Question

In “aayat al-Kursee”, which is aayah 225 of surah al-Baqarah which is so highly reccomended to be read before we sleep, how do you pronounce the word for heavens, ?  What are the two short vertical lines over the , and ?  Also, the words: “Tires Him not” , how do we pronounce the letter after the ?

Answer

The short vertical lines are alifs and are read as any other alif is read. In this case we lengthen each of them two vowel counts.  One of these alifs is called “ ”, or “dagger alif”.  These alifs were not written in the ‘Uthmani copy of the Qur’an as the Arabs didn’t need them written in to pronounce them; they knew they were there.  Later scholars wrote them in so non-Arabs and nowadays, contemporary Arabs would know to pronounce them.  Since they were not written in the ‘Uthmani copy, they were added as small little alifs so the ‘Uthmani writing would not be changed, and at the same time, all would know that they are pronounced.  And Allah knows best.

The letter after the  in the phrase , is a hamzah.  You may not be used to seeing it written this way.  The hamzah often uses a letter to “sit” on, and other times sits on a “tooth”, but  it can be written as in this word without “sitting” on a letter or on a “tooth” (tooth meaning the little upwards extention from the base line, as the  has in this phrase, or the  has wherever it is written).  The hamzah has a dhammah on in it this word, and afterwards there is a  saakinah.  This is called medd badl, and is lengthened two vowel counts.