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Madd Lazim 6 A permanent sukoon or shaddah after the madd letter. Six counts, no choice. Madd ‘Arid Lis-Sukoon 2 · 4 · 6 Caused only by stopping — which is why it allows three lengths. Madd Lin 2 · 4 · 6 at a stop The layn letters وْ / يْ after a fathah, lengthened only when you stop on the next letter. Madd Silah 2 · 4–5 The madd on هاء الكناية (him / his): Sughra is 2; Kubra, before a hamzah, is read like a Munfasil.

Written by Jehad Mahmoud

Published: October 3, 2026 · Updated: October 3, 2026 · 18 min read

Madd Rules · Madd Far’i

Madd Wajib Muttasil in Tajweed: Why the Connected Madd Is 4 or 5 Counts — and How to Keep It Consistent

Quran Book Academy · Quran & Tajweed Library

One cause · Three conditions · Two lengths · Verse audio by Sheikh Al-Husary · Word clips · Practice tools & game

You reach جَاءَ نَصْرُ اللَّهِ and you know this one is longer than normal — but four counts or five? And once you have chosen, does the next one have to match? Madd Muttasil happens when a hamzah (ء) comes directly after a madd letter inside the same word, and in Hafs it is held for four or five counts. This page gives you the one cause, the three conditions, how the 4-or-5 choice works inside a recitation, and when a stop allows six. All lengths here follow Hafs ‘an ‘Asim by the way of Ash-Shatibiyyah. It is a branch rule inside the Madd rules chapter of Tajweed.

Also written Madd al-Wajib al-Muttasil (المد الواجب المتصل), Wajib Muttasil, Mad Wajib Mutasil, or in English simply the connected obligatory madd. This is Madd Wajib Muttasil as it is taught in classical primers such as تحفة الأطفال and المقدمة الجزرية.

⚡ The 30-second version: madd letter + hamzah + same word · hold it 4 or 5 counts · keep one length for every Muttasil in the same recitation · if you stop with sukoon on a word that ends in that hamzah, you may keep your length or extend it to 6. The rest of this page is about making that habit reliable.

Madd Wajib Muttasil in Tajweed showing a hamzah after a madd letter in the same word — One word, two letters: the madd letter is lengthened, and the hamzah follows it in the same word.

What Is Madd Wajib Muttasil in Tajweed?

Madd Wajib Muttasil (المد الواجب المتصل) is the madd that occurs when a hamzah (ء) comes directly after a madd letter — alif (ا), waw (و) or yaa (ي) — with both in the same word. In Hafs by the way of Ash-Shatibiyyah it is lengthened to four or five counts, and all the reciters agree that it is lengthened beyond the natural two counts.

Muttasil means connected. The madd letter and the hamzah are joined inside one word. That single word is the whole test. Move the hamzah to the start of the next word and the same pattern becomes Madd Jaiz Munfasil instead.

The cause is the hamzah. Not a shaddah, not a sukoon — a madd letter followed by a permanent sukoon or shaddah is Madd Lazim, and one followed by a sukoon that appears only because you stop is Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon. Fixing that in your head now prevents most misclassifications later.

What is a count? A count — a harakah, sometimes called a beat — is the time of one short vowel. Its actual duration in seconds grows or shrinks with your pace of recitation (slow tahqeeq, medium tadweer or quicker hadr), so two reciters at different speeds can both be correct. Counting on fingers is only an approximation; the precise length is learned by listening to and reciting before a qualified teacher.

📖 Riwayah note: every count on this page follows Hafs ‘an ‘Asim by the way of Ash-Shatibiyyah. Other riwayat, and other turuq of Hafs, treat some madds differently.

What Does “Wajib” Mean Here?

In the name of this madd, wajib (واجب) is a technical label. It records that the reciters agree this madd is lengthened beyond the natural two counts. They do not all agree on one number: they differ on how far it is lengthened — in Hafs by the way of Ash-Shatibiyyah it is four or five counts, while other reciters lengthen it further.

Compare it with jaiz (جائز) in Madd Jaiz Munfasil. Here the label describes the reciters again: they differ over whether that madd is lengthened at all, so some riwayat read it short and others long. Both names describe the reciters’ agreement or difference — they are terms of the science of qira’at, not a ruling about the individual reader.

