First: Definition and Letters of Labial Iẓhār
Labial iẓhār refers to the clear pronunciation of mīm sākinah (non-voweled mīm) from its articulation point, without additional ghunnah, pause, or doubling it (shaddah), when followed by any of the labial iẓhār letters.
The letters of labial iẓhār are all Arabic letters except for **bāʼ** (ب) and **mīm** (م).
It is called *labial* because the mīm is articulated from the lips.
Second: Examples of Labial Iẓhār
Labial iẓhār occurs both within a single word and between two words. Example within one word: ﴿ٱلۡحَمۡدُ﴾. Example between two words: ﴿لَهُمۡ جَنَّٰت﴾.
The following are examples of labial iẓhār across different letters:
| Letter | In one word | Between two words |
| Hamzah | ﴿ٱلظَّمَۡٔانُ﴾ | ﴿عَلَيۡكُمۡۚ إِنَّهُ﴾ |
| Tāʼ | ﴿أَنۡعَمۡتَ﴾ | ﴿أَلَمۡ تَعۡلَمۡ﴾ |
| Thāʼ | ﴿أَمۡثَالُكُم﴾ | ﴿دَارِكُمۡ ثَلَٰثَةَ﴾ |
| Jīm | – | ﴿لَهُمۡ جَنَّٰتٖ﴾ |
| Ḥāʼ | ﴿يَمۡحَقُ﴾ | ﴿أَمۡ حَسِبۡتُمۡ﴾ |
| Khāʼ | – | ﴿أَمۡ خُلِقُواْ﴾ |
| Dāl | ﴿ٱلۡحَمۡدُ﴾ | ﴿لَكُمۡ دِينُكُمۡ﴾ |
| Dhāl | – | ﴿وَتَرۡهَقُهُمۡ ذِلَّةٞ﴾ |
| Rāʼ | ﴿تَمۡرَحُونَ﴾ | ﴿لَهُمۡ رِزۡقٗا﴾ |
| Zāy | ﴿رَمۡزٗا﴾ | ﴿مِّنۡهُمۡ زَهۡرَةَ﴾ |
| Sīn | ﴿تُمۡسُونَ﴾ | ﴿وَهُمۡ سَٰلِمُون﴾ |
| Shīn | ﴿يَمۡشُونَ﴾ | ﴿مِنۡهُمۡ شَيۡءٞ﴾ |
| Ṣād | – | ﴿وَهُمۡ صَٰغِرُونَ﴾ |
| Fourth: Common Mistakes in Pronouncing Ḍād | ﴿وَٱمۡضُواْ﴾ | ﴿ءَابَآءَهُمۡ ضَآلِّينَ﴾ |
| Ṭāʼ | ﴿وَأَمۡطَرۡنَا﴾ | ﴿مَسَّهُمۡ طَٰٓئِفٞ﴾ |
| Ḍād | – | ﴿وَهُمۡ ظَٰلِمُونَ﴾ |
| ʿAyn | ﴿أَمۡعَآءَهُمۡ﴾ | ﴿أَمۡ عِندَهُمۡ﴾ |
| Ghayn | – | ﴿فَعَلَيۡهِمۡ غَضَبٞ﴾ |
| Fāʼ | – | ﴿وَّهُمۡ فَرِحُونَ﴾ |
| Qāf | – | ﴿فَوۡقَهُمۡ قَٰهِرُونَ﴾ |
| Kāf | ﴿فَيَمۡكُثُ﴾ | ﴿أَمۡ كُنتُمۡ﴾ |
| Lām | ﴿وَأُمۡلِي﴾ | ﴿وَهُمۡ لَهَا﴾ |
| Nūn | ﴿وَأَمۡنٗا﴾ | ﴿لَهُمۡ نَارُ﴾ |
| Hāʼ | ﴿يَمۡهَدُونَ﴾ | ﴿أَمۡ هَلۡ﴾ |
| Wāw | ﴿أَمۡوَٰتٗا﴾ | ﴿حِسَابُهُمۡ وَهُمۡ﴾ |
| Yāʼ | ﴿عُمۡيٞ﴾ | ﴿وَلَمۡ يُصِرُّواْ﴾ |
Third: Labial Iẓhār in the Disjointed Letters
Labial iẓhār occurs in several places within the disjointed letters (ḥurūf muqaṭṭaʿah) of the Qur’an, such as: ﴿الٓمٓصٓ﴾ [Al-Aʿrāf:1], ﴿الٓمٓر﴾ [Ar-Raʿd:1], and others.
For instance, ﴿الٓمٓر﴾ is spelled as: “Alif, Lām, Mīmْ, Rāʼ”. The mīm sākinah is followed by rāʼ, thus requiring the rule of labial iẓhār: the mīm is pronounced clearly from its articulation point, without additional ghunnah, pause, or doubling.
Fourth: Important Note
One must be careful not to conceal (ikhfāʼ) the mīm sākinah when followed by **wāw** or **fāʼ**, since the mīm shares the same articulation point with wāw (both from the lips), and the fāʼ articulation point is close to it. Proper attention must be given to clearly pronounce the mīm sākinah in such cases to avoid unintended concealment.
At-Taḥdeed (pp. 167–168), Nihāyat al-Qawl al-Mufīd (p. 169), Hidayat al-Qari (1/199), Al-Tajweed al-Musawwar (pp. 123–124), Al-Muneer (p. 155).