Question

Could you please tell me if the word:   can also be written -  ? I always thought it was written the second way but recently I've been noticing it in the Qur'an and on your site written the first way. Jazakum Allahu khair.

 Answer  

The Arabs have a general tendency to not like writing the same two letters next to each other in one word.  This is not an absolute rule, but they tend to drop the first or second letter of the same kind in writing when next to each other.  The question at hand is an example of this.  The noun  is preceded by the  of the definite article “the” and a hamzah wasl for starting the word; thus the word becomes .  There then are two of the letter , the first merging into the second.  They (Arabs) then almost always drop the first in writing, but we are aware of its existence by the shaddah on the .   If you look at your copy of the Glorious Qur’an, you will see that the word  is written with one .