Section Five: kasrah, ḍammah, sukūn, vowel lengthening, exceptional locations and guided practice Read the bilingual lesson for Rules of Hāʾ al-Ḍamīr: Vowels, Ṣilah and Exceptions and test your understanding with a focused quiz.
Lesson
1. Lesson map: pronoun hāʾ
The book’s fifth section, on hāʾ al-ḍamīr, concerns the pronoun hāʾ in expressions such as لَهُ (“for him/it”) and بِهِ (“with him/it”).
Answer two separate questions: what vowel or sukūn belongs to the hāʾ, and whether its vowel receives ṣilah/ishbāʿ in connected recitation. Keeping these steps separate prevents common errors.
2. Identify the pronoun hāʾ
Here هُ، هِ، هْ are possible realizations of a pronoun, not rules for every lexical hāʾ. In رَسُولُهُ, the last hāʾ means “his”; in مِنْهُ, it means “from him/it”.
Look at the sound immediately before the pronoun hāʾ. A kasrah or an unvowelled yāʾ may determine its vowel. Do not classify merely by seeing the letter ه.
3. Kasrah before hāʾ
General rule: when kasrah precedes the pronoun hāʾ, the hāʾ takes kasrah. The book’s example is بِهِ: the bāʾ has kasrah and the pronoun is هِ.
Keep the two vowel sounds distinct. This step identifies the vowel only; whether lengthening occurs is a separate decision.
4. Unvowelled yāʾ before hāʾ
Second general rule: an unvowelled yāʾ before the pronoun hāʾ leads to kasrah on the hāʾ. The source uses عَلَيْهِ, with «يْ» followed by «هِ».
Identify the yāʾ and the hāʾ as different sounds. A specific exception, عَلَيْهُ اللَّهَ, will show why the general pattern alone is not sufficient.
5. Exception: wa mā ansānīhu
The book lists وَمَا أَنْسَانِيهُ (Sūrat al-Kahf) as an exception: despite the preceding unvowelled yāʾ, the pronoun hāʾ is read with ḍammah.
This is a named exception to the general pattern, not a replacement of the rule. Retain the reading given for the verse rather than “correcting” it to kasrah by analogy.
6. Exception: ʿalayhu Allāha
The second named exception is عَلَيْهُ اللَّهَ (Sūrat al-Fatḥ). Although an unvowelled yāʾ precedes the pronoun, the recitation has عَلَيْهُ with ḍammah.
Compare ordinary عَلَيْهِ with this specific عَلَيْهُ اللَّهَ. The exception is tied to the recorded recitation of the passage.
7. Two exceptional sukūn cases
The book specifies two words where the pronoun hāʾ bears sukūn: أَرْجِهْ and فَأَلْقِهْ. Neither should be made into the ordinary kasrah or ḍammah pattern.
Sukūn means no short vowel on that hāʾ. In practice, do not insert an extra “hi” or “hu” at the end.
8. Ordinary ḍammah elsewhere
Where neither kasrah nor an unvowelled yāʾ precedes the pronoun, the book generally assigns ḍammah. Its examples include لَهُ، رَسُولُهُ، مِنْهُ، أَخَاهُ، رَأَيْتُمُوهُ.
In مِنْهُ, the preceding nūn is sākin, not yāʾ. In رَسُولُهُ, the preceding lām has ḍammah. Both therefore have هُ.
9. A specific kasrah exception
وَيَتَّقْهِ فَأُولَٰئِكَ is another specified exception: the source gives the pronoun hāʾ kasrah, as in وَيَتَّقْهِ.
This differs from the ordinary ḍammah pattern. A learner should recognize it as a verse-specific case rather than force every example into one broad rule.
10. Vowel choice versus ṣilah
So far we have selected the hāʾ’s vowel—هِ, هُ, or in special words هْ. The next issue is ishbāʿ/ṣilah, extending the pronoun’s kasrah or ḍammah by a corresponding lengthening sound.
The two decisions are independent. A hāʾ with kasrah is not automatically lengthened, nor is every hāʾ with ḍammah.
11. Condition for pronoun ṣilah
The stated condition is that the consonant immediately before and the pronounced consonant after the pronoun hāʾ are both vowelled in connected reading, subject to the book’s listed exceptions.
Inspect the actual sounds on both sides. If either side is sākin, the ordinary ṣilah condition is not met.
12. Ḍammah produces a wāw-like ṣilah
When ṣilah applies to a pronoun hāʾ with ḍammah, a wāw-like lengthening sound follows the vowel. The additional sound need not be written as an ordinary full letter in the text.
This describes pronunciation, not an instruction to insert a new written character or to lengthen without limit.
