What is the reason for reading "عليه" (ʻalayhi) with a dammah over the letter ha (عليهُ) in the verse, "and whoever fulfills that which he has covenanted with Allah – He will surely give him a great reward," contrary to the rules of Arabic grammar?
The letter ha in the word “alayhi” in the verse about the فتح (victory) is read with a kasra (i-vowel) by the majority of reciters. However, Hafs, transmitting from Asim, reads it with a damma (u-vowel). The reason is that the origin of this ha is the detached pronoun “huwa” (هو), which has a damma. However, if it is adjacent to a kasra or a silent ya, it is broken (given a kasra) to harmonize with them. Therefore, the majority of reciters gave it a kasra in consideration of this harmonization, while Hafs gave it a damma in consideration of its origin. An example similar to this is the ha in the word “ansanihi” (أنسانيه) in the verse from Surat Al-Kahf. The pronoun that is in the genitive case (majrur) by means of “ala” (على) is always indeclinable (mabni), whether its pronunciation has a damma or a kasra, as Ibn Malik said: “Every pronoun must be indeclinable, and the pronunciation of what is in the genitive case is like the pronunciation of what is in the accusative case.”
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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