Lesson 3: Idghaam — Merging (إدغام)

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Lesson 3: Idghaam — Merging (إدغام)

Unit 5 · Lesson 3 · Idghaam — Imam Quran Academy

Did You Know?

When two letters meet — the first one disappears into the second

Idghaam (إدغام) means "merging" or "insertion." When a noon saakin (نْ) or tanwin (ً ٍ ٌ) is followed by certain letters, the noon does not stand on its own — it melts into the next letter, and the two become one doubled sound.

Scholars memorised the 6 Idghaam letters using the word يَرْمَلُوْنَ — a word that contains every one of those letters and nothing else. It is one of the oldest memory tools in Tajweed.

يَرْمَلُوْنَ

The 6 Idghaam Letters ي · ر · م · ل · و · ن
Every letter in this word triggers Idghaam
when it follows a noon saakin or tanwin.

With Ghunnah — إدغام بغُنَّة

ي · و · م · ن

The nasal hum is held for 2 counts while the noon merges. You still hear the "nnn" resonance.

Without Ghunnah — إدغام بغير غُنَّة

ل · ر

The noon disappears completely — no nasal resonance at all. The Lam or Ra is simply doubled.

Unit 5 · Lesson 3

The 6 Idghaam Letters — Click Each Card to Listen

Green cards = with ghunnah (nasal held) · Blue cards = without ghunnah (noon disappears). Tap each card to hear the letter pronounced.

With Ghunnah — إدغام بغُنَّة (4 letters) Without Ghunnah — إدغام بغير غُنَّة (2 letters)

+ Ghunnah ي Yā the letter Ya مَن يَعْمَلْ tap to hear

+ Ghunnah و Wāw the letter Waw مِن وَلِيٍّ tap to hear

+ Ghunnah م Mīm the letter Meem مِن مَّاءٍ tap to hear

+ Ghunnah ن Nūn the letter Noon مِن نِّعمَةٍ tap to hear

No Ghunnah ل Lām the letter Lam مِن لَّدُنْهُ tap to hear

No Ghunnah ر Rā the letter Ra مِن رَّبِّكَ tap to hear

Important Exception — Same-Word Rule

Idghaam does not apply when the noon saakin and the following letter are in the same word. The following four words are read with clear Ith-har, not Idghaam, even though they contain يَرْمَلُوْنَ letters:

بُنيَان قِنوَان صِنوَان الدُّنيَا

Recognition

Idghaam Letters — Reference Table

Six letters, two types. Study each one — its name, type, Quranic example, and how it sounds.

Letter	Name	Type	What Happens	Quranic Example
ي	Yā	+ Ghunnah	Noon merges into Ya · nasal hum held 2 counts	فَمَن يَعْمَلْ Al-Zalzalah 99:7 — "whoever does"
و	Wāw	+ Ghunnah	Noon merges into Waw · nasal hum held 2 counts	مِن وَرَائِهِ Ibrahim 14:16 — "from behind him"
م	Mīm	+ Ghunnah	Noon merges into Meem · nasal hum held 2 counts	مِن مَّاءٍ دَافِقٍ At-Tariq 86:6 — "from gushing water"
ن	Nūn	+ Ghunnah	Noon merges into Noon — becomes one doubled noon with ghunnah	مِن نِّعمَةٍ An-Nahl 16:53 — "from any blessing"
ل	Lām	No Ghunnah	Noon disappears completely · Lam is doubled · no nasal at all	مِن لَّدُنْهُ An-Nisa 4:40 — "from Himself"
ر	Rā	No Ghunnah	Noon disappears completely · Ra is doubled · no nasal at all	مِن رَّبِّكُمْ Al-Baqarah 2:5 — "from your Lord"

Live Quran Examples

Spot Idghaam in the Quran

In each verse the gold word triggers Idghaam. The green word is how it is actually read — merged.

فَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرًا يَّرَهُ

مَن يَعْمَلْ → noon merges into Ya with ghunnah

مِن وَرَائِهِ جَهَنَّمُ

مِن وَرَائِهِ → noon merges into Waw with ghunnah

خُلِقَ مِن مَّاءٍ دَافِقٍ

مِن مَّاءٍ → noon merges into Meem with ghunnah

وَمَا بِكُم مِّن نِّعمَةٍ فَمِنَ اللَّهِ

مِن نِّعمَةٍ → noon merges into Noon — one long doubled noon with ghunnah

وَإِن تَكُ حَسَنَةً يُضَاعِفْهَا وَيُؤْتِ مِن لَّدُنْهُ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا

مِن لَّدُنْهُ → noon disappears into Lam — no nasal, Lam is doubled

أُولَٰئِكَ عَلَىٰ هُدًى مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ

مِن رَّبِّهِمْ → noon disappears into Ra — no nasal, Ra is doubled

صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ

غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ — note: tanwin + ر in connected reading also follows Idghaam rules

Practice Activity

Match Each Letter to its Idghaam Type

Select a letter on the left, then tap its correct Idghaam type on the right. The romanization and a Quranic example are shown under each letter to help you. Match all 6 to complete.

Progress 0 / 6 matched

Idghaam Letters

Idghaam Type

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All 6 Letters Matched!

You know the two types of Idghaam. Move on to the practice activities to deepen your recognition inside Quranic verses.