13. Kasrah produces a yāʾ-like ṣilah
If ṣilah applies to a pronoun hāʾ with kasrah, the vowel is extended with a yāʾ-like lengthening sound. The kasrah remains identifiable while the connected recitation is prolonged appropriately.
First decide the hāʾ vowel; then inspect both neighboring consonants to decide whether ṣilah applies.
14. Application: min rabbihi wal-muʾminūn
The source example مِنْ رَبِّهِ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ places a kasrah-bearing bāʾ before the pronoun hāʾ and a vowelled wāw after it. The hāʾ has kasrah and is given ṣilah.
Examine the immediate sequence رَبِّهِ وَ, not the unrelated nūn in the preceding word مِنْ.
15. Application: wa rasūluhū aḥaqq
In وَرَسُولُهُ أَحَقُّ, the lām before hāʾ has ḍammah and the following pronounced hamzah has fatḥah. Both sides are vowelled, so the ḍammah-bearing hāʾ receives ṣilah in connected recitation.
The following hamzah matters: the source’s note says the appropriate madd rule also applies in this situation.
16. A hamzah after ṣilah
The margin explains that when a pronoun’s ṣilah is followed by hamzah, the rule of madd munfaṣil is considered, even when the ṣilah letter is not written as a full independent long-vowel letter.
The decision sequence is: identify vowel, check ṣilah, then inspect for hamzah. The detailed madd lengths belong to the later madd section.
17. Exception: yardahu lakum
The text singles out وَإِنْ تَشْكُرُوا يَرْضَهُ لَكُمْ. The hāʾ in «يَرْضَهُ» retains ḍammah, but is read without ṣilah (“ghayr mawṣūlah”).
This demonstrates why an exception must be checked even after the general two-vowelled-neighbors condition appears to be satisfied.
18. No regular ṣilah after sukūn
The book says ṣilah does not normally occur when the letter before or after hāʾ is sākin. In مِنْهُ, the preceding نْ is sākin; the hāʾ has ḍammah but is not prolonged by ordinary ṣilah.
The short vowel remains. What is absent is the extra long-vowel sound.
19. No regular ṣilah before a sākin sound
The second source example is وَيُعَلِّمُهُ الْكِتَابَ. In connected recitation, the lām of the article is sākin after the elided hamzat al-waṣl, so the hāʾ is followed by a sākin sound and receives no ordinary ṣilah.
Decide by what is actually pronounced during connection, not only by the presence of a written alif.
20. Exception: fīhi muhānan
The source identifies فِيهِ مُهَانًا in Sūrat al-Furqān as an exception. In «فِيهِ», an unvowelled yāʾ precedes hāʾ, so the ordinary ṣilah condition would not hold; nevertheless, this specific occurrence is given ṣilah.
Do not generalize the exception to every occurrence of فِيهِ.
21. A three-step recitation check
Use three steps: 1. find the pronoun hāʾ; 2. determine its vowel from the rule and specified exceptions; 3. for connected reading, test whether both neighbors are vowelled and then check any listed ṣilah exception.
Practice with بِهِ، مِنْهُ، عَلَيْهُ اللَّهَ، يَرْضَهُ لَكُمْ. Decide the vowel first and ṣilah separately.
22. Compare cases and explain why
عَلَيْهِ: ordinary kasrah after unvowelled yāʾ. عَلَيْهُ اللَّهَ: named ḍammah exception. مِنْهُ: ḍammah without ordinary ṣilah because the preceding nūn is sākin. فِيهِ مُهَانًا: a special ṣilah case despite preceding sākin yāʾ.
A correct decision depends on both the general rule and the exact listed exception.
23. Summary and self-check
Complete rule set: (1) kasrah usually follows preceding kasrah or sākin yāʾ; (2) other ordinary cases take ḍammah; (3) two named words have sukūn; (4) both neighbors vowelled normally trigger ṣilah; (5) a sākin neighbor normally prevents it. Each stage has specified Qurʾānic exceptions.
Self-check: explain the different treatments of وَمَا أَنْسَانِيهُ، عَلَيْهُ اللَّهَ، أَرْجِهْ، وَيَتَّقْهِ، يَرْضَهُ لَكُمْ، فِيهِ مُهَانًا before moving to the following section on idghām.
Practice questions
Question 1
What is the subject of Section Five?
- Pronoun hāʾ pronunciation
- All types of pausing
- Only qalqalah
- Throat articulations
Question 2
Why does بِهِ have kasrah on hāʾ?
- A kasrah comes before it
- A sākin nūn follows
- It contains the divine name
- It is always sākin
Question 3
What gives the hāʾ kasrah in ordinary عَلَيْهِ?
