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A Rules for writing hamzah
A.1 Seats of hamzah
Hamzah is written in four different ways:
- Seated on an alif: أ or إ
- Seated on an wāw: ؤ
- Seated on an yāʾ: ئ
- Unseated: ء
Here are some of notes about writing hamzah in the above four methods:
When unseated hamzah comes between two letters that are joined, then it is written above the line that joins them, for example: خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. In this word, the yāʾ ي joins to the tāʾ marbūṭah ة.
As a special case, when unseated hamza comes between joined lām and alif (لا), then it is positioned between them thus: لءا. (In most cases, this is replaced with لآ as we will explain in the next point below.) And this is different from hamzah on the alif following the lām: لأ.
When unseated hamzah is followed by an alif: ءا, the combination of hamzah and alif is usually written as آ as a convention. Examples: آمَنَ ʾāmana, ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān, شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān. However, when the alif is a suffix or part of a suffix, or the hamzah is doubled, or there is an alif before the hamzah then we will write ءا, not آ. Examples: شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni, سَءَّال saʾʾāl, قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt.
When hamzah is seated on alif, if it has an i-mark, it is written below the alif: إِ. Otherwise, it is written above the alif: أَ, أُ, أْ.
When hamzah is seated on yāʾ ئ the dots of the yāʾ are no longer written. Here’s how it will appear in different positions:
Isolated End Middle Beginnning ئ ـئ ـئـ ئـ Note that hamzah is seated on yāʾ in the middle position ـئـ is different from unseated hamzah between two joining letters ـءـ.
So how do we know when to write hamzah unseated and when seated? And how do we choose between its three different seats? There are a set of rules that we need to follow in order to correctly write hamzah.
A.2 Rules for determining the seat of hamzah
A.2.1 Without prefixes and suffixes
We will first learn how to determine the seat of hamzah for a word without any prefix or suffix.
Hamzah can occur in three positions in a word:
- At the beginning of the word
- In the middle of the word
- At the end of the word
We will treat each of these positions below.
A.2.1.1 At the beginning of the word
When hamzah occurs in the beginning of a word, then:
- If the hamzah carries a long-ā vowel, it is written unseated followed by an alif and written as آ, for example آمَنَ ʾāmana.
- If the hamzah carries any other vowel, it is written seated on an alif, and is marked with the appropriated vowel mark, for example أَسْلَمَ ʾaslama, أُرِيدُ ʾurīdu, إِسْلَام ʾislām, إِيمَان ʾīmān, أُوخِذَ ʾūk͡hid͡ha.
A.2.1.2 In the middle of the word
The most general case is when hamzah is in the middle of a word.
Arabic has three short vowels, three long vowels, two semi-vowels, and a zero-vowel indicated by a ø-mark ◌ْ. Each of these has an order of precedence and a hamzah seat, that we have shown in the table below:
| Precedence | Vowel | Seated hamzah |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | ī/ay | ء |
| 2. | i | ئ |
| 3. | ū/aw | ء |
| 4. | u | ؤ |
| 5. | ā | ء |
| 6. | a | أ |
| 7. | ◌ْ | ء |
Main rule: Disregard any doubling mark ◌ّ. Consider the vowel on the consonant before the hamzah and the shortened vowel on the hamzah itself. Determine which of the two vowels wins by being higher in precedence in the above table. The winning vowel’s seat will be the seat of the hamzah.
Sub-rule: If the main rule determines that hamzah is to be seated on alif, and there is a long ā vowel on the hamzah using an alif, then hamzah shall be unseated. And the combination of ءَا will usually be written as آ.
Examples:
| Word | Vowel on consonant before hamzah | Shortened vowel on hamzah | Winning vowel | Seated hamzah |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| هَيْءَة hayʾah | ay | a | ay | ء |
| خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah | ī | a | ī | ء |
| اسْتِيءَاس ʾistīʾās | ī | a | ī | ء (Exception: ءَا is not written as آ when the preceding vowel is ī.) |
| تَوْءَم tawʾam | aw | a | aw | ء |
| سَائِل sāʾil | ā | i | i | ئ |
| تَسَاؤُل tasāʾul | ā | u | u | ؤ |
| تَسَاءَلَ tasāʾala | ā | a | ā | ء |
| قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt | ā | a | ā | ء |
| نُوآنٌ nūʾānun | ū | a | ū | ء |
| مَسْؤُول masʾūl | ◌ْ | u | u | ؤ |
| تَرْئِيس tarʾīs | ◌ْ | i | i | ئ |
| مِرْآة mirʾāh | ◌ْ | a | a | ء (Using sub-rule.) |
| ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān | ◌ْ | a | a | ء (Using sub-rule.) |
| مَسْأَلَة masʾalah | ◌ْ | a | a | أ |
| الْمَرْأَة almarʾah | ◌ْ | a | a | أ |
| بِئْسَ biʾsa | i | ◌ْ | i | ئ |
| سُؤْل suʾl | u | ◌ْ | u | ؤ |
| کَأْس kaʾs | a | ◌ْ | a | أ |
| سُئِلَ suʾila | u | i | i | ئ |
| يَئِسَ yaʾisa | a | i | i | ئ |
| رَئِيس raʾīs | a | i | i | ئ |
| سُؤَال suʾāl | u | a | u | ؤ |
| رُؤُوس ruʾūs | u | u | u | ؤ |
| لُؤَيّ luʾayy | u | a | u | ؤ |
| شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān | a | a | a | ء (Using sub-rule.) |
| سَأَلَ saʾala | a | a | a | أ |
| رَأَىٰ raʾā | a | a | a | أ (Sub-rule doesn’t apply because ā vowel at end represented by ىٰ, not alif.) |
| رَأَّسَ raʾʾasa | a | a | a | أ |
| يُرَئِّسُ yuraʾʾisu | a | i | i | ئ |
| رُئِّسَ ruʾʾisa | u | i | i | ئ |
| تَفَؤُّل tafaʾʾul | a | u | u | ؤ |
| سَءَّال saʾʾāl | a | a | a | ء (Using sub-rule.) |
| لَءَّال laʾʾāl | a | a | a | ء (Using sub-rule.) |
A.2.1.3 At the end of the word
When hamzah occurs at the end of a word, disregard the vowel on hamzah itself, and consider only the vowel on preceding consonant. Plug it into the precedence table as above to determine the seat of hamzah.
