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The letter Hamzah (ء)
There are two types of hamzah that appear in the Qur’an. Both are read and treated differently
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Hamza tul Wasl (ﳘﺰة اﻟﻮﺻﻞ)
- It occurs only at the beginning of the word.
- It occurs without any harakah (vowel) on it.
- It is written as ٱ
- It can be pronounced or skipped
Pronounced | Skipped | |
If the reader starts reading from the word starting with hamza tul wasl, then it should be pronounced. | If the reader connects the word which begins with hamza tul wasl with the letter preceding it, this letter is directly connected to the letter following hamza tul wasl. |
- Hamza tul wasl will be assigned with a dammah, if the 3rd letter of the verb carries a dammah.
3rd Letter | Hamza tul Wasl | Extract from Verse | Surah : Verse | |
Dammah | Dammah | ![]() |
7:55 | |
Dammah | Dammah | ![]() |
12:9 |
- Exceptional cases. The following words are the only verbs in the Qur’an where the 3rd letter carries a dammah but a kasrah is assigned to the hamza tul wasl
(if he starts reading with it) :
ٱﻣﻀﻮا | |
ٱﻣﺸﻮا | |
ٱﺑﻨﻮا | |
ٱﻗﻀﻮا | |
ٱﺋْﺘُﻮا |
- Hamza tul wasl will be assigned with a kasrah, if the 3rd letter of the verb carries a fathah or kasrah.
3rd Letter | Hamza tul Wasl | Extract from Verse | Surah : Verse | |
Dammah | Dammah | ![]() |
7:55 | |
Dammah | Dammah | ![]() |
12:9 |
- Exceptional cases. The following words are the only verbs in the Qur’an where the 3rd letter carries a dammah but a kasrah is assigned to the hamza tul wasl
(if he starts reading with it) :
ٱﻣﻀﻮا | |
ٱﻣﺸﻮا | |
ٱﺑﻨﻮا | |
ٱﻗﻀﻮا | |
ٱﺋْﺘُﻮا |
- Hamza tul wasl will be assigned with a kasrah, if the 3rd letter of the verb carries a fathah or kasrah.
3rd Letter | Hamza tul Wasl | Extract from Verse | Surah : Verse | |
fathah | Kasrah | ![]() |
9:9 | |
Kasrah | Kasrah | ![]() |
1:6 |
Click here to view a printable chart depicting the rules on pronouncing Hamza tul Wasl
Click here to view a printable chart summarizing the rules of Hamza
tul Wasl
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Click ‘here‘ to view practice exercises for the rules of Hamza tul Wasl |
Hamza tul Qat’a (ﳘﺰة اﻟﻘﻄﻊ)
The letter Hamzah appears in many different forms in the Arabic language, but pronounced the same
E.g | إ | أ | ئ | ٶ | ء |
Note that the Alif and Hamzah are 2 different letters. The letter Alif in the Arabic language is always free from any type of harakah. If an Alif seems to have a harakah, then in actual fact it is a Hamzah
Points relating to the letter Hamzah
- When pronouncing a Hamzah that carries a sukoon
, care should be taken that it is pronounced correctly. Failing to do so may change it into a Waw
, Ya
or an Alif
E.g | (104:8) | ![]() |
may sound as | ![]() |
E.g | (2:58) | ![]() |
may sound as | ![]() |
E.g | (21:61) | ![]() |
may sound as | ![]() |
- When there appear 2 Hamzahs together, ensure both are pronounced distinctively
E.g | (79:27) | ![]() |
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E.g | (21:62) | ![]() |
- When there appear 2 Hamzahs together, ensure both are pronounced distinctively
E.g | (79:27) | ![]() |
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E.g | (21:62) | ![]() |
- Where the letters Hamzah and Aeyn
appear together, ensure that both are differentiated clearly
E.g | (114:1) | ![]() |
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E.g | (99:6) | ![]() |
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E.g | (21.81) | ![]() |
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Click ‘here‘ to view practice exercises for the rules of Hamza tul Qat’a |