Worshippers and travellers to the Torbay Islamic Centre (TIC) can now rest their feet on newly laid carpets that finally cover and unite the many rooms of the building. Alhamdu-liLlah
Panoramic view of main prayer hall
Visitors are now greeted by the entrance with textured mats that massage the feet, before travelling to the main prayer spaces where new lush red carpeting is a soothing respite to sit and pray on.
Laying the entire TIC at the same time was both a strategic though intensive effort, involving help from many volunteers near and far. Over two busy days, between Jumuah prayers, furniture was heaved aside, bookshelves were transported, and many items were just binned(!) as the new rolls were cut to size and laid into place one room at a time.
Books offloaded into the kitchen during floor refurbishments
This phase of TIC refurbishment follows on from what was another exhaustive effort during the cold Ramadan nights this year to raise funds to pierce and join our two neighbouring plots into one building. This resulted in a large break through the party-wall, beautifully combining our main 2nd floor prayer hall, and a sudden discovery of a leaking roof and rotting attic timbers that needed further donations to repair. However, the local and extended communities pulled through by God’s grace to reach the funds required, with some donors giving hundreds, or even thousands at a time! May Allah accept everyone’s efforts and intentions.
We thank God and His community of believers for their – mostly voluntary, sometimes unseen – hours and dedication towards the TIC. We hope the new developments that has united the spaces will also unite the hearts of the visiting believers for generations to come, Ameen.
• The Arabic fatḥaħ/Àlif can be used to represent two vowel sounds – light ‘a’ or heavy ‘o’ – depending on the consonant before it.
• The Grand Name – ‘Allah’ – is exceptionally pronounced with the second vowel heavy – as ‘Allōh‘ – despite Lám not being a heavy consonant.
• ‘Allah’ is still pronounced with light ‘a’ vowels when begun by the kasroħ ‘i’ sound.
In our honest efforts to learn the recitation of the Noble Quran, one can often neglect taking time to master the basics of the ancient language – allowing mispronunciations to set into habit. In this article, we look at the truly unique rules associated with pronouncing the Grandest of names – الله ‘Allah‘ – which non-Arab muslims without a formal training, and even many among those who do have, surprisingly find themselves misrepresenting.
Allah in stone in Rohtas Fort, District Jhelum, Punjab, Pakistan
Arabic Vowels
Before understanding the nuances of the word ‘Allah’, let us first recap the system of Arabic vowels and their association with ‘heavy’ and ‘light’ letters.
There is plenty for English-speakers to struggle with when learning to speak Arabic, but vowels need not be one of them. Vowels are sounded by gently exhaling while vibrating the vocal tract; they are then distinguished by the shape of the lips during this process. The Arabic vowels ‘a‘, ‘u‘, and ‘i‘ can be expressed in writing with [harokát] diacritics, and letters ا Àlif, و Wau, and ي Yá respectively.
SOUNDING THE THREE MAIN ARABIC VOWELS:
• ‘a‘ – as in ‘bat’ – represented by a [fatḥah] diacritic above the letter, and elongated with an Àlif
• ‘u‘ – not found in English, between that of ‘look’ and ‘lock’ – represented by a [ḍommah] diacritic above the letter, and extended with a Wáu. Occasionally represented with ‘o’ instead
• ‘i‘ – as in ‘meet’ – represented by a [kasroh] diacritic below the letter, and extended with a yá. Occasionally represented with an ‘e’ instead
Now we turn to the confusion. Though Arabic vowels are commonly taught as being three, there are more precisely four, as the Arabic fatḥaħ/Àlif is actually used to represent two vowel sounds. To understand this, read out for example, the words ‘bat‘ and ‘ball‘. Notice how their vowels sound different, despite being spelled with the same letter? English spelling is notorious mind, and we could have more intuitively written ‘boll‘ instead of ‘ball’. However, this example helps us understand more about the Arabic fatḥaħ/Àlif, which is also used to represent two vowel sounds.
In English, these two sounds are conventionally referred to as ‘light’ ‘a’, and ‘heavy’ ‘a’. The reason why these two sounds are usually not distinguished in Arabic education however, is because the sound is technically attached to the consonant letter before it. It is actually the consonants that are categorised as either مُفَخَّم [mufaccom] ‘heavy‘ (giving the following fatḥaħ/Àlif the ‘o’ sound ), or مُرَقَّق ‘muroqqoq‘ ‘light‘ (giving the following fatḥaħ/Àlif the ‘a’ sound).1 Thus, you may have noticed by now that the transliteration of both sounds are being distinguished in this article using the letter ‘a’ for light or the letter ‘o’ for heavy.
