This is among the most important lessons when it comes to learning Tajweed, and in particular, I am very hard on it with my students. Some end up spending two – three lessons on the pronunciation of one particular letter so as to get it right and so, I may be expecting some questions in this lesson. If you need audio assistance with this one, I am willing to sort this out for you. Just let me know.

What is Makhraj?

Makhraj can be defined as the articulation point of a letter, or place of origin in terms of pronunciation, or more simply, where the letter is emitted. Using the correct articulation point of a letter is necessary to utter the letter correctly, especially in regards to Quran recitation. There are five areas of the mouth and throat where the sound of the (Arabic) letters originates from. There are seventeen specific areas from which the sounds originate. These are listed below.

• The empty space between the mouth and throat (one area/vowels) – one point for vowels
• Throat (three areas) – three points for six letters
• Tongue (ten areas) – ten points for eighteen letters
• Lips (two areas) – two points for four letter
• Nose/nasal passage (one area/sound) – one point for ghunnah

Because I feel the other letters are relatively easier to understand and pronounce, I will only go into the three areas of the throat, as they are the most common mistakes made by non-Arabs (not necessarily Pakhtuns. Apparently, we’re good at pronouncing). The throat can be divided into three areas; the lowest, the middle and the highest. These points (with reference to the diagram) have two letters each.

Lowest --> the hamza and the ha ه

Middle --> the ‘ayn ع and hha ح

Highest --> the ghain غand kha  خ

Given that this section of the forum is not very active, I thought we can inject some activity and that would be by asking questions. So, let’s begin.

Question: There are seven heavy letters in the Arabic alphabet and are often confused with the lighter of similar pronunciation. What are they? And what are they confused with?

I will find an appropriate audio for you. I have spotted some flaws in some of the youtube ones and so I intended not to share them for the time being. The answer to my question lies in pronunciation. Give it a go, you will figure it out InshaAllah.

May I be so bold to ask, given the lessons are going ahead, where your (not directed only at you Aseer Jaan) level of reading is at?

audio assistance would be great if can

and deera manana

I wish I can answer your question but I am your student and here to learn.

Perhaps these will be of benefit (the other videos can be found on YouTube):



Shaykh Samir al-Nass is one of the foremost scholars of tajwid in Damascus. He is a lecturer on the ten recitations of the Qur'an in the MA program at Mahd al-Fath, in Damascus (he also teaches Hanafi fiqh there, and has ijazas in `aqida and hadith).

Shaykh Jamal Zahabi has studied with some of the great scholars of Sham, among them the great scholar of Hanafi fiqh and tajwid, Shaykh `Abd al-Razzaq al-Halabi. He has ijazas in tajwid, `aqida, fiqh, hadith, and other sciences.

Watch the shaykh's mouth as he articulates the words:

A student of Shaykh Samir reciting the entire 30th juz. He demonstrates the correct movement of the mouth and tongue for each letter.

Let me take a shot at your question.. (excuse my laziness for not writing the actual letters)

Qaaf is often confused with Kaaf,
'ayn is often confused with Alef,
Suwaat is often confused with Seen,
Ghodaat is often confused with Ze,
Hamza is often confused with Alef,
Tuwaa is often confused with Te,
(Ghatta) Hhe is often confused with dwastargeh He..

I for one am reading your lessons and appreciating them big time, Mahzala. I have a heavy Afghan accent when I read Qur'an =(

Oh.. the Ghoodaat/Ze confusion can be grave..

When in Rukoo, we're supposed to say "Subhana Rabbil Adheem" (like the sound in Ramadhan) but some of us say " Subhana Rabbil Azeem" and that Azeem is a name of the devil. So to avoid mispronunciation.. some people who know that they might not pronounce it correctly say "Subhana Rabbil Kareem"

The letter ḍād is confused in various ways in various parts of the world. It is mispronounced as a dāl. Many Afghans mispronounce it as a ġayn-dāl-wāw (three letters in one). For example, "wa laghdwalin" at the end of al-Fatiha. Others mispronounced it as a ẓāʾ. For example, "Ramazan," "riza," etc.

The addition of the wāw in the mispronunciation of ḍād is done with ṣād, ṭāʾ, and ẓāʾ as well. So they will be mispronounced as "swat/swad," "twa," "zwa."