In short: Makharij al-huroof are the exit points of the Arabic letters: 5 general areas (the open space, throat, tongue, lips and nose) and 17 specific points in the count of Ibn al-Jazari. To find a letter's point, say it with a sukun after a hamzah.
Say qul, "say", from the back of your tongue, and you are reading the Qur'an. Move that first sound forward a little, to a kaf, and you have said kul, "eat". A small slip in where a letter is made can turn one word into another. That is why tajweed begins with makharij al-huroof, the points where each letter is produced. Following Imam Ibn al-Jazari, scholars count five main areas (the mouth and throat space, the throat, the tongue, the lips and the nose) and 17 exact points within them. This guide places every letter, shows you how to find each one, and deals with the letters people most often confuse.
What are makharij, and why do they matter?
Makharij is the plural of makhraj, "a place of exit". In tajweed it means the exact spot where a letter's sound is formed, where air is held, narrowed or released by the throat, tongue or lips. Al-huroof means "the letters". So the phrase means "the exit points of the letters".
Arabic has several letters that sound alike to a new ear but come from different places. When a reader moves a letter to the wrong place, it often becomes another letter, and the word becomes another word. In Surah Al-Fatihah, al-hamdu needs a ha (ح) from the middle of the throat; read it with a ha (ه) and it is no longer the word for praise. 'Alim with an 'ayn means "all-knowing", while alim with a hamzah means "painful". Teachers call this kind of error lahn jali, a clear mistake, because it changes the letter itself.
The reward for the effort is great even while it is hard. The Prophet ﷺ said that the one who is skilled in the Qur'an will be with the noble, righteous scribes, and the one who recites it while struggling, finding it difficult, has two rewards (Sahih al-Bukhari 4937; Sahih Muslim 798). A beginner working on a stubborn 'ayn is earning that second reward.
Scholars have counted the points differently. Al-Farra' is reported to have counted 14, Sibawayh and ash-Shatibi counted 16, and al-Khalil ibn Ahmad and Ibn al-Jazari counted 17. The letters and their places are the same in every count; the difference is only in how places are grouped. The count of 17 is the one taught in most tajweed classes today and the one used here.
What are the five main areas of the makharij?
- Al-jawf (the empty space). The open space of the mouth and throat. 1 point, for the three madd letters.
- Al-halq (the throat). 3 points, for 6 letters.
- Al-lisan (the tongue). 10 points, for 18 letters. The busiest area.
- Ash-shafatan (the two lips). 2 points, for 4 letters.
- Al-khayshum (the nasal passage). 1 point, for the ghunnah.
That gives 1 + 3 + 10 + 2 + 1 = 17. A useful picture is to imagine the sound travelling from deep inside towards the lips. The throat letters are the deepest, the tongue letters move forward from the back of the tongue to its tip, and the lip letters are at the very front.
Where do the throat letters come from?
The throat has three points, from deepest to nearest the mouth. Each point has two letters.
The deepest part (aqsal-halq): hamzah and ha (ه)
The hamzah is a clean catch and release of the voice at the very bottom of the throat, the sound in the middle of "uh-oh". The ha (ه) comes from the same place but is a soft breath of air with no catch, like the h in "hat" but lighter and deeper.
The middle (wasatul-halq): 'ayn and ha (ح)
The 'ayn is made by tightening the middle of the throat while the voice keeps sounding. There is no English equivalent. The ha (ح) comes from the same narrowed place, but with breath instead of voice, a sharp, clean "h" like the sound of breathing on a cold window.
The nearest part (adnal-halq): ghayn and kha
The ghayn and kha come from the top of the throat, just behind the back of the tongue. The kha is close to the "ch" in the Scottish "loch". The ghayn is its voiced partner, close to a French gargled r.
Where do the tongue letters come from?
The tongue has ten points. Work through them from the back of the tongue to the tip.
- 1. Qaf. The deepest part of the tongue against the soft palate above it. Deeper than kaf, with a full, heavy sound.
