A structured reference guide to the definite article, the ten canonical nouns (al-asmāʾ al-ʿashara), relative pronouns, and the main verbal patterns that begin with hamzatu-l-waṣl. With full voweling, transliteration, Hebrew cognates, Quranic attestation, and contextual examples.
What is hamzatu-l-waṣl? Arabic does not allow a word to begin with a consonant cluster (sākin at the start). When a word-form would otherwise begin with a sukūn, a prosthetic hamza is prefixed to enable pronunciation. This hamza — called هَمْزَةُ الوَصْلِ (hamzatu-l-waṣl, "the connecting hamza") — is pronounced only at the beginning of an utterance. When the word occurs mid-sentence, preceded by any vowel, the hamza is dropped entirely, and the preceding vowel connects directly to the consonant that follows the alif.
Graphic mark: In standard orthography, hamzatu-l-waṣl is written as a bare alif ا — no hamza sign (ء) above or below it. In the Quranic rasm (orthography), it is marked with a small ṣād ( ٱ ) above the alif, called alif al-waṣl. This distinguishes it from هَمْزَةُ القَطْعِ (hamzatu-l-qaṭʿ, "the cutting hamza"), which is always pronounced and written as أ or إ.
Hebrew parallel: Classical Hebrew (as preserved in the Tiberian reading tradition) shares the same Semitic constraint against initial consonant clusters. The mobile shva (שְׁוָא נָע) performs an analogous function: שְׁנַיִם shnáyim begins with a cluster that is resolved by the mobile shva, much as Arabic اِثْنَانِ resolves its initial cluster with hamzatu-l-waṣl. (Modern Israeli Hebrew has largely abandoned this constraint and freely permits initial clusters.)
A key distinction: سَمَاعِيّ vs. قِيَاسِيّ. The ten nouns in Section C below form a closed, lexically fixed list — called samāʿī (سماعيّ, "received by ear," i.e., learned from tradition). They must be memorized individually. By contrast, the verbal forms (Section E) are qiyāsī (قياسيّ, "formed by analogy") — they follow a productive rule and are therefore predictable. This is a fundamental distinction in Arabic grammatical methodology.
The only particle (حَرْف) in Arabic that begins with hamzatu-l-waṣl. It is also the single most frequent occurrence of hamzatu-l-waṣl in the language — virtually every sentence contains it. The hamza of أل is pronounced with fatḥa (أَلْ), uniquely among all hamzatu-l-waṣl instances (all others take kasra or ḍamma).
| # | Word | Identity | Hebrew Cognate | Notes | Example in Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | اَلْ |
al- /'al/ the (definite article) QUR COMMON |
הַ ha- (the). Both are prefixed definite articles, but they descend from different Proto-Semitic roots. Hebrew ha- derives from *hal-; Arabic al- is likely from *ʔal-. Functionally identical: both prefix to nouns, both trigger specific grammatical changes (Hebrew dagesh forte ≈ Arabic lām assimilation with sun letters). |
Unique opening vowel: When uttered at the start of speech, the hamza takes fatḥa (أَلْ). All other hamzatu-l-waṣl words take kasra or ḍamma. Sun/moon assimilation: Before "sun letters" (ت ث د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ل ن), the lām assimilates and the following letter is doubled: الشَّمْسُ = ash-shamsu. Before "moon letters," lām is fully pronounced: القَمَرُ = al-qamaru. Mid-sentence: The hamza drops: بِسْمِ اللَّهِ is read bismi-llāhi, not *bismi al-lāhi. |
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
bismi-llāhi-r-raḥmāni-r-raḥīm "In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate" (Quran 1:1·word-by-word). — All three instances of أل lose their hamza because each is preceded by a vowel. |
A closed list (samāʿī, سماعيّ) of exactly ten nouns that begin with hamzatu-l-waṣl. This list was fixed by the Arab grammarians and cannot be expanded by analogy. Seven of these are attested in the Quran; three occur only in non-Quranic Arabic speech. All take kasra when pronounced at the start of an utterance (اِبْنُ, اِسْمُ, etc.) — except aymu, which may also take fatḥa. In dual forms, hamzatu-l-waṣl is retained; in broken plurals, it becomes hamzatu-l-qaṭʿ (أَبْنَاء, أَسْمَاء).
