الهاء

Root entry · 27 derived lemmas

This entry discusses the Arabic letter Hāʼ (ه), its pronunciation, its role as a letter in the alphabet, and its various grammatical functions. It explores its use as a pronoun, a suffix for emphasis or pause, a substitute for other letters, and as a feminine marker.

Derived headwords

هَائِيadjective

1.
related to the letter Hāʼclassical
An adjective indicating a relation or attribution to the letter Hāʼ.

هَاوِيadjective

1.
related to the letter Hāʼclassical
An adjective indicating a relation or attribution to the letter Hāʼ, possibly a variant of هائي.

هُوِيadjective

1.
related to the letter Hāʼclassical
An adjective indicating a relation or attribution to the letter Hāʼ, possibly a variant of هائي.

هَيَّأَverb

1.
to make good/beautifulclassical
To make something good or beautiful, specifically referring to the letter Hāʼ being formed well.

وقد هييت هاء حسنة — And he formed a good Hāʼ.

أَهْيَاءnoun

1.
plural of Hāʼclassical
The plural form of the letter Hāʼ.

أَهْوَاءnoun

1.
plural of Hāʼclassical
The plural form of the letter Hāʼ, possibly a variant of أهْيَاء.

هَاءَاتnoun

1.
plural of Hāʼclassical
The plural form of the letter Hāʼ.

هِنْدname

1.
Hind (proper name)both
A proper name, used as an example where Hāʼ is an original letter.

فَهْدnoun

1.
leopard/cheetahboth
A noun (leopard/cheetah), used as an example where Hāʼ is an original letter.

هَاءُ الْغَيْبَةnoun

1.
pronoun of absenceboth
The Hāʼ used as a pronoun referring to a third person, masculine or feminine, singular.

هَاءُ السَّكْتnoun

1.
pause Hāʼclassical
A Hāʼ added at the end of a word to indicate a vowel or to facilitate pausing, often in classical poetry or for stylistic reasons.

ثُمَّهْparticle

1.
then (with pause Hāʼ)classical
An adverb meaning 'then', with the addition of the pause Hāʼ.

مَهْparticle

1.
what (with pause Hāʼ)classical
An interrogative particle meaning 'what', with the addition of the pause Hāʼ.

هَرَقَverb

1.
to pour outboth
To pour out liquid, used as an example of a verb where Hāʼ is substituted for Hamza.

هَنَرْتَverb

1.
to tear/ripclassical
To tear or rip fabric, used as an example of a verb where Hāʼ is substituted for Hamza.

هَرَحَverb

1.
to make a beast tiredclassical
To make a beast tired or exhausted, used as an example of a verb where Hāʼ is substituted for Hamza.

أَذَاparticle

1.
this (interrogative)classical
An interrogative particle, used as an example where Hamza is substituted with Hāʼ.

رَحْمَةnoun

1.
mercyboth
Mercy, used as an example of feminine Hāʼ at the end of a word, especially when pausing.

هَاهُنَاهْparticle

1.
here (emphatic)classical
An emphatic particle meaning 'here', with the addition of the pause Hāʼ.

مَاهِيَهْparticle

1.
what is it (emphatic)classical
An emphatic particle meaning 'what is it?', with the addition of the pause Hāʼ.

هَاهُنَاparticle

1.
hereboth
An adverb meaning 'here', used as an example of the pause Hāʼ.

سُلْطَانِيَهْnoun

1.
my authority (with pause Hāʼ)classical
My authority, used as an example of the 'Hāʼ of rest' in classical Arabic.

مَالِيَهْnoun

1.
my wealth (with pause Hāʼ)classical
My wealth, used as an example of the 'Hāʼ of rest' in classical Arabic.

لِمَهْparticle

1.
why (with pause Hāʼ)classical
An interrogative particle meaning 'why', with the addition of the pause Hāʼ.

هَاءُ التَّأْنِيثnoun

1.
feminine Hāʼboth
The Hāʼ used at the end of a feminine noun or adjective, particularly when pausing.

هَذَاparticle

1.
thisboth
A demonstrative pronoun meaning 'this', used as an example of Hāʼ substituting for Hamza in interrogative contexts.

هَاparticle

1.
here!both
An interjection used to call attention or to indicate presence.

Parallel reading

وهي من حروف الزيادات مخرجه من أقصى الحلق من جوار مخرج الألف يمد ويقصر

And it is one of the added letters, its exit is from the furthest part of the throat, near the exit of the Alif, it is elongated and shortened.

والنسبة هائي وهاوي وهوي

And the attribution is Hāʼī, Hāwī, and Huwī.

وقد هييت هاء حسنة

And he formed a good Hāʼ.

والجمع أهياء وأهواء وهاآت

And the plural is Ahyāʼ, Ahwāʼ, and Hāʼāt.

وهو حرف مهموس يكون أصلا وبدلا وزائدا

And it is a voiceless letter that can be original, substituted, or added.