- 2. Kaf. Just in front of the qaf and a little lower, the back of the tongue against the palate. A light sound with a breath.
- 3. Jim, shin and ya. The middle of the tongue against the hard palate above it. This is the ya with a sukun or vowel, not the madd ya.
- 4. Dad. One or both sides of the tongue against the upper molars. The left side is easier for most people. It is the only letter made along the side of the tongue in this way.
- 5. Laam. The front edges of the tongue, from the tip back along both sides, against the gums of the upper front teeth.
- 6. Noon. The tip of the tongue against the gum above the upper front teeth, a little in front of the laam.
- 7. Ra. The tip of the tongue with a little of its top, very near the noon, slightly further back.
- 8. Ta (ط), dal and ta (ت). The tip of the tongue against the roots of the two upper front teeth.
- 9. Za (ظ), dhal and tha. The tip of the tongue against the edges of the upper front teeth. The tip shows slightly between the teeth.
- 10. Sad, zay and sin. The tip of the tongue close to the lower front teeth, with a small gap so the air whistles through.
Points 5, 6 and 7 are so close that some scholars treat them as one, which is how the count of 14 arises. Leaving out the jawf as a separate point, and placing the madd letters with the throat, tongue and lips, gives the count of 16. In class, a teacher will usually ask you to feel the difference: noon at the front of the gum, ra just behind it with a tap, laam spread along the edges.
Where do the lip, nasal and jawf letters come from?
The lips
The lips have two points. The fa comes from the inside of the lower lip touching the tips of the upper front teeth. The ba, meem and waw come from the two lips together: closed firmly for ba, closed gently for meem, and rounded without closing for waw. As with ya, this is the waw with its own vowel or sukun, not the madd waw.
The nasal passage
The khayshum is the passage at the back of the nose. It is the source of the ghunnah, the nasal hum heard in noon and meem, strongest when they carry a shaddah. Pinch your nose while reading inna: if the sound stops, the ghunnah is coming from the right place. The ghunnah is central to the rules in our guide to noon sakinah and tanween.
The jawf
The jawf is the open space of the throat and mouth. The three madd letters come from here: alif after a fathah, waw sakinah after a dammah, and ya sakinah after a kasrah. They have no single point where the tongue or lips touch. They run on the breath and end when the breath ends, which is why they can be lengthened.
How do you find the makhraj of a letter?
The classical test is simple. Put a sukun on the letter and place a hamzah with a vowel before it, then say it: ab, at, ath, aj, ah, akh, ad and so on. The place where the sound stops or narrows is the makhraj. Putting a sukun on the letter removes the vowel, so you hear only the letter itself.
Try it now. Say ab and feel the lips close. Say at and feel the tip of the tongue touch the roots of the upper teeth. Say aq, then ak, and feel the back of the tongue move forward between the two. Say a' with an 'ayn and notice the squeeze in the middle of the throat.
A small mirror helps for the front letters. For tha, dhal and za (ظ), you should see the tip of the tongue just between the teeth. For fa, you should see the upper teeth resting on the inside of the lower lip. For the throat letters, a hand lightly on the throat helps you feel the difference in depth.
What are sifaat, and how do they tell letters apart?
A makhraj tells you where a letter is made. Its sifaat (characteristics) tell you how. Several letters share one makhraj, and only their sifaat separate them. Without sifaat, ta (ط), dal and ta (ت) would sound identical.
- Hams and jahr. Whether breath runs with the letter (ta (ت), sin, kaf) or is held back (dal, zay, qaf).
- Shiddah and rakhawah. Whether the sound is stopped completely (ba, dal) or flows (sin, fa).
- Isti'la and istifal. Whether the back of the tongue rises, giving a heavy sound (qaf, sad, ta (ط)), or stays low.
- Itbaq. The tongue presses up against the palate: sad, dad, ta (ط) and za (ظ) only. This gives them their full, rounded sound.
- Qalqalah, safir and others. The echo of the five qalqalah letters, the whistle of sad, zay and sin, the spreading air of shin, and the length along the tongue of dad.