| # | Word | Identity | Hebrew Cognate | Notes | Example in Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | اِسْمٌ |
ism /'ismun/ name QUR COMMON |
שֵׁם shem — name. Exact cognate from Proto-Semitic *šim-. The initial sibilant correspondence (Arabic س = Hebrew שׁ) is regular. Hebrew shem appears ~860 times in the Tanakh. Root س-م-و in the Quran: all forms |
Dual: اِسْمَانِ / اِسْمَيْنِ — hamzatu-l-waṣl retained. Plural: أَسْمَاء asmāʾ — hamza becomes qaṭʿ (أ). In بسملة: The alif of اسم is dropped entirely in the standard spelling بِسْمِ اللَّهِ. When the basmala is written in full, the alif is restored: بِاسْمِ اللَّهِ. |
ٱقْرَأْ بِٱسْمِ رَبِّكَ ٱلَّذِي خَلَقَ
iqraʾ bi-smi rabbika-lladhī khalaq "Read in the name of your Lord who created" (Quran 96:1·word-by-word). — The hamza of اسم is dropped after the kasra of بِ. |
| 3 | اِبْنٌ |
ibn /'ibnun/ son QUR COMMON |
בֵּן ben — son. From Proto-Semitic *bin-. One of the most recognizable Semitic cognate pairs. Hebrew lost the initial vowel; Arabic preserves it with a prosthetic hamza. Aramaic bar (בַּר) is a separate development from *bn- with r-shift. Root ب-ن-ي in the Quran: all forms (100+ occurrences) |
Dual: اِبْنَانِ / اِبْنَيْنِ — waṣl retained. Plural: أَبْنَاء abnāʾ — becomes qaṭʿ. Orthographic rule: When ابن stands between two proper names as a patronymic (فلان بن فلان), the alif is dropped in writing: عِيسَى بْنُ مَرْيَمَ, not *عيسى ابن مريم. Construct (إضافة): اِبْنُ (no tanwīn), e.g. اِبْنُ خَلْدُون. |
إِنَّمَا ٱلْمَسِيحُ عِيسَى ٱبْنُ مَرْيَمَ رَسُولُ ٱللَّهِ
innamā-l-masīḥu ʿīsā-bnu maryama rasūlu-llāh "The Messiah Jesus son of Mary is but a messenger of God" (Quran 4:171·word-by-word). — The hamza of ابن drops after the fatḥa of عيسى. |
| 4 | اِبْنَةٌ |
ibna /'ibnatun/ daughter QUR COMMON |
בַּת bat — daughter. From Proto-Semitic *bint-. Hebrew contracted *bint- → bat (losing the nun). Arabic preserves the full form. Compare Arabic construct بِنْتُ with Hebrew construct בַּת. |
Quranic rasm: Spelled ابنت with open tāʾ (ت), not ابنة with tāʾ marbūṭa. This is one of the known divergences between Quranic and standard orthography. Construct form: بِنْتُ bintu — the prosthetic alif and its hamza disappear entirely, e.g. بِنْتُ عِمْرَان bintu ʿimrān. |
وَمَرْيَمَ ٱبْنَتَ عِمْرَانَ
wa-maryama-bnata ʿimrān "And Mary daughter of Imran" (Quran 66:12·word-by-word). — Hamza drops after the fatḥa of مريم. |
| 5 | اِمْرُؤٌ |
imruʾ /'imruʾun/ man, person (male) QUR RARE |
No direct Hebrew cognate. Hebrew uses אִישׁ ish for "man." Some scholars connect Arabic imruʾ to a Semitic root *mrʾ "to be manly," but the correspondence is not straightforward. |
Peculiar declension: The final hamza changes its "seat" by case: اِمْرُؤٌ (nom.), اِمْرَأً (acc.), اِمْرِئٍ (gen.). This is one of the most irregular nouns in Arabic. No regular plural; pluralized as رِجَال rijāl. Famous name: اِمْرُؤُ القَيْسِ Imruʾu-l-Qays — the pre-Islamic poet. |
إِنِ ٱمْرُؤٌ هَلَكَ
ini-mruʾun halak "If a man dies" (Quran 4:176·word-by-word). — Hamza drops after the kasra of إِنِ. |
| 6 | اِمْرَأَةٌ |
imraʾa /'imraʾatun/ woman QUR COMMON |
