Sifat Al-Huroof: Letter Characteristics

What are Sifaat?

Sifaat Al-Huroof (صفات الحروف) are the characteristics or qualities of each Arabic letter that distinguish it from others with the same makhraj. Sifaat determine how a letter sounds even after its point of articulation is correct.

Opposite Pairs of Sifaat

• الجهر (voiced) vs الهمس (unvoiced): Voiced letters vibrate the vocal cords; unvoiced use only air flow

• الشدة (strong/stopped) vs الرخاوة (soft/flowing): Strong letters stop air flow completely; soft letters allow air to pass

• الاستعلاء (elevation) vs الاستفال (lowering): 7 elevated letters (خص ضغط قظ) are pronounced with raised tongue – these are the tafkheem letters

• الإطباق (closure) vs الانفتاح (openness): 4 closed letters (ص ض ط ظ) have the tongue pressed against the palate

Tafkheem and Tarqeeq

Tafkheem (تفخيم) means "thick/heavy" pronunciation; tarqeeq (ترقيق) means "thin/light." Letters of elevation are always pronounced with tafkheem. The letter ر alternates between the two based on its vowel.