So what are these heavy Arabic consonants that invoke the differing ‘o’ sound? Take note of the list below if you are unsure –
[MUFACCOM] ‘HEAVY’ LETTERS:
•خ Cóf •ص Ṣód •ض Ḍód •ط Ṭo •ظ Ṿo • غ Goin •ق Qóf
Please note, ر Ró is a special case that is only heavy when it is followed by a fatḥaħ or ḍommaħ.
The uniqueness of ‘Allah’
The second ‘a’ in ‘Allah’ (which is extended – and is represented here in the English with a macron) should be pronounced with a heavy ‘o’ by default, and is better spelled as ‘Allōh‘. Please note however, this ‘o’ is actually like the ‘u’ sound in ‘luck’ rather than the ‘o’ sound in lock, but the difference is very slight, and it is being transliterated as ‘o’ to avoid confusion with the usage of ‘u’ to represent the sound made from ḍommah/wáu.2 So for example:
The word for ‘God’ in Surah Iklaas should be pronounced ‘Allōh‘ with a heavy vowel (not ‘Allāh’).
Now you might have realised that ل Lám, despite preceding the second heavy ‘o’ in ‘Allōh‘, is not amongst the list of heavy Arabic consonants. This is what makes the word easy to mispronounce for the unacquainted reciter; it should indeed be pronounced with a heavy ‘o’ sound.
Finally, if things were not complicated enough, one should also remember the important exception to this practice – if the first Àlif [waṣl] in ‘Allah’ is preceded or replaced by the kasroħ ‘i’ vowel, then the second Àlif in ‘Allah’ becomes light again, and should be pronounced ‘a’. The two most famous examples of this exception in the Quran are in the first Ayah of Surah Fatiha, as introduced at the beginning of this article, and the Basmala itself, where the first two words should be pronounced ‘Bismi Llāh‘ (not ‘Bismi Llōh‘).
TO SUMMARISE:
• The Arabic fatḥaħ/Àlif can be used to represent two vowel sounds – light ‘a’ or heavy ‘o’ – depending on the consonant before it.
• The Grand Name – ‘Allah’ – is exceptionally pronounced with the second vowel heavy – as ‘Allōh‘ – despite Lám not being a heavy consonant.
• ‘Allah’ is still pronounced with light ‘a’ vowels when begun by the kasroħ ‘i’ sound.
Jazak-Allah for reading. All knowledge, opinions, and translations expressed in our articles are the earnest study and reflections of the writer, prioritising honest interpretations of the Quran and authentic Hadith as evidence. Though the information contained does not necessarily represent the views of anyone other than the writer, all articles are cross-checked by brothers and sisters knowledgeable and experienced on the topic before being published on our site. We ask for forgiveness for presenting any information that comes to be incorrect or misleading, and accept that Allah is the Most-Knowing One.
Only those who believe in God, the Last Day, stand for the prayer, give the alms-tax, and were not fearing [anyone] except God, [are to] maintain God’s prayer-places. They are possibly [to become] some of the guided ones so.
Heavy works were underway to expand the main prayer hall of TIC after decades of planning, design, and fundraising.
There were many unique challenges faced in transforming two unassuming properties on Avenue Road into a vibrant place of Muslim prayer and sanctuary. First came the issue of a sturdy party-wall interrupting the space, which we needed assurance was safe to puncture through considering the roof structure above. Then, a sudden shock came on inspection one chilly Ramandan night that many timber joists within the attic had started to rot from moisture – prompting requests from the community to pull together more funds for repair during the blessed month. Another difficulty was ensuring that the spaces as a whole were left in a safe state during busy Friday prayers, and weekend study classes.
Alhamdu-liLlah, the entire community, builders, and even trustees, were brought together to provide the warm drinks, duas, and donations needed to power through the largest renovation project the mosque had ever seen.
The flooring is a particular concern in mosques which must be up to the standard of resilience for peoples feet, and delicacy for peoples heads in prostration. Ours were rolled in as a particularly generous gift, and will help visitors rest in comfort and peace in-shaa-Allah.
We ask Allah to keep His new house and His believers warm and steadfast for His remembrance and worship. Ameen.