Compare אִשָּׁה isha — woman. Not a direct cognate (Hebrew derives from *ʾinθ-at- → isha). Arabic imraʾa is the feminine of imruʾ. The semantic parallel is exact, but the etymological paths diverge. Root م-ر-أ in the Quran: all forms |
Quranic rasm: Spelled امرأت with open tāʾ (ت) in construct phrases, e.g. اِمْرَأَتُ فِرْعَوْنَ. Plural: نِسَاء nisāʾ (suppletive — a different root entirely, as in Hebrew נָשִׁים nashim). Irregular case marking: Like imruʾ, the hamza shifts seat: اِمْرَأَةٌ (nom.), اِمْرَأَةً (acc.), اِمْرَأَةٍ (gen.). |
وَقَالَتِ ٱمْرَأَتُ فِرْعَوْنَ
wa-qālati-mraʾatu firʿawn "And the wife of Pharaoh said" (Quran 28:9·word-by-word). — Hamza drops after the kasra of قالتِ. |
| 7 | اِثْنَانِ |
ithnān /'ithnāni/ two (masculine) QUR COMMON |
שְׁנַיִם shnáyim — two (m.). From Proto-Semitic *θin-ān-. The correspondence Arabic ث = Hebrew שׁ is regular (both < *θ). Arabic preserves the dual suffix -ān; Hebrew has -áyim. One of the clearest number cognates across Semitic. |
This word is itself a dual form — it has no "singular" and no further dual derivation. Oblique case: اِثْنَيْنِ ithnayn(i). يوم الاثنين yawm al-ithnayn = "Monday" (lit. "day of the two"). When used as a proper name for the day, some grammarians write the hamza as qaṭʿ: يَوْمُ الإثْنَيْنِ. |
ثَانِيَ ٱثْنَيْنِ إِذْ هُمَا فِي ٱلْغَارِ
thāniya-thnayn(i) idh humā fi-l-ghār "The second of two, when they were in the cave" (Quran 9:40·word-by-word). — Hamza drops after the fatḥa of ثانيَ. |
| 8 | اِثْنَتَانِ |
ithnatān /'ithnatāni/ two (feminine) QUR COMMON |
שְׁתַּיִם shtáyim — two (f.). From Proto-Semitic *θint-ān-. The feminine marker *-t- is visible in both: Arabic اِثْنَـتَـانِ, Hebrew שְׁתַּיִם. |
Oblique: اِثْنَتَيْنِ ithnatayni. This is the feminine counterpart of اثنان. Same grammatical behavior: it is itself a dual form. |
فَإِن كَانَتَا ٱثْنَتَيْنِ فَلَهُمَا ٱلثُّلُثَانِ
fa-in kānatā-thnatayni fa-lahumā-th-thuluthān "If there are two [daughters], they shall have two-thirds" (Quran 4:11·word-by-word). — Hamza drops after the alif of كانتا. |
| 9 | اِبْنُمٌ |
ibnum /'ibnumun/ son (dialectal variant) — ARCHAIC |
Same root as בֵּן ben (see #3 above). The added mīm is a dialectal augment, not part of the root. |
Not in the Quran. A variant of اِبْن with an appended mīm, attributed to certain tribal dialects. Grammarians include it in the canonical list for completeness, but it is virtually never encountered in texts. Some grammarians debate whether it is truly a separate lexeme or a dialectal pronunciation of ibn. | No Quranic or standard literary example available. This form exists only in grammatical treatises and dialectological records. |
| 10 | اِسْتٌ |
ist /'istun/ buttocks, rear — ARCHAIC |
Compare שֵׁת shet — buttocks (2 Samuel 10:4). A possible cognate from the root *s-t / *θ-t. The Hebrew word is rare (appears in the Tanakh in the context of shaming). |
Not in the Quran — unsurprisingly, given the body part it denotes and the elevated register of Quranic language. Dual: اِسْتَانِ / اِسْتَيْنِ — waṣl retained. Plural: أَسْتَاهٌ astāh — becomes qaṭʿ. Included in the canonical ten for grammatical completeness. |
No Quranic example. Occurs in hadith and classical prose, e.g. in lexicographical works of al-Khalīl ibn Aḥmad and Ibn Manẓūr's Lisān al-ʿArab. |
