Izhar Halqi in Tajweed: The 6 Throat Letters with Examples
Izhar Halqi (الإظهار الحلقي) is the first rule of Noon Saakin and Tanween, and the easiest to pronounce. In one line: when a noon saakin (نْ) or tanween is followed by one of the six throat letters — ء ه ع ح غ خ — the noon is pronounced clearly from its own articulation point, with no extended ghunnah and no concealment.
Izhar means "to make clear," and halqi means "of the throat," because all six letters that trigger it come from the throat. This guide covers the letters, why the noon stays clear before them, verified examples from the Quran, the most common mistakes, and practice exercises.
This article is part of our series on the rules of Noon Saakin and Tanween: Izhar, Idgham, Iqlab and Ikhfa.
Izhar at a Glance
| Linguistic meaning | Clarity, making something apparent |
| Tajweed meaning | Pronouncing noon saakin or tanween from its articulation point, without extended ghunnah, when a throat letter follows |
| Letters | Six: ء (hamzah) · ه (haa) · ع ('ayn) · ح (Haa) · غ (ghayn) · خ (khaa) |
| Where it occurs | In one word or across two words (noon saakin) · across two words only (tanween) |
| Sign in the mushaf | A sukoon on the noon (نۡ) · stacked tanween (ـٌ ـً ـٍ) |
| Ghunnah | Not extended — only the noon's natural nasal sound |
The Six Throat Letters
The throat has three regions, with two letters in each:
| Region of the throat | Letters | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Deepest part (nearest the chest) | ء · ه | Furthest from the noon's articulation point |
| Middle | ع · ح | |
| Nearest part (closest to the mouth) | غ · خ | Closest throat letters to the mouth |
Students memorise them with the first letters of a line from Tuhfat al-Atfal:
«أَخِي هَاكَ عِلْمًا حَازَهُ غَيْرُ خَاسِرِ»
Why Is the Noon Pronounced Clearly Before Throat Letters?
The reason is distance between articulation points:
- The noon is produced with the tip of the tongue against the gum ridge — at the front of the mouth.
- Throat letters are produced in the throat — the deepest point of speech.
Merging (idgham) or concealment (ikhfa) needs letters that are close to each other. With this much distance, merging is impossible, so the natural and correct way is to pronounce the noon fully, then move straight to the throat letter.
How to Pronounce Izhar Correctly
- Pronounce the noon from its point: the tongue tip touches the upper gum ridge firmly.
- Do not extend the ghunnah: keep only the short natural nasal sound of the noon.
- Move straight to the next letter: no pause between them, and no bounce (qalqalah) on the noon.
- Tanween follows the same rule: tanween is a noon that is pronounced but not written, so ﴿عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٞ﴾ is read 'adhābun 'aẓīm — a clear noon, then the 'ayn.
Quick test: touch your nose and say ﴿مِنۡ عِندِ﴾ (Al-Baqarah 2:79). A very brief vibration on the noon that stops at the 'ayn means you made izhar. If the vibration continues, you are stretching the ghunnah.
Examples of Izhar From the Quran
All examples are taken from the text of the Madinah mushaf with their verse numbers.
Noon saakin within one word
| Letter | Example | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| ء | ﴿وَيَنۡـَٔوۡنَ﴾ | Al-An'am 6:26 |
| ه | ﴿يَنۡهَوۡنَ﴾ | Al-An'am 6:26 |
| ع | ﴿أَنۡعَمۡتَ﴾ | Al-Fatihah 1:7 |
| ح | ﴿وَتَنۡحِتُونَ﴾ | Al-A'raf 7:74 |
| غ | ﴿فَسَيُنۡغِضُونَ﴾ | Al-Isra 17:51 |
| خ | ﴿وَٱلۡمُنۡخَنِقَةُ﴾ | Al-Ma'idah 5:3 |
Noon saakin across two words
| Letter | Example | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| ء | ﴿مَنۡ ءَامَنَ﴾ | Al-Baqarah 2:62 |
| ه | ﴿إِنۡ هَٰذَآ﴾ | Al-Ma'idah 5:110 |
| ع | ﴿مِنۡ عِندِ﴾ | Al-Baqarah 2:79 |
| ح | ﴿وَمِنۡ حَيۡثُ﴾ | Al-Baqarah 2:149 |
| غ | ﴿يَكُنۡ غَنِيًّا﴾ | An-Nisa 4:135 |
| خ | ﴿مِّنۡ خَيۡرٖ﴾ | Al-Baqarah 2:105 |
Tanween (always across two words)
| Letter | Example | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| ء | ﴿بَلَدًا ءَامِنٗا﴾ | Al-Baqarah 2:126 |
| ه | ﴿وِجۡهَةٌ هُوَ﴾ | Al-Baqarah 2:148 |
| ع | ﴿عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٞ﴾ | Al-Baqarah 2:7 |
| ح | ﴿عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ﴾ | Al-Baqarah 2:209 |
| غ | ﴿فَظًّا غَلِيظَ﴾ | Al-'Imran 3:159 |
| خ | ﴿مُّؤۡمِنَةٌ خَيۡرٞ﴾ | Al-Baqarah 2:221 |
Facts From the Mushaf You May Not Know
When we counted izhar within a single word across the whole Quran text:
| Letter after noon (same word) | Occurrences | Note |
|---|---|---|
| ه | 600+ | The most common: ﴿مِنۡهَا﴾ · ﴿عَنۡهُ﴾ · ﴿ٱلۡأَنۡهَٰرُ﴾ |
| ع | about 56 | e.g. ﴿أَنۡعَمۡتَ﴾ |
| ح | 5 | Four from the verb naḥata (to carve) and ﴿وَٱنۡحَرۡ﴾ Al-Kawthar 108:2 |
| ء | only 1 | ﴿وَيَنۡـَٔوۡنَ﴾ Al-An'am 6:26 |
| غ | only 1 | ﴿فَسَيُنۡغِضُونَ﴾ Al-Isra 17:51 |
| خ | only 1 | ﴿وَٱلۡمُنۡخَنِقَةُ﴾ Al-Ma'idah 5:3 |
So three of the within-word examples are unique in the entire Quran: wa-yan'awna · fa-sa-yunghiḍūna · wal-munkhaniqah.
