Harakat

Harakat, in Arabic script, are diacritical marks used to indicate short vowels and other phonetic details in writing. They help readers pronounce words and can also clarify grammatical information. The system of harakat is collectively known as tashkil.

The main harakat are fatha, damma, and kasra, which mark short a, u, and i sounds respectively. Sukun indicates the absence of a vowel on a letter. Shadda marks gemination, showing that a consonant is pronounced for an extra beat. In addition, tanween consists of fathatan, dammatan, and kasratan, which add an indefinite ending to nouns and affect pronunciation of the word in context. Long vowels in Arabic are not harakat themselves; they are represented by the letters alif, waw, and ya.

Harakat are essential in certain contexts, especially in teaching, Qur’anic reading, dictionaries, and texts where precise pronunciation must be conveyed. In everyday modern Arabic writing, harakat are often omitted, with readers using context and knowledge of grammar to supply the vowels. When harakat are included, they are typically placed above or below the relevant letters, and sometimes in combination with other diacritic marks.

Historically, harakat emerged in the early centuries of Islam to resolve ambiguity in a script that originally recorded consonants only. Early grammarians and scribes developed and systematized the marks to guide pronunciation and grammar. Today, harakat remain a key feature of Arabic pedagogy and certain traditional texts, even as most contemporary prose relies on unmarked script.