Learn · Unit 6 of 9
Sukun: the letter with no vowel
Every mark so far has added a sound. This one takes one away. A letter with a sukun is spoken and then closed, with nothing after it, and the syllable ends there.
The mark
بْ
sukun
no vowel. The letter closes the syllable before it.
In the printed mushaf this site uses, the sukun is drawn as a small open head rather than the round circle you may have seen in a textbook. It means exactly the same thing.
The 3 two-letter blocks to drill
This is the whole exercise every qaida book runs at this point: a vowelled letter, then a letter with sukun, read as one block.
| Written | Reads as | Why |
|---|---|---|
| أَبْ | ab | fatha, then a letter with sukun |
| إِبْ | ib | kasra, then a letter with sukun |
| أُبْ | ub | damma, then a letter with sukun |
Say the block, do not spell it. The point of the drill is to stop reading letter by letter and start reading syllable by syllable.
Why sukun opens unit 9
Almost every rule family in tajweed is triggered by a letter with sukun: noon sakinah is a noon with sukun, meem sakinah is a meem with sukun, and qalqalah is one of five letters carrying sukun. Nothing in unit 9 will make sense until this mark is automatic.
3 real words to read
قُلۡ
The lam carries the sukun, so it closes the syllable: qul, not qulu.
ٱلۡحَمۡدُ
Two sukuns in one word, each ending a syllable: al-ham-du.
يَلِدۡ
A sukun on one of the five qalqalah letters at the end of the word, which is where the bounce is easiest to hear.
Check yourself
Can a word start with a letter carrying sukun?
No. A sukun closes a syllable, so there has to be a vowelled letter in front of it.
What is the difference between sukun and no mark at all?
In a fully marked mushaf there is no "no mark". A letter with no vowel carries a sukun, and a letter with nothing above or below it is a madd letter stretching the vowel before it.
Does the letter still make its sound?
Yes. It is pronounced, just without a vowel after it.
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These lessons cover reading mechanics only. For recitation itself, learn with a teacher; text can show you the rules, not your own voice.
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