Makharijul Huruf – Points of Articulation of The Arabic Letters!

The letters’ points of articulation (Makharijul huruf) are broken down into major general points of articulation and particular ones that are special for each letter in particular, and in this article, we’ll go over all of those. But first, make sure to read our “Arabic Letters Alphabet” article to keep up with the information in today’s article.

What Are The Points of Articulation? (Makharijul Huruf)

The points of articulation are the positions from which the letter exits, in other words, the place where the sound comes from, the exit point linguistically, and basically, the point of articulation of the letter while pronouncing it and differentiating it from other letters.

The number of letter points of articulation was a topic of debate among scholars. According to some, there are 14 points of articulation, including Qatrib, Al-Jami, and Al-Far. While Al-Jazari and Al-Khalil Ibn Ahmad claimed to be 17 points. Others, such as Sibawayh and al-Shatibi, claimed that there were 16, and the majority of scholars have agreed with them.

We can pronounce the letter as a consonant to determine the letter’s point of articulation, or we can just pronounce it strengthened after a Hamza (ء) with Fatha, Kasra, or Dammah and determine the letter’s point of articulation by noticing the place where the sound cutoff occurs. And this method is the simplest way to determine the letters’ points of articulation without having to study them in depth.

Read an indepth discussion on How Long Does It Take To Learn Arabic?

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The Difference between A General And A Particular Point of Articulation

We shall be presented with a classification of the general and particular/private points of articulation for the letters when learning the Alphabet, and it is from this classification that it can perfectly identify the point of articulation of each letter.

According to the majority of scholars, there are five general or major points of articulation:-

• Al Jawf (the empty space in the throat and mouth)
• The Throat
• The tongue
• The lips
• The nasal cavity

We will first go over a table of the general and particular letter points of articulation for each scholar because phonology scholars disagreed on the number of general and particular letter points of articulation

How to Know The Point of Articluation (Makhraj) of Any Arabic Letter?

Put the letter you want to know its point of articluation or Makhraj in the state of Al-Sukon, then put the letter Hamza (هَــمْـزَة) before it, and lastly, pronounce it! If you want, for example, to know the point of articulation of the letter Fā’ (فَـاء), you’ll apply the rule to pronounce (أَفْ).

Most scholars have compiled all of the letters’ points of articulation into seventeen different points, which are constrained to five general points, and they are as follows:

Detailed Exits of the main Exit	The Letters
Al Jawf
Only one exit	✔ Mad Alif (ا) ✔ Mad Ya' (ي) ✔ Mad Wāw (و)
The Throat (3 exits)
✔ The deepest part	✔ Hamza (ء) - Hā’ (ه)
✔ The middle part	✔ ‘ayn (ع) - Ḥā’ (ح)
✔ The lowest part	✔ Ghayn (غ) - Khā’ (خ)
The Tongue (10 exits)
✔ The back of the tongue and the soft palate.	✔ Qāf (ق)
✔ The back of the tongue and the hard palate.	✔ Kāf (ك)
✔ The middle of the tongue and the roof of the mouth.	✔ Jīm (ج) - Shīn (ش) - Yā’ (ي)
✔ One or both back sides of the tongue touching the molars and the gum area next to the molars.	✔ Lām (ل)
✔ The front sides with the tip of the tongue touching the gums of the two top front incisors.	✔ Ḍād (ض)
✔ The tip of the tongue and the gums of the front two upper incisors.	✔ Nūn (ن)
✔ The tip of the tongue and the hard palate close to the gums of the front two upper incisors.	✔ Rā’ (ر)
✔ The top side of the tip of the tongue and the gums of the front two upper incisors.	✔ Tā’ (ت) - Dāl (د) - Ṭā’ (ط)
✔ The tip of the tongue and the edge of the front two lower incisors.	✔ Sīn (س) - Zāy (ز) - Ṣād (ص)
✔ The tip of the tongue and the bottom edge of the front two upper incisors.	✔ Thā’ (ث) - Dhāl (ذ) - Ẓā’ (ظ)
The Lips (2 exits)
✔ The bottom edge of the front two upper incisors touches the inner bottom lip.	✔ Fā’ (ف)
✔ Both lips together.	✔ Bā’ (ب) ✔ Mīm (م) ✔ Wāw (و)
The Nasal Cavity
Only one exit	✔ The ghunna sound which produced with: ☆ Mīm (م) ☆ Nūn (ن)

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Scholars’ Thoughts about The Number of Letter Points of Articulation (Makharijul huruf)

The number of general and particular letters points of articulation held varying perspectives according to Tajweed (intonation) scholars. These scholars’ opinions can be limited to three, which are as follows:

14 Points of Articulation

The Throat

• The deepest part ( ه / أ )
• The middle part ( ع / ح )
• The closest part ( غ / خ )

The Tongue

• The Deepest part ( ق / ك )
• The Middle part ( ج/ ش / ي )
• The Edges ( ل / ض )
• The Tip (ن / ر / ث / د / ت / س / ز / ص / ث / ذ / ظ )

The Lips

• The bottom edge of the front two upper incisors (ف)
• Both lips (و/ م / ب )

The Nasal Cavity

It has only one exit (ghunna letters) which are (ن / م)

16 Points of Articulation

The Throat

• The deepest part ( ه / ء )
• Middle part ( ع / ح )
• The closest part ( غ / خ )

The Tongue

• The deepest part (ق)
• The deepest part and what lies opposite (ك)
• The middle part (ج/ ش/ ي)
• Tip of the tongue (ض)
• The lower of the tip (ل)
• The top side of the tip of the tongue and the gums of the front two upper incisions (ت / د/ ط)
• The tip of the tongue and the gums of the front upper incisors (ن)
• The tip of the tongue and hard palate close to the gums of the front 2 upper incisions (ر)
• The tip of the tongue and the edge of the front 2 lower incisors (س/ص/ ز)
• The tip of the tongue and the bottom edge of the front 2 upper incisors (ظ/ ذ/ ث)

The Lips

• The bottom edge of the front two upper incisors (ف)
• Both lips (و/م/ب)

The Nasal Cavity

17 Points of Articulation

Al Jawf (The empty space in the mouth and throat)

The empty space in the mouth and throat is a major area and an articulation point at the same time. The three Madd (lengthened) letters originate from this general area, and these letters are:

• Waw (و) Sakinah preceded by a Dhammah
• Yaa (ي) Sakinah preceded by a Kasrah
• Alif (أ) preceded by a Fathah

The Throat

• The throat’s farthest point and its distance from the chest( ء/ ه)
• The middle of the throat (ع/ح)
• The lowest part of the throat (غ/خ)

The Tongue

• The deepest part (ق)
• The deepest part and what lies opposite (ك)
• The middle part (ج/ش/ي) -Not the Madd ي-
• The tip of the tongue (ض/ل)
• The lower of the tip (ل)
• The top side of the tip of the tongue and the gums of the front two upper incisions (ت/د/ط/ر)
• The tip of the tongue and the gums of the front upper incisors (ن)
• The tip of the tongue and the edge of the front 2 lower incisors (س/ز/ص)
• The tip of the tongue and the bottom edge of the front 2 upper incisors (ظ /ذ /ث)

The Lips

• The bottom edge of the front two upper incisors (ف)
• Both lips (و/م/ب)

The Nasal Cavity

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Resources:
جدول مخارج الحروف العامة والخاصة

_{^{(Q&A of Makharijul huruf)}}