Idgham Shafawi
إدغام شفوي
Two mīms become one
Lesson 4.2 · Module 4 · Meem sakinah
Idgham Shafawi (إدغام شفوي): a mīm with no vowel, then another mīm: they become one doubled mīm, with a nasal sound of two counts. When a mīm with no vowel is followed by another mīm. The Quran has 832 of them, in 77 surahs (Hafs reading).
What does Idgham Shafawi mean?
Idgham Shafawi (إدغام شفوي): two mīms become one
The meem sakinah merges into the meem that follows: the two meems become one meem with shaddah and ghunnah.
Idgham Shafawi: the letter
| Letter | Name | In the Quran |
|---|---|---|
| م | mīm | 832 |
How to pronounce Idgham Shafawi
Close the lips once and keep them closed for two counts, the sound in the nose, then open.
- The gesture
- Close the lips once, keep them closed while the ghunnah resonates for two counts, then open on the second mīm’s vowel.
- Avoid
- Do not separate the two mīms, open the lips between them, or lose the ghunnah.
- The condition
- The first mīm must be sakin and the next letter another mīm. Before bā it is hidden; before other letters it stays clear.
The length, by ear
Two counts: the nasal sound is held, and the vowel before it stays short.
One count is the length of a short vowel.
Two counts is the measure of al-Marsafi (Hidayat al-Qari) and of most textbooks. Other teachers do not count the ghunnah in beats: its length is learned by ear, by listening to a reciter.
Where the letters come from
Each point is shown on the mouth map, and each letter has its own page.
12 examples of Idgham Shafawi in the Quran
Short surahs first. Tap ▶ to hear Idgham Shafawi in its verse, recited by al-Husary.
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أَطْعَمَهُم مِّن
'aṭʿamahummin
The mīm merges into the next mīm: a doubled mīm is said, lips closed, with the nasal sound held for two counts.
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رَبِّهِم مِّن
rabbihimmin
The mīm merges into the next mīm: a doubled mīm is said, lips closed, with the nasal sound held for two counts.
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عَلَيْهِم مُّؤْصَدَةٌ
ʿalayhimmu'ṣadah
The mīm merges into the next mīm: a doubled mīm is said, lips closed, with the nasal sound held for two counts.
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وَهُم مُّسْتَكْبِرُونَ
wahummustakbirūn
The mīm merges into the next mīm: a doubled mīm is said, lips closed, with the nasal sound held for two counts.
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رَزَقْنَـٰكُم مِّن
razaqnākummin
The mīm merges into the next mīm: a doubled mīm is said, lips closed, with the nasal sound held for two counts.
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سَكَنتُم مِّن
sakantummiw
The mīm merges into the next mīm: a doubled mīm is said, lips closed, with the nasal sound held for two counts.
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جَآءَكُم مِّنَ
jā'akummina
The mīm merges into the next mīm: a doubled mīm is said, lips closed, with the nasal sound held for two counts.
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عَادَيْتُم مِّنْهُم
ʿādaytumminhum
The mīm merges into the next mīm: a doubled mīm is said, lips closed, with the nasal sound held for two counts.
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يُخْرِجُوكُم مِّن
yukhrijūkummin
The mīm merges into the next mīm: a doubled mīm is said, lips closed, with the nasal sound held for two counts.
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وَأَخْرَجُوكُم مِّن
wa'akhrajūkummin
The mīm merges into the next mīm: a doubled mīm is said, lips closed, with the nasal sound held for two counts.
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وَءَاتُوهُم مَّآ
wa'ātūhummā
The mīm merges into the next mīm: a doubled mīm is said, lips closed, with the nasal sound held for two counts.
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أَزْوَٰجُهُم مِّثْلَ
'azwājuhummithla
The mīm merges into the next mīm: a doubled mīm is said, lips closed, with the nasal sound held for two counts.
Idgham Shafawi: common mistakes
What is often heard, and how to fix it. The ▶ plays the right model, recited by al-Husary.
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Saying two mīms and reopening the lips between them: the two make a single doubled mīm.
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Passing with no nasal sound: the doubled mīm is held two counts in the nose.
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Lengthening the vowel before the mīm: it stays short; the nasal sound is what is held.
Idgham Shafawi and neighbouring rules
| Rule | When | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Idgham Shafawi | When a mīm with no vowel is followed by another mīm. | A mīm with no vowel, then another mīm: they become one doubled mīm, with a nasal sound of two counts. |
| Ikhfa Shafawi | When a mīm with no vowel ends a word and the next word begins with a bā (ب). | Before a bā, the mīm is not said clearly: it keeps a nasal sound for two counts. |
| Iqlab | When a nūn with no vowel, or a tanwīn (final “n”), is followed by a bā (ب). | Before a bā, the nūn turns into a mīm, with a nasal sound held two counts. |
By ear: two words that sound alike
Two words that sound alike: one is read with Idgham Shafawi, the other with Izhar Shafawi. Listen for the difference.
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لَهُم مَّا
lahum mā
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لَهُمْ لَا
lahum lā
What I show you when you recite
Your turn: which rule?
By eye
The highlighted letters carry a rule. Which one?
- As-Saf 61:6
إِلَيْكُم مُّصَدِّقًا
'ilaykummuṣaddiqal
- Al-Fil 105:4
تَرْمِيهِم بِحِجَارَةٍ
tarmīhim biḥijāratim
- As-Saf 61:10
تُنجِيكُم مِّنْ
tunjīkummin
- Al-Bayyinah 98:4
مِنۢ بَعْدِ
mim baʿdi
By ear
Listen, then choose the rule you hear. The word appears after you answer.
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لَهُم مَّغْفِرَةٌ
lahum maghfiratuw
Al-Hujurat 49:3 -
بِحَمْدِ
biḥamdi
An-Nasr 110:3 -
فَيُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا
fayunabbi'ukum bimā
Al-Jumu'ah 62:8
Idgham Shafawi in numbers
832times in the Quran
77surahs
| Surah | Verses | Idgham Shafawi |
|---|---|---|
| 60. Al-Mumtahanah | 13 | 7 |
| 49. Al-Hujurat | 18 | 3 |
| 106. Quraysh | 4 | 2 |
| 63. Al-Munafiqun | 11 | 2 |
| 61. As-Saf | 14 | 2 |
Counted on the text of the Madani Mushaf (Hafs reading).
Frequently asked questions
What is Idgham Shafawi in tajweed?
A sakin mīm before another mīm becomes one doubled mīm, with a ghunnah held for two counts.
Which letters does Idgham Shafawi apply to?
When a mīm with no vowel is followed by another mīm.
How many times does Idgham Shafawi occur in the Quran?
832 times, in 77 surahs, according to the text of the Madani Mushaf (Hafs reading). Among the surahs of 20 verses or fewer, Al-Mumtahanah has the most: 7 in 13 verses.
Idgham Shafawi or Ikhfa Shafawi: what is the difference?
Idgham Shafawi: a mīm with no vowel, then another mīm: they become one doubled mīm, with a nasal sound of two counts. Ikhfa Shafawi: before a bā, the mīm is not said clearly: it keeps a nasal sound for two counts.
Idgham Shafawi: how do I know I apply it correctly?
A rule is learned by ear: recite a surah out loud in the Tilawa app, which follows your recitation word by word and shows you where Idgham Shafawi was missed or done wrong, with the word to replay in its verse.
Tilawa editorial team · Updated 2026-10-24 · Report an error