Stress (nabr) is one of the characteristics of some letters in Quranic recitation, and it occurs in specific contexts. A Quran reciter must comprehensively and proficiently learn the rules of Tajweed to ensure their recitation is beautiful and accurate.
The Arabic language is beautiful and vast, with each letter having a specific point of articulation and characteristic. In the science of Tajweed (the art of Quranic recitation), it is essential to study the articulation points and characteristics of the letters, as well as the proper way to pronounce them in certain situations.
Definition of Nabr (Stress) In Tajweed (تعريف النبر):
In the Arabic language, stress (nabr) refers to a strong pronunciation or intense cry. In phonetics, stress is the emphasis placed on a letter or syllable, making it slightly louder than the surrounding letters for a specific reason or benefit.
In Quranic recitation, stress appears in various contexts. Scholars define stress as the simultaneous activity of all speech organs. When pronouncing a stressed syllable, all speech organs become highly active.
The muscles of the lungs work vigorously, the vocal cords move closer together to allow minimal air passage, which increases the amplitude of vibrations, making the sound louder and clearer. This is for voiced sounds. For voiceless sounds, the vocal cords move farther apart than they do for unstressed voiceless sounds, allowing more air to escape.
When a person speaks their language, they usually tend to stress a particular syllable in each word to make it stand out and be clearer to hear than the other syllables. This emphasis is called stress (nabr). Therefore, stress is the emphasis on a specific letter, making its sound slightly louder than the neighboring letters in the word.
Cases of Stress (Nabr) in The Quran:
The accentuation (النبر) in the Quran has various cases, which we summarize as follows:
1. Stopping on a Stressed Letter:
For example, in words like (مُسْتَقِرٌّ) (mustaqqirrun), (الْمَسِّ) (al-massi). An exception is made when stopping on a geminated emphatic letter or on the geminated letters ن (nun) and م (meem), as these letters already receive their due emphatic or nasal quality.
When we stop at the last geminated letter in a word, we raise our voice more than the other letters, and this is called stress (nabr)
2. Pronouncing Stressed و (wa) or ي (ya):
For example, in words like (وَجَاءَتْ سَيَّارَةٌ) (wajaat sayyaratun), (أَوَّابٌ) (awwaabun). The reason for this is to avoid lengthening the letters و (wa) and ي (ya).
When pronouncing the geminated letters (wa) and (ya), we raise our voice with them, and this is called stress (nabr)
3. Transitioning from a Prolongation Letter to the First Letter of a stressed Letter (to avoid weakening or omitting the gemination):
For example,(الضَّآلِّينَ) (ad-dhaalleena), (دَآبَّةٍ) (daabbatin), (صَوَآفَّ) (sawaaff).
When a geminated letter comes after a prolongation letter, we raise our voice with the geminated letter, and this is called stress (nabr)
4. Stopping on a Hamza Preceded by a Prolongation or Lenition Letter (to avoid weakening the hamza):
For example, (السَّمَاءِ) (as-samaa’), (السَّوْءِ) (as-saw’), (السُّوءَ) (as-suwa’).
When we stop at the hamza that comes after a prolongation letter (alif), (wa), (ya) or a lenition letter (wa), (ya), we raise our voice with madd or lean letter, and this is called stress (nabr)
5. When the Dual Form Alif is Dropped to Avoid the Meeting of Two Quiescent Letters and Might Be Confused with the Singular Form:
For example, (وَاسْتَبَقَا الْبَابَ) (wastabaqa al-baaba), (ذَاقَا الشَّجَرَةَ) (dhaaqa ash-shajarata). However, the dual form alif or waw that clearly indicates the dual without confusion with the singular does not need to be stressed, such as in: (دَعَوَا اللَّهَ) (da’awa Allah), (ادْخُلَا النَّارَ) (udkhula an-naar).
How To Determine The Stressed Position In An Arabic Word?
To determine the stressed position in an Arabic word, we first look at the last syllable. If it belongs to the fourth or fifth type, then it is the crucial syllable that carries the stress, which only occurs when pausing. Therefore, stress in an Arabic word is only on the last syllable in case of a pause.
For instance, pausing on (نَسْتَعِينُ) (nasta’een) in the verse (إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ) (iyyaka na’budu wa iyyaka nasta’een) or on (الْمُسْتَقَرُّ) (al-mustaqarru) in the verse (إِلَى رَبِّكَ يَوْمَئِذٍ الْمُسْتَقَرُّ) (ila rabbika yawma’idhin al-mustaqarru) shows stress on the syllables “een” (عين) and “qarr” (قرّ) respectively.
If the word does not end with these types of syllables, the stress is on the penultimate syllable, provided that this syllable is not of the first type and is not preceded by a similar first type syllable.
