Hamzatul wasl: the hamzah you read only when you start

Read bismillah aloud and you have already used hamzatul wasl without knowing it. It is the hamzah at the start of words like "al-", like the first letter of ٱلۡحَمۡدُ, and it has one simple behaviour: you pronounce it only when you begin reading from that word, and you drop it completely when you join from the word before. When you do begin with it, you give it one of three vowels: "a" in "al-", and "i" or "u" in verbs and a small group of nouns. This guide explains how it differs from the ordinary hamzah, where it appears, what happens at the joins, how to choose the starting vowel, and the mistakes that trip up nearly every learner.

What is hamzatul wasl in tajweed?

Arabic does not let you begin speaking on a letter with sukoon. Words like "al-" and many command verbs begin with a silent letter, so a hamzah is placed in front of them to start the sound. Because it is only needed at the start, it is dropped as soon as there is a word before it to join to. In the mushaf it is written as an alif with a small sign (ٱ). A hamzah that is always pronounced is called hamzatul qat'.

The name tells you its job. Wasl means "joining" or "connecting". Scholars gave this hamzah that name because it lets the reader reach the silent letter after it, and because it disappears when one word is connected to the next. You could say it is a doorway: you use it to walk in when you start, but once you are already inside the sentence you do not need it.

It matters in every surah. "Al-" alone appears thousands of times in the Qur'an, and many common verbs begin with hamzatul wasl too. Reading it wrongly does not usually change the meaning, but it breaks the flow of the recitation and is counted as a clear mistake in tajweed. The good news is that the rules are few and regular.

What is the difference between hamzatul wasl and hamzatul qat'?

Arabic has two kinds of hamzah at the start of a word. The second kind is hamzatul qat', the "cutting" hamzah. It is a real consonant, a short catch in the throat, and it is always pronounced: at the start of reading, in the middle of a verse, and after any word.

• Hamzatul qat'. Always read. Examples: akbar (in Allahu akbar), inna anzalnahu (Al-Qadr 97:1), a'udhu, aqimus-salah. Even when you join, you hear it: wa anzalna, never "wanzalna".
• Hamzatul wasl. Read only at the start. Examples: al-hamdu, ihdina, istaghfiru, ibn. When you join, it vanishes: wal-hamdu, bismillah.

In the mushaf the two look different. In Arabic-style prints hamzatul qat' is written with a hamzah sign, above the alif for a fatha or damma and below it for a kasra; in Indian-style prints the alif usually just carries its vowel. Either way it has its own vowel. Hamzatul wasl has no hamzah sign and no vowel of its own, because its vowel depends on whether you start or join.

A useful rule of thumb in verbs: the hamzah of a form IV verb (the pattern af'ala, such as anzala, ahsana, aqama) and of its commands (aqimu, ahsinu) is qat'. The hamzah of "I" in the present tense (a'budu, "I worship") is also qat'. Mixing these up with wasl is a classic error, covered below.

Where does hamzatul wasl appear in the Qur'an?

1. In "al-"

The definite article "al-" (the) always begins with hamzatul wasl, whether the laam is read clearly or merged. Our guide to laam shamsiyyah and qamariyyah explains what happens to the laam itself.

2. In certain verbs

• Commands of simple verbs. Many basic verbs form their command with hamzatul wasl because the first root letter has a sukoon: iqra' (read), ud'u (call), idh-hab (go), ihdina (guide us).
• Past tense of the longer forms. Verbs on the patterns of forms VII, VIII, IX and X begin with it: inshaqqa (form VII), iqtaraba and ishtara (form VIII), istaghfara (form X).
• Commands and masdars of those forms. Istaghfiru (seek forgiveness) and verbal nouns such as istighfar, ijtima' and intiqam also start with hamzatul wasl.

