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/.
parental descent from a father
legal acknowledgement of a man's fatherhood of a child
authorship
fatherhood, being a father