Question

In surah al-Baqarah, in ayah 178 there is a spelling I have a question about.  Here is the ayah:

The word " " has no dots on the ya  not does it have a small vertical alif like the word " " on the following line or like the word " " on the last line.   Are we to read it as a   or as an elongation of the fat-hah before it? 

Answer

The word is read with an alif when stopping on the word, but when continuing, the alif is dropped because the next word starts with a sukoon, i.e. the definite article .  In other words, we go directly from the fat-h  of the word  to the  saakinah (definite article) of the next word. You will notice that the Medinah copy of the Qur’an does not have the small vertical alif written in whenever there is a sukoon following these alifs, such as in: .  When there is a voweled letter after this type of alif, you will find the small vertical alif written in, as you noticed in  and the other words.  

May Allah bless you and open the way for you to learn more of the Qur’anic sciences; you indeed have a sharp eye, masha’ Allah.