The study and review of the controversial opinions of grammarians concerning the definite article al

The definite article “al” is one of the controversial issues of Arabic language. A classical debate in regards to al- is whether the hamza is volatile or not. Some believe that the hamza is volatile. In this opinion, the hamza neither is part of al- nor contributes to the definiteness of the following word. On the other hand, some consider the hamza not to be volatile. Some do not consider the hamza volatile and assert that it contributes to the definiteness of the following word. Others assert that the hamza contributes to the definiteness of the following word but is still volatile. In this regard, the purpose of this article is to study, compare and analyze the differences between the grammarians and finally with the use of a descriptive-analytical approach to reach to the the most accurate view on the hamza of “al” and definiteness of the following word. One of the most important findings of this study is that the (laam) contributes to the definiteness of the following word and (al) is volatile. The reasons for preferring this opinion among the different opinions of grammarians is that this opinion is more powerful and its evidence is mastered and its reliance is on some fundamental syntactic evidences.