Writing the hamza

At the start of a word, a hamza sits on an alif: above for a and u, أكل, أم; below for i, إسلام, إلى. The article and some verb forms start with a connecting alif, written with no hamza: الولد, استخدم, انطلق.

In the middle of a word, the strongest vowel around it chooses the seat: i gives ئ (سئل), u gives ؤ (سؤال), a gives أ (سأل). After a long a it sits alone: قراءة.

At the end, the vowel before it decides: قرأ, يبطؤ, شاطئ; after a long vowel or a letter without a vowel it sits on the line: سماء, شيء.