What a makhraj is and how to find it
A Makhraj (المَخْرَج) is the place where the sound of a letter stops, giving it its distinct identity. To find it, make the letter silent or doubled, put a voweled hamzah before it and pronounce it, then notice where the sound stops: that is its makhraj, as in أَبْ، أَتْ، أَقْ.
A makhraj is either fixed (muhaqqaq), resting on a definite part of the throat, tongue or lips, as for most letters; or estimated (muqaddar), resting on no definite part, which is the makhraj of Huruf al-Madd (حُرُوف المَدّ), since they end only when the breath ends, as the Imam says: "letters of Madd that end with the air."
The number of makharij
The view chosen by Ibn al-Jazari and most scholars is that there are seventeen makharij; this is the view of al-Khalil ibn Ahmad. Sibawayh and those who followed him, such as ash-Shatibi, counted sixteen, dropping the Jawf (الجَوْف) and assigning its letters to the throat, the middle of the tongue and the lips. Al-Farra' counted fourteen, giving Lam, Nun and Ra' a single makhraj. All of them fall into five general areas: Jawf, Halq (الحَلْق), Lisan (اللِّسَان), Shafatan (الشَّفَتَان) and Khayshum (الخَيْشُوم).
The seventeen makharij
| # | Area | Exact place | Letters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jawf | The empty space inside the throat and mouth | ا و ي (المدية) |
| 2 | Halq | Deepest part of the throat, nearest the chest | ء هـ |
| 3 | Halq | Middle of the throat | ع ح |
| 4 | Halq | Nearest part of the throat, next to the mouth | غ خ |
| 5 | Lisan | Back of the tongue with the soft palate above it | ق |
| 6 | Lisan | Back of the tongue, slightly forward of Qaf, with the palate | ك |
| 7 | Lisan | Middle of the tongue with the hard palate above it | ج ش ي |
| 8 | Lisan | One or both edges of the tongue against the upper molars; the left side is easier and more common | ض |
| 9 | Lisan | The front part of both edges up to the tip, against the gums of the upper teeth | ل |
| 10 | Lisan | The tip of the tongue with the gum of the upper front teeth, slightly below Lam | ن |
| 11 | Lisan | The tip with a little of the upper surface of the tongue, against the upper gum, slightly further in than Nun | ر |
| 12 | Lisan | The tip of the tongue with the roots of the upper front teeth | ط د ت |
| 13 | Lisan | The tip of the tongue just above the lower front teeth, leaving a small gap | ص ز س |
| 14 | Lisan | The tip of the tongue with the edges of the upper front teeth | ظ ذ ث |
| 15 | Shafatan | The inner part of the lower lip with the edges of the upper front teeth | ف |
| 16 | Shafatan | Both lips: closed together for Ba and Mim, rounded and open for Waw | و ب م |
| 17 | Khayshum | The inner back of the nose | الغنة |
The teeth and the parts of the tongue
The student needs the names of the teeth and the parts of the tongue, because the makharij are described with them. There are usually thirty-two teeth: in each jaw two central incisors, two lateral incisors, two canines, two premolars, six grinding teeth and two wisdom teeth.
Points of caution
- Dad and Dha': the most easily confused letters. Dad comes from the edge of the tongue against the upper molars, with Istitalah (الاسْتِطَالَة); Dha' comes from the tip of the tongue with the edges of the upper front teeth. Dad must not be pronounced as Dha' nor as a heavy Dal.
- Hamzah and Ha': they come from the furthest point, so take care to pronounce them fully, especially a silent Ha' and a Ha' at the end of a word.
- 'Ayn and Ha': beware of turning 'Ayn into Hamzah, or Ha' into a light Ha', as many non-Arabs do.
- Tha, Dhal and Dha': the tip of the tongue must come out slightly to touch the edges of the front teeth; they must not be pronounced as Sin or Zay.