Is this a...?

To ask questions of the format "Is this a house?" we take the statement "this is a house" in arabic and add the word هل to the beginning.

هذا بيت
(haadha bayt) This is a house
هل هذا بيت؟
(hal haadha bayt?) Is this a house?

هذه الأمّ مسلمة
(haadhihi al umm muslima) This mother is muslim
هل هذه الأمّ مسلمة؟
(hal haadhihi al umm muslima?) Is this mother muslim?

To answer this question, we need the following words :

نعم = yes (na3am)
لا = no (laa)

Look at the following examples:

هل هذا بيت؟
(hal haadha bayt?) Is this a house?
لا, هذا مسجد
(laa, haadha masjid) No, this is a mosque

هل هذه الأمّ مسلمة؟
(hal haadhihi al umm muslima?) Is this mother Muslim?
نعم, هذه الأمّ مسلمة
(na3am, haadhihi al umm muslima) Yes, this mother is Muslim