Understanding 'Maa' and 'Hamzah' Interrogative Words: A Beginner’s Simple Guide

Lesson Material:

1. Types of Question words/Interrogative words.

2. مَا as a one of اسْمُ اِسْتِفْهَامٍ (ism istifhaam) or interrogative noun.

3. أ as a one حَرْفُ اِسْتِفْهَامٍ  (harf istifhaam) or interrogative particle.

4. Reading lesson one in Durusul Lughah al-'Arabiyyah volume 1.

Goal:

Once you finish the lesson, you will understand maa istifhaamiyyah and hamzah istifhaam, you will be able to make simple sentences using these question words, and you will get several new Arabic words.

Let's study the material from point number one.

أَدَاةُ الاِسْتِفْهَامِ (adatul istifhaami): Question word/Interrogative word.

Below are of Question word in Arabic:

1. حَرْفُ اِسْتِفْهَامٍ (harfu istifhaamin): interrogative particle.

Examples: 

a. هَلْ (hal): it is used for yes/no question.

b. أَ (a): it is used for yes/no question. 

2. اسْمُ اِسْتِفْهَامٍ (ismu istifhaamin): interrogative noun.

Examples:

a. مَا (maa): what.

b. مَنْ (man): who.

c. أَيْنَ (ayna): where.

d. مَتَى (mata): when.

e. etc.

Today, we will only learn interrogative particle "أ" (hamzah) and interrogative noun "مَا" (maa).

The types of مَا 

a.  مَا نَافِيَةٌ (حَرْف نَفِي): negative particle

b. مَا مَصْدَرِيَّةٌ (حرف مصدريّ): Masdar particle

c. مَا اِسْتِفْهَامِيَّةٌ (اسم استفهام): interrogative noun

d. etc.

Today, we will only focus on  مَا اِسْتِفْهَامِيَّةٌ (maa istifhaamiyyah). The other types of مَا will be discussed in the next chapter, in shaa Allah.

 مَا اِسْتِفْهَامِيَّةٌ (maa istifhaamiyyah)

The function of maa istifhaamiyyah

مَا: اِسْمُ اِسْتِفْهَامٍ لِغَيْرِ العَاقِلِ 

Interrogative noun to ask a question about something that does not possess intellect (non-human).

The meaning of مَا

مَا (maa) means "what".

Examples:

مَا هَذَا؟ what is this?

هَذَا قَلَمٌ This is a pen.

 هَمْزَةُ الإسْتِفْهَامِ (hamzah al-istifhaami)

The function of hamzah istifhaam

"أ" can be used to ask a question about those possessing intellect (human) as well as the things that do not posses intellect (non-human).

How to form a question using "أ"?

Particle hamzah is placed at the beginning of a statement to turn the statement into a question.

We can say "أ" is used to form yes/no question, because the answer is "yes" or "no".

note:

yes: نَعَمْ (na'am).

no: لاَ (laa).

Examples:

yes/no question about ghayrul 'aaqil:

أَهَذَا بَيْتٌ؟  Is this a house?

نَعَمْ هَذَا بَيْتٌ Yes this is a house.

لاَ هَذَا فُنْدُقٌ No, this is a hotel.

yes/no question about 'aaqil:

أَهَذَا مُدَرِّسٌ؟  Is this a teacher?

نَعَمْ, هَذَا مُدَرِّسٌ Yes, this is a teacher.

لاَ, هَذَا طَالِبٌ No, this is a student.

Lesson 1 in Durusul Lughah al-'Arabiyyah volume 1

Read the following page.

1. مَا هَذَا؟ what is this?

2. هَذَا بَيْتٌ This is a house.

3. أَهَذَا بَيْتٌ؟ Is this a house?

4. نَعَمْ, هَذَا بَيْتٌ Yes, this is a house.

5. هَذَ قَمِيْصٌ This is a shirt.

6. أَهَذَا سَرِيْرٌ؟ Is this a bed?

7. لاَ, هَذَا كُرْسِيٌّ No, this is a chair.

8. أَهَذَ مِفْتَاحٌ؟ Is this a key?

9. لاَ, هَذَا قَلَمٌ No, this is a pen.

10. هَذَا نَجْمٌ This is a star.

New vocabulary

قَمِيْصٌ (qamiisun): shirt.

نَجْمٌ (najmun): star.

Lesson Summary

1. We've learned the noun and particle for asking questions, they are:

a. (مَا) maa istifhamiyyah, which is an isim istifhaam or interrogative noun for asking about something that has no intellect (non-human).

b. (أ) hamzah istfihaam, which is an harf istifhaam or interrogative particle for yes/no questions.

2. (حَرْف جَوَاب) harf jawaab/the answer word of hamzah istifhaam are:

a. نَعَمْ (na'am): yes.

b. لاَ (laa): no.

Quiz

Congratulations on completing the lesson! 

Now, it’s time to put your skills to the test. 

Are you ready to show off what you’ve learned? 

Click the image below to take the quiz and challenge yourself to achieve your best score yet!