بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Qalqalah is a method of pronouncing certain letters that have a sukoon on them (or when one stops at these letters). They require the tone to be strong and produce an ‘echo’-like sound. In general, the Qalqalahs can be divided in to 2 parts – Qalqalah Sughra & Qalqalah Kubra (This part can be divided into 2 parts).
The letters of Qalqalah are:
د ج ب ط ق
These letters can be remembered by the following phrase:
قُطُبِجَدْ
Transliteration: Qutubi Jad
The above is a ‘Pyramid of Qalqalah’ which shows the magnitude of ‘Echo-like’ sound needed depending on the type of Qalqalah. The Orange section(s) is Qalqalah Kubra and the Yellow section is Qalqalah Sughra.
Qalqalah Kubrah:
The ‘Strongest’ version of Qalqalah is when one stops at one of the letters of Qalqalah whilst, the letter has a Shadda on it.
For instance:
هُنَالِكَ الْوَلَايَةُ لِلَّـهِ الْحَقِّ
(Surah Kahf: Verse 44)
Here the sound seems stronger as one makes clear that a shadda is present.
Another version of Qalqalah Kubra is when one stops at the letter of Qalqalah that is at the end of a word (without a shadda).
For instance:
مِّنَ اللَّـهِ ذِي الْمَعَارِجِ
(Surah Ma’arij Verse 3)
Qalqah Sughrah:
In this case, the silent letter of Qalqalah appears in the middle of a word. This will create a minor echo as opposed to Qalqalah Kubra:
For instance:
وَيَرْزُقْهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَحْتَسِبُ
(Surah Talaq Verse 3)
In the above example, the echo on the Qaaf is small. Listen carefully, to hear the Qalqalah occurring in the middle of a word.
Recommended video to watch: (See if you can spot the rules of Qalqalah!….Check with passage below video)
تَبَّتْ يَدَا أَبِي لَهَبٍ وَتَبَّ ﴿١﴾ مَا أَغْنَىٰ عَنْهُ مَالُهُ وَمَا كَسَبَ ﴿٢﴾ سَيَصْلَىٰ نَارًا ذَاتَ لَهَبٍ ﴿٣﴾ وَامْرَأَتُهُ حَمَّالَةَ الْحَطَبِ ﴿٤﴾ فِي جِيدِهَا حَبْلٌ مِّن مَّسَدٍ ﴿٥﴾
Qalqalah Kubra in Red and Qalqalah Sughrah in Amber
Mukhtas ~ المختص 