Knowing the Hijaiyah Letters that Cannot Be Connected so as Not to Write Wrong

Illustration of hijaiyah letters that cannot be connected (freepik)

YOGYAKARTA - There are several hijaiyah letters that cannot be connected which often make beginners confused when learning to write Arabic, especially when composing simple words in the Qur'an and everyday writing.

Mistakes in understanding the shape of letters can change the appearance of writing and the meaning of words. Therefore, it is important to recognize the rules for connecting letters from the beginning of the learning process.

Hijaiyah Letters that Can't Be Connected

The hijaiyah letters that cannot be connected in writing are certain letters that cannot be connected with the letter after it, even though they are in the middle of the word.

This means that the letters can only be connected to the previous letter, but must be disconnected with the letter after it.

There are six letters of the hijaiyah that cannot be connected, namely Alif, Dal, Dzal, Ra, Za, and Wau (ا د ذ ر ز و).

These six letters have a special shape that causes the connection to stop, so that the writing of the word will look interrupted and then continued with the new letter shape. The following are six hijaiyah letters that cannot be connected with the letter after it:

Alif (ا)Dal (د)Dzal (ذ)Ra (ر)Za (ز)Wau (و)

When the letters are in the middle of a word, they must be written separately. This is why in some Arabic words there is a "break" even though the word consists of more than two letters.

Writing Example in Arabic Letters Example of the Letter Alif (ا)

Alif can't connect to the letter after it.

Ba + t = Ba tassa + lim = Salimqa + la = Qal

Based on the example above it can be seen that after ا, the next letter stands alone.

Example of Dal Letter (د)بَد + ر = بَدْرأَد + ب = أَدَبحَد + يث = حَدِيث

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The letter after د is not connected.

Example of Dzal Letter (ذ)أَذ + ن = أَذَنإِذ + ن = إِذْنلَذ + يذ = لَذِيذ

The letter ذ always breaks the connection to the next letter.

Example of Ra (ر) letterb + k = barkanm + hab = marhabq + a = qra

It can be seen that after the letter ر, the next letter must be written separately.

Example of Za (ز)rِz + ق = رِزْقفَو + ز = فَوْززُر + قَة = زُرْقَة

The letter ز cannot be connected to the letter after it.

Example of Wau Letters (و)نُو + ر = نُورقَو + م = قَوْمصَو + ت = صَوْت

It can be seen that the letter after و always stands alone.

Arabic Writing: Imla'i and Ottoman Rasm

Basically, the writing of Arabic follows the rule of rasm imla'i, which is writing that adjusts between what is said and what is written without adding or subtracting letters.

However, as reported by VOI from the NU Online website, the writing of the Qur'an has its own standards known as the rasm mushaf utsmani.

The Rasm mushaf utsmani is a system of writing the Qur'an that was ratified during the time of the Caliph Utsman bin 'Affan.

In this rasm, there are several special rules such as letter reduction (hadf), letter addition, rules for writing hamzah, letter replacement, word connection and separation, and writing a word that has two possible readings.

Due to the difference in these rules, not all writings in the Qur'an can be used as a standard standard for writing Arabic in general.

Therefore, understanding the letters of the hijaiyah that cannot be connected is an important foundation in learning to write and read Arabic.