هل

Univerbation of هَـ‎ (ha-, now interrogative أَ‎ (ʾa)) +‎ لـ‎ (l-, affirmative particle, found as لَـ (la-, “truly”) and the exhortative لِـ (li-) the vowel of which disappears between فَـ‎ (fa-) or وَ‎ (wa) and a following verb).

• IPA^(key): /hal/

هَلْ • (hal)

1. introduces a positive yes-no question

   Synonym: أَ‎ (ʾa)

   ‏هَلْ فَتَحْتَ النَّافِذَةَ؟‎‎

   hal fataḥta n-nāfiḏata?

   Did you open the window?

   ‏هَلِ ٱلْوَلَدُ فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ؟‎‎

   hali l-waladu fī l-madrasati?

   Is the boy at school?

   ‏هَلْ أَنْتَ مِصْرِيٌّ؟‎‎

   hal ʾanta miṣriyyun?

   Are you Egyptian?

2. indicates a suggestion
   • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 61:10:

     ‏هَلْ أَدُلُّكُمْ عَلَى تِجَارَةٍ تُنْجِيكُم مِنْ عَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ‎

     hal ʾadullukum ʿalā tijāratin tunjīkum min ʿaḏābin ʾalīmin

     Shall I guide you to a transaction that will save you from a painful punishment?

3. indicates an exclusive disjunction with أَمْ‎ (ʾam, “or”), as in alternative questions

   Synonym: أَ‎ (ʾa)

   • 13th-14th century CE, Taqī al-Dīn ʾAḥmad ibn Taymiyyah, مَجْمُوع الْفَتَاوَى [The Collection of Rulings], volume 11, Medina, Saudi Arabia: King Fahd Complex, published 2004, →ISBN, page 392–393:

     ‏فَإِذَا أَرَادَ الْمُرِيدُ أَنَّ عُقُولَ الْعُقَلَاءِ لَمْ تَصِلْ إلَى مَعْرِفَةِ مِثْلِ هَذِهِ الْأُمُورِ فَهَذَا صَحِيحٌ وَأَمَّا إذَا أَرَادَ أَنَّ الْعُقَلَاءَ لَيْسَ عِنْدَهُمْ عِلْمٌ وَلَا يَقِينٌ بَلْ حَيْرَةٌ وَرَيْبٌ فَهَذَا بَاطِلٌ قَطْعًا. وَمَا ذُكِرَ عَنْ ذِي النُّونِ " فِي هَذَا الْبَابِ مَعَ أَنَّ ذَا النُّونِ قَدْ وَقَعَ مِنْهُ كَلَامٌ أَنْكَرَ عَلَيْهِ وَعَزَّرَهُ الْحَارِثُ بْنُ مِسْكِينٍ وَطَلَبَهُ الْمُتَوَكِّلُ إلَى بَغْدَادَ وَاتُّهِمَ بِالزَّنْدَقَةِ وَجَعَلَهُ النَّاسُ مَنْ الْفَلَاسِفَةِ فَمَا أَدْرِي هَلْ قَالَ هَذَا أَمْ لَا؟‎‎

     faʾiḏā ʾarāda l-murīdu ʾanna ʿuqūla l-ʿuqalāʾi lam taṣil ʾilā maʿrifati miṯli haḏihi l-ʾumūri fahaḏā ṣaḥīḥun waʾammā ʾiḏā ʾarāda ʾanna l-ʿuqalāʾa laysa ʿindahum ʿilmun walā yaqīnun bal ḥayratun waraybun fahaḏā bāṭilun qaṭʿan. wamā ḏukira ʿan ḏī n-nūni " fī haḏā l-bābi maʿa ʾanna ḏā n-nūni qad waqaʿa minhu kalāmun ʾankara ʿalayhi waʿazzarahu l-ḥāriṯu bnu miskīnin waṭalabahu l-mutawakkilu ʾilā baḡdāda wāttuhima bi-z-zandaqati wajaʿalahu n-nāsu man al-falāsifati famā ʾadrī hal qāla haḏā ʾam lā?

     If it is meant that the minds of right-minded men have not attained knowledge of such things, then yes, this is true. If, however, it is meant that not even right-minded men have knowledge of nor are certain about anything but are rather in doubt and perplexity, this is absolutely false, together with what Ḏū al-Nūn said on this matter. Ḏū al-Nūn himself, though, did say things for which he was reproached and chastised by al-Ḥāriṯ ibn Miskīn, and he was sent for by al-Mutawakkil and was charged with heresy and has been deemed to be among the Philosophers, and so I do not know whether he said this or not.

Cannot precede a negative sentence, a conditional sentence, or إِنَّ‎ (ʾinna).

• أَ‎ (ʾa)

• Tropper, Josef (2003), “Sekundäres wortanlautendes Alif im Arabischen”, in Kogan, Leonid, editor, Studia Semitica (Orientalia: Papers of the Oriental Institute; III), Moscow, →ISBN, pages 200–201

From Middle Persian ʾwl (ul, “up(wards)”).

هل • (hol)

1. push, shove

From earlier هیل‎ (hil), ultimately from Sanskrit एला (elā), borrowed from Proto-Dravidian *ēla.

هل • (hel)

1. cardamom

• Hūšang Aʿlam (December 15, 1990), "Cardamom", Encyclopædia Iranica

هل • (hel-)

1. present stem of هلیدن‎
2. present stem of هشتن‎