In the majority of Arabic words, the stress is on the penultimate syllable, such as in “istafham” (استَفهم), “yunadi” (ينادي), “qaatil” (قاتل), or “yaktub” (يكتب). In the last two examples, although the penultimate syllable is of the first type, it is not preceded by a similar first type syllable.
In the case of past triliteral verbs like “kataba” (كتب), “fariha” (فرح), “sa’aba” (صعب), the stress is on the third syllable from the end of the word, i.e., on (كَ, فَ, صَ). Similarly, in words like “ijtama’a” (اجتمع), “inkasara” (انكسر), or in verbal nouns like “la’bun” (لعبٌ), “farhun” (فرحٌ), or in nouns like “inabun” (عنبٌ), “balahun” (بلحٌ), the stress is on the third syllable from the end when counted from the end of the word.
What is Shift of Nabr (انتقال النبر):
The stress or Nabr on a word may shift due to linguistic rules, moving either to a preceding or following syllable.
1. Deriving a word from another
Deriving a word from another may result in a change in the stress position. For example, the past tense verb (kataba) (كتبَ) has the stress on the syllable (ka) (كَ). When we derive the present tense verb (yaktubu) (يكتبُ), the stress shifts to the following syllable (tu) (تُ).
2. Deriving The Past Tense Verb From The Verbal Noun
Similarly, deriving the past tense verb (inkasara) (انكسر) from the verbal noun (inkisaarun) (انكسارٌ) results in the stress shifting to the preceding syllable, from (sa) (سا) in the verbal noun to (ka) (ك) in the verb.
3. Linguistic factors
Linguistic factors may also cause the stress to shift. This is particularly noticeable with the jussive mood markers. For example, in the verb (yaktubu) (يكتبُ), the stress is on the syllable (tu) (تُ). If the verb is jussive, the stress shifts to the preceding syllable (yak) (يك).
4. When verbs are conjugated with pronouns or vise versa
We also observe stress shift when verbs are conjugated with pronouns, or when pronouns of object or genitive case are attached to the word, provided that this changes the original structure of the word. In the past tense verb (kataba) (كتبَ), the stress is on the syllable (ka) (كَ). When conjugated with most pronouns of the nominative case, the stress shifts to the following syllable.
Examples of Shift of Nabr (انتقال النبر)
In (katabtu) (كتبتُ) or (katabna) (كتبنا), the stress is on (tab) (تبْ), but it remains in place when conjugated with the plural pronoun like (kataboo) (كتبوا). Similarly, the verbal noun (istifhaam) (استفهام) when attached to the pronoun “na” becomes (istifhaamna) (استفهامنا), causing the stress to shift from the syllable “ha” (ها) to “m” (مُ).
In all these cases, the stress shift does not exceed one syllable. However, sometimes it may shift by two syllables. When conjugating the past tense verb “sami’a” (سمع) with the plural pronoun of the feminine address becomes “sami’tun” (سمعتُن), shifting the stress from (sa) (سَ) to (tun) (تُنْ) across two syllables.
The stress does not generally shift more than two syllables. The rule determining the stress position, which was previously explained, applies in all cases regardless of any change in the structure of the word.
Applying these observations of modern linguists on the stress shift in Arabic language due to the loss of inflectional endings in colloquial speech allows us to interpret this phenomenon scientifically. The stress position in the majority of Arabic words is on the penultimate syllable. In “yaktub” (يكتب), “mustafhimun” (مستفهمٌ), the stress is on the syllable (ta) (تُ) in yaktub and on (hi) (هِـ) in mustafhim.
In colloquial speech, the stress shifted to the preceding syllable, becoming on (yak) (يك) in yaktub and on (taf) (تفْ) in mustafhim, resulting in the loss of word endings and thus dropping inflectional markers. However, some words remain unaffected by this stress shift, such as past triliteral verbs like “kataba” (كتب) and “sami’a” (سمع).
The stress remains on the first syllable, (ka) (ك) in the first example and (sa) (سَ) in the second, regardless of whether pronounced in classical or colloquial speech. This is because the stress rule explained earlier is not influenced by such changes in triliteral verbs, and hence the stress position in a triliteral verb does not change whether pausing or in continuity.
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Conclusion:
Understanding the rules of accentuation (النبر) in Quranic Tajweed, its positions, and how to divide words into syllables in Arabic will make your Quran recitation more accurate, beautiful, and elegant.
Accentuation (النبر) has five basic cases that we have explained and detailed in this article. There can also be special cases where the accentuation shifts from one syllable in the word to another.
This enables you to recite the Quran as the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his companions did.