| Word | Vowel on consonant before hamzah | Seated hamzah |
|---|---|---|
| دُعَاءُ duɛāʾu | ā | ء |
| سُوءُ sūʾu | ū | ء |
| جِيءَ jīʾa | ī | ء |
| ضَوْءَ ḍawʾa | aw | ء |
| شَيْءَ s͡hayʾa | ay | ء |
| بُطْءُ buṭʾu | ◌ْ | ء |
| عِبْءُ ɛibʾu | ◌ْ | ء |
| شَطْءُ s͡haṭʾu | ◌ْ | ء |
| يُهَدِّئُ yuhaddiʾu | i | ئ |
| سَيِّئُ sayyiʾu | i | ئ |
| بَطُؤَ baṭuʾa | u | ؤ |
| يَهْدَأُ yahdaʾu | a | أ |
| مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi | a | إ |
The exception to this rule is when the previous letter is a doubled wāw with an u-mark. In this case the hamzah will again be unseated. Example تَبَوُّءُ tabawwuʾu.
Note also that مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi can be written with the hamzah below the alif because of the i-mark on the hamzah. But it is also common to write it as مُبْتَدَأ mubtadaʾ, especially when the hamzah is unvoweled.
A.2.2 With prefixes and suffixes
A.2.2.1 Prefixes
If hamzah is in the beginning of a word, adding a prefix to the word will not alter the writing of the hamzah. Hamzah will continue to be seated on an alif. Here are some examples of words with beginning hamzahs and prefixes.
| Word without prefix | Prefix | Word with prefix |
|---|---|---|
| أُسْتَاذِ | لِ | لِأُسْتَاذِ |
| آخِرَة | الْ | الْآخِرَة |
A.2.2.2 Suffixes
If hamzah is at the end of a word, adding a suffix to the word can, in general, alter the writing of the hamzah. Hamzah is now, generally, treated as if it is in the middle of the word, and the rules for hamzah in the middle of a word apply. Examples:
| Word | Vowel on consonant before hamzah | Shortened vowel on hamzah | Winning vowel | Seated hamzah |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| بَرِيءُونَ barīʾūna | ī | u | ī | ء |
| بَرِيءَانِ barīʾāni | ī | a | ī | ء |
| بَرِيءِينَ barīʾīna | ī | i | ī | ء |
| بَرِيءَيْنِ barīʾayni | ī | a | ī | ء |
| شَيْءُهُ s͡hayʾuhu | ay | u | ay | ء |
| شَيْءَهُ s͡hayʾahu | ay | a | ay | ء |
| شَيْءِهِ s͡hayʾihi | ay | i | ay | ء |
| شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni | ay | a | ay | ء |
| شَيْءَيْنِ s͡hayʾayni | ay | a | ay | ء |
| مَجِيءُهُ majīʾuhu | ī | u | ī | ء |
| مَجِيءَهُ majīʾahu | ī | a | ī | ء |
| مَجِيءِهِ majīʾihi | ī | i | ī | ء |
| سُوئِهِ sūʾihi | ū | i | i | ئ |
| ضَوْئِهِ ḍawʾihi | aw | i | i | ئ |
| يَسُوءُونَ yasūʾūna | ū | u | ū | ء |
| سُوءُهُ sūʾuhu | ū | u | ū | ء |
| سُوءَهُ sūʾahu | ū | a | ū | ء |
| سُوءَانِ sūʾāni | ū | a | ū | ء |
| ضَوْءَهُ ḍawʾahu | aw | a | aw | ء |
| ضَوْءَانِ ḍawʾāni | aw | a | aw | ء |
| مُتَّکِئِينَ muttakiʾīna | i | i | i | ئ |
| يُبَرِّئُونَ yubarriʾūna | i | u | i | ئ |
| يُبَرَّؤُونَ yubarraʾūna | a | u | u | ؤ |
There are some exceptions:
If the letter before the hamzah has a ø-mark and is not wāw or yāʾ, then the hamzah will be written unseated. Examples:
- جُزْءَانِ juzʾāni
- عِبْءَانِ ɛibʾāni
- عِبْءَيْنِ ɛibʾayni
- بُطْءَهُ buṭʾahu
- بُطْءُهُ buṭʾuhu
- بُطْءِهِ buṭʾihi
- جُزْءَانِ juzʾāni
(انِ, يْنِ, هُ, and هِ are suffixes.) Note that the combination ءا is not written as آ when the alif is part of the suffix.
