Itbaaq and Infitah in Tajweed:
By Muhammad Hassan ·
Itbaaq and Infitaah
Itbaaq
Itbaaq (الإطباق) means "compression" or "closing in."It’s a special quality where the tongue gets really close to the roof of the mouth, making the letter sound extra heavy and strong. But wait — these letters are already heavy because of another characteristic called Isti’laa…So why are they even heavier?Because they have two heavy traits:Isti’laa (tongue rises)And Itbaaq (tongue compresses upwards)There are only 4 letters in the Arabic language that have Itbaaq: ص، ض، ط، ظThese 4 letters are called MutbiqahTry saying and feel the heaviness of these letters:
- صَلاة (Salaah)
- ضَلّ (Dhall)
- طَبَعَ (Taba‘a)
- ظَلَمَ (Zalama)
So yes, these 4 letters aren’t just heavy — they’re the heaviest in the Qur’an!
Infitaah
Infitah (الانفتاح) means "opening."This is the opposite of Itbaaq — instead of compressing the tongue upward, the tongue stays low or relaxed, allowing the sound to feel lighter and more open.
Think of it like this — the mouth is more open, the tongue is not pressed against the roof, and the letter feels soft when you pronounce it.
Here's the key point:All Arabic letters are considered Infitah letters — except the 4 we mentioned in the last video: ص، ض، ط، ظ
The letters with this Sifat is called Munfatihah
Try saying:
- سَلام (Salaam) – feel how light the س is.
- مَلَك (Malak) – the ك and م sound soft and open.
- فَتَحَ (Fataha) – listen to the easy flow of ف and ت.
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