Qalqalah, the echo of five letters

Qalqalah means “shaking” or “echoing”. When one of the five letters ق ط ب ج د has a sukun, the reciter releases it with a slight bounce so it is heard clearly. Without it, a sakin ب or د would almost disappear, because these letters hold the sound back completely.

The right sound

Bring the tongue or lips to the letter's place, press, and release quickly, letting a short echo come out. The echo is not a vowel. It should not sound like a, i or u. Many teachers say it leans slightly towards the vowel before it; others say it is neutral. Either way, it must never become a full harakah.

When it happens

• Sughra (light): a sakin qalqalah letter in the middle of a word or passage, as in ٱقْرَأْ.
• Kubra (strong): stopping on a qalqalah letter at the end of a word, as in ٱلْفَلَقِ read as al-falaq.
• With shaddah (strongest): stopping on a doubled qalqalah letter, as in وَتَبَّ.

A qalqalah letter with a vowel (fatha, kasrah or dammah) has no qalqalah: the vowel already releases it.

Common mistakes

• Adding a vowel: saying “yalidu” or “aqara” instead of a clean release. This can change the word.
• Bouncing too hard in sughra: the mid-word bounce is light.
• Forgetting it when stopping: al-falaq, al-buruj and aḥad end with a clear bounce.
• Bouncing the wrong letters: ك and ت are not qalqalah letters, even though they are similar.
• Doubling the letter: a sakin د is one dal released, not two.

Practise with Juz 30

Surahs Al-Falaq, Al-Ikhlas, Al-Masad, Al-Alaq and Al-Buruj are full of qalqalah. Play each example above, then recite the surah with the recitation player on repeat and listen for every bounce.

1. Ibn al-Jazari, al-Muqaddimah al-Jazariyyah: “and qalqalah is in qutbu jadd”.
2. The rules follow the standard tajweed manuals for Hafs from Asim, such as Hidayat al-Mustafid.

The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.