A.2.3 Nūnation on final hamzah
Nūnation on final hamzah does not affect the writing of the hamzah except in the case of a nūnated a-mark ◌ً. When writing a nūnated a-mark ◌ً on a hamzah at the end of a word:
If there is an alif before a unseated hamzah اء, then we don’t add a silent alif when writing the nūnated a-mark ◌ً. For example دَاء becomes دَاءً dāʾan, not دَاءًا.
Otherwise, we add the silent alif after the hamzah so that the hamzah is now in the middle of the word with a suffix alif after it. We now pretend that the hamzah has an a-mark and that the alif after it is a long-ā vowel. Then we go through the rules for writing hamzah in the middle of a word (given above) to determine how hamzah will be written. We then write the nūnated a-mark ◌ً on the hamzah. Examples:
- مُبْتَدَأ becomes مُبْتَدَأٌ، مُبْتَدَءًا، مُبْتَدَإٍ
- مَلْجَأ becomes مَلْجَأٌ، مَلْجَءًا، مَلْجَإٍ
- جُزْء becomes جُزْءٌ، جُزْءًا، جُزْءٍ
- شَيْء becomes شَيْءٌ، شَيْءًا، شَيْءٍ
- سَيِّئ becomes سَيِّئٌ, سَيِّئًا, سَيِّئٍ
A.2.4 Variants
There are some historical and regional variants to the above rules. The main one is when the letter before hamzah has a ø-mark, the hamzah is generally written unseated. So with this variant, we write:
- مَسْءُول instead of مَسْؤُول
- أَسْءِلَة instead of أَسْئِلَة
- مَسْءَلَة instead of مَسْأَلَة
However, this rule appears to be not consistently followed. For example, nas͡hʾah is generally always written نَشْأَة never نَشْءَة.
A second variant is to avoid the repetition of vowel letters like و and ي. So they write:
- رُءُوس instead of رُؤُوس.
- رَءِيس instead of رَئِيس.
A.3 Why so complicated?
Hamzah was originally not pronounced everywhere in some Classical Arabic dialects. So, for many words, speakers of these dialects would typically only pronounce hamzah in the beginning of a word. When hamzah would occur in the middle of a word, they would replace it with an a, u, or i vowel. So they would adjust their pronunciation as follows:
| Proununciation with hamzah | Proununciation without hamzah |
|---|---|
| هَيْءَة hayʾah | هَيَّة hayyah |
| خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah | خَطِيَّة k͡haṭiyyah |
| تَوْءَم tawʾam | تَوَّم tawwam |
| تَسَاؤُل tasāʾul | تَسَاوُل tasāwul |
| بِئْسَ biʾsa | بِيسَ bīsa |
| سُؤْل suʾl | سُول sūl |
| کَأْس kaʾs | کَاس kās |
When the Classical Standard Arabic variety emerged, then, for reasons that are beyond the scope of this text, the pronunciation with hamzah and the consonantal spelling without hamzah became standardized. So ء is now added as a pronunciation mark on top of the various seats that would instead have been dialectally pronounced without hamzah.
A.4 Typographical limitations
Unfortunately, most digital fonts do not currently allow for correctly typing an unseated hamzah between two joined letters (ـءـ), as in خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. In most fonts, the hamzah character (Unicode u+0621) will break the joining between the two letters surrounding it, and the output will be rendered incorrectly: خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah.
Two typefaces which allow for the correct typesetting are
- Amiri from Alif Type (amirifont.org)
- Naskh™ from DecoType (decotype.com)
We have used the Amiri font for typesetting this appendix chapter.
For most other fonts, an unseated hamzah between two joined letters would have to be approximated in one of two ways:
Hamzah superscript on a taṭwīl character: ـٔ. Example: خَطِيـَٔة. The Unicode input sequence is:
u+0640 arabic tatweel
u+0654 arabic hamza aboveThis is a more accurate approximation, but some fonts may not position the hamzah correctly on the taṭwīl, or position vowel marks on the superscript hamzah correctly.
Hamzah seated on yāʾ: ئ. Example: خَطِيئَة. This is a reprehensible, yet more prevalent, and better supported, approximation.
Beware, though, that neither of these approximations would allow for the correct rendering of a complex (but thankfully rare) word like لَءَّال laʾʾāl “pearl seller”, where the hamzah is not allowed to disturb the lām-alif ligature لا.