciation: you read straight across the space between the two words. There is no special “merged” spelling of these phrases — fused forms sometimes seen on teaching sheets are pronunciation aids, not Quranic orthography.
Now the wider set. Ten short passages, each one a meem sakinah meeting a meem, recited by Sheikh Mahmoud Khalil Al-Husary. Most clips are trimmed to just the phrase, so they run a few seconds; the rows marked “full ayah” play the whole verse.
-
أَطْعَمَهُم مِّن جُوعٍ
Quraysh 106:4 · the best starting example
-
وَآمَنَهُم مِّنْ خَوْفٍ
Quraysh 106:4 · same ayah, second occurrence
-
فِي قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ
Al-Baqarah 2:10 · a phrase you will meet often
-
لَهُم مَّغْفِرَةٌ وَأَجْرٌ عَظِيمٌ
Al-Ma’idah 5:9 · short clip · this phrasing recurs across the Quran
-
وَلَكُم مَّا كَسَبْتُمْ
Al-Baqarah 2:141 · short clip · the merged meem carries the whole phrase
-
كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ
Aal ‘Imran 3:175 · full ayah · the merging is right at the end
-
إِنَّهُم مُّلَاقُو رَبِّهِمْ
Hud 11:29 · full ayah · listen for the merging inside the verse
-
لَهُم مَّا يَشَاءُونَ
Az-Zumar 39:34 · opens the ayah, easy to isolate
-
فَلَمَّا جَاءَهُم مُّوسَىٰ
Al-Qasas 28:36 · a doubled meem inside a word, then a merged meem across words
-
وَمَا بِكُم مِّن نِّعْمَةٍ
An-Nahl 16:53 · short clip · the idgham is followed straight away by a doubled noon
What all ten Idgham Shafawi examples from the Quran have in common
All ten ordinary examples selected for this article cross a word boundary: the first meem ends one word, the second meem begins the next. That is the pattern to train your eye on, and it is also the reason the mistake below is so easy to make — your instinct is to finish the word before starting the next one, and this rule asks you not to. (Tajweed references also discuss one case within a single written unit, the opening letters الٓمٓ — see FAQ Q8.)
Idgham Shafawi vs the Other Rules
vs Ikhfa Shafawi and Izhar Shafawi
All three rules start from the same place — a meem sakinah — and differ only in what happens next.
Idgham Shafawi vs Ikhfa Shafawi vs Izhar Shafawi
| Feature | Idgham Shafawi | Ikhfa Shafawi | Izhar Shafawi |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trigger | م | ب | the other 26 letters |
| What happens | The two meems merge into one meem with a shaddah; the lips close gently once. | The meem is concealed before baa with a two-count ghunnah. Learn the precise lip position through direct instruction from a qualified teacher. | The meem is pronounced clearly, then released — with extra care before و and ف. |
| Ghunnah | Full ghunnah, 2 counts | Full ghunnah, 2 counts | Natural ghunnah only; not prolonged for two counts. |
| Example | لَهُم مَّاAz-Zumar 39:34 | تَرْمِيهِم بِحِجَارَةٍAl-Fil 105:4 | أَلَمْ تَرَAl-Fil 105:1 |
vs the Idgham of Noon Sakinah
This is the single biggest confusion learners bring to the page, and it comes from studying the noon first. The idgham of noon sakinah splits into two categories: with ghunnah (ي ن م و) and without ghunnah (ل ر). Students arrive here expecting the same fork in the road and start hunting for the second branch.
There isn’t one. Idgham Shafawi is always with ghunnah, always two counts, in every position, with no second category to learn. If you want the fuller picture of how the noon behaves differently, it is covered in our guide to the Noon Sakin rules.
4 Common Idgham Shafawi Mistakes
1. Pronouncing two separate meems
Reading لَهُم مَّا as if it were written لَهُمْ مَا (mispronunciation, not the Quranic spelling) — two closures of the lips where the merged letter needs one. This is a very common error, and it comes from the eye: you see two meems, so you say two meems.
2. Cutting the ghunnah short
The merging is done, but the nasal hold is clipped, so the doubled meem passes without its full two counts. It is hard to hear in your own recitation — compare yourself with a trusted recitation, such as the Al-Husary clips above, or ask a teacher to listen.
3. Over-holding the ghunnah
Four, five, six counts. The over-correction of mistake 2, and it turns a ghunnah into a drone that pulls the rhythm of the whole ayah out of shape. Two counts, then move on.
