هhāʾ
How it is made
phoneticsdeepest in the throat; voiceless, continuant.
In brief, from the lines below. English throughout: AI translation of the Arabic AI
Sībawayh · al-Kitāb (d. c. 180/796)
فأقصاها مخرجا: الهمزة والهاء والألف
The furthest of them [the three in the throat] in place: the hamza, the hāʾ and the alif. line 26548 ↗
Ibn Jinnī · Sirr ṣināʿat al-iʿrāb (d. 392/1002)
فأولها من أسفله وأقصاه، مخرج الهمزة والألف والهاء، هكذا يقول سيبويه
The first of them [in the throat], from its lowest and furthest part, is the place of the hamza, the alif and the hāʾ: so Sībawayh says. line 965 ↗
ومن الحروف المهتوت، وهو الهاء، وذلك لما فيها من الضعف والخفاء
Among the letters is the 'faint' one (mahtūt), the hāʾ, because of the weakness and hiddenness in it. line 1261 ↗
Reference
Ibn Jinnī’s chapter on the hāʾits opening
الهاء حرف مهموس يكون أصلا وبدلا وزائدا
The hāʾ is a voiceless letter; it is a radical, a substitute and an augment. line 8054 ↗
The chapter begins at line 8048 ↗; the rest of it is on the letter's substitutions, assimilation and uses.
In the Breath of the All-MercifulIbn ʿArabī · metaphysics
Level of existence: أبتداء العالم · the beginning of the world
Divine Name: البديع · the Originator (who creates without prior model)
Lunar mansion: الشرطين · al-Sharaṭān (the Two Signs), first of daily time, when the sun is in Aries
وأعطيناه من الحروف الهاء فإنها أول حرف ظهر في المخرج الأول
Futūḥāt ch. 198, line 66017Spheres of its simples (ch. 2): 10 line 2573 ↗
Nature (ch. 2)
وإلا الهاء والهمزة فإنهما باردتان رطبتان
And except hāʾ and hamza, for these two are cold and moist. AI
Ibn ʿArabī, al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya, line 2583Meaning by vowelal-Dabbāgh · a visionary claim about a primordial “Syriac”, not historical Syriac
With fatḥa ـَ
فهي الرحمة الطاهرة التي لا نهاية لها.
It is pure mercy that has no end. AI
al-Dabbāgh (d. 1132/1719), al-Ibrīz, ch. 2 §15, compiled by al-LamaṭīWith ḍamma ـُ
فهي اسم من أسمائه تعالى.
It is one of the names of God, Exalted is He. AI
al-Dabbāgh (d. 1132/1719), al-Ibrīz, ch. 2 §15, compiled by al-LamaṭīWith kasra ـِ
فهي إشارة إلى الخير الذي يخرج من ذوات المخلوقات.
It is an indication of the good that issues from the selves of created beings. AI
al-Dabbāgh (d. 1132/1719), al-Ibrīz, ch. 2 §15, compiled by al-LamaṭīFurther
هذا ما في خطه رضي الله عنه، والذي سمعته منه رضي الله عنه: الهاء بالفتح الرحمة المطهرة التي لا نهاية لها، وبالضم من أسمائه تعالى وفيه مشاهدة جميع المكونات بخلاف النون المضمومة فهي بمنزلة من يقول ربي، والهاء المضمومة بمنزلة من يقول )رَبّ الْعَالَمِينَ(، وبالكسر جميع النور الخارج من ذوات المؤمنين.
This is what is in his handwriting. What I heard from him: hāʾ with fatḥa is purified mercy that has no end; with ḍamma, one of God's names, containing the witnessing of all created beings. This differs from nūn with ḍamma, which is like one saying 'my Lord', whereas hāʾ with ḍamma is like one saying 'Lord of the worlds'. With kasra it is all the light issuing from the selves of the believers. AI
al-Dabbāgh (d. 1132/1719), al-Ibrīz, ch. 2 §15, compiled by al-LamaṭīSībawayh (d. c. 180/796), al-Kitāb, ed. ʿAbd al-Salām Hārūn (Cairo: al-Khānjī), vol. 4, pp. 431–436. Digital text: 0180Sibawayhi.KitabSibawayhi.Shamela0023018-ara1 (OpenITI RELEASE v2025.1.9). CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (OpenITI digital text); the classical text is public domain, the modern edition is not.
Ibn Jinnī (d. 392/1002), Sirr ṣināʿat al-iʿrāb, Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya (as recorded by OpenITI), vol. 1. Digital text: 0392IbnJinniMawsili.SirrSinacatIcrab.Shamela0012017-ara1 (OpenITI RELEASE v2025.1.9). CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (OpenITI digital text); the classical text is public domain, the modern edition is not.