Where Does Hamzat al-Qat‘Occur?
Hamzat al-Qat‘appears in all positions where Hamzat al-Wasl does not occur, as follows:
1- In the triliteral verb and its verbal noun (maṣdar):
| Example | Reason for Hamzat al-Qat ‘ |
| أذِن المدير للموظف بأخذ إجازة (The manager permitted the employee to take a vacation.) | أذِنَ begins with Hamzat al-Qat‘because it is a triliteral past tense verb. Begins with Hamzat al-Qat‘because it is the verbal noun (maṣdar) of a triliteral verb. |
| أزِفَ وقت العطلة. (The time for vacation has come.) | → أزِفَ starts with Hamzat al-Qat‘because it is a triliteral past tense verb. |
– More examples of triliteral sources and verbs:
أمرَ – أمرًا (he commanded – command), أوَى – إيواءً (he sheltered – sheltering), أكل – أكلًا (he ate – eating), أرِقَ – أرقًا (he stayed awake – sleeplessness), أسِف – أسفًا (he regretted – regret), ألِم – إيلامًا (he hurt – causing pain), أبى – إباءً (he refused – refusal), أمِن – أمنًا (he felt safe – safety).
2- In the quadriliteral verb in all its forms:
The quadriliteral verb, whether past, present, imperative, or its verbal noun, always begins with Hamzat al-Qat ‘.
| Example | Reason for Hamzat al-Qat ‘ |
| أحسِن إلى الناس تستعبد قلوبهم. (Be kind to people and you will win their hearts.) | أحسِن begins with Hamzat al-Qat‘because it is a quadriliteral imperative verb (from أحسن). |
| أحسن زيدٌ إلى الناس. (Zayd was good to people.) | Past tense quadriliteral. |
| أُحسن إلى جاري. (I do good to my neighbor.) | Present tense quadriliteral. |
| “وبالوالدين إحسانًا” (…and kindness to parents) | إحسانًا begins with Hamzat al-Qat‘because it is the verbal noun of the quadriliteral verb أحسن. |
– Examples of quadriliteral verbs beginning with Hamzat al-Qat ‘:
أهدى – أُهدي – أهدِ – إهداء (to gift – I gift – gift! – gifting), أعطى – أُعطي – أعطِ – إعطاء (to give – I give – give! – giving), أكرم – أُكرم – أكرِم – إكرام (to honor – I honor – honor! – honoring), أعان – أُعين – أعِن – إعانة (to help – I help – help! – helping), أسرع – أُسرع – أسرع – إسراع (to hurry – I hurry – hurry! – hurrying).
3- In the present tense of all verbs (triliteral, quadriliteral, quintiliteral, and sextiliteral):
| Example | Reason for Hamzat al-Qat ‘ |
| أكتب الواجب. (I write the homework.) | Begins with Hamzat al-Qat‘because it is the present tense of the triliteral verb كتب. |
| أُكرم جاري. (I honor my neighbor.) | Present tense quadriliteral verb. |
| أعتني بإخوتي الصغار. (I take care of my younger siblings.) | Present tense quintiliteral verb. |
| أستمع إلى القرآن الكريم. (I listen to the Holy Qur’an.) | Present tense sextiliteral verb. |
– Examples of the present tense verb beginning with Hamzat al-Qat‘from triliteral, quadriliteral, quinquiliteral, and hexaliteral verbs:
أجمع – أبذر – أزرع – أحصد – أنظّف – آكل (originally أأكل), أهدي – أعطي – أعاون.
4- In particles (ḥurūf):
Examples: إنَّ (verily), إلى (to), إمّا (either), إلا (except), إذ (when), أو (or), أم (or), إذا (if). Also: The interrogative hamzah: أأنجزتَ عملك؟ (Did you finish your work?) The vocative hamzah: أَزيدُ، اكتبْ الدرس. (O Zayd, write the lesson.)
| Note:Sometimes a word that starts with Hamzat al-Wasl or Hamzat al-Qat‘may attach to particles or pronouns, at the beginning or end. Examples: (أعلمه، لأُعلمه، أعلمنا، إعلامنا). In such cases, we must strip the word of the extra letters and return to the past tense verb to determine whether the hamzah is Hamzat al-Qat‘or Hamzat al-Wasl.
1- أعلمه، أُعلم، أعلمنا → أصلها “أعلم” (quadriliteral) → begins with Hamzat al-Qat ‘. 5-الإعمار ← إعمار → Hamzat al-Qat ‘(verbal noun of triliteral verb “عَمَر”). 6- الإعلان ← إعلان → Hamzat al-Qat ‘(verbal noun of quadriliteral verb “أعلن”). 7- اكتمال → begins with Hamzat al-Wasl because it is the verbal noun of sextiliteral verb “اكتمل”. |
– Let us summarize the positions of Hamzat al-Wasl and Hamzat al-Qat ‘:
