da vs fatha

da

• Father. 

• Yes; an affirmative response. 

• Yes. 

• A meaningless syllable used when singing a tune or indicating a rhythm. 

fatha

• father 

• The vowel designated by this mark. 

• In Arabic script, the vowel point for a, appearing as a diagonal line placed above a letter ( ـَ ) and designating a short a /a/. If the Arabic letters ا (أَلِف (ʔalif)) or ى (أَلِف مَقْصُورَة (ʔalif maqṣūra)) immediately follow, it indicates a long ā /aː/.