A beautiful example has several at once: iqtarabatis-sa'atu wanshaqqal-qamar (Al-Qamar 54:1). The verse begins with the wasl of iqtarabat, read with "i"; then the wasl of "al-" in as-sa'ah is skipped; then the wasl of inshaqqa is skipped after wa; and finally the wasl of al-qamar is skipped too.

3. In a small group of nouns

Grammar books list about ten nouns that begin with hamzatul wasl. Seven of them appear in the Qur'an: ibn (son), ibnah (daughter), imru' (man), imra'ah (woman), ithnan and ithnatan (two), and ism (name). The most frequent is ism, inside bismillah. Other nouns, such as insan, umm or ab, begin with hamzatul qat'.

What happens to hamzatul wasl when you join it to the word before?

When you read straight on from the previous word, you skip the hamzah and go directly from the last vowel of that word to the letter after the hamzah. Here are three examples from the Qur'an.

The ba carries a kasra and joins directly to the sin. The alif of ism is not even written here, and the alif of the name of Allah is skipped. Read "bismillah", not "bismi Allah".

The waw of wa joins straight onto the laam: "wal-'asr". There is no "a" between them, and no pause.

Here the word before ends in a long alif. Because a silent laam follows, the long vowel is shortened in pronunciation, although it is still written: "qalal-mala'u", not "qaaal-al-mala'u". The same thing happens with every long vowel before a hamzatul wasl: fil-ard, dhaqash-shajarah (Al-A'raf 7:22), wa qalul-hamdu lillah (Al-A'raf 7:43). The madd letter is printed, but it is not stretched or even heard as long.

When you stop on a word and then start again on the next, the join is broken, so you must pronounce the hamzatul wasl with its starting vowel. This is where the rules of starting come in. Knowing where you may stop and restart is a topic of its own, explained in our guide to waqf signs and symbols.

What happens when a sukoon comes before hamzatul wasl?

Sometimes the word before ends in a sukoon or a tanween. After a silent hamzatul wasl, the next letter is often silent too, such as the laam of "al-". Arabic does not allow two silent letters to meet like this, a situation grammarians call iltiqa' as-sakinayn, "the meeting of two sukoons". So the first silent letter is given a short vowel to make the join.

• Usually a kasra. This is the default. If the word before ends in a sukoon, you add a short vowel to join the two, usually a kasra, as in قُمِ ٱلَّيۡلَ (Al-Muzzammil 73:2), read "qumil-layl". Tanween works the same way: the hidden noon of the tanween takes a kasra.
• A fatha after min. The preposition min takes a fatha before "al-": minal-jinnati wan-nas (An-Nas 114:6), minan-nas.
• A damma on the plural meem and waw. The plural meem returns to its original damma: wa antumul-a'lawna (Al 'Imran 3:139), 'alayhimudh-dhillah (Al 'Imran 3:112). The waw of a plural verb also takes a damma: ishtarawud-dalalah (Al-Baqarah 2:16).

You do not need to work these out every time. The mushaf prints the added vowel on the letter, so the reader simply reads what is written. Knowing the reason helps you notice it and stops you from adding a vowel where none belongs.

Do you pronounce hamzatul wasl when you start reading?

Yes. If you begin from a word with hamzatul wasl, at the start of a surah or verse, or after a stop in the middle of a verse, you must pronounce it. Without it you would have to begin on a silent letter, which Arabic does not allow. So the hamzah "switches on" and takes a short vowel.

The common starting points are:

• The start of a verse. Ihdinas-siratal-mustaqim (Al-Fatihah 1:6) begins with "i", because you usually stop at the end of verse 5.
• The first verse of a surah. Iqra' bismi rabbik (Al-'Alaq 96:1), iqtarabatis-sa'ah (Al-Qamar 54:1), al-hamdu lillah (Al-Fatihah 1:2).
• After a pause mid-verse. If you run out of breath and restart from a word like istaghfiru or al-kitab, pronounce the hamzah with its correct vowel.