4. Adding a small vowel to the first meem
Reading it as if it were لَهُمُ مَا (mispronunciation, not the Quranic spelling) to make the two words easier to join. It smooths the mouth’s job and changes the text — the meem sakinah carries no vowel, and inventing one undoes the merging entirely.
Practise Idgham Shafawi
Ghunnah consistency trainer
Two harakahs is a relative measure, not a fixed universal number of seconds — it stretches and shrinks with your recitation pace. So this trainer does not judge whether your ghunnah is correct. It helps with one narrower thing: holding your ghunnah for the same length each time.
How to use it: recite لَهُم مَّا. Start holding exactly when the ghunnah of the merged meem begins, and release when that ghunnah ends. Keep the same recitation pace across attempts. Your first hold becomes your reference; the next four are compared with it.
Hold once to set your reference length, then make four attempts to match it.
- It measures only how long you hold the button — a proxy for your ghunnah, timed by your own hand.
- It does not listen to or assess your voice. No microphone is used and nothing is recorded.
- It compares each attempt with your first hold, so it shows consistency, not correctness. The ±18% match band is a consistency threshold for this tool, not a religious standard.
- It cannot certify correct Tajweed, and it cannot tell whether your reference hold really represents two harakahs. Take the model from a qualified teacher or a trusted recitation.
Which rule of Meem Sakinah applies?
Ten questions. Each one shows you the letter pair, so you are answering from the rule rather than from memory of the verse. The Quranic example and the audio come with it.
Example from the Quran
Pick the rule that applies to this pair.
Spotting the rule is the easy half. Whether your ghunnah is actually two counts is judged by ear — and that part needs a listener.
Book a free trial lessonFree Game: Idgham Shafawi Basket
Recognition under time pressure is a different skill from recognition on a page. Catch only the words that contain Idgham Shafawi and let the rest fall past. It works on phones and tablets, and no account is needed.
Game not loading? Open it in a new tab · or browse all our free Tajweed games · the 3-rule tap game lives on the rules of Meem Sakinah hub.
Learn More
Idgham Shafawi is one of three rules that govern the meem sakinah. Here is what to study next:
All of them sit inside the wider set of Tajweed rules, and all are taught step by step in our Tajweed for adults and Tajweed for kids classes.
Idgham Shafawi FAQ
Q1. What is Idgham Shafawi?
Idgham Shafawi is the Tajweed rule that applies when a meem sakinah (مْ) is followed by another meem (م). The two meems merge into a single meem carrying a shaddah, pronounced with a ghunnah held for two counts. It is one of the three rules of Meem Sakinah, alongside Ikhfa Shafawi and Izhar Shafawi, and it is called shafawi (“of the lips”) because the meem is produced by closing the two lips together.
Q2. What are the letters of Idgham Shafawi?
There is only one: م. Idgham Shafawi has a single trigger letter, so there is no list to memorise. If the letter after the meem sakinah is anything other than م or ب, you are looking at Izhar Shafawi instead.
Q3. How do you pronounce Idgham Shafawi?
Do not pronounce the two meems separately. Close your lips gently for the doubled meem, without excessive pressure — the lips close because meem itself is a lip letter, not because every doubled Arabic letter needs it. Hold the ghunnah for two counts at your recitation pace, then release straight into the vowel that follows. لَهُم مَّا is pronounced continuously, with one held meem and no break in the middle.
Q4. Does Idgham Shafawi have ghunnah?
Yes, always, and always for two counts. Unlike the idgham of Noon Sakinah, there is no “without ghunnah” category here. Two counts is measured relative to your own recitation pace, not as a fixed number of seconds — it is longer in slow recitation and shorter in fast recitation.
Q5. What is an example of Idgham Shafawi in the Quran?
أَطْعَمَهُم مِّن جُوعٍ (Quraysh 106:4). The meem at the end of أَطْعَمَهُم merges into the meem of مِّن, producing one meem with a shaddah and a two-count ghunnah. The same ayah contains a second instance in وَآمَنَهُم مِّنْ خَوْفٍ. Other well-known examples include فِي قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ (Al-Baqarah 2:10) and لَهُم مَّغْفِرَةٌ (Al-Ma’idah 5:9).
Q6. What is the difference between Idgham Shafawi and Ikhfa Shafawi?
