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The Makhaarij of the Letters

Definition : The correct position of the organs of speech in order to produce a letter so that it can be differentiated from others. This is equally so whether the letter is a consonant or a vowel.

Being able to recite the letters correctly is the foundation of tajweed, and this is achieved by knowing where the sound originates. This can then help in practising the pronunciation of the letters correctly.

The diagram below gives a snapshot of where each letter originates :

However, Makhaarij must be used hand in hand with sifa (characteristics of the letter) in order to pronounce the letter completely and correctly, as the Makhraj provides the origin and the Sifa provides extra information required to pronounce the letter properly.

To achieve the correct makhraj of a letter, practise via placing a sukoon on it, and precede it with an alif / hamzah with a Fathah, Kasrah or Dhammah. To do so, please visit our Sukun page.

There are 5 main categories of Makhaarij :
A. The oral cavity or Al Jawf
B. The throat or Al Halq
C. The tongue or Al Lissaan
D. The lips or Ash-shafatain
E. The nasal or Al Khayshoom

A. The oral cavity or Al Jawf :
This is all the empty space that occurs from the chest, up the throat and out through the mouth.

It is the makhraj of the long vowels ( AA, EE and UU) sounds (also known as the elongated letters) and is elongated for 2 counts:

For practice please see the following pages.
1. Long Fatha
2. Fatha + Alif
3. Long Kasra
4. Kasra + Ya Saakina
5. Long Dhammah
6. Dhammah + Waw Saakin

B. The throat or Al Halq :
In the throat there are 3 makhaarij and each one has 2 letters:

1. ا and , ه , or ء ( Hamza or Alif and small Haa) : From the lowest point of the throat

اُءْ اِءْ اَءْ
اُهْ اِهْ اَهْ

2. ح and ع (Ay'n and Haa) : From the mid point of the throat

اُعْ اِعْ اَعْ
اُحْ اِحْ اَحْ

3. خ and غ (Ghawyn and Khaw) : From the uppermost point of the throat

اُغْ اِغْ اَغْ
اُخْ اِخْ اَخْ

C. The tongue or Al Lissaan :

Many letters come from the mouth: that is the tongue and its connection with the different areas of the teeth and mouth

There are 4 main makhaarij that can be divided into 10 sub-categories:

1. The furthest back part of the tongue - this has 2 sub categories:

i. ق The letter Qawf is pronounced by the extreme back of the tongue touching the upper palate to create a thick sound in the tonsils vicinity, with a round sound

ii. ك The letter Kaaf The makhraj is slightly in front of the Qawf. This time the tongue should not meet the upper palate other than what is necessary to pronounce the letter. So the sound still comes from the back of the tongue, except this time the tongue is not elevated

اُقْ اِقْ اَقْ
اُكْ اِكْ اَكْ

2. The middle of the tongue - this single makhraj covers 3 letters:

The letters are ي and ج ش (Jeem, Sheen and Yaa)

These are all pronounced when the middle part of the tongue comes in contact with what lies opposite to it from the roof of the mouth

اُجْ اِجْ اَجْ
اُشْ اِشْ اَشْ
اُيْ اِيْ اَيْ

3. The side of the tongue -this has 2 specific points of articulation

i. ض (The letter Dawd): The rear side of the tongue touches the upper back teeth (upper molars) in either one of 3 ways :
a. from the right side,
b. from the left side OR
c. from both sides.

d. The left side of the tongue is most commonly used as it is easier than the right, and usage of both sides of the tongue is rare

اُضْ اِضْ اَضْ

ii. ل : The letter LAAM :

This letter has the widest articulation points of all the Arabic letters. It is articulated from the anterior one third of the sides of the tongue until the sides end at the tip, and what lies opposite to them of the gums of the two top front incisors, the two top lateral incisors, the two top canines, and the two top premolars. The articulation of this letter is then in the shape of an arc, with both sides until the tongue ends at the tip meeting up with with gums of all the mentioned teeth. It is to be noted that it is a fine line of the sides of the tongue that meets up with the gums, and it does not include the top of the tongue. The articulation of the Laam is an upward movement, not a forward movement like “L” is in English.

