Sifaat al Huroof: Characteristics of Arabic Letters Explained

Two letters can come from almost the same place in the mouth and still sound completely different. س and ص are both made with the tip of the tongue near the front teeth, yet one is light and the other deep. ت and د share the same point, yet one carries breath and the other does not. What separates them are their sifaat (صِفَات), the characteristics or qualities of the letters.

If makharij al huroof tell you where a letter is made, sifaat tell you how it is made. This guide explains the qualities in plain English, with a practical action for each one, a chart of the most important letters, and drills that fix the mistakes non-Arabs make most often. It is the natural next step for anyone who wants to learn Quran online with precise, confident recitation.

What Are Sifaat al Huroof?

A sifah is a quality that describes how a letter is produced: whether breath flows, whether the voice is held, whether the tongue rises, and so on. Each letter has a fixed set of qualities that never change, called permanent qualities (sifaat lazimah). Some letters also gain qualities in certain situations, such as a raa becoming heavy or light, called temporary qualities (sifaat ‘aridah). This guide focuses on the permanent qualities, because they define every letter.

How Many Sifaat Are There?

Following Imam Ibn al-Jazari, there are 17 permanent qualities: 5 pairs of opposites (10 qualities) and 7 qualities with no opposite. Every letter takes exactly one quality from each of the 5 pairs, and some letters also have one or more of the single qualities.

What Are the Five Pairs of Opposite Qualities?

Pair 2 is usually counted as one pair with a middle state, which is why it lists three qualities.

Teachers use short phrases to remember the groups, for example فَحَثَّهُ شَخْصٌ سَكَتَ for the whisper letters and أَجِدْ قَطٍ بَكَتْ for the strong letters.

What Are the Qualities Without Opposites?

Ghunnah, the nasal sound of noon and meem, is often added to this list as well. Our guide to ghunnah covers it separately.

Why Do Sifaat Matter When Letters Share a Makhraj?

Without sifaat, several letters would sound identical. A few examples:

This is why scholars say a reciter must master both the place and the quality of every letter.

How Do You Practise the Most Important Sifaat?

Whisper (hams): put your hand in front of your mouth and say أَتْ. You should feel a small puff of air after the taa. Now say أَدْ: no puff, but a small bounce (qalqalah). If you do not feel the puff on taa, kaf and the other whisper letters, your recitation will sound flat.

Elevation (isti’la): say سَ and then صَ. For saad, raise the back of the tongue as if saying “o” inside the mouth. The heavy letters must stay heavy even with a kasra, as in صِرَاطَ.

Repetition (takrir): say الرَّحْمٰنِ. The raa should be a single, clean tap, not a long rolled “rrr”. Our guide to the rules of raa explains when raa is heavy or light.

Qalqalah: read قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ and stop on the final daal. Let it bounce slightly, without adding a vowel.

Lengthening (istitalah): practise وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ slowly, letting the daad run along the side of the tongue rather than snapping like an English “d”.

What Are the Most Common Sifaat Mistakes?

• Making whisper letters voiced, so ت sounds like د.
• Making heavy letters light, so صِرَاط sounds like “sirat”.
• Rolling the raa several times instead of one light tap.
• Adding a vowel to qalqalah letters, so أَحَدْ becomes “ahada”.
• Turning ض into an English “d” or a “z” sound.

Do Beginners Need to Memorise All the Sifaat?

No. Beginners should first learn the effects: which letters are heavy, which have a puff of air, which bounce, and how raa is tapped. The technical names can come later. The Noorani Qaida builds these habits naturally, and our Tajweed for beginners guide shows where sifaat fit in the learning order. A teacher in our online Tajweed course will listen for these qualities in every lesson.