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Noor Quranنُورُ القُرْآن

Letters & hamzatul wasl

اللَّام الشَّمْسِيَّة وَالْقَمَرِيَّة

Lam shamsiyyah & lam qamariyyah

The lam of “al-” is silent and the next letter doubled before the fourteen sun letters, and pronounced clearly before the fourteen moon letters.

Definition

The definite article ٱل (“al-”) behaves in two ways. Before a sun letter (like ش in ٱلشَّمْس, “the sun”) the lam merges into it and the sun letter carries a shadda. Before a moon letter (like ق in ٱلْقَمَر, “the moon”) the lam is pronounced clearly and carries a sukun.

Letters

  • ت
  • ث
  • د
  • ذ
  • ر
  • ز
  • س
  • ش
  • ص
  • ض
  • ط
  • ظ
  • ل
  • ن

Sun letters (14). The other 14 (ا ب ج ح خ ع غ ف ق ك م ه و ي) are moon letters, remembered as ٱبْغِ حَجَّكَ وَخَفْ عَقِيمَهُ.

Lam shamsiyyah (silent lam)

How to pronounce it

  1. 1

    Sun letter: skip the lam and read the next letter with a shadda (ash-shams, not al-shams).

  2. 2

    Moon letter: pronounce the lam with a sukun (al-qamar).

  3. 3

    When the article starts a word after a connected word, the alif is dropped (wasl) but the lam rule stays the same.

Examples from the Quran

Only the letters that follow this rule are coloured. Press play to hear the ayah, or open it for the full page.

Lam shamsiyyah (silent lam, shown in grey)

عبس'Abasa 80:20
Open ayah

ثُمَّ ٱلسَّبِيلَ يَسَّرَهُۥ

Lam shamsiyyah (silent lam)

Then He eased the way for him;

Lam qamariyyah (clear lam, shown in teal)

Common mistakes

  • Pronouncing the lam before sun letters (“al-shams”).
  • Swallowing the lam before moon letters.

Related rules

Frequently asked questions

What is Lam shamsiyyah & lam qamariyyah?

The lam of “al-” is silent and the next letter doubled before the fourteen sun letters, and pronounced clearly before the fourteen moon letters.

How do I know a sun letter from a moon letter?

Look at the mushaf: before a sun letter the lam has no sukun and the next letter has a shadda; before a moon letter the lam has a sukun. In the app’s colours the silent lam is grey.

Why “sun” and “moon”?

The names come from the examples: ash-shams (the sun) assimilates the lam, al-qamar (the moon) does not.

Cite this

Permanent link: https://holy-quran-noor.vercel.app/learn/tajweed/lam-shamsiyyah-qamariyyah

Plain
Lam shamsiyyah & lam qamariyyah: Tajweed Rule, Letters & Quran Examples | লাম শামসিয়্যাহ ও লাম ক্বামারিয়্যাহ (Tajweed). Noor Quran. https://holy-quran-noor.vercel.app/learn/tajweed/lam-shamsiyyah-qamariyyah
APA
Noor Quran. (n.d.). Lam shamsiyyah & lam qamariyyah: Tajweed Rule, Letters & Quran Examples | লাম শামসিয়্যাহ ও লাম ক্বামারিয়্যাহ [Tajweed]. Retrieved November 13, 2026, from https://holy-quran-noor.vercel.app/learn/tajweed/lam-shamsiyyah-qamariyyah
MLA
“Lam shamsiyyah & lam qamariyyah: Tajweed Rule, Letters & Quran Examples | লাম শামসিয়্যাহ ও লাম ক্বামারিয়্যাহ.” Tajweed. Noor Quran, https://holy-quran-noor.vercel.app/learn/tajweed/lam-shamsiyyah-qamariyyah. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.
Markdown
[Lam shamsiyyah & lam qamariyyah: Tajweed Rule, Letters & Quran Examples | লাম শামসিয়্যাহ ও লাম ক্বামারিয়্যাহ](https://holy-quran-noor.vercel.app/learn/tajweed/lam-shamsiyyah-qamariyyah) — Tajweed, Noor Quran

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