Question

In my reading of the Quran in Arabic and my Arabic lessons, I've noticed everything seems to be spelled pretty much the way it is read. However a few words like  and   seem to have an extra wow. Is there some special reason for it--or am I pronouncing it incorrectly?

Answer

May Allah reward you for pointing out this common misunderstanding.  It is true that Arabic almost always sounds like it is written, and these two words can fool some that are not experienced in reciting the Qur’an.  The in both these words is not pronounced, instead the small alif written over it is pronounced, meaning we go directly from the laam in , and the kaaf in , to the alif.  This is the way these words are written in the ‘Uthmanee copy of the Qur’an, and the way the scribes of the revelation wrote them.  Khalifa ‘Uthmaan, may Allah be pleased with him, was very particular in making sure the copies of the Qur’an that he sent out were written exactly as the scribes of the Prophet, , wrote the revelation.  This way of writing these words is established until this day.  Indeed, this is one of the miracles of the preservation of the Qur’an.  

Something to be noted is that when the word is in its plural form, such as in: , there is a that is pronounced.