The practical result: Madd Wajib Muttasil is not shortened to 2 counts in any reading, while Madd Jaiz Munfasil is read at 2 counts in some riwayat and turuq. The names point to that difference.

The Rule and Conditions of Madd Muttasil

The Madd Wajib Muttasil rules reduce to three conditions. All three must be true at once — miss one and you are looking at a different madd.

1. There is a madd letter

An alif ا, waw و or yaa ي that is sakin, with the matching vowel before it (fathah before alif, dammah before waw, kasrah before yaa).

✅ جَاءَ · ❌ شَيْءٍ — that yaa is sakin after a fathah, so it is a layn letter, not a madd letter. It is not lengthened while you continue; only if you stop on the hamzah with sukoon does it become Madd Lin.

2. A hamzah comes immediately after it

Nothing in between — the hamzah is the very next letter.

✅ السَّمَاءِ · ❌ قَالَ — a lam follows the alif, not a hamzah or a sukoon, so nothing causes a secondary madd here. The alif keeps its natural madd → Madd Asli, 2 counts.

3. Both are in the same word

This is the condition that names the rule: muttasil, connected.

✅ أُولَٰئِكَ · ❌ إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ — the hamzah starts the next word → Madd Jaiz Munfasil

If all three hold, it is Madd Wajib Muttasil and you lengthen it. The only question left is 4 or 5.

Madd Muttasil rule showing the three conditions with correct and incorrect examples — The three conditions, each with a correct and an incorrect example.

One neighbour worth naming: if the hamzah comes before the madd letter instead of after it — as in آمَنُوا — that is Madd Badal, 2 counts in Hafs, not Muttasil.

🖊️ The mushaf sign: most printed Qurans place a small wavy line (~) over the madd letter. It is a helpful marker, not the rule — the same sign appears over Munfasil and Lazim too. Learn the cause, not just the symbol.

How Many Counts Is Madd Muttasil?

Four or five counts in Hafs ‘an ‘Asim by the way of Ash-Shatibiyyah. If the hamzah is the last letter of the word and you stop on it with sukoon, you may keep your chosen length or extend it to six (details in the stopping section). Here is where it sits between two madds you already know:

Where the connected madd sits on the length ladder (Hafs, Ash-Shatibiyyah)
Madd	Counts	Fixed or a choice?
Madd Asli	2	Fixed
Madd Wajib Muttasil	4 or 5 (6 optional at a stop with sukoon on a final hamzah)	Choose one — keep it through the recitation
Madd Lazim	6	Fixed

The full counts table for every madd type lives on the Madd rules hub.

🎧 Three madds in context — Sheikh Al-Husary

Each button plays the full verse. Listen for the marked word inside it.

قَالَ Madd Asli · 2 · Al-Baqarah 2:30

جَاءَ Madd Wajib Muttasil · 4–5 · An-Nasr 110:1

الضَّالِّينَ Madd Lazim · 6 · Al-Fatihah 1:7

Madd Wajib Muttasil: 4 or 5 Counts — How the Choice Works

Both are correct. Four counts is tawassut; five is fuwayq at-tawassut. Both are accepted lengths in Hafs by the way of Ash-Shatibiyyah.
Keep one length within a recitation. Once you begin with four, give every Muttasil four until that recitation ends; the same if you begin with five. Using 4 in one ayah and 5 in the next of the same reading is the error. Reading with the other valid length in a separate, later recitation is not an error in itself.
Speed changes the seconds, not the number. A count lasts longer in slow recitation and shorter in quicker recitation, so the time in seconds changes while the number of counts you adopted stays the same. Speed alone does not decide whether you read with four or five.
Keep the Munfasil and Muttasil matched in Hafs by the way of Ash-Shatibiyyah. If you read the Munfasil for four counts, read the Muttasil for four; if you read the Munfasil for five, read the Muttasil for five. Keep that face consistent throughout the recitation. The stopping options for a final-hamzah Muttasil are explained separately below.
Your teacher’s instruction comes first. Madd lengths are learned by listening and reciting before a qualified teacher (talaqqi). Read with the accepted face your teacher has given you.

Listen to Sheikh Al-Husary’s Muttasil in إِذَا جَاءَ نَصْرُ اللَّهِ — a clear model to imitate.

