What is the Abjad system (hisab al-jummal)?

Abjad, or hisab al-jummal, is the Arabic system that gives each of the 28 letters a numerical value, from alif (1) to ghayn (1000). It predates Indian numerals in Arabic use and still appears in poetry, chronograms, talismans, and manuscript numbering.

How do I calculate an Abjad value?

Add up the value of every letter in the word or phrase. This calculator does it live as you type, ignoring diacritics, spaces, and punctuation, and shows each letter's value so the total is transparent.

What is the difference between the Mashriqi and Maghribi orders?

Both assign the same 28 values, but six letters change places. The Maghribi (Western) order used in North Africa sets sad = 60, dad = 90, sin = 300, za = 800, ghayn = 900, shin = 1000; the Mashriqi (Eastern) order keeps the classical sin = 60, sad = 90, shin = 300, dad = 800, za = 900, ghayn = 1000.

Abjad Calculator

حِساب الجُمَّل

Type Arabic below. It adds up the classical Abjad value of every letter as you go, and shows the working, letter by letter.

System

Phrases to try (click to load; hover for context)

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Letter by letter

Values follow the classical ḥisāb al-jummal. Before summing, the text is normalized: diacritics (tashkīl), tatweel, spaces, punctuation, and any Latin letters or digits are ignored; hamza forms fold to their base letter (أ إ آ ٱ → ا, ؤ → و, ئ → ي, and a bare ء counts as nothing); ة counts as ه (5) and ى as ي (10).

تتبع القيم حساب الجُمَّل الكلاسيكي. قبل الجمع يُطبَّع النص: تُهمَل الحركات (التشكيل) والتطويل والمسافات وعلامات الترقيم وأي حروف لاتينية أو أرقام؛ وتُردّ صور الهمزة إلى أصلها (أ إ آ ٱ ← ا، ؤ ← و، ئ ← ي، والهمزة المفردة ء لا تُحسب)؛ وتُحسب ة كـ ه (٥)، وى كـ ي (١٠).

On chronograms (tārīkh)

A chronogram is a phrase built so that the Abjad total of its letters equals a year. Poets and stonecutters across the Ottoman world and the Gulf used them to date a mosque, a book, or a death: the closing words of an inscription would be chosen so that, summed by this very table, they come to the year of the event (usually in the Hijri era). For instance, to mark a building finished in 1288 AH, a craftsman might compose a hemistich whose letters total exactly 1288. This tool is a calculator, not a solver, but you can test any candidate phrase above and read its total against the year you have in mind.

Questions

What is the Abjad system (ḥisāb al-jummal)?: Abjad, or ḥisāb al-jummal, is the Arabic system that gives each of the 28 letters a numerical value, from alif (1) to ghayn (1000). It predates Indian numerals in Arabic use and still appears in poetry, chronograms, talismans, and manuscript numbering.
How do I calculate an Abjad value?: Add up the value of every letter in the word or phrase. This calculator does it live as you type, ignoring diacritics, spaces, and punctuation, and shows each letter's value so the total is transparent.
What is the difference between the Mashriqi and Maghribi orders?: Both assign the same 28 values, but six letters change places. The Maghribi (Western) order used in North Africa sets ṣād = 60, ḍād = 90, sīn = 300, ẓāʾ = 800, ghayn = 900, shīn = 1000; the Mashriqi (Eastern) order keeps the classical sīn = 60, ṣād = 90, shīn = 300, ḍād = 800, ẓāʾ = 900, ghayn = 1000.