Calligraphy and Orthography: Script, Spelling and Diacritics
Domain 9 - Calligraphy and Orthography tests correct Arabic script: letter shapes, spelling, hamza placement and diacritics.
Letter shapes
Most letters join on both sides, but six join only to the preceding letter: ا، د، ذ، ر، ز، و. Learn four forms for each letter - isolated, initial, medial and final. Copying a short verse neatly, right to left with even letter heights, is often part of the paper.
Spelling rules
- Tāʾ marbūṭa (ة) occurs only at the end of a word; it is pronounced -a in pause and -t when a suffix follows: مَدْرَسَة → مَدْرَسَتِي.
- Alif maqṣūra (ى) writes a final long ā: عَلَى، هُدَى.
- Hamza seats: أ/إ on alif, ؤ on wāw, ئ on yāʾ, ء standing alone.
- Sun letters assimilate the lām of al-: الشَّمْس is pronounced ash-shams; moon letters keep it: الْقَمَر al-qamar.
Diacritics
Fatḥa (a), kasra (i), ḍamma (u), sukūn (no vowel), shadda (doubling), tanwīn (-an, -in, -un) and madd (lengthening).
Worked example
Write مَدْرَسَة fully vocalised: مَ + دْ + رَ + سَ + ة. Pronunciation: mad-ra-sa. Reasoning: the dāl takes sukūn because it closes the first syllable; every other consonant takes fatḥa; the final ة marks the feminine ending and is read -a in pause.
Traps
- Writing ه where ة is required.
- Dropping dots that distinguish ب ت ث ن ي.
- Placing hamza on the wrong seat; مَسْؤُول takes ؤ on wāw.
- Omitting shadda, which changes meaning, e.g. جَد vs جَدّ.