This is one of the first rules children meet, often before they even know the word tajweed. It is also one of the most useful, because ال appears thousands of times in the Quran. Three of the first four verses of al-Fatiha have it.
Why "sun" and "moon"?
The names come from two example words. In الْقَمَرُ (the moon), the lam is pronounced. In الشَّمْسُ (the sun), it is not. Every letter that behaves like ق is a moon letter, and every letter that behaves like ش is a sun letter.
The 14 moon letters (lam qamariyyah)
ا ب غ ح ج ك و خ ف ع ق ي م ه
They are traditionally memorised with the phrase ابْغِ حَجَّكَ وَخَفْ عَقِيمَهُ, "seek your pilgrimage and fear that it be fruitless". Before these, the lam has a sukoon and is pronounced clearly. This is called izhar qamari.
- الْحَمْدُ (al-ḥamdu)
- الْكِتَابُ (al-kitābu)
- الْيَوْمَ (al-yawma)
- الْمُسْتَقِيمَ (al-mustaqīm)
- الْأَرْضِ (al-arḍi)
The 14 sun letters (lam shamsiyyah)
ت ث د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ل ن
These are all letters made with the tip or front of the tongue, close to where lam itself is made. That closeness is why the lam merges into them. In the mushaf, the lam is written but has no sukoon, and the next letter has a shaddah.
- الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ (ar-raḥmāni r-raḥīm)
- الدِّينِ (ad-dīn)
- الصِّرَاطَ (aṣ-ṣirāṭ)
- النَّاسِ (an-nās)
- الشَّيْطَانُ (ash-shayṭān)
See it in al-Fatiha
| Word | Type | How it is read |
|---|---|---|
| الْحَمْدُ | Moon | al-ḥamdu |
| الْعَالَمِينَ | Moon | al-'ālamīn |
| الرَّحْمَٰنِ | Sun | ar-raḥmān |
| الدِّينِ | Sun | ad-dīn |
| الصِّرَاطَ | Sun | aṣ-ṣirāṭ |
| الْمُسْتَقِيمَ | Moon | al-mustaqīm |
| الضَّالِّينَ | Sun | aḍ-ḍāllīn |
What about the hamza at the start?
The alif at the start of ال is a connecting hamza (hamzat al-wasl). If you start reading from that word, you say it as "a". If the word is in the middle of a sentence, it is silent and you go straight from the previous word to the lam or the doubled letter: رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ is read rabbil-'ālamīn. More on this in our guide to hamzat al-wasl and al-qat'.
A special case: the name Allah
اللَّه starts with ال followed by another lam. Because ل is a sun letter, the two lams merge into one doubled lam. Its weight then follows the vowel before it, as explained in our guide to heavy and light letters.
Mistakes to watch for
- Saying the lam before a sun letter: al-raḥmān instead of ar-raḥmān.
- Not doubling the sun letter properly, so النَّاسِ sounds like a-nās.
- Adding a vowel to the lam before a moon letter: ala-ḥamdu.
- Pronouncing the hamza of ال in the middle of a sentence.
Teaching it to children
Children enjoy sorting games. Write the 28 letters on cards, draw a sun and a moon on two boxes, and have them sort each letter after saying "al-" with it. Then let them find examples in Surah an-Nas and al-Falaq. Our Noorani Qaida course introduces this rule through exactly this kind of practice, and the kids' classes revisit it as they start reading surahs.
Questions parents and students ask us
What are sun and moon letters?
They are two groups of 14 letters that decide how the lam of ال is pronounced. Before moon letters the lam is pronounced clearly; before sun letters it merges into the next letter, which is doubled.
What are the 14 moon letters?
ا ب غ ح ج ك و خ ف ع ق ي م ه, memorised with the phrase ابغ حجك وخف عقيمه.
What are the 14 sun letters?
ت ث د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ل ن.
How can I tell if a letter is a sun letter in the mushaf?
If the letter after ال has a shaddah and the lam has no sukoon, it is a sun letter and the lam is not pronounced.
Want a teacher to listen and correct you live? Book a free trial class. No card needed.
Book a Free Trial Class