المسالة مهمة.

A natural Levantine pronunciation would be:

il-mas'ale mhimme
or in some areas el-mas'ale mhimme

A few helpful notes:

• الـ is usually pronounced il- or el- in Levantine, not al-.
• In mas'ale, the ' represents a hamza, a small catch in the throat.
• The final ة is usually pronounced like -e in Levantine.
• مهمة is often pronounced mhimme in everyday speech.

So the whole sentence sounds more like il-mas'ale mhimme than a careful textbook pronunciation.

Because Arabic often leaves out the verb to be in the present tense.

So instead of saying:

• The issue is important

Arabic simply says:

• The issue important

This is completely normal.

If you wanted a past or future meaning, then Arabic would use a verb, for example:

• المسألة كانت مهمة = The issue was important
• المسألة رح تكون مهمة = The issue will be important

Because المسألة is a feminine noun, and adjectives in Arabic usually agree with the noun they describe.

So:

• masculine: مهم
• feminine: مهمة

Since مسألة is feminine, the adjective must also be feminine:

• المسألة مهمة

A native English speaker often notices this because English adjectives do not change for gender, but Arabic adjectives usually do.

This is one of the most important grammar points in the sentence.

In المسألة مهمة, مهمة is the predicate of the sentence, not just an adjective inside a noun phrase. Predicate adjectives are usually indefinite in Arabic.

So:

• المسألة مهمة = The issue is important

But:

• المسألة المهمة = the important issue

That second one is not a full sentence. It is just a noun phrase.

So the lack of الـ on مهمة helps show that this is a sentence, not just the important issue.

The standard spelling is:

المسألة

with a hamza: أ/ء

So in careful written Arabic, المسألة is the better spelling.

However, in informal writing, many people leave the hamza out and write:

المسالة

This is very common in casual texts, chats, and non-formal writing. A learner should recognize both, but it is best to learn the standard spelling المسألة.

Not here.

At the end of a word, ة is usually pronounced as -a or -e, not -t. In Levantine, it is often -e.

So:

• مسألة → mas'ale
• مهمة → mhimme

The t sound usually appears when the word is followed by certain endings or suffixes, for example in forms like مسألتي.

So in this sentence, you do not say mas'alat or muhimmat.

It can work in both, but it sounds different depending on the variety.

In Levantine, you would typically say:

il-mas'ale mhimme

In Standard Arabic, the same sentence is written essentially the same way, but the pronunciation is more formal. In fully pronounced MSA, it would be something like:

al-mas'alatu muhimmatun

In real speech, Levantine:

• drops case endings
• changes الـ to il-/el-
• often simplifies vowels

So the sentence is easy to understand in both, but the pronunciation and style are different.

Yes, this is a natural structure.

The pattern:

• [definite noun] + [indefinite adjective]

is very common in Arabic for sentences like:

• البيت كبير = The house is big
• الفكرة منيحة = The idea is good
• المسألة مهمة = The issue is important

In everyday Levantine, the exact pronunciation may vary by country or speaker, but the sentence structure itself is completely normal.