Izhar Shafawi means reading a silent Meem (مْ) clearly, with the lips closed gently and no added or prolonged hum in the nose, when the next letter is any of 26 letters — that is, every Arabic letter except ب and م. It is the first and easiest of the three rules of Meem Sakinah, and it is the default: if the letter after the Meem is not ب and not م, you are already doing it.

Here is the problem that brings most learners to this page. You close your lips on the Meem of أَلَمْ تَرَ, hold them a fraction too long, and a stretched hum escapes through the nose. What comes out sounds like أَلَمّ تَرَ — a doubled Meem that is not in the text. The rule itself takes thirty seconds to learn. Hearing your own extra hum is the part that takes practice, and this page is built around that.

What Does Izhar Shafawi Mean?

The name is two words, and each one tells you something useful.

Put together: a Meem made at the lips and left completely clear. You will also see it written Izhar Shafawee, Ith-har Shafawi or Idhhar Shafawi in English books — all the same rule, spelled from the same Arabic word إظهار شفوي.

This matters because Meem Sakinah has a partner chapter. The parallel rules for the silent Noon are covered in our guide to the Noon Sakin rules, and both chapters sit inside the wider set of Tajweed rules. Izhar Shafawi is simple in this sense: you do not add hiding, merging or extra lengthening to the Meem — you let it come out as it is.

Izhar Shafawi Letters: All 26

You do not need to memorise 26 separate letters. Just remember the two exceptions: ب and م. Take the 28 letters of the Arabic alphabet, remove those two, and everything left over — 26 letters — is Izhar Shafawi.

The two letters that need extra care: و and ف

All twenty-six letters follow the same rule — but two of them are much easier to get wrong, and almost no English page says so. Classical Tajweed texts specifically warn against hiding the Meem before و and ف. Some teachers refer to this extra care with the term Izhar Shafawi Aqwa; it is not a separate fourth rule you need to memorise, only a reminder that the Meem here must stay clearly audible.

The reason is anatomical. و is made at the two lips — the same makhraj as the Meem — and ف is made right beside them, at the inside of the lower lip against the upper front teeth. When two sounds sit at or beside the same place of articulation, the mouth wants to blend them, and the Meem can slide into the letter after it with a hum that should not be there.

The instruction is mechanical: close the lips → release them → then start the و or ف. Three separate movements, in that order. If you start shaping the next letter while the lips are still shut, the extra hum has already happened.

The Izhar Shafawi Rule in Meem Sakinah

One sentence: when a Meem Sakinah is followed by any letter other than ب or م, read the Meem clearly and move on. The rule itself is simple, and it works the same way inside a single word and across a word boundary, in every surah. The only thing that needs extra attention is و and ف, so that the Meem is not accidentally hidden.

Beginners often miss the trigger rather than the rule. A Meem Sakinah is a Meem with no vowel, commonly written with a sukoon (مْ). The everyday plural endings are full of them — هُمْ, لَكُمْ, عَلَيْهِمْ, أَنْتُمْ — and so are mid-word forms like الْحَمْدُ and يَمْشُونَ. Every one of those is a decision point.

Those three rules are the entire chapter of Meem Sakinah. Nothing else is hiding in it. Read them together in the parent guide to the rules of Meem Sakinah, and you have closed one of the shortest and most useful chapters in Tajweed.

How to Pronounce Izhar Shafawi (4 Steps)

Four movements. The second one is where the mistake lives.

Listen & Copy: record yourself

Listen to Sheikh Al-Husary, record the same phrase in your own voice, then play the two back to back. Most learners hear their own stretched ghunnah the first time they do this. Nothing is uploaded and nothing is stored — the recording stays in your browser and disappears when you close the page.

Izhar Shafawi Examples from the Quran

Ten short Izhar Shafawi Quran examples, covering mid-word and end-of-word Meems and both of the difficult letters. The Meem Sakinah is marked in blue and the letter after it in orange. Every clip is a short excerpt in the recitation of Sheikh Mahmoud Khalil Al-Husary.

Surah Al-Ikhlas is the best place to start drilling. It is four short ayat you already know by heart, it contains two instances of this rule in a single line, and you can recite it slowly enough to catch your own hum before the next word arrives.

Izhar Shafawi vs Ikhfa Shafawi vs Idgham Shafawi

Do not try to remember three rules. Remember two letters and a default. Look at the letter that comes straight after the مْ: is it ب? Then Ikhfa Shafawi. Is it م? Then Idgham Shafawi. Anything else, all 26 of them, is Izhar Shafawi. That single question answers every Meem Sakinah in the Quran.

Read the two exceptions in full: Ikhfa Shafawi covers the Meem before ب, and Idgham Shafawi covers the Meem before another Meem. The parallel chapter for the silent Noon is the Noon Sakin rules — same logic, four rules instead of three.

4 Common Izhar Shafawi Mistakes

Practise Izhar Shafawi: Spot the Rule

A 12-question quiz covering all three Meem Sakinah rules — Izhar, Ikhfa and Idgham Shafawi — so you have to decide, not guess. Twelve real Quranic phrases, one at a time: look at the letter after the highlighted Meem and tap the rule. Instant feedback with the reason, and audio on the ones recited by Sheikh Al-Husary. No sign-up.

Play: Eagle of Izhar Shafawi (Free Game)

Recognising a rule with time to think is one skill. Recognising it in half a second is another. Fly the eagle, catch only the letters that trigger Izhar Shafawi, and avoid ب and م. It works on phones and tablets, and no account is needed.

Game not loading? Open it in a new tab · or browse all our free Tajweed games.

📚 Continue Learning

Izhar Shafawi is one third of the Meem Sakinah chapter. Here is what to study next:

All of them sit inside the wider set of Tajweed rules, and are taught step by step in our courses for adults and kids.

Izhar Shafawi FAQ

May Allah beautify your recitation and accept it from you. 🤲