Even when you start on "al-" after taking a breath, the rule of the laam still applies: you say ar-Rahman, beginning with "a" and then the doubled ra.

Which vowel do I start hamzatul wasl with?

The starting vowel depends on the kind of word. This table sums it up:

For verbs, look at the third letter, counting the hamzah as the first. In ٱدۡعُ the letters are the hamzah, then dal, then 'ayn with a damma, so you start with "u". In idh-hab the third letter, ha (ه), has a fatha, so you start with "i". In ihdina the third letter, dal, has a kasra, so again you start with "i". In practice the rule shrinks to one question: is the third letter's vowel a damma? If yes, start with "u". If not, start with "i".

For "al-" the answer is always "a". For the seven nouns and for the masdars of the longer verb forms (istighfar, ijtima'), it is always "i".

Another advanced case: when a question hamzah comes before "al-", the two would clash. In the riwayah of Hafs via ash-Shatibiyyah the hamzatul wasl here is most often changed into a long alif held for six counts (ibdal), as in aal-ana (Yunus 10:51 and 10:91), aadh-dhakarayni (Al-An'am 6:143-144) and aallahu (Yunus 10:59, An-Naml 27:59). The second way, also valid for Hafs, is to ease the hamzatul wasl between a hamzah and an alif (tas-hil), without lengthening. These few words are best learnt directly from a teacher.

What are the common hamzatul wasl mistakes and how do you practise?

• Pronouncing it while joining. "Bismi Allah", "wa al-'asr", "qala al-mala'u". Once you are joining, the hamzah disappears.
• The wrong starting vowel on commands. "Adh-hab" or "adh-hab ila fir'awn" instead of idh-hab (Ta-Ha 20:24). A command that begins with hamzatul wasl never starts with "a" (commands like aqimu start with "a" because their hamzah is qat').
• Starting with "u" or "a" for "i" verbs. "Ahdina" or "uhdina" instead of ihdina.
• Treating qat' as wasl. Joining wa aqimus-salah as "waqimus-salah". The hamzah of aqimu is qat' and must be heard.
• Stretching a long vowel before it. "Fee al-ard" instead of fil-ard.
• Adding a vowel where none is printed. Inventing a join vowel when the previous word already ends in a vowel.

How it looks in different mushaf prints

In the Madinah mushaf and many other Arabic-style prints, hamzatul wasl is marked with a small sign above the alif, shaped like the head of the letter sad. Prints differ in small details, for example in how they mark it at the very start of a surah, so check the key in your own copy. In an Indian-style mushaf, the alif of hamzatul wasl is usually left completely bare, with no vowel sign, while an alif that is hamzatul qat' carries a fatha, kasra or damma. In both styles the message is the same: an alif with no vowel of its own is not read when you join.

A practice routine

• Week 1: hunt for it. Take one page a day and find every hamzatul wasl. Say which kind it is: al-, verb or noun.
• Week 2: two readings. For each one, read the word once as if starting (with its vowel) and once joined from the word before.
• Week 3: whole surahs. Recite Al-Fatihah and Juz 'Amma, stopping at different points and restarting, so that you practise both joining and starting.

Hamzatul wasl sits alongside the other core rules in our tajweed rules for beginners, and you can test yourself on our tajweed quiz. For a printable reminder, download our free tajweed wall charts, and if you would like a teacher to correct your joins live, our Basic Tajweed course covers this in its early lessons.

Sources

1. The Qur'an, Surah Al-Fatihah (1), verses 1 and 6.
2. The Qur'an, Surah Al-Qamar (54), verse 1, and Surah Al-Muzzammil (73), verse 2.
3. The Qur'an, Surah Al-A'raf (7), verse 60, and Surah Al-'Asr (103), verse 1.
4. The Qur'an, Surah Yunus (10), verses 51, 59 and 91, on the question hamzah before al-.
5. Ibn al-Jazari, al-Muqaddimah al-Jazariyyah, the section on starting with hamzatul wasl.