Makharij al-Huroof: Articulation Points of Arabic Letters Explained

📅 2026-10-20 · ⏱️ 3 min read · 📂 Tajweed

Makharij al-Huroof means "the exit points of the letters". It is the foundation of Tajweed: if a letter comes out of the wrong place, it becomes a different letter, and sometimes changes the meaning of a word.

The Five Main Areas

Scholars of Tajweed, following Imam Ibn al-Jazari, describe 17 specific articulation points grouped into five main areas:

The Throat Letters

English speakers often struggle with the throat letters. ح is a breathy sound from the middle of the throat, very different from ه. ع comes from the same area but is voiced. خ and غ come from the top of the throat, near the mouth.

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The Tongue Letters

The tongue has the most articulation points. A few examples:

• ق: the very back of the tongue against the soft palate (deeper than ك).
• ض: one or both sides of the tongue against the upper molars, a uniquely Arabic sound.
• ث ذ ظ: the tip of the tongue touching the edges of the upper front teeth.

Common Mistakes

• Pronouncing ث like س (e.g. "salasa" instead of "thalatha")
• Pronouncing ذ and ظ like ز
• Confusing ح with ه, or ع with ء
• Pronouncing ق like ك

How to Practise

A useful technique is to add a sukoon to the letter and put a hamzah with a vowel before it, like "ab", "at", "ath". Where the sound stops is the makhraj. Practise with a teacher who can hear and correct you. These sounds are hard to self-correct.

Continue with our beginner's guide to Tajweed, or learn makharij properly in our online Tajweed course.

My Online Quran Tutor Teaching Team
Written by our team of Quran teachers in Lahore, following our editorial policy. Last updated 2026-10-20.