A Guide to Arabic Scansion

(1) A consonant + long vowel yields a long syllable:

• دَا
• عُو
• مِي

Note: An alif madda (= hamza + alif) counts as a consonant + long vowel.

(2) A consonant + vowel + consonant + sukūn yields a long syllable:

• رِضْ
• كانْ
• بُطْ

(3) A consonant with tanwīn yields a long syllable:

• سٌ
• خاً

(4) Any other consonant + short vowel yields a short syllable:

• جَ
• لِ
• قُ

(5) Consonants with shadda are treated as two separate consonants:

صَبَّ = صَبْ + بَ

(6) Sun letters and hamzat al-waṣl are treated as pronounced, not as written:

وَالنُّورُ = وَنْ + نُو + رُ

(7) The last syllable of a hemistich is treated as long, regardless of its actual length.

Long syllables can be marked – and short ones ⏑ (in the tradition of Greek and Latin prosody).

Examples

ال‍خَيْلُ وَاللَّيْلُ وَالبَيْداءُ تَعْرِفُنِ‍ي
وَالسَّيْفُ وَالرُّمْحُ وَالقِرْطاسُ وَالقَلَمُ

(Al-Mutanabbī)

كَالشَّمْسِ مِنْها البَدْرُ يَقْبِسُ نورَهُ
أَبَداً وَيَكْسِفُ بَعْدَ ذٰلِكَ جِرْمَها

(Qasmūna bint Ismāʻīl)

أَمِنْ أُمِّ أَوْفَ‍ى دِمْنَةٌ لَ‍مْ تَكَلَّمِ
بِ‍حَوْمَانَةِ الدُّرَّاجِ فَال‍مُتَثَلَّمِ

(Zuhayr bin Abī Sulmá)

ما كُلُّ ما يَتَمَنّ‍ى ال‍مَرْءُ يُدْرِكُهُ
تَ‍جْرِي الرِّياحُ بِ‍ما لا تَشْتَهِي السُّفُنُ

(Al-Mutanabbī)