My question this time is about Kaaf, Qaaf, Khaa and Ghain..

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah.

Please could you help me find the makhraj of some letters?  I have read through your website and also the books but I find that as I haven’t got a teacher to go through it with me I am still only guessing. 

My question this time is about Kaaf, Qaaf, Khaa and Ghain.  In particular, I would very much like to know the fine practical details of exactly what part of the tongue touches what exact part of the throat/mouth and in what way.  What would be a slightly incorrect makhraj for each letter, especially those mistakes common to native English speakers?  Also, exactly how in a practical way do the makhaarij of each the letters differ from one another.  For example, does Kaaf use the exact same part of the tongue as Qaaf? And do Qaaf and Khaa share the precise same articulation points of both tongue and mouth but used in a different way? 

Jazakallahu khair for all your efforts and patience with all our questions.

Answer

Wa alaikum assalaam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

The letters  and  use the deepest (furthest away from the mouth) part of the tongue and that which lies opposite to it of the roof of the mouth.  The  however, uses the hard palate of the roof of the mouth, whereas the  uses the soft palate.  The  and , then are not articulated from the same exact place, but close to each other.  The  is closer to the mouth, the closer to the throat.  The part of the tongue used for each is slightly different, with the  using a deeper part of the tongue. 

The common mistakes for the  for non-Arabs, is pronouncing it too far back (on the soft palate instead of the hard palate) giving it a heavy sound, or sometimes hardly any sound. 

The  can be pronounced totally incorrectly by a novice, non-Arab reader, in that they pronounce it as a  or without tafkheem.  A mistake found in both Arabs and non-Arabs is pronouncing it with , or air.  This is resolved by placing the articulation point at the deepest part of the tongue, and using the soft tissue near the uvula (the “u” shaped piece of flesh that comes down in the back of the mouth.). 

The letter  is not pronounced from the tongue, but is pronounced from the throat, the part of the throat closest to the mouth.  The tongue should not be used in the articulation point when saying the .  The most common mistake with the  for non-Arabs starting to learn the Qur’an is pronouncing it as an English “g” as pronounced in the word “go”.  The “g” which does not exist in the Arabic language, comes from the tongue and the roof of the mouth, quite close to the articulation point of the , but a little posterior.  The student who has this mistake needs to practice using the throat, and not the tongue. 

Wa iyyaakum, and we add that we ask Allah to grant the questioners patience with the delays they sometimes find in our answers .