The Correct Pronunciation of the Letter Dad

Question

Many people read the letter dad (ض) with the sound of dal (د) or za (ظ), and some huffaz and ignorant people say that this is how it should be read. In Arabic, [they say,] the letter is simply read as “dawad”, while in Urdu it is read as dad — but when they are asked for proof of [reading it as] “dawad” from some reliable book, they fall silent and give no answer at all, even though books of tajwid state that dad must be pronounced from its own makhraj (place of articulation)

Answer

Dad, za, and dal are three separate, independent letters. Dad and za resemble each other because they share most of their characteristics (sifat), yet their places of articulation (makharij) differ, and dad has an additional characteristic — istitala (elongation along the edge of the tongue) — which za lacks. [ar]وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَجْعَلُهَا ظَاءً...

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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