Question

In the beginning of surah An-Naba' the first word is ; by the translation it would seem that it is a combination of the word   and the word   .  Is that right and if it is why would the alif at the end be dropped?

Answer

Yes, indeed, the first word is a combination of two words, the first the preposition  and after that the word .  The alif has been dropped because prepositions, known in Arabic as   , affect the questioning  by removing the alif in writing and in pronunciation.  When the  is not a question, the preposition does not affect it, such as in: .  There are other occurrences in which the alif of a questioning is dropped due the affect of a different preposition, such as in: and in .  These same combinations occur with the alif intact in writing and in pronunciation when the  is not questioning, such as in:  (the first  is a connective letter), and in .   

The important thing for the student of the Qur’an to realize is that the alif is pronounced when it is written, unless the next word immediately after it has a sukoon on the first pronounced letter, and the alif is not pronounced when it is not written, as in .  It is a common mistake of students new to recitation to lengthen the fat-h on the   in the above example of the first aayah of surah An-Naba', making it an alif. This takes practice to avoid, but the student must strive to his/her utmost not to put in a letter that is not present in the Glorious Qur’an. .