Question

Assalamu Aleikum wa rahmatu lilahi wa barakatu

I have noticed in surat Al Baqarah verse 245 "... wa yab suttu..." ,   there is a small Siin above the letter Sad. My questions are:
1. Why is it so?
2. When reading, do we read the letter Siin instead of the letter Sad?

 Answer

Wa alaikum assalaam wa rahmatu Allahi wa barakatuh.

The copy of the Qur’an that most Muslims have today has the markings for the reading of Hafs ‘an ‘Aasim by the way of Ash-Shaatibiyyah, but at the same time not violating the ‘Uthmaani writing.  Hafs’ ‘an ‘Aasim by the way of Ash-Shaatibiyyah reads this word with the letter , and the small  above the written  is the indication of the way we read it.   Many Arab dialects make tafkheem of the letter  if it is close to or next to the letter .  Making tafkheem of the , changes the sound to the letter .   The original word is with a , but because many ways of recitation read this with a , it was written with a .   Please also see the tidbit lesson here for more information.

Wa assalaam