| 11 | اَيْمُنُ اللَّهِ |
aymun / aymu /'aymu-llāhi/ oath formula: "By God!" — ARCHAIC |
No direct Hebrew cognate for this specific oath formula. Hebrew oaths use different constructions: חַי יְהוָה ḥay YHWH ("as the Lord lives") or בֵּאלֹהִים be-Elohim. |
Not in the Quran. An oath formula used in pre-Islamic and early Islamic speech. The Quran uses other oath constructions (وَاللَّهِ, تَاللَّهِ). Unique among the ten: The only word where hamzatu-l-waṣl may take fatḥa (اَيْمُنُ), though kasra (اِيمُنُ) is also permitted. Fatḥa is considered more standard. Variants: اَيْمُنُ / اَيْمُ (with or without nūn). There is scholarly debate on whether this is truly a noun or a particle. The majority view: it is a noun (= "oaths"). |
Not Quranic. Found in hadith, e.g.: وَايْمُ اللَّهِ لَوْ أَنَّ فَاطِمَةَ بِنْتَ مُحَمَّدٍ سَرَقَتْ لَقَطَعْتُ يَدَهَا wa-aymu-llāhi law anna fāṭimata binta muḥammadin saraqat la-qaṭaʿtu yadahā "By God, if Fatima daughter of Muhammad stole, I would cut her hand" (Sahih al-Bukhari). — Hamza drops after the wāw of وَ. |
These are not additional words with their own hamzatu-l-waṣl. The hamza here belongs to the definite article أل, which is already listed in Section B (#1). They are included for practical completeness: a student encountering الَّذِي at the start of a phrase must know that its alif carries hamzatu-l-waṣl and drops mid-sentence. Grammatically, these can be analyzed as: أل + ذي / تي / etc. — this decomposition is a didactic aid for understanding the hamza behavior; the morphological unity of الَّذِي as a single lexeme is debated among classical grammarians. Only the most common forms are listed; others (اللَّائِي, اللَّوَاتِي) follow the same pattern.
| # | Word | Identity | Hebrew Cognate | Notes | Example in Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | اَلَّذِي |
alladhī /'alladhī/ who, which, that (m. sg.) QUR COMMON |
אֲשֶׁר asher — who, which, that. Functionally parallel (both are relative pronouns), but etymologically unrelated. Hebrew asher is indeclinable; Arabic الذي inflects for gender, number, and case. Modern Hebrew also uses שֶׁ- she- (from Aramaic). |
The lām of the article assimilates: الّ + ذي. In Quranic orthography: ٱلَّذِى (with alif maqṣūra in some rasm traditions). Hamza belongs to أل — this is not a separate lexeme with its own hamzatu-l-waṣl. |
صِرَاطَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ
ṣirāṭa-lladhīna anʿamta ʿalayhim "The path of those whom You have blessed" (Quran 1:7·word-by-word). |
| — | اَلَّتِي |
allatī /'allatī/ who, which, that (f. sg.) QUR COMMON |
Same functional parallel: אֲשֶׁר (Hebrew does not inflect relative pronouns for gender). |
Feminine singular counterpart of الَّذِي. Additional forms: dual اللَّتَانِ (nom.) / اللَّتَيْنِ (obl.); plural اللَّاتِي or اللَّائِي or اللَّوَاتِي. All begin with the same hamzatu-l-waṣl of أل. |
وَٱلَّتِي يَأْتِينَ ٱلْفَاحِشَةَ مِن نِّسَائِكُمْ
wa-llatī yaʾtīna-l-fāḥishata min nisāʾikum "Those of your women who commit indecency" (Quran 4:15·word-by-word). — Hamza drops after the wāw of وَ. |
| — | اَلَّذِينَ |