- A preceding lām with ḍammah
- An unvowelled yāʾ before it
- Qalqalah follows
- Initial hamzah
Question 4
What vowel is on hāʾ in وَمَا أَنْسَانِيهُ?
Question 5
Which sūrah contains the cited وَمَا أَنْسَانِيهُ?
- Al-Fatḥ
- Al-Kahf
- Al-Furqān
- Al-Nūr
Question 6
What differs in عَلَيْهُ اللَّهَ from ordinary عَلَيْهِ?
- Ḍammah on hāʾ
- Shaddah on hāʾ
- Hāʾ omitted
- Tanwīn on hāʾ
Question 7
Which pair are specified with a sākin pronoun hāʾ?
- بِهِ and لَهُ
- رَسُولُهُ and مِنْهُ
- أَرْجِهْ and فَأَلْقِهْ
- عَلَيْهِ and فِيهِ
Question 8
What is the hāʾ vowel in مِنْهُ?
- Ḍammah
- Kasrah
- Fatḥah
- Tanwīn fatḥ
Question 9
Which example has an exceptional kasrah on hāʾ?
- مِنْهُ
- لَهُ
- وَيَتَّقْهِ
- رَأَيْتُمُوهُ
Question 10
What is ishbāʿ here?
- Extending the pronoun vowel with its corresponding lengthening sound
- Making every pronoun sākin
- Dropping the hāʾ
- Geminating every letter
Question 11
Under the ordinary rule, what surrounds hāʾ for ṣilah?
- Both sākin
- Sākin then vowelled
- Vowelled then sākin
- Both vowelled
Question 12
Which sound extends a ḍammah-bearing hāʾ?
- Alif-like
- Wāw-like
- Nūn-like
- Lām-like
Question 13
Which sound extends a kasrah-bearing hāʾ?
- Yāʾ-like
- Wāw-like
- Nūn-like
- Qāf-like
Question 14
Why does مِنْ رَبِّهِ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ receive ṣilah?
- Every word is followed by wāw
- Both immediate neighbors of hāʾ are vowelled
- There is an earlier nūn
- Every kasrah hāʾ is lengthened
Question 15
What especially matters after ṣilah in وَرَسُولُهُ أَحَقُّ?
- Hamzah
- Sākin nūn
- Sākin mīm
- Geminated qāf
Question 16
Which madd rule does the margin invoke after ṣilah followed by hamzah?
- Madd lāzim
- Madd munfaṣil
- Only madd ʿāriḍ
- No madd
Question 17
What happens to hāʾ in يَرْضَهُ لَكُمْ?
- It is sākin and hidden
- It has kasrah and ṣilah
- It has ḍammah but no ṣilah
- It is omitted
Question 18
Why does ordinary ṣilah not apply to مِنْهُ?
- A sākin nūn precedes it
- A hamzah follows
- It contains mīm
- The hāʾ is always kasrah
Question 19
Why is there no ordinary ṣilah in وَيُعَلِّمُهُ الْكِتَابَ?
- Hāʾ has sukūn
- The pronounced lām after hamzat al-waṣl is sākin
- A yāʾ immediately precedes hāʾ
- It is in Sūrat al-Fatḥ
Question 20
Why does the source single out فِيهِ مُهَانًا?
- There is no hāʾ here
- It is not recited
- Ṣilah occurs despite the preceding sākin yāʾ
- It is about nūn assimilation
Question 21
After identifying kasrah in بِهِ, what remains to check?
- Publisher
- Ṣilah condition during connection
- Only sākin nūn
- Only obligatory pause
Question 22
Which pair have ḍammah on hāʾ but differ in ordinary ṣilah status?
- مِنْهُ / وَرَسُولُهُ أَحَقُّ
- أَرْجِهْ / فَأَلْقِهْ
- بِهِ / عَلَيْهِ
- وَيَتَّقْهِ / بِهِ
Question 23
What should a learner do with a named Qurʾānic exception?
- Change the text to fit the rule
- Ignore the exception
- Guess its reading
- Preserve the specific reading stated in the text
Question 24
What is the key contrast between عَلَيْهِ and عَلَيْهُ اللَّهَ?
- Both have sukūn
- First is ordinary kasrah; second an exceptional ḍammah
- Both have qalqalah
- First is idghām, second ikhfāʾ
Question 25
Which order correctly checks pronoun hāʾ?
- Lengthen first, identify pronoun later
- Lengthen every hāʾ
- Identify hāʾ; check vowel/exceptions; then test ṣilah
- Only inspect the following letter’s written shape
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