What is the ruling behind using the letter Sa'd when there is a little 'seen' on top of it?
Answer
Assalaam alaikum,
There are some Arabic words that originally have a
, but when the letter 
is near it, it is pronounced and written by some Arabs tribes as a 
. This is reflected in the Qur'an, as it was revealed in the language of the Arabs. There are four words in the Qur'an in which the is written with a and read by some of the Qira'aat or in some of the turuq of Hafs with a and by other turuq or other qira'aat as a . Sometimes in one tareeq or qira'ah it is allowed to read it either with a or a . These four words are the words in red in the following examples:
In the Medina Printing Complex copy of the Qur'an for Hafs, the words are written with the reading of Hafs 'an 'Aasim by the tareeq Ash-Shaatibiyyah in mind. The first two examples are read with a
, and thesmall letter is written above the to show that we read it with a . In the third example, it is allowed to read with either the or the , so the is written below the . In the last example, it is read with only a by Hafs 'an 'Aasim by the tareeq of Ash-Shatibiyyah, so it is written with the only, with no small added in the enhancements of the writing. We cannot use the placement of the
over or under the as a tool in other musaahif as they may not be following the qira'ah of Hafs or not the tareeq of Ash-Shaatibiyyah. If you are only reading Hafs 'an 'Aasim by the tareeq of Ash-Shatibiyyah, then you should follow the rules outlined for reading with a
or a in the four words above irregardless as to the placement of the small over or under the in the copy of the Qur'an that you are using.