نُونُ التَّوكِيد — The Noon of Emphasis (Nūn al-Tawkīd)
The noon of emphasis is a grammatical tool added to the mudari (present/future tense) verb or the amir (command) verb to add strong emphasis. It has two forms: heavy and light.
Two Forms
| Form | Arabic | Pronunciation | How formed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy (thaqila) | نُونُ التَّوكِيد الثَّقِيلَة | Doubled noon (nnn...a) | Final vowel → fatha + double noon (shadda) |
| Light (khafifa) | نُونُ التَّوكِيد الخَفِيفَة | Single noon sakin | Final vowel → fatha + single noon with sukun |
Only on Mudari and Amir — Never on Madi
The noon of emphasis cannot be added to a past-tense verb (fail madi). It is exclusively for: - المُضَارِع (al-mudari) — present/future verb - الأَمر (al-amir) — command verb
How to Form (with Mudari)
Take the mudari → change the final vowel (dhamma) to fatha → add nunu sakhila:
| Original | With Nunu Sakhila | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| يَذهَبُ | يَذهَبَنَّ | He will definitely go |
| تَذهَبُ | تَذهَبَنَّ | You will definitely go |
| أَكِيدُ | لَأَكِيدَنَّ | I will definitely plan (with lam) |
For plural forms ("five verbs"): the final noon of the five verb forms is dropped when nunu sakhila is added: - tansurūna → tansurūn (majzum, noon dropped) → tansuranna (with nunu sakhila)
When Is Nunu Sakhila Used?
With Jawab al-Qasam (required)
When the jawab al-qasam is a mudari with future meaning and the verb is directly attached to the lam, nunu sakhila is required:
وَاللهِ لَأَفعَلَنَّ — By Allah, I will definitely do it.
Three conditions for adding nunu sakhila in jawab al-qasam: 1. Meaning must be future (mustaqbal), not present (hal) 2. Verb must be directly attached to lam (not separated by saufa/sa or a shibujumla) 3. No other element between lam and verb
If the meaning is present tense, use lam only: وَاللهِ لَأُحِبُّكَ (By Allah, I love you) — no nunu.
If saufa/sa separates lam and verb: lam only, no nunu.
وَلَسَوفَ يُعطِيكَ رَبُّكَ فَتَرضَى (Surah al-Duha 93:5)
With Shart + Imma / In (near-obligatory)
Nunu sakhila is nearly obligatory with the conditional construct إِمَّا (imma = in + ma) and strongly recommended with in in conditional sentences.
With Talab (optional)
With command (amir) or prohibition (nahi) sentences, nunu sakhila may be added optionally for extra emphasis.
How the Noon Appears in Quran
Surah al-Anbiya 21:57 — Future meaning with lam
تَاللهِ لَأَكِيدَنَّ أَصنَامَكُم — By Allah, I will definitely plan against your idols. — Ibrahim ﷺ. لَأَكِيدَنَّ = lam + nunu sakhila. Future meaning confirmed.
Surah al-Naml 27:37 — La-in construction
لَئِن أَشرَكتَ لَيَحبَطَنَّ عَمَلُكَ — If you associate [others with Allah], your deeds will surely be nullified. لَيَحبَطَنَّ = lam + nunu sakhila.
Surah Yusuf 12:85 — Nunu in plural
تَاللهِ تَفتَأُ تَذكُرُ يُوسُفَ — oath with ta. Then later: لَتَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الخَاسِرِينَ — lam + nunu sakhila in first-person form.
Orthographic Note (Rasm al-Mushaf)
When the word ends in nunu sakhila (tanwin-like) and you stop at the end of a recitation unit, the single tanwin-looking symbol at the end is sometimes written as tanwin in the mushaf — but it is actually the nunu sakhila. The tajweed rule of stopping determines how it is pronounced.
Session References
- Oaths in Quran Session 2: Nunu sakhila introduced in context of jawab al-qasam rules
- Oaths in Quran Session 3: Nunu sakhila applied extensively in la-in examples