How the Mushaf Shows You Izhar
The Madinah mushaf (Hafs) marks the rule visually:
- A clear noon has a sukoon on it: ﴿مِنۡ﴾ · ﴿أَنۡعَمۡتَ﴾. A concealed or merged noon is written without a sukoon.
- Tanween with izhar is stacked: the two marks sit directly on top of each other (ـً ـٌ ـٍ).
- Staggered tanween (the two marks offset) signals idgham or ikhfa — not izhar.
Practical rule: a sukoon on the noon or stacked tanween = pronounce it clearly.
Izhar Halqi vs Izhar Mutlaq
| Izhar Halqi | Izhar Mutlaq | |
|---|---|---|
| Cause | A throat letter after the noon | A noon saakin followed by و or ي in the same word |
| Words | Very many | Only four in the Quran: الدنيا · بنيان · قنوان · صنوان |
| Why no merging | Distant articulation points | Merging would confuse the word with another |
Common Mistakes in Izhar
- Stretching the ghunnah — making ﴿مِنۡ عِندِ﴾ sound like ikhfa. The noon should be short and clear.
- Concealing the noon before غ and خ — because they are the closest throat letters to the mouth. In the Hafs narration the rule is izhar without exception.
- Adding a vowel to the noon — reading mina 'indi instead of min 'indi.
- Pausing on the noon — min… 'indi. The two must be joined smoothly.
- Bouncing the noon — qalqalah belongs only to ق ط ب ج د.
- Dropping the tanween — reading ﴿عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ﴾ as 'azīzu ḥakīm. The tanween's noon must be heard.
Practice Exercises
Find the izhar, its letter and its type:
| # | Verse | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ﴿صِرَٰطَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنۡعَمۡتَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ﴾ (1:7) | ﴿أَنۡعَمۡتَ﴾ — noon saakin in one word, before ع |
| 2 | ﴿وَهُمۡ يَنۡهَوۡنَ عَنۡهُ﴾ (6:26) | Two: ﴿يَنۡهَوۡنَ﴾ and ﴿عَنۡهُ﴾ — before ه |
| 3 | ﴿مِنۡ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ﴾ (2:79) | Noon saakin across two words, before ع |
| 4 | ﴿وَلَهُمۡ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٞ﴾ (2:7) | Tanween before ع |
| 5 | ﴿وَلَوۡ كُنتَ فَظًّا غَلِيظَ ٱلۡقَلۡبِ﴾ (3:159) | ﴿فَظًّا غَلِيظَ﴾ — tanween before غ (﴿كُنتَ﴾ is ikhfa, because ت follows the noon) |
| 6 | ﴿وَمِنۡ حَيۡثُ خَرَجۡتَ﴾ (2:149) | Noon saakin across two words, before ح |
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the letters of izhar?
Six throat letters: hamzah (ء), haa (ه), 'ayn (ع), Haa (ح), ghayn (غ) and khaa (خ).
Why is it called izhar halqi?
Because all six letters come from the throat (halq): ء and ه from its deepest part, ع and ح from its middle, and غ and خ from its nearest part.
Is there ghunnah in izhar?
The ghunnah is not extended. The noon keeps only its natural nasal sound, unlike idgham with ghunnah, ikhfa and iqlab, where the ghunnah is held for two counts.
How many rules of noon saakin and tanween are there?
Four: Izhar, Idgham, Iqlab and Ikhfa. See the full guide with a summary table: Noon Saakin and Tanween Rules.
Summary
Six throat letters — ء ه ع ح غ خ. When one follows a noon saakin or tanween, pronounce the noon clearly with a short ghunnah, then move straight on. The mushaf even shows it: a sukoon on the noon, or stacked tanween.
Izhar is simple in theory, but mistakes are common in practice — especially stretching the ghunnah — and they are hard to hear in your own recitation. At Faseeh, students recite live to qualified teachers who correct every letter.
