Question

Assalam alaikum.

My question is about the name of the letter zaa, occurring after the letter ra'a. It is written as za-a-y. Please explain how to read this name, is the yaa pronounced in it, so it becomes zaa-yee? Some Arabic alphabet books also write it's name as zayn. Which is the correct one for tajweed purposes?

Jazakum Allahu khairan

Answer

Wa alaikum assalaam wa rahmatu Allahi wa barakatuh,

There is more than one name for a number of letters in Arabic, the letter  being one of them.  When it is written as , it is pronounced as zaay, but without any lengthening of the ya’ at the end.  There is no specific correct name, all are acceptable.

When it comes to tajweed what is important is not the name of the letter, but the pronunciation of the letter, which does not and should not differ. 

Wa iyyakum.