In the Arabic language, we have two kinds of the letter LAM, and it’s called Lam Shamsiya and Lam Qamariya. The difference between Lam Shamsiya And Lam Qamariya is the pronunciation of the letter (Lam) in Arabic.
In this article, we will explain Lam Shamsiya and Lam Qamariya, how to differentiate between them, and illustrated examples from the Holy Quran that show the difference between the two.
Table of Contents:
What is the Lam Shamsiya?
Lam Shamsiya is a defining lam “the in English” that is added to the nouns of things to be a Definite noun, and it is the lam that is written in the word and we do not pronounce it during the reading.
The name Lam Shamsiya is taken from the word “sun” in Arabic because the word sun “shams” is actually an example of the Lam Shamsiya Rule. Lam Shamsiya refers to the word that has a Lam that would not be pronounced.
For example, the word sun in Arabic is “Shams” when you add the “the” to it (ال – Alif and Lam) the word would not be pronounced as “alshams” but rather “ashams” without pronouncing the lam letter.
The Lam becomes lam shamsiya when comes before one of the following 14 letters that are called the Lam Shamsiya letters:
- In Arabic (ت ، ث ، د ، ذ ، ر ، ز ، س ، ش ، ص ، ض ، ط ، ظ ، ن ، ل)
- The Transliteration of these letters in English are: (t / th / d / y / r / g / s / sh / r / z / i / y / n / l)
When the letters alf Lam come before these letters, the lam would on be pronounced, and the letter that follows it comes with stress or Shadah ( ّ ).
Example of lam Shamsiya: (وَالتِّينِ وَالزَّيْتُونِ)
Did you notice how these two words were pronounced? You will find yourself not pronouncing the “lam” in them despite its presence as clear as the sun, and you will find that the letter that came after it in the first word is the letter “t” and the second word is the letter “Z” and you will find the two letters stressed.
You can now identify the shamsiya lam if you find any of these letters after it.
What is Lam Qamariya?
Lam Qamariya is the definition of lam, which is added to the noises of things to be Definite nouns in Arabic. Lam Qamariya is written at the beginning of the and is clearly pronounced with the following letter.
The name of Lam Qamariya is taken from the Arabic word for the moon “Qamar”. Because the word moon in Arabic “shams” is actually an example of the Lam Qamariya Rule. Lam Qamariya refers to the word that has a Lam Qamariya that would be pronounced.
For example, the word moon in Arabic is “Qamar” when you add the “the” to it (ال – Alif and Lam) the word would be pronounced as “al-Qamar” with the pronunciation of the lam letter.
You can recognize it by the sukoon on it when you read the Quran.
The Lam becomes a lam Qamariya when comes before one of the following 14 letters, and they are called Lam Qamariya letters:
- Lam Qamariya letters in Arabic (أ ، ب ، ج ، ح ، خ ، ع ، غ ، ف ، ق ، ك ، م ، هـ، و، ى)
- Lam Qamariya letters in English (a / b / c / h / k / p / g / q / s / k / m / e / f / j)
Lam Qamariya Example (تِلكَ الجَنَّةُ & عَلَى الْمَلَكَيْنِ)
Again, you’ll find yourself pronouncing the letter lam and the letter that follows it as well and you will find the letters that came after the letter lam, which are the jim and the meem( ج،م), and they are one of the letters of the Lam Qamariya letters.
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What is the difference between Lam Shamsiya and Lam Qamariya?
The main difference between Lam Shamsiya and Lam Qamariya is the pronunciation of the letter Lam; the Lam of Lam Shamsiya is not pronounced, and the Lan in Lam Qamariya is pronounced.
There are other Several points that explain the difference between the two lam:
1. Pronunciation and effect on the next letter.
We can say that the difference between Lam Shamsiya and Lam Qamariya is in the pronunciation of the word, as it affects the letter that comes after it and makes it appear in a clear voice (Mushadad).
Lam Shamsiya is not pronounced, as we skip it while pronouncing the letter after it is the one that is pronounced and the intensity is on it, such as (وَالسَّمَاءِ وَالطَّارِقِ).
Read and try to pronounce it, you will find yourself not pronouncing the lam and pronouncing the next letter.
Lam Qamariya is pronounced with full clarity, and the letter that follows it is also pronounced in the word like (وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا عَسْعَسَ، الْيَاقُوتُ وَالْمَرْجَانُ). Read the lam and try to pronounce it. Did you notice the effect?
2. Diacritics
The Other difference between Lam Shamsiya and Lam Qamariya is the presence of diacritics on the lam.
Al-Lam al-shamsiya: You found nothing of the diacritic letter above, but you will find the letter that follows it with a shadda. Example the Shadah “ ّ ” on the letter ن and ث in the following example: (النّجْمُ الثّاقِب).
Did you notice the lam? Indeed, you did not find anything of the diacritical letter above it, and the letter “Nun” after it is stressed
Lam Qamariya: You will just find the sukoon above the letter lam. Example, the Sukoon “ ْ ” on the lam in the following example: (يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ).
What is the Importance of learning Lam Shamsiya And Lam Qamariya?
Recognizing the Lam Shamsiya and Lam Qamariya helps you in two important things:
- First, the correct pronunciation of words as they are repeated in almost all the nouns in Arabic.
- The second thing is writing correctly when you hear Arabic statements.
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What are the conditions of Lam Shamsiya & Lam Qamariya?
- Lam Shamsiya & Lam Qamariya only come in the beginning words.
- Lam Shamsiya & Lam Qamariya comes in nouns only, so it may come in verbs or letters, but it is not classified as Lam Shamsiya or Lam Qamariya, like the verb (التصق،التقى).
- There is no hamza on the letter alif that precedes the alif, such as (ألبان أو ألحان), they are not classified as shamsiya and qamariya.
- To be superfluous to the word, in the sense that if it is removed, the meaning of the word is clear, as in (الكتاب: كتاب ،سماء: السماء ) Did you notice the word kept its meaning even after removing the two letters.
Conclusion
In the end, we can sum it up as that Lam Shamsiya and Lam Qamariya.
It is a lam used to define nouns. For the shamsiya lam, it is written and not pronounced, and the letter that comes after it is stressed, but the qamariya lam is written and pronounced, and it has soukoon diacritics, and the letter that follows it is non-diacritics.
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