The Quraysh and the Hamzah: Pronunciation Practices in Arabic Lingu

بسم اللّه الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

The Use of Hamzah by the Quraysh

By: Dr. Muhammad Akram Nadwi
Oxford, UK

Question:

In the book Taj al-Arus, it is mentioned that the Quraysh did not pronounce the hamzah (ء). The text includes a narration related to this: “Nabr al-harf yunbiruhu bil-kasr nabran: Hamzah. And from it, the hadith: A man said to the Prophet (PBUH), ‘O Nabi’ullah,’ so he said, ‘Do not nabir (pronounce the hamzah) in my name.’ In another narration, it says: ‘We, the people of Quraysh, do not nabir,’ and nabr means the pronunciation of the hamzah.

The Quraysh did not use hamzah in their speech. When Al-Mahdi (the Abbasid Caliph) went for Hajj, he appointed Al-Kisai to lead the prayer in Madinah. When Al-Kisai pronounced the hamzah during the recitation, the people of Madinah objected, saying, ‘You are using hamzah in the recitation of the Qur’an in the Masjid of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH)!'”

After quoting this passage from Taj al-Arus, Maulana Irfan Nasr Faruqi Nadwi asked: “If the Quraysh did not use hamzah, then how did hamzah come into the Qur’an?”

Answer:

The sound of hamzah (ء) is heavy in pronunciation, so efforts are often made to lighten it wherever possible. There are two main methods of lightening the hamzah:

1. Ibdal (Substitution): This involves replacing the hamzah with one of the vowel-like letters (و, ا, ي). If the preceding vowel is a fatha ( َ ), the hamzah can be replaced with an alif (ا); if the preceding vowel is a damma ( ُ ), it can be replaced with a waw (و); and if the preceding vowel is a kasra ( ِ ), it can be replaced with a ya (ي). For example:

“إن يأْجوج ومأْجوج مفسدون في الأرض” can be read as “إن ياجوج وماجوج مفسدون في الأرض.”

“عليهم نار مُؤْصدة” can be read as “عليهم نار مُوصدة.”

“نبِّئْ عبادي أني أنا الغفور الرحيم” can be read as “نبِّي عبادي أني أنا الغفور الرحيم.”

2. Tashil (Easing): There are several forms of tashil, one of which is to omit the hamzah entirely, such as reading “مستهزءون” as “مستهزون.” Another form is to transfer the vowel of the hamzah to the preceding letter, such as reading “الأَرْض” as “الَارض.” In this case, the alif is written but not pronounced.

There are other methods of ibdal and tashil as well, but the point here is to emphasize that lightening the hamzah is a key principle of the Arabic language.

The different Arab tribes had their own preferences for the pronunciation of the hamzah, which influenced the variations in Qur’anic recitations (qira’at). Compared to other tribes, the Quraysh were known for their tendency to lighten the hamzah the most.

This does not mean that the Quraysh completely avoided using the hamzah in their speech. Rather, it means that wherever it was possible to lighten the hamzah, they preferred to do so through ibdal and tashil. However, in cases where the lightening of the hamzah was not feasible, such as when it appeared at the beginning of a word, they would still pronounce it.

It should also be noted that the Quraysh did not always omit the hamzah in situations where it was permissible to do so. In fact, there are instances in Quraysh recitations where the hamzah is preserved, as not all pronunciations of the hamzah are equally heavy. For example, Imam Nafi’ of Madinah and Imam Ibn Kathir of Makkah, both renowned reciters from the two holy cities, are known to have used both ibdal and tashil as well as the regular pronunciation of the hamzah in their readings. Al-Suyuti mentioned: “Know that since the hamzah is the heaviest sound to pronounce and has the farthest point of articulation, the Arabs have employed various methods to ease its pronunciation, with the Quraysh and the people of Hijaz being the most inclined to do so. Therefore, the lightened forms of the hamzah frequently appear in their recitations, as seen in the recitations of Ibn Kathir (from Ibn Faleeh), Nafi’ (from Warsh), and Abu Amr, whose chain of transmission is rooted in the people of Hijaz.” (Al-Itqan fi ‘Ulum al-Qur’an 1/117). The narration quoted by Murtada Al-Zabidi in Taj al-Arus, “A man said to the Prophet (PBUH), ‘O Nabi’ullah,’ so he said, ‘Do not nabir (pronounce the hamzah) in my name.’ In another narration: ‘We, the people of Quraysh, do not nabir,'” is found in Al-Hakim’s Mustadrak. However, its chain of transmission includes a narrator, Humran bin A’yan, who, according to Imam Al-Dhahabi, was not reliable and held Shia beliefs. Al-Dhahabi therefore classified this narration as munkar (denounced).

Conclusion: The idea that the Quraysh did not use the hamzah at all is not accurate. The correct understanding is that the Quraysh did use the hamzah, but they had a stronger tendency toward using ibdal and tashil compared to other Arab tribes.