ضَاد
Where it comes from
All 17 pointsThe edge of the tongue حافة اللسان
The side of the tongue presses against the upper molars — usually the left side — and the sound rolls along it. This is ḍād, the letter Arabic is named after.
How to write it
The isolated form, shown as one common way to write it — Arabic stroke order is not fixed as rigidly as it is in some scripts.
- Stroke 1 of 3: part of the letter's body.
- Stroke 2 of 3: part of the letter's body.
- Stroke 3 of 3: a dot, added after the body is finished.
All four forms
The short gold marks show which sides the letter joins to its neighbours.
Dad connects on both sides, so it has all four forms.
Same shape, different dots
These letters share one skeleton — only the dots tell them apart.
Often confused with
In a word
Isolated
أَرْضٌ
ard
earth
Initial
ضَالًّا
daallan
astray
Medial
فَضْل
fadl
grace/bounty
Final
بَعْضٌ
ba'd
some
In the Quran
وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ
سورة البقرة
وَوَجَدَكَ ضَالًّا فَهَدَى
سورة الضحى
ذَلِكَ فَضْلُ اللَّهِ يُؤْتِيهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ
سورة الحديد
وَلَقَدْ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَ النَّبِيِّينَ عَلَى بَعْضٍ
سورة الإسراء
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