Articulation Points

The Detailed Articulation Points

Index by Main Articulation Points

The seventeen detailed articulation points can be grouped into five main articulation points:

Articulation Point One: Al-Jawf

Al-Jawf is the empty space extending from beyond the throat to the mouth.

It is the articulation point of the three Madd letters:

◆ The silent Alif preceded by a fatha

◆ The silent Waw preceded by a damma

◆ The silent Yaa preceded by a kasra

These three letters are gathered in the word nooheeha in ﴾Tilka min anba'i-l-ghaybi nooheeha ilayk﴿ (Hud: 49).

This articulation point is estimated rather than fixed, since no specific location can be determined from which these letters emerge; they emerge from the open cavity and end only once the sound dissipates into the air.

Articulation Point Two: Al-Halq (the Throat)

The throat has three articulation points for six letters:

1. The deepest part of the throat: nearest the chest and farthest from the mouth: it produces Hamzah and Haa (', h). The articulation point of Hamzah is farther than that of Haa.

2. The middle of the throat: producing 'Ayn and Haa-heavy (', h); the articulation point of 'Ayn is farther than that of Haa-heavy.

3. The nearest part of the throat, closest to the mouth: producing Ghayn and Khaa (gh, kh); the articulation point of Khaa is closer to the mouth than that of Ghayn.

Articulation Point Three: Al-Lisan (the Tongue)

The tongue has ten articulation points for eighteen letters:

1. The back of the tongue (farthest from the mouth, nearest the throat) with the corresponding part of the upper palate: producing Qaf (q).

2. The back of the tongue, slightly forward of the Qaf point, with the corresponding part of the upper palate: producing Kaaf (k); the Kaaf's point is closer to the mouth than Qaf's.

3. The middle of the tongue with the corresponding part of the upper gums: producing three letters, Jeem, Sheen, and the non-Madd Yaa (j, sh, y).

The non-Madd Yaa is either a voweled Yaa, or a silent Yaa not preceded by a kasra.

Jeem is produced by moderately pressing the middle of the tongue against the upper gums, while Yaa and Sheen involve a slight separation.

4. One edge of the tongue with the corresponding upper molars: producing the most finely-articulated letter in Arabic, Ddaad (d(dad)). Articulating it from the left edge of the tongue is easier and more common than from the right edge.

5. One or both edges of the tongue with the corresponding upper gum-ridge (the gums of the canines, premolars, and incisors): producing Lam (l).

Some hold that Lam is produced from one edge (the right edge being easier); others hold it is produced from both edges together.

A person has front teeth (thanaya), premolars (rubaa'iyyah)
and canines (anyaab), each like the premolars, four in number
and molars (tawahin), double the six, four more
and wisdom teeth (nawajidh) — know them well, for knowledge is most elevated

6. The tip of the tongue with the corresponding upper gum-ridge: producing Noon (n).

7. The tip of the tongue, with a little of its back, and the corresponding upper gum-ridge: producing Raa (r). Raa's point is close to Noon's, but drawn slightly further back onto the tongue.

8. The tip of the tongue with the base of the upper front teeth: producing Ttaa, Daal, and Taa (tt, d, t). Ttaa's point is the farthest of the three, then Daal below it, then Taa.

9. The tip of the tongue, just above the lower front teeth (leaving a narrow gap between the tongue's surface and the upper palate for air to escape): producing Seen, Saad, and Zaa (s, s(sad), z).

10. The tip of the tongue with the edges of the upper front teeth: producing Thaa, Dhaal, and Zhaa (th, dh, zh).

Articulation Point Four: Ash-Shafatan (the Two Lips)

The lips have two detailed articulation points for four letters:

1. Between the two lips: producing:

• Baa and Meem (b, m) by closing the lips together, with Baa closed more firmly.
• The non-Madd Waw (w) by opening the lips. The non-Madd Waw is either voweled or a soft (Leen) Waw.

2. The inner part of the lower lip with the edges of the upper front teeth: producing Faa (f).

Articulation Point Five: Al-Khayshoom (the Nasal Cavity)

Al-Khayshoom is the passage connecting the upper part of the nose to the throat. It produces the ghunnah (nasalization).

Ghunnah is a pleasant sound that accompanies Meem (m) and Noon (n); Noon carries more nasalization than Meem.

Ghunnah has five degrees:

1. Meem and Noon doubled (shaddah), as in (wa'anna) and (lamma) and (aamanna), as in ﴾Wa'annaa lamma sami'na-l-huda aamanna bihi faman yu'min birabbihi fala yakhafu bakhsan wala rahaqa﴿ (Al-Jinn: 13)
2. Noon merged with ghunnah, as in (faman yu'min) in the previous verse.
3. Meem and Noon hidden, as in (kuntum bihi) in ﴾Hadha yawmu-l-fasli-lladhee kuntum bihi tukadhdhiboon﴿ (As-Saffat: 21).
4. Both silent and pronounced clearly (Idhar).
5. Both voweled.

Ghunnah is an essential, inherent quality of Noon and Meem, though it is not apparent in the last two degrees. In the first three degrees, however, it must be shown by extending it for two counts, as detailed in the section on Madd.

Question: why isn't Al-Khayshoom listed among the articulation points of the letters themselves, given that what emerges from it is a quality (ghunnah) rather than a letter?

Answer: because ghunnah is the only quality among all letter qualities that has its own independent articulation point, separate from that of the letter it accompanies. All other qualities emerge together with the letter from its own articulation point, but ghunnah emerges from the Khayshoom — neither from the tongue (Noon's point) nor from the lips (Meem's point).

Some scholars of Tajweed hold that when ghunnah is apparent in Meem and Noon (during doubling or Idgham with ghunnah), their articulation point shifts to the Khayshoom. On this view, the Khayshoom becomes the articulation point of both the ghunnah and of the letters Meem and Noon whenever this quality is apparent in them.

Verses of Al-Jazariyyah on the Seventeen Articulation Points

Ibn Al-Jazari said in his poem:

The articulation point of a letter is the place from which the letter emerges. As chosen by the leading scholars, there are five main articulation points and seventeen detailed ones:

First: Al-Jawf (the cavity), the empty space within the throat and mouth, with a single articulation point for the three Madd letters (Alif, Waw, Yaa), called the "airy" or "cavity" letters, or the Madd letters.

Second: Al-Halq (the throat), with three sub-points: (1) the deepest part, producing Hamzah and Haa; (2) the middle, producing 'Ayn and Haa-heavy; (3) the nearest part, producing Ghayn and Khaa.

Third: Al-Lisan (the tongue), with ten sub-points, producing: Qaf; Kaaf; the "tree" letters Jeem, Sheen, and non-Madd Yaa from the middle of the tongue; Ddaad from one edge; Lam from between the edges after Ddaad's point; Noon from the tip; Raa from the tip and back of the tongue; the "dental" letters Taa, Ttaa, and Daal; Saad, Zaa, and Seen from the tip above the lower front teeth; and the "gum" letters Dhaal, Thaa, and Zhaa from the tip and edges of the upper front teeth.

Fourth: Ash-Shafatan (the two lips), with two sub-points: the inner lip with the upper front teeth's edges producing Faa; and between the two lips, producing Meem and Baa (closed) and the non-Madd Waw (open).

Fifth: Al-Khayshoom (the nasal cavity), the articulation point of ghunnah, present in the doubled Meem and Noon, the silent Noon and Tanween when merged into the "yanmu" letters, when converted before Baa, when hidden before the fifteen Ikhfa letters, and in the silent Meem when merged into Meem or hidden before Baa.