in explicit dual and plural nouns; for explicit nouns precede pronouns and are stronger than them. Thus yā’ had a greater claim than alif to occur there: where greater strength was required, wāw was used, and where an intermediate degree was required, yā’ was used.

As for explicit plural nouns, wāw marks the sound masculine plural, just as alif marks the dual. Hence it is pronounced even where there is no case inflection. In the accusative and genitive, however, each is changed to yā’ to distinguish the cases. This is because explicit nouns throughout Arabic refer to the third person rather than the person addressed. Wāw is the strongest of the weak letters, and damma—the short vowel corresponding to it—is the strongest vowel, owing to the gathering it involves and its final position. Wāw was therefore assigned to the plural. Alif is the lightest of the weak letters and was therefore assigned to the dual, since yā’ had already been assigned to the feminine in the singular nominative, which is the basic form, as when you say: … (1).

Mīm occurs in expressions such as Allāhumma (O Allah) to indicate all the names. For the labial sound encompasses the strength extending from the first articulation point of the letters to the last. It is like a final seal containing everything in what preceded it, and more. Thus it encompasses the strong letters and was made to encompass nouns, both explicit nouns and pronouns, and to join individual words and clauses. Wāw and fā’ are both coordinating conjunctions, and fā’ links one clause to another.

Since nūn is close to al-fīha and is nasal, it was assigned to the feminine plural