Minor Assimilation (Al-Idgham Al-Sagheer) — Its Domain in Hafs
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Level: basic
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مَن يَعْمَلْ سُوءًا يُجْزَ بِهِ
— النساء 123
Definition:
Minor Assimilation (Idgham Sagheer): merging a sukoon (non-voweled) letter into the following voweled letter in the next word. Called "minor" because the merged letter has sukoon.
Rule:
Divided into:
• With Ghunna: Noon saakinah or Tanwin before "ي ن م و" — assimilation with nasal resonance
• Without Ghunna: Noon saakinah or Tanwin before "ل ر" — complete assimilation, no nasal
• Identical letters (Sagheer): e.g., sukoon Ba into voweled Ba: "Go with my letter" [Al-Naml: 28]
• Same-makhraj letters (Mutajanisain): e.g., Dhal into Tha: "Idh Thalamtum"
Quranic Examples:
"Man Ya'mal" [An-Nisa: 123] — Noon assimilates into Ya with Ghunna.
"Min Rabbihim" [Al-Baqarah: 5] — Noon assimilates into Ra without Ghunna.
Note:
Condition for Idgham Sagheer: the two letters must be from two separate words. If in one word (e.g., "Dunya", "Bunyan"), no assimilation applies.
Source: Matn Al-Jazariyya by Ibn Al-Jazari; Al-Tuhfa by Al-Jamzuri; Hidayat Al-Qari by Al-Mursifi
Question: Why is Idgham not applied in the word "Dunya" despite having Noon before Ya?
Answer: Because Idgham Sagheer requires the two letters to be in two separate words. In "Dunya" they are in one word, so Izhaar (clear pronunciation) applies