One of the speakers, in the name of the Sunnah, recently stated that Al-Imaalah is synonymous with Al-Qalqalah.
While some people immediately pointed out this mistake, some of us initially assumed that he was referring to the discussion surrounding the nabrah (sound) that accompanies qalqalah—that is, the question of how qalqalah should sound: does it resemble a fatḥah, a ḍammah, or a kasrah?
The foundational rule (aṣl) is that when any letter from qutbujad takes sukoon, the ṣifah (characteristic) associated with it is qalqalah, which is defined as:
اضطراب المخرج عند النطق بالحرف ساكناً حتى يُسمع له نبرة قوية
"Instability of the articulation point when pronouncing the letter in a state of sukoon, to the extent that a strong vibration is heard."
Where that sound leans (māla ilā) is what he termed Imaalah al-Qalqalah.
However, Imaalah al-Qalqalah is a muḍāf wa muḍāf ilayh (possessive construction)—the muḍāf ilayh (qalqalah) is the aṣl (foundation), while the muḍāf (imaalah) is merely an issue (mas’alah) discussed in relation to it.
The muḍāf can never be a synonym (murādif) of the muḍāf ilayh.
In fact, Al-Imaalah, in its technical sense, primarily pertains to a muḥarrak (a letter with a vowel), while a ḥarf sākin (a letter in sukoon) is only considered secondarily in relation to it.
I initially thought the mallam would acknowledge his mistake and admit that he had confused the terms. However, seeing him double down later —emphatically insisting that qalqalah can also be regarded as imaalah and dismissing those correcting him as people who do not understand the issue—I felt compelled to write this rejoinder here rather than elsewhere, particularly given the mallam's penchant for refusing to acknowledge errors, such as in the case of shibh al-Ijmāʿ and others.
Additionally, I am addressing this to prevent Tajweed teachers from misguiding their students, especially those who follow the mallam's approach.
I would also like to call his attention to referring to Ibn al-Jazaree as merely al-Jazaree. I assume this was another sabq lisān (slip of the tongue).
Bārakallāhu fīkum.
By Aboo Aamir.
