Izhaar shafawi

Islam > Quran > Tajweed > Izhaar shafawi

Ruling of the meem saakin. For the izhaar of the noon saakin and the tanween before the throat letters, see Izhaar halqi.

The letters of the izhaar shafawi

The izhaar shafawi has as letters the remaining twenty-six of the alphabet, after excluding the ba' and the meem from among the twenty-eight letters that can follow the meem saakin. When one of these letters follows the meem saakin (in a word or between two words), the izhaar is obligatory: it is called izhaar shafawi (labial izhaar).

Why this name "izhaar shafawi"?

As for its name izhaar: it is the making evident of the meem saakin at the meeting with the twenty-six letters.

As for its name shafawi (labial): it is because the meem saakin (the letter that makes apparent) comes out from the lips. The izhaar has been referred to it (to the meem) and not to the point of articulation of the twenty-six letters that make the meem apparent; for these are not limited to a single point of articulation: some come out from the throat, others from the tongue, others from the lips. That is why the izhaar has been referred to the point of articulation of the letter that makes apparent, to specify it and circumscribe it.

This unlike the izhaar halqi (pharyngeal), which has been referred to the point of articulation of the letters before which the noon saakin and the tanween are made apparent, because of their limitation to a determined point of articulation: the throat¹.

The cause of the izhaar shafawi

The cause of the making evident of the meem at the meeting with the twenty-six letters is the distance of the point of articulation of the meem in relation to the point of articulation of most of these letters.

It will be noted that when the waw or the fa' follow the meem saakin, the izhaar of the meem in intensive izhaar shafawi is obligatory, so that its concealment before them not be supposed as it conceals itself before the ba'; this because of the identity of its point of articulation with the waw and of the proximity of its point of articulation with the fa'.

And it is to this that shaykh al-Jamzuri warns in Tuhfat al-Atfal by his statement:

واحْذَرْ لَدَى وَاوٍ وفَا أنْ تَخْتَفي ... لِقُرْبِها والاتِّحادِ فاعْرِفِ

"And beware, before a waw and a fa', of concealment... because of their proximity and union, recognize it"

The 2 categories of letters of the izhaar shafawi

The letters of the izhaar shafawi divide into two categories:

1. A category that follows the meem between two words only.
2. A category that follows it in a word as between two words¹.

Examples of the 1st category of letters of the izhaar

The number of its letters is eight, and they are:

Examples of the 2nd category of letters of the izhaar

The number of its letters is eighteen, and they are:

And to these three rulings refers the author of Tuhfat al-Atfal by his statement:

والْمِيمُ إن تَسْكُنْ تَجي قبل الهِجَا ... لا أَلِفٍ لَيِّنَةٍ لِذي الحِجَا
أحكامُهَا ثلاثةٌ لمنْ ضَبَطْ ... إخفاءٌ ادغامٌ وإظهارٌ فَقَطْ
فالأوَّلُ الإخفَاءُ عند البَاءِ ... وسمِّهِ الشَّفْويَّ للقُرَّاءِ
والثانِ إِدغامٌ بمثلِهَا أَتى ... وسَمِّ إدغامًا صغيرًا يا فَتى
والثَّالثُ الإظهارُ في البقيَّةْ ... من أحْرفٍ وسمِّها شَفْويَّةْ
واحذر لدى واوٍ وفا أن تختفِي ... لقربها والاتحادِ فاعرِفِ

As it is pointed to by the author of La'ali al-Bayan by his statement:

وأخفِ أحرى عند با وأدغما ... في الميمِ والإظهارُ مع سواهما

"And conceal (it is safer) before the ba', and assimilate... in the meem, and izhaar with the others"

Additional examples (Qawa'id al-Tajwid on the recitation of Hafs)

وَبَشِّرِ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ أَنَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّـٰتٍۢ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ ۖ كُلَّمَا رُزِقُوا۟ مِنْهَا مِن ثَمَرَةٍۢ رِّزْقًۭا ۙ قَالُوا۟ هَـٰذَا ٱلَّذِى رُزِقْنَا مِن قَبْلُ ۖ وَأُتُوا۟ بِهِۦ مُتَشَـٰبِهًۭا ۖ وَلَهُمْ فِيهَآ أَزْوَٰجٌۭ مُّطَهَّرَةٌۭ ۖ وَهُمْ فِيهَا خَـٰلِدُونَ

Surah 2, 25: Izhaar shafawi: the meem saakin of لهم remains apparent before the fa' of فيها.

إِنَّكُمْ وَمَا تَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ حَصَبُ جَهَنَّمَ أَنتُمْ لَهَا وَٰرِدُونَ

Surah 21, 98: Izhaar shafawi: the meem saakin of إنكم remains apparent before the waw of وما.

فَسُبْحَـٰنَ ٱللَّهِ حِينَ تُمْسُونَ وَحِينَ تُصْبِحُونَ

Surah 30, 17: Izhaar shafawi inside a word: the meem saakin of تمسون remains apparent before the seen.

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ ٱعْبُدُوا۟ رَبَّكُمُ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَكُمْ وَٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ

Surah 2, 21: Izhaar shafawi: the meem saakin of لعلكم remains apparent before the ta' of تتقون.

مَثَلُهُمْ كَمَثَلِ ٱلَّذِى ٱسْتَوْقَدَ نَارًۭا فَلَمَّآ أَضَآءَتْ مَا حَوْلَهُۥ ذَهَبَ ٱللَّهُ بِنُورِهِمْ وَتَرَكَهُمْ فِى ظُلُمَـٰتٍۢ لَّا يُبْصِرُونَ

Surah 2, 17: Izhaar shafawi: the meem saakin of مثلهم remains apparent before the kaf of كمثل.