اُلْ اِلْ اَلْ

iii. ر (The letter Raw): Located behind the makhraj of the

اُرْ اِرْ اَرْ

iv. ن The letter Nuun :

This letter is articulated from the tip of the tongue and what lies opposite to it from the gum of the two front top incisors. Nuun is articulated a bit forward on the gums from the place of the laam.

This letter is not always pronounced clearly, and the articulation point is only applied when it is pronounced clearly, namely when it has a vowel on it, or if it has a sukoon on it and is followed by one of the following six letters:

ء , ه , ع , ح , غ , خ

اُنْ اِنْ اَنْ

4. The tip of the tongue

i. ط , د , ت

These letters pretty much come from the same pla ce - the difference between them is slight but important. The tip of the tongue meets the base of the top front teeth (place where the gums and teeth meet):

ت : Is most forward and exact at the poin t where the gums and teeth meet

د : Is a little further back

ط : Is behind the ذ a little. The back of the tongu e should also meet the upper palate as it is a thick letter

اُدْ اِدْ اَدْ
اُتْ اِتْ اَتْ
اُطْ اِطْ اَطْ

ii. ز , س , ص

ز : For this letter, the teeth should be pressed together that the air passage sounds like a buzzing sound

س : The tip the tongue should meet the place where the gums and lower teeth meet. You should allow the flow of air in the mouth to pass from the back to the front and exit from between the teeth

ص : The back of the tongue elevates to meet the the upper palate as it is a thick letter

اُزْ اِزْ اَزْ
اُسْ اِسْ اَسْ
اُصْ اِصْ اَصْ

iii. ظ , ذ , ث : The tip of the tongue meets the edge of the front upper teeth:

ث : is articulated by putting pressure on the edge of the 2 upper incisor teeth

ذ : is articulated by putting pressure o n the mid-section of the 2 upper incisor teeth

ظ : is articulated by putting pressure on the edge of the roots of the upper incisor teeth. The back of the tongue elevates to meet the upper palate as it is a thick letter

اُثْ اِثْ اَثْ
اُذْ اِذْ اَذْ
اُظْ اِظْ اَظْ

D. The lips or Ash-shafatain : This is simply the lips, and has 2 sub-categories:

1. When one lip is used

ف (The letter Faa)The edge of the upper front teeth meet the in side lower lip (the wet part)

اُفْ اِفْ اَفْ

2. When two lips are used

م and , و , ب (The letter Waw, Baa, and Meem)

اُوْ اِوْ اَوْ
اُبْ اِبْ اَبْ
اُمْ اِمْ اَمْ

5. The nasal cavity Al Khayshoom : The nasal cavity is located at the furthest point of the nose (the bridge of the nose). It is the opening that connects the mouth w ith the nose. This connection is where the ghunnah exits. The ghunnah is a sound that is resonated and the tongue is not used to produce it . The duration of the ghunnah sound is for 2 counts.

The ghunnah is produced in the following cases:

1. The letter Meem or Nuun has a shaddah

2. When Meem has a sukun and next letter is Meem or Baa

3. When Nuun has sukun and next letter is from among .....

Tajweed Resources 1

1. Easy Tajweed in Urdu (pdf)
3. Rules Of Tajweed
4. Tarteel-ul-Quran

Tajweed Resources 2 : Jazariyah

1. Jazriyah (Arabic Only) (.doc),
2. English And Arabic (pdf)
3. Listen Jazariyyah part 1, part 2, & part 3
4. tatimmaat -supplimentary to al-jazariyyah

Tajweed Resources 3: Summery charts

1. Sifaat (pdf)
2. Sifaat Without Opposite (pdf)
3. Makharij (pdf)
4. Lahn (pdf)
5. The Definite Article (pdf)
6. Rules on pronouncing Hamza tul Wasl
7. Summarizing the rules of Hamza tul Wasl
8. The letter Raw
9. The letter Laam
10. Meem Saakin (pdf)
11. Noon Saakin And Tanween (pdf)
12. Rules of Idghaam (pdf)
13. Madd (pdf)
14. Stopping (pdf)

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Duaa at end of gathering

‘How perfect You are O Allah, and I praise You. I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except You. I seek Your forgiveness and turn to You in repentance.’

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