How to Identify Madd Wajib Muttasil in 3 Steps

Run this decision path while you read. With practice it becomes quick.

Find the madd letter. An ا, و or ي that is sakin, with the matching vowel before it. No madd letter → no Madd Muttasil.

Is the very next letter a hamzah (ء)? If not, it is not Muttasil — check the other causes on the madd rules hub.

Is that hamzah in the same word? Yes → Madd Wajib Muttasil, 4 or 5 counts. No, it starts the next word → Madd Jaiz Munfasil.

Muttasil and Munfasil have the same cause — a hamzah after a madd letter. What separates them is whether that hamzah is in the same word.

✍️ Written spacing is a useful guide, but not the final word. Some combinations are joined in writing while remaining separate in ruling. In هَٰؤُلَاءِ, the first madd is Munfasil Hukmi, while the second is Muttasil.

What Happens When You Stop on a Madd Muttasil?

When the hamzah is the last letter of the word — السَّمَاءِ, هَٰؤُلَاءِ, يَشَاءُ — and you stop on it with a plain sukoon, the sukoon of stopping is added to the hamzah that already caused the madd. In Hafs by the way of Ash-Shatibiyyah this allows the madd to be extended to six counts as an option.

Six is optional, not required. Keeping your chosen length at the stop is also correct.
Stay in step with your reading. If you have been reading Muttasil with four, stop with four or six. If you have been reading with five, stop with five or six. (Scholars note that when no earlier Muttasil or Munfasil in the recitation has set your length, four, five or six are all allowed at that stop.)
While continuing, it is never six in this riwayah and tariq — you stay at your chosen four or five.

Not every stop is this case:

If you stop with rawm (a partly voiced final vowel, possible on words ending in kasrah or dammah), there is no six — keep your four or five.
If the word ends in a hamzah with tanween fath, such as مَرِيئًا, the stop turns the tanween into an alif and the hamzah keeps its fathah. The hamzah is not stopped with sukoon, so the six-count option described above does not arise there.
If the hamzah is in the middle of the word, as in أُولَٰئِكَ, stopping at the end of the word does not touch the madd at all.

🔀 The Stop Switch

A visual illustration of the lengths that are allowed — it does not play a recording of a stop.

مِنَ السَّمَاءِ

Continuing → your chosen length: 4 or 5 counts.

Hear مِنَ السَّمَاءِ in context — Al-Baqarah 2:19, recited by Sheikh Al-Husary.

Related, and often confused with this: Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon, where the sukoon of stopping is the only cause of the madd.

Madd Wajib Muttasil vs Madd Asli

Feature	Madd Asli (المد الأصلي)	Madd Wajib Muttasil (المد الواجب المتصل)
Cause	None — it is the natural baseline	A hamzah after the madd letter
Position of the hamzah	—	Same word
Length	Always 2	4 or 5 (6 optional at a stop with sukoon on a final hamzah)
Any choice?	No	Yes — 4 or 5, kept consistent through the recitation
Category	Asli (original)	Far’i (branch)
Examples	قَالَ · يَقُولُ · قِيلَ	جَاءَ · السَّمَاءِ · سُوءَ

Madd Muttasil is Madd Asli plus a following hamzah in the same word. Remove the hamzah from جَاءَ and you are left with a natural two-count جَا.

Madd Wajib Muttasil versus Madd Asli compared by cause and length — Same madd letter, one extra hamzah — and the length goes from 2 to 4 or 5.

Madd Wajib Muttasil vs Madd Jaiz Munfasil

This is the comparison learners ask about most. Start from your side: your hamzah is in the same word — here is what changes because of that.

Feature	Madd Wajib Muttasil	Madd Jaiz Munfasil
Meaning of the name	Connected; reciters agree it is lengthened	Separated; reciters differ over lengthening it
Where is the hamzah?	Same word	At the start of the next word
Length in Hafs (Ash-Shatibiyyah)	4 or 5	4 or 5
Ever read at 2 counts?	No — in no reading	Not in Hafs by Ash-Shatibiyyah; yes in some other riwayat and turuq
At a stop	If the hamzah is final and you stop with sukoon: your length, or 6 as an option	Stopping on the first word removes the cause; its madd letter keeps only the natural 2 counts
Example	جَاءَ	إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ

In Hafs the lengths are the same. The difference is not what you hear — it is why the madd is there.
The stop row matters in practice. If you stop on إِنَّا, the hamzah of the next word is no longer joined to it, so the Munfasil cause is gone and the alif is read with its natural two counts. A Muttasil’s hamzah is inside the word, so it cannot be separated that way.