alladhīna /'alladhīna/ those who (m. pl.) QUR COMMON |
Same functional parallel: אֲשֶׁר (Hebrew does not inflect for number either). The Arabic system is far richer: separate forms for m.sg., f.sg., m.dual, f.dual, m.pl., f.pl. Hebrew uses one form for all. |
One of the most frequent words in the Quran. Masculine plural; used for mixed-gender groups as well. Dual (m.): اللَّذَانِ (nom.) / اللَّذَيْنِ (obl.). |
ٱلَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱلْغَيْبِ
alladhīna yuʾminūna bi-l-ghayb "Those who believe in the unseen" (Quran 2:3·word-by-word). — Here الذين begins the clause, so the hamza is pronounced. |
Unlike the ten nouns above (which are samāʿī, memorized individually), hamzatu-l-waṣl in verbs and their maṣādīr (verbal nouns) is qiyāsī — it follows predictable rules. This section provides the principle and key examples, not an exhaustive list.
| Category | Pattern (وزن) | Examples | Opening Vowel | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imperative of Form I (أمر الثلاثي) |
اِفْعَلْ / اُفْعُلْ |
اُكْتُبْ uktub — write! اِقْرَأْ iqraʾ — read! اِجْلِسْ ijlis — sit! اُنْظُرْ unẓur — look! |
Depends on the vowel of the 2nd radical (عَيْن الفِعْل, the middle root letter) in the present tense: Kasra if it carries fatḥa or kasra (يَفْتَحُ → اِفْتَحْ, يَجْلِسُ → اِجْلِسْ). Ḍamma if it carries ḍamma (يَكْتُبُ → اُكْتُبْ, يَنْظُرُ → اُنْظُرْ). |
The most common source of hamzatu-l-waṣl in everyday speech. Every triliteral verb's imperative begins with it (unless the verb itself starts with hamza, like أَكَلَ → كُلْ). Hebrew parallel: Hebrew imperatives can also have prosthetic vowels: שְׁמֹר shmor (guard!) — the shva resolves the initial cluster, analogous to the Arabic hamzatu-l-waṣl. |
| Forms VII & VIII past, imperative & maṣdar (الخماسي: ماضٍ وأمر ومصدر) |
اِنْفَعَلَ اِفْتَعَلَ |
اِنْطَلَقَ inṭalaqa — set off (VII) اِجْتَمَعَ ijtamaʿa — gathered (VIII) اِنْطَلِقْ inṭaliq — set off! (VII imper.) اِجْتَمِعْ ijtamiʿ — gather! (VIII imper.) |
Always kasra. |
Form VII (اِنْفَعَلَ) — typically passive/reflexive. Form VIII (اِفْتَعَلَ) — typically middle/reflexive. Past tense, imperative, and maṣdar all carry hamzatu-l-waṣl. Maṣdar examples: اِنْطِلَاق inṭilāq (departure), اِجْتِمَاع ijtimāʿ (meeting), اِنْتِصَار intiṣār (victory), اِفْتِرَاء iftirāʾ (fabrication). Not to be confused with Forms V & VI (تَفَعَّلَ, تَفَاعَلَ), which start with تَ and have no hamzatu-l-waṣl. Hebrew parallel: Form VII (اِنْفَعَلَ) is functionally comparable to נִפְעַל nifʿal (passive/reflexive). Form VIII (اِفْتَعَلَ) has partial overlap with הִתְפַּעֵל hitpaʿel (reflexive/reciprocal). The parallels are functional, not morphologically exact. |
| Forms IX & X past, imperative & maṣdar (السداسي: ماضٍ وأمر ومصدر) |
اِفْعَلَّ اِسْتَفْعَلَ |
اِحْمَرَّ iḥmarra — turned red (IX) اِسْتَغْفَرَ istaghfara — sought forgiveness (X) اِسْتَخْرَجَ istakhraja — extracted (X) اِسْتَغْفِرْ istaghfir — seek forgiveness! (X imper.) |
Always kasra. |
