6 Throat Letters

(Haroofe' Halqi)

Haroof means letters,
(Harf = 1 letter),
Halq = throat, Makhrij = origin or
'home' of a letter to figure out
how to say it.
So when it comes to reciting the Qur'an, the following
six letters simply must be read out loud with their
associated sound and respective muscle group. In
Qur'anic science, to not do so is disrespectful, close to
a sin - if you have the means to do good do it, and
could potentially change the meaning.

The six unique throat letters:

(+ )Ghayn + Kha
( + )Ayn + Ha
( + )Haa + Hamza
 Group 1: AQSAL HALQ
Letters living at the top of the throat.
Kha. Its Makhrij is the part of the throat where you'd feel a
'tickly' cough or your food touches immediately after
swallowing.
Keep a dry and croaky 'Kh' sound, like the 'C' in 'careful'.
When reading 'Kh' you must always make your mouth
hollow and round, never flat. Kha is also known as a 'round
letter' in Tajweed.
Tip: try growling to recognize what the 'top of the throat'
feels like.
Examples

 Group 1: AQSAL HALQ
Letters living at the top of the throat.
Ghayn. Keep growling.
Add moisture to the back of your throat and roll the 'g' using
the back of your tongue. Similar to 'G' in 'going'.
It's more guttural, and feels like your'e purring. That's the only
difference between the 'Kh' and 'Gh'.
Examples

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-

 Group 2: WASATUL HALQ
Letters with Makharij from the middle.
Ha. The hatless sister to Kha, Ha demands to be read with
the same heavy roar but without the muscle vibrations for 'kh'
and 'gh'.
Move lower down to the middle of your throat like you're the
bad comic book guy shouting 'ha ha ha!
Read 'Ha' and 'Kha' repeatedly to distinguish which muscle is
being added or silenced. Haw can be read with any vowelled
punctuation (i.e. Haa, Hee, Hoo!) without requiring a particular
mouth shape. Just add lots of air.
Tip: Place a finger in the middle of your neck and say 'Ha' and `A. If
the neck muscle rises up then down, you're on the right track. Well
done.
Examples

 Group 2:( Cont)
Ayn. A difficult letter even for native Arabic speakers.
The origin of the `Ayn letter, although neighbouring Haw,
requires more muscle tension.
Open and close your throat, as though a valve's there stopping
you from being sick. Now read a flat, dense 'a' sound with a
strong punch.
One syllable, sounds like a seagull, smile, widen your mouth
and say 'a'!
Examples

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 Group 3: ADNAL HALQ
Letters living at the bottom
Hamza. Read like the silent 'Alif': simply an 'a' for
'apple'. Hamza and Alif are interchangeable but some teachers
will tell you it's always called Hamza.
This backwards '2' shape is written on its own or sits on top of
the stick Alif and is always read clearly, sharply with a flat
tongue and never round mouthed.
Examples

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. -
 Group 3: ( Cont)
Ha. One could argue both the 'H' letters are identical but
their Makhrij/origin changes their personality.
Ha above is a deep lion growl, fierce and cough-like. Haa is deeper
still, but vast and breathy. Tafseer teachers tell us that the roar and
pulsation of Hell can be heard in the menacing of the 'Haa' - if read
in such force that is.
Normally, the 'Haa' is a healthy clearing of the lungs.
Tip: Fill your chest with air, inhale a little more, then exhale and
say 'haaaaaa'. That's it.
Examples

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 COMMON MISTAKES IN THESE LETTERS

These letters are uncommon to many languages,

especially English, outside of the hamzah, and many
would say the ha but even the the English h is
often pronounced at a position higher in the throat than
the Arabic ha.
The two letters from the middle of the throat need
practice to succeed in their proper pronunciation.
The first step is getting used to using the throat,
especially the middle, then work should begin on the

letter:
Think of the throat squeezing against itself from the
middle, and try to pronounce it from that point. There
is plenty of air that runs with this letter.
 is the second letter from this area is
pronounced from the same point, but has more of a
rolling sound. One Quran teacher described the
sound as of that of a camel. It may not be practical
for the reciter to find a camel and practice this sound
that way, so listening to a Quran tape and trying to
imitate the sound of the reciter will work well
instead.
The last two letters pronounced from the upper part
of the throat (closest to the mouth) also need
practice to achieve a correct pronunciation.
 The last two letters pronounced from the upper part of
the throat (closest to the mouth) also need practice to
achieve a correct pronunciation.

is often mispronounced as a k by non-

Arabs. The k is not articulated from the throat,
rather it is articulated from the posterior portion of the
tongue and the roof of the mouth.

many times is mispronounced as a g like the

first g in the word garage. One way of finding the
articulation area is by gargling. The sound emitted
with a deep gargle is close to the Arabic letter.
 Thank you for your
attention

Group Members:
1- Abas Ibrahim Mudey
2- Abdullahi Hagar
Farah
3- Abdullahi Abduwali
Farah