There are two types of hamzah that appear in the Qur'an. Both are read and treated differently
- Sign in Qur'an is ء
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May appear anywhere within a word.
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It is always pronounced
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- Sign in the Qur'an is ٱ
- Appears only at the beginning of a word.
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Pronounced only if there is no letter before it.
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It occurs only at the beginning of the word.
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It occurs without any harakah (vowel) on it.
- It is written as ٱ
- It can be pronounced or skipped
Pronounced |
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Skipped
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If the reader starts reading from the word starting with hamza tul wasl, then it should be pronounced. |
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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 |
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Dammah |
Dammah |
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7:55
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Dammah |
Dammah |
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12:9
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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 |
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ٱﻣﺸﻮا |
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ٱﺑﻨﻮا |
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ٱﻗﻀﻮا |
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ٱﺋْﺘُﻮا |
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- 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 |
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fathah |
Kasrah |
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9:9
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Kasrah |
Kasrah |
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1:6
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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
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The letter Hamzah appears in many different forms in the Arabic language, but pronounced the same
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
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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
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When there appear 2 Hamzahs together, ensure both are pronounced distinctively
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Where the letters Hamzah and Aeyn
appear together, ensure that both are differentiated clearly
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Click 'here' to
view practice exercises for the rules of Hamza tul Qat'a
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