<div style="float: right; margin: 0; margin-left: 1em; border: 1px solid #eee; padding: 0.3em; font-size: 300%; line-height: 1.5;"></div> The waṣla () or (, 'hamza of connection') is a variant of the letter hamza () resembling part of the letter () that is sometimes placed over the letter at the beginning of the word (). The þalif with waṣla over it is called the (, 'aleph of connection'). It indicates that the alif is not pronounced as a glottal stop (written as the hamza), but that the word is connected to the previous word (like liaison in French). Outside of vocalised liturgical texts, the is usually not written.
It is written in two positions: