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ألف الوقاية

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Aleph otiosum (الألف الفاصلة) is an additional Aleph written at the end of verbs in the masculine plural form, such as كَتَبُوا (katabū). This Aleph is used to prevent the final Waw (و) from being misunderstood as the conjunction “and” (و). It is also known as “Aleph of protection” (ألف الوقاية) because it protects the Waw from being separated from the word it belongs to.

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Why Do Some Arabic Verbs End With a Silent Aleph (ا)?

Why do some Arabic verbs end with a silent Aleph (ا) after the و, as in كَتَبُوا (they wrote)? This article explains the "guarding Aleph" (أَلِفُ الْوِقايةِ), a unique spelling rule that prevents confusion with the conjunction وَ.