Taa' marbuuṭa and hamza

Two new friends to finish our unit!

1. Taa' marbuuṭa: ة It is a ه with two dots on top. We only find it at the end of words: ة (alone) or ـة (joined). Its sound changes depending on what we do: • If we stop on the word, it is read "a" (with a little breath): سَمَكَة samaka, the fish 🐟 وَرْدَة warda, the rose 🌹 نَحْلَة naḥla, the bee 🐝 مَدْرَسَة madrasa, school 🏫 • If we carry on with a vowel, it becomes a real "t": صَلَاة ṣalaa, prayer → صَلَاةُ الْفَجْرِ ṣalaatu l-fajr, the dawn prayer Do not mix it up with ه (no dots) or with ت (the long taa', which can be anywhere).

2. Hamza: ء Hamza is a tiny stop in the throat, like when we say "uh-oh!". It can be on its own, or sitting on another letter as on a chair: • On the alif: أ (with fatḥa or ḍamma) أَسَد asad, the lion 🦁 أُمّ umm, mum أَب ab, dad • Under the alif: إ (with kasra) إِمَام imaam, the imam إِسْلَام islaam, Islam • On the waaw: ؤ مُؤْمِن mu'min, the believer • On a "tooth" without dots: ئ طَائِرَة ṭaa'ira, the plane ✈️ ذِئْب dhi'b, the wolf 🐺 • On its own: ء مَاء maa', water 💧 سَمَاء samaa', the sky

The madda: آ When a hamza and a long "aa" meet, we write an alif with a little wave on top: آ = "'aa". آمِين aamiin قُرْآن qur'aan, the Qur'an 📖

Careful: hamza ء is not 'ayn ع! 'Ayn comes from deep in the throat and lasts a little; hamza is a very short stop. Listen carefully to your teacher.

Little activity: with your parent, look for the ة in the words of your alphabet (سَمَكَة, وَرْدَة, نَحْلَة, غَيْمَة, ذُرَة…). Then look for a hamza in your Qur'an, on the first page!

Understanding the lesson

Explanation Taa' marbuuṭa is often at the end of feminine words, like وَرْدَة (a rose) or مَدْرَسَة (a school). It keeps its "t" for when we carry on the sentence, and rests as "a" when we stop. Hamza is a real letter, even though it is small. It changes "chair" (أ إ ؤ ئ ء) depending on the vowels around it: to read, the main thing is to recognise the little sign ء and its vowel. The word قُرْآن (Qur'aan) contains a hamza and a madda: every time you read it properly, you do a good deed. The Prophet ﷺ said that each letter of the Book of Allah that we read is worth a good deed, and a good deed is worth ten times more (Tirmidhi 2910 [À VÉRIFIER : numéro]).

Lessons to draw from it • I look at the two dots so as not to mix up ة and ه. • I make a little stop for hamza, without mixing it up with 'ayn. • I read the word "Qur'aan" with care and love.

Key points to remember • ة at the end: "a" when we stop, "t" when we carry on. • ء = a little stop in the throat; its chairs: أ إ ؤ ئ. • آ = hamza + long "aa" (آمِين, قُرْآن). • Each letter of the Qur'an we read = one good deed, multiplied by ten (Tirmidhi 2910).

The main message ة is the round "t" at the end of words, ء is the little stop in the throat: I recognise them, and I read the Qur'an even better.