Now the shared makhraj makes sense. Ta (ط) is heavy, pressed and voiced, with qalqalah. Dal is voiced with qalqalah but light. Ta (ت) is light and breathy. In the same way, sad is heavy and pressed while sin is light and breathy, and zay is light and voiced. Za (ظ) is heavy, dhal is light and voiced, and tha is light with breath. For the echo letters, see our guide to qalqalah.
Which letters do Urdu and Hindi speakers most often mix up?
Urdu and Hindi borrow many Arabic words but pronounce several Arabic letters alike. A speaker who has said these words all their life carries those habits into the Qur'an. These are the pairs to watch.
- 'Ayn and hamzah. In everyday speech 'ayn is often dropped or turned into a plain vowel. In the Qur'an it must be squeezed from the middle of the throat. 'Alim and alim are different words.
- Ha (ح) and ha (ه). Both are said as a plain "h" in daily speech. Ha (ح) is sharper and comes from the middle of the throat; ha (ه) is a soft breath from the deepest part.
- Qaf and kaf. Many readers say qaf like kaf. Qaf is deeper and heavy, kaf is forward and light. Qul and kul show what is at stake.
- Dhal, za (ظ) and zay. All three often become a single "z". Dhal and za (ظ) need the tongue tip at the edge of the teeth, and za (ظ) is also heavy. Zay is a whistled letter from the tip near the lower teeth.
- Tha and sin. Tha is often said as "s". Tha needs the tongue tip at the edge of the upper teeth, like "th" in "think"; sin whistles from behind the lower teeth.
- Dad. Often said as a "z", or as a heavy dal. It comes from the side of the tongue against the upper molars and is heavy and pressed. Read ad-dallin with a za (ظ) and it becomes a different word, from a root meaning to remain or carry on, instead of the word for those who go astray.
Two smaller habits are worth checking too: a light ta (ت) used for the heavy ta (ط), and a sin used where the Qur'an has a heavy sad. With a teacher, all of these can be fixed. They are habits, not limits of the mouth.
Do not over-correct
Students who have just learned the throat letters sometimes push every 'ayn and ha (ح) so hard that they cough. The makhraj should be exact but relaxed. If your throat hurts after a page, you are pressing too hard.
How should you practise makharij week by week?
Makharij improve with short daily practice, ten or fifteen minutes, far more than with one long session a week. Here is a plan that suits most adult beginners.
- Week 1: the throat. Practise a', ah with both ha letters, agh and akh, in pairs, until you feel three distinct depths.
- Week 2: the back of the tongue. Qaf and kaf, side by side. Then jim, shin and ya.
- Week 3: the tip of the tongue. Laam, noon and ra, then ta (ط), dal and ta (ت).
- Week 4: teeth letters. Tha, dhal and za (ظ) with a mirror, then sad, zay and sin.
- Week 5: dad, the lips and the nose. Dad with patience, then fa, ba, meem and waw, then ghunnah.
- Week 6 onwards: in words. Read Surah Al-Fatihah and the short surahs slowly, listening only for letters, and record yourself once a week.
Recording is honest in a way your own ear is not. Play it back beside a trusted reciter and you will hear the qaf that slipped forward or the 'ayn that vanished. A teacher can then fix in a minute what might take weeks alone, which is why our Basic Tajweed course starts with the letters before any rules.
Once your letters are steady, the rest of tajweed has somewhere firm to stand. Our guide to tajweed rules for beginners shows what comes next, and our free tajweed wall charts in the Library put the makharij on one sheet to keep beside you while you practise.
Sources
- Imam Ibn al-Jazari, al-Muqaddimah al-Jazariyyah, section on the makharij.
- Sahih al-Bukhari, hadith 4937: the one skilled in the Qur'an is with the noble scribes, and the one who struggles has two rewards.
- Sahih Muslim, hadith 798: the same narration.
- The Qur'an, Surah Al-Fatihah (1), verses 1-7.