🎧 A/B: judge by the word boundary, not by the ear

Both are full verses recited continuously by Sheikh Al-Husary. In Hafs the two madds can sound the same length — the difference is where the hamzah sits.

جَاءَ Muttasil — one word · An-Nasr 110:1

إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ Munfasil — two words · Al-Kawthar 108:1

Madd Wajib Muttasil versus Madd Jaiz Munfasil showing the hamzah inside and outside the word — One box or two boxes — the whole difference between the two madds.

The full treatment from the other side is on the Madd Jaiz Munfasil page.

Madd Wajib Muttasil Examples in the Quran

Madd Wajib Muttasil in the Quran is very common once you can see it. Below are twelve Madd Wajib Muttasil examples, checked against Quran.com. Each has a short word clip so you can recognise the word on its own, and the full ayah in Sheikh Al-Husary’s voice for context. The madd letter is marked in green and the hamzah in orange.

Word clips come from Quran.com’s word-by-word audio (the reciter of those clips is not identified here). They are isolated recordings meant for recognising a word — use the full-ayah recitation, and your teacher, as the model for length.

Tap a button to listen.

Madd Wajib Muttasil Quran examples — Hafs ‘an ‘Asim
#	Word / phrase	Reference	Letters	Note
1	جَاءَ نَصْرُ اللَّهِ	An-Nasr 110:1	ا + ء	The reference example
2	مِنَ السَّمَاءِ	Al-Baqarah 2:19	ا + ء	Final hamzah: may be extended to 6 when stopping on it with sukoon
3	أُولَٰئِكَ	Al-Baqarah 2:5	ا + ء	Mid-word hamzah — easy to read past (the madd is the small alif on the lam)
4	سَوَاءٌ عَلَيْهِمْ	Al-Baqarah 2:6	ا + ء	Hamzah carries tanween dammah; the madd is still connected
5	وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ	Al-Baqarah 2:20	ا + ء	The waw in وَلَوْ is a layn letter, not a madd letter
6	هَٰؤُلَاءِ	Al-Baqarah 2:31	ا + ء	The first madd is Munfasil Hukmi; the highlighted second madd is Muttasil. When stopping with sukoon on the final hamzah, the second madd may be extended to six counts.
7	السُّفَهَاءُ	Al-Baqarah 2:13	ا + ء	Final hamzah — the word occurs twice in this ayah
8	وَجِيءَ بِالنَّبِيِّينَ	Az-Zumar 39:69	ي + ء	Yaa madd followed by a hamzah
9	هَنِيئًا مَرِيئًا	An-Nisa 4:4	ي + ء	Two Muttasils in a row. At the end of the ayah the tanween fath becomes an alif, so the hamzah is not stopped with sukoon
10	سُوءَ الْحِسَابِ	Ar-Ra’d 13:21	و + ء	Waw madd: dammah on the seen, then waw — not the layn word سَوْء
11	يَشَاءُ	Al-Baqarah 2:212	ا + ء	A word that recurs often across the Quran
12	نِسَاؤُكُمْ حَرْثٌ لَكُمْ	Al-Baqarah 2:223	ا + ء	Hamzah written on a waw seat — same rule

💡 Rows 8, 9 and 10 use yaa and waw. Madd Muttasil is not limited to alif — all three madd letters can carry it, so look for all three when you scan a page.

A Note on Surah Al-Fatihah

Surah Al-Fatihah contains no Madd Wajib Muttasil: nowhere in the surah does a hamzah follow a madd letter inside the same word. That makes a useful memory hook — if you are hunting for a Muttasil in Al-Fatihah, there isn’t one. (It does contain a six-count Madd Lazim in الضَّالِّينَ.)

A short surah that does contain one: An-Nasr, verse 1 — إِذَا جَاءَ نَصْرُ اللَّهِ وَالْفَتْحُ.

6 Common Madd Muttasil