Lam Rules

Lam Shamsiyyah ("Sun Letters") لَام شَمْسِيَّة

The lam of al- is silent and the next letter takes shadda — when followed by 14 specific letters.

When the definite article al- (ال) is followed by one of the 14 "sun letters" (ت ث د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ل ن), the lam is dropped from pronunciation and the next letter takes shadda. The Mushaf marks the silent lam without a sukoon symbol — only the shadda on the next letter signals the merger. The name comes from الشَّمْس (ash-shams, "the sun") — itself an example.

Quran examples

الشَّمْسُ

al + sheen → "ash-shamsu". The lam is silent. · 91:1

الرَّحْمَٰنُ

al + ra → "ar-Rahman". The lam is silent. · 55:1

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