Ruling on the alif

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The ruling on the alif: its 5 states

The first letter: the alif.

The first state: the alif kept in the script, when stopping and in wasl, as in the first form; one stops there with keeping, as in يَكَادُ سَنَا بَرْقِهِ ¹.

The second state: the alif kept in the script and when stopping, dropped in wasl

It counts eight types:

1. The alif dropped in wasl to free oneself from the meeting of two sakinas, whether it expresses the dual as in فَإِنْ كَانَتَا اثْنَتَيْنِ ², or comes from a yaa as in وَآتَى الْمَالَ عَلَى حُبِّهِ ³ and وَتَخْشَى النَّاسَ ⁴, or otherwise, as in مُوسَى الْكِتَابَ ⁵ and ذِكْرَى الدَّارِ ⁶, and their likes among nouns and verbs ⁷.
2. The alif of the word "ayyuha" throughout the Quran, as in يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ ⁸ and يَا أَيُّهَا الرَّسُولُ ⁹, except in three places where one must stop with dropping, following its dropping in the script: أَيُّهَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ ¹, يَا أَيُّهَ السَّاحِرُ ², أَيُّهَ الثَّقَلانِ ³.
3. The alif of certain verse-initial words: الظُّنُونَاْ ⁴, الرَّسُولَاْ ⁵, السَّبِيلِاْ ⁶, the three in al-Ahzab, and قَوَارِيرَاْ ⁷ at the first occurrence in al-Insan; the second occurrence is, as for it, dropped in wasl and when stopping, as will come.
4. The alif substituted for the noon of light emphasis, in two places: وَلَيَكُونًا مِنَ الصَّاغِرِينَ ⁸ in Yusuf, لَنَسْفَعًا بِالنَّاصِيَةِ ⁹ in al-'Alaq.
5. The alif substituted for the tanween of the accusative, as in اهْبِطُوا مِصْرًا ¹⁰ and غَفُورًا رَحِيمًا ¹¹.
6. The alif of the word "idhan" carrying tanween, wherever it occurs, as in وَإِذًا لا يَلْبَثُونَ ¹².
7. The alif of the first person pronoun "ana" throughout the Quran, as in إِنْ أَنَا إِلَّا نَذِيرٌ ¹³ and إِنَّنِي أَنَا اللَّهُ لا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاعْبُدْنِي ¹⁴.
8. The alif of the word "lakinna" in لَكِنَّا هُوَ اللَّهُ رَبِّي ¹⁵ in al-Kahf.

The alif in all these types is kept when stopping, for its keeping in the script, and dropped in wasl.

The third state: the 2 permitted views

The alif kept in the script and dropped in wasl, with both views permitted when stopping, that is keeping and dropping: this concerns only one word, "salaasila", in إِنَّا أَعْتَدْنَا لِلْكَافِرِينَ سَلاسِلا ¹ in al-Insan. The view of its keeping when stopping follows its keeping in the script and agrees with the recitation of the one who carries the tanween on it; for when one stops on it, one stops with keeping. As for the view of dropping, it is against the rule and takes wasl into account ², for it is dropped when it is joined.

The fourth state: against the rule

The alif kept in the script and dropped when stopping and in wasl, against the rule: this concerns two words.

The first: "Thamud", in four places:

1. أَلا إِنَّ ثَمُودَ كَفَرُوا رَبَّهُمْ ³ in Hud, at the second occurrence;
2. وَعَادًا وَثَمُودَ ⁴ in al-Furqan;
3. وَعَادًا وَثَمُودَ وَقَدْ تَبَيَّنَ لَكُمْ ⁵ in al-'Ankabut;
4. وَثَمُودَ فَمَا أَبْقَى ⁶ in an-Najm.

The keeping of the alif in the script there allows the recitation of the one who carries the tanween on it in wasl: when one stops on it, the tanween is substituted by an alif; and its dropping when stopping follows its dropping in wasl, against the rule.

The second: "qawarir" at the second occurrence of قَوَارِيرَ مِنْ فِضَّةٍ ⁷ in al-Insan. The alif of both words is therefore dropped when stopping and in wasl.

The fifth state: the alif dropped in the script, when stopping and in wasl

As in the second form above: يؤتَ of وَلَمْ يُؤْتَ سَعَةً مِنَ الْمَالِ ⁸ in al-Baqarah, whose alif is dropped by the jussive; وَانْهَ of وَانْهَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ ¹ in Luqman, whose alif is dropped by the pattern (of the imperative); بِمَ of فَنَاظِرَةٌ بِمَ يَرْجِعُ الْمُرْسَلُونَ ². Every interrogative "ma" upon which a genitive particle has entered has its alif dropped in the script: "bima, lima, fima, 'amma, mimma"; but one stops on the first three with the sukoon of the lightened meem, and on the last two with its sakina and the shaddah.