Idgham Shafawi happens before م, and the two letters merge into one meem with a shaddah. Ikhfa Shafawi happens before ب: the meem is concealed before baa with a two-count ghunnah, rather than merged. Learn the precise lip position through direct instruction from a qualified teacher — recognised teachers describe it differently, some as a light closing of the lips and others as a very slight gap between them. Both rules carry a two-count ghunnah, which is why they are often confused by ear; the giveaway is the letter that follows.
Q7. Is Idgham Shafawi the same as Idgham Mutamathilayn?
They describe the same event from two angles. Idgham Shafawi is the name used in the chapter on Meem Sakinah. Idgham Mutamathilayn Sagheer is the name used in the broader classification of merging: two identical letters (mutamathilayn) meet; the first letter is sakin (unvowelled), and the second is vowelled, which is the “minor” and easiest form. Idgham Mutamathilayn as a category is wider than this rule — it also covers other identical pairs, such as a daal sakinah followed by a daal.
Q8. Does Idgham Shafawi ever occur inside a single word?
All ten ordinary examples selected for this article cross a word boundary: the meem sakinah ends one word and the meem begins the next. That is the pattern you will meet in ordinary reading.
Tajweed references also discuss a case within one written unit: the opening letters الٓمٓ and الٓمٓر. The encounter happens when you connect the spoken letter names, أَلِفْ لَامْ مِيمْ: the final sakin meem of “laam” meets the initial vowelled meem of “meem”, and the two merge with a ghunnah. This does not mean the written opening visibly contains two adjacent meem characters — the meeting only exists once the letter names are pronounced.
Naturally doubled meems inside a word, such as أُمَّة or مُحَمَّد, are usually taught separately, under the rules of noon and meem mushaddadah, and they are also read with a two-count ghunnah. Some references extend the term idgham to every doubled meem in a broader sense, so the heading you meet may differ from book to book.
Two Counts, Checked in One Free Lesson
Ghunnah length is hard to self-assess — it can sound right from the inside even when it isn’t. Read Surah Quraysh to an Al-Azhar certified teacher and find out in thirty minutes.
Book Your Free Trial LessonMay Allah beautify your recitation and accept it from you. 🤲
References & Sources
The rule as described on this page follows standard Tajweed teaching in the riwayah of Hafs ‘an ‘Asim. The first three sources are linked so the specific points they support can be checked directly.
- 1. Egyptian Ministry of Awqaf — الميم الساكنة وأحكامها (Meem Sakinah and its rules), by Prof. Dr. Al-Sayyid Isma’il ‘Ali Sulayman. Supports: the three rules of meem sakinah; the minor idgham of meem into meem, cited both within one written unit (الٓمٓ, الٓمٓر) and across two words; the ghunnah that accompanies it; the wider use of the term for doubled meems; extra care with Izhar before و and ف.
- 2. ‘Abd al-Fattah al-Marsafi, Hidayat al-Qari ila Tajwid Kalam al-Bari — chapter six, الباب السادس في الغنة وأحكامها وأقوال العلماء في ذلك (Islamweb library edition, pp. 175–188). Supports: ghunnah as an inherent quality of meem and noon in every state; a full two-harakah ghunnah in the doubled, merged and concealed states; only its basic, natural amount in a meem sakinah pronounced with Izhar; closing the nose blocks the ghunnah sound even when it is weak.
- 3. Islamweb Fatwa Center, fatwa no. 52856 — الأدلة على ترك فرجة في النطق بالإقلاب والإخفاء الشفوي (2 September 2004). Supports: lip position in Ikhfa Shafawi and Iqlab is a point of difference among later reciters — some teach a light closing of the lips, others a very slight gap — with what was received from one’s teachers decisive.
- 4. Ibn al-Jazari, Al-Muqaddimah al-Jazariyyah (المقدمة الجزرية) — the foundational versified text on Tajweed.
- 5. Muhammad Makki Nasr al-Juraysi, Nihayat al-Qawl al-Mufid fi ‘Ilm Tajwid al-Qur’an al-Majid (نهاية القول المفيد) — on the rules of meem sakinah and the classification of idgham.
- 6. Muhammad Ahmad Ma’bad, Al-Mulakhkhas al-Mufid fi ‘Ilm al-Tajwid (الملخص المفيد في علم التجويد) — a standard teaching summary.
- 7. Quranic text — Surah Quraysh 106 and Surah Al-Baqarah 2, Quran.com
- 8. Recitation — Sheikh Mahmoud Khalil Al-Husary, via EveryAyah.com
© 2026 Quran Book Academy. All rights reserved.
Book Your Free Trial · Empowering Muslims Worldwide to Connect with the Quran