Form IX (اِفْعَلَّ) — colors and physical traits: اِحْمَرَّ (turned red), اِصْفَرَّ (turned yellow). Rare but systematic. Form X (اِسْتَفْعَلَ) — seeking/requesting the root meaning: اِسْتَغْفَرَ (sought forgiveness, from غَفَرَ). Maṣdar examples: اِحْمِرَار iḥmirār (reddening), اِسْتِغْفَار istighfār (seeking forgiveness), اِسْتِخْرَاج istikhrāj (extraction). Key contrast: Form IV (أَفْعَلَ) has hamzatu-l-qaṭʿ, not waṣl: أَرْسَلَ arsala, إِرْسَال irsāl. Beginners frequently confuse the two. Hebrew parallel: Form X (اِسْتَفْعَلَ) is the "estimative/requestive" — no single Hebrew binyan matches it exactly, though some הִתְפַּעֵל hitpaʿel verbs carry a similar "consider oneself X" sense. |
Hamzatu-l-waṣl appears in exactly three non-verbal categories:
When hamzatu-l-waṣl is preceded by any vowel (short, long, or tanwīn), it is completely silent: the preceding vowel links directly to the consonant after the alif. When it begins an utterance (nothing precedes it), it is fully pronounced — with fatḥa for أل, and kasra or ḍamma for all other words.
When a long vowel precedes a dropped hamzatu-l-waṣl, a problem arises: the long vowel ends in a "silent" letter (alif, wāw, or yāʾ as madd), and the consonant after the dropped hamza carries a sukūn. Two consecutive quiescent letters cannot stand together in Arabic. The resolution: the long vowel is shortened.
Example: فِي الْمَدِينَةِ — in theory fī al-madīnati, but in practice the yāʾ of فِي is shortened: fi-l-madīna, not *fī-l-madīna. Similarly: قَالُوا الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ = qālu-l-ḥamdu li-llāhi (the wāw of قالوا is shortened).
This is one of the most common sources of pronunciation errors for beginners, and understanding it requires grasping that hamzatu-l-waṣl doesn't just "disappear" — it triggers a phonological chain reaction.
The default opening vowel for hamzatu-l-waṣl is kasra. There are exactly two exceptions where fatḥa is used instead:
Additionally, ḍamma occurs in Form I imperatives when the عين الفعل has ḍamma in the present tense (اُكْتُبْ, اُنْظُرْ). No other category uses ḍamma.
A striking regularity: several of the ten nouns switch from hamzatu-l-waṣl in the singular/dual to hamzatu-l-qaṭʿ in the broken plural. This is because the broken plural creates a new syllable structure that no longer requires a prosthetic hamza:
The dual, by contrast, retains hamzatu-l-waṣl: اِسْمَانِ, اِبْنَانِ, اِسْتَانِ.
The classification into ten samāʿī nouns follows the consensus of the major Arabic grammarians (Sībawayhi, Ibn Yaʿīsh, Ibn Hishām). The number "ten" is traditional and includes forms that are marginal or disputed (ibnum, ist). Some modern pedagogical sources list seven, nine, or fourteen — these variations reflect different counting methods (excluding rare words, including relative pronouns, etc.), not genuine disagreement about the linguistic facts. The Udemy course's count of "14" adds relative pronouns whose hamza belongs to the article أل, which is methodologically a double count but pedagogically defensible for beginners.
Hebrew cognate mappings follow standard comparative Semitics (Moscati et al., Introduction to the Comparative Grammar of the Semitic Languages; Lipiński, Semitic Languages: Outline of a Comparative Grammar). Where I note the absence of a cognate or mark a connection as uncertain, I say so explicitly.