Islam > Quran > Tajweed > Ruling on the yaa
Updated on 04 October 2026 at 11:01 PM
📖 6 min readThe second letter: the yaa.
The madd yaa has two states: the first, that it is kept in the script; the second, that it is dropped in the script. Here is the detailed exposition.
It comprises two sections: the first, that a vowel comes after it; the second, that a sakina comes after it.
First section: the yaa's followed by a vowel. The ruling on the yaa there is its keeping when stopping and in wasl, following its keeping in the script; this occurs in many places of the Quran, whether it is attached to a letter, a verb or a noun. Here are some examples.
There are in this section yaa's that have counterparts dropped in the script: the reader must know them so as not to fall into error, and thus distinguish the kept from the dropped.
The places kept in the script are found in seventeen words occurring in twenty-two places ¹. As for their counterparts dropped in the script, they are found in sixteen words in eighteen places; we mention them here, for mentioning a thing with its counterpart is closer to understanding, clearer and more complete ¹; they are dropped when stopping and in wasl, following their dropping in the script.
The ruling on the yaa in this section: its keeping when stopping and its dropping in wasl, because of this sakina. The sakina is of two types:
The first form: the yaa attached to the sound masculine plural, in six words at seven places. The author of "La'ali al-Bayan" pointed to these six words and the ruling on stopping on them with these verses:
ووقف مُعْجِزي مُحِلِّي حَاضِرِي ... آتِي المقيمي ومُهْلِكي باليا دريThe second form: the yaa attached to the verbal noun (masdar), like "'ahdi" in قَالَ لا يَنَالُ عَهْدِي الظَّالِمِينَ ¹ in al-Baqarah, and "bi-hadi" in وَمَا أَنْتَ بِهَادِي الْعُمْيِ عَنْ ضَلالَتِهِمْ ² in an-Naml.
The third form: the yaa attached to the verb, like "yurbi" in وَيُرْبِي الصَّدَقَاتِ ³ in al-Baqarah, and "tughni" in وَمَا تُغْنِي الْآياتُ وَالنُّذُرُ ⁴ in Yunus.
The fourth form: the yaa attached to nouns in general, like "mukhzi" in وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ مُخْزِي الْكَافِرِينَ ⁵ in at-Tawbah, and "aydi" in يُخْرِبُونَ بُيُوتَهُمْ بِأَيْدِيهِمْ وَأَيْدِي الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ⁶ in al-Hashr.
The second type is found in the following seven yaa's of annexation.
It comprises three sections:
First type: the yaa dropped in the script of defective nouns (munqari), because of the tanween, like "zaani" in وَالزَّانِيَةُ لا يَنْكِحُهَا إِلَّا زَانٍ ¹ in an-Nur, and "kaafi" in أَلَيْسَ اللَّهُ بِكَافٍ عَبْدَهُ ² in az-Zumar; all that resembles them has its yaa dropped in wasl and when stopping, following its dropping in the script.
Second type: the yaa dropped in the script, followed by a hamzat al-wasl endowed with the article "al", in three forms:
The first: the yaa dropped from the present verb in the apocopated form by dropping of the yaa, like "tabghi" in وَلا تَبْغِ الْفَسَادَ فِي الْأَرْضِ ³ in al-Qasas.
The second: the yaa dropped from the imperative verb, indeclinable by dropping of the yaa, like "ittaqi" in يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ اتَّقِ اللَّهَ ⁴ at the beginning of al-Ahzab.
The third: the additional yaa's ¹ followed by a hamzat al-wasl endowed with the article "al"; they are specific to Hafs and are found in ten words at fifteen places. The ruling on the yaa in these three forms is dropping in wasl and when stopping, following its dropping in the script; to them is attached the word "'ibad" of فَبَشِّرْ عِبَادِ، الَّذِينَ يَسْتَمِعُونَ الْقَوْلَ ¹ in az-Zumar.
Third type: it is found in two forms.
The first: the yaa dropped from the noun annexed to the yaa of the first person, whether the yaa of the vocative was dropped from it or kept with it, and whether a hamzat al-wasl or a vowel comes after it.
The one whose yaa of the vocative is dropped and followed by a hamzat al-wasl: رَبِّ ابْنِ لِي عِنْدَكَ بَيْتًا فِي الْجَنَّةِ ² in at-Tahrim; and followed by a vowel: رَبِّ أَرِنِي كَيْفَ تُحْيِي الْمَوْتَى ³ in al-Baqarah.
The one with the yaa of the vocative kept: followed by a hamzat al-wasl stripped of the article "al", as in قُلْ يَا قَوْمِ اعْمَلُوا عَلَى مَكَانَتِكُمْ ⁴ in az-Zumar; followed by a hamzat al-wasl endowed with the article "al", as in قُلْ يَا عِبَادِ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمْ ⁵ in az-Zumar; or followed by a vowel, as in يَا عِبَادِ فَاتَّقُونِ ⁵ in az-Zumar likewise. Excepted is يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ in al-'Ankabut ¹⁸ and az-Zumar ¹⁹: the yaa there is kept by consensus. As for the place in az-Zukhruf, يَا عِبَادِ لا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْكُمُ الْيَوْمَ ⁶, the script of the Medinan and Damascene mushaaf keeps it, and that of the others drops it; the readers therefore differ over the keeping of the yaa and its dropping, and Hafs is among those who recite it with dropping in both cases.
The second form: the yaa dropped from the additional yaa's followed by a vowel; they number, in the Quran, one hundred and twenty-one yaa's, among which those of nouns, like "ad-daa'", and those of verbs, like "ittaqi", fasilah or non-fasilah.
The non-fasilah number thirty-five yaa's: among them the original ones, like "nabghi" in قَالَ ذَلِكَ مَا كُنَّا نَبْغِ ¹ in al-Kahf, and the non-original ones, like "ittabi'oon" in اتَّبِعُونِ أَهْدِكُمْ سَبِيلَ الرَّشَادِ ² in Ghafir.
The fasilah number eighty-six yaa's: the original ones are five, المُتعَالِ in ar-Ra'd verse 9, التَّلاقِ in Ghafir verse 15, التَّنَادِ in Ghafir verse 32, يَسْرِ in al-Fajr verse 4, بِالْوَادِ in al-Fajr verse 9.
The non-original ones number eighty-one yaa's, like "farhaboon" in وَإِيَّايَ فَارْهَبُونِ ³ in al-Baqarah, and "ati'oon" in فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُونِ ⁴ in Al 'Imran. We have left aside the exhaustive count of the additional yaa's and their detailed mention, for the sake of concision: whoever wants it should return to the books of the qira'at and the long books of tajwid.
It is the yaa kept in wasl and dropped when stopping, following its dropping in the script. This section is specific to the yaa that serves as the Silah of the Haa of the pronoun of kasrah in wasl, as in كُلٌّ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلائِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ ⁵ in al-Baqarah.
Its ruling: it is kept during the joining of the Haa in wasl, and when stopping it is dropped, for the sukoon of the Haa without joining.
It is the yaa kept in wasl, with keeping and dropping permitted when stopping: it is specific to the word "aataani" of فَمَا آتَانِ اللَّهُ خَيْرٌ مِمَّا آتَاكُمْ ⁶ in an-Naml. Hafs joins it with a yaa carrying fathah, and stops on it either with keeping, taking wasl into account, or with dropping, following its dropping in the script.