فالأصل نحو هند وفهد وشبه

So the original is like Hind, Fahd, and the like.

وتبدل من خمسة أحرف وهي: الهمزة والألف والتاء والواو والياء

And it is substituted for five letters: the Hamza, Alif, Tāʼ, Wāw, and Yāʼ.

والهاء وأخواتها من الثنائي إذا تهجيت مقصورة

And the Hāʼ and its sisters among the disyllabic letters are shortened when spelled out.

لأنها ليست بأسماء وإنما جاءت في التهجي على الوقف

Because they are not names, but rather they appear in spelling as a pause.

كقوله تعالى: {قال له صاحبه وهو يحاوره}

As in His saying, the Almighty: {His companion said to him, while he was with him}.

فالهاء في صاحبه في موضع جر، وفي يحاوره في موضع نصب

So the Hāʼ in 'his companion' is in the genitive case, and in 'he converses with him' it is in the accusative case.

والهاء قد تكون كناية عن الغائب والغائبة نقول: ضربه وضربها

And the Hāʼ can be a pronoun for the absent masculine and feminine, we say: 'He hit him' and 'She hit her'.

تعبدون، وإياها قصدت

You worship, and her I intended.

وهي اللاحقة لبيان حركة أو حرف نحو ماهيه وها هناه

And it is the suffix that clarifies a vowel or a letter, like in Māhiyah and Hā Hunāh.

وأصلها أن يوقف عليها وربما وصلت بنية الوقف

And its origin is to be paused upon, and sometimes connected with the intention of pausing.

هاء السكت تلحق المتحرك بحركة إعرابية للوقف نحو ثمه وكيفه

The pause Hāʼ attaches to a word with an inflectional vowel for the purpose of pausing, like in Thammah and Kayfah.

وقيل: لم أبله لتقدير الحركة كما أسقط ألف ها في هلم لتقدير سكون اللام

And it was said: 'I did not test him' for the estimation of the vowel, just as the Alif of 'Halam' is omitted for the estimation of the Sukun on the Lam.

ونحو: يا مرحباه بحمار عفراء، ويا مرحباه بحمار ناجية

And like: 'O welcome to the donkey of 'Afra', and 'O welcome to the donkey of Nājiyah'.

وقد تزاد الهاء في الوقف لبيان الحركة نحو لمه وسلطانيه وماليه وثم مه

And the Hāʼ may be added at the pause to clarify the vowel, like in Limah, Sultaniyah, Māliyah, and Thamma Mah.

بمعنى ثم ماذا

Meaning 'then what?'

وقد أتت هذه الهاء في ضرورة الشعر، كما قال

And this Hāʼ has appeared in poetic necessity, as he said:

هم القائلون الخير والآمرونه إذا ما خشوا من معظم الأمر مفظعا

They are the ones who say good and command it, when they fear something terrible from a grave matter.

فأجراها مجرى هاء الإضمار

So he treated it like the pronoun Hāʼ.

وتسمى هذه الهاء، يعني التي في سلطانيه وماليه، هاء الاستراحة

And this Hāʼ, meaning the one in Sultaniyah and Māliyah, is called the 'Hāʼ of rest'.

ثلاثة أفعال أبدلوا من همزتها هاء، وهي: هرقت الماء، وهنرت الثوب، وهرحت الدابة

Three verbs had their Hamza replaced with Hāʼ: Harqtu al-māʼ (I poured the water), Hanartu al-thawb (I tore the garment), and Harrahtu ad-dābbah (I tired the beast).

والعرب يبدلون همزة الاستفهام هاء

And the Arabs substitute Hāʼ for the interrogative Hamza.

وأنشد الجوهري: (وأتى صواحبها فقلن هذا الذي (منح المودة غيرنا وجفانا)

And Al-Jawhari recited: (And she came to her companions, so they said: This is the one who (granted affection to others besides us and abandoned us).

أي أذا الذي

Meaning 'Azā al-ladhi' (Is this the one?).

وزعم بعضهم أن الأصل هاذا الذي فحذفت الألف للوزن

And some claimed that the original was 'Hādhā al-ladhi', and the Alif was omitted for meter.

وهي عند الكوفيين أصل وفي الوصل بدل، والبصريون بعكس ذلك

And according to the Kufis, it is original, and in connection it is substituted; and the Basris are the opposite.

والعرب تقف على كل هاء مؤنث بالهاء إلا طيئا فإنهم يقفون عليها بالتاء فيقولون: هذه أمت وجاريت وطلحت

And the Arabs pause on every feminine Hāʼ with a Hāʼ, except for Tayyi', for they pause on it with a Tāʼ, saying: 'Hādhihi ummat, wa jāriyah, wa talḥat'.

كلمة تنبيه للمخاطب ينبه بها على ما يساق إليه من الكلام

A word of attention for the addressee, by which they are alerted to what is being led into the speech.

قالوا: ها السلام عليكم

They said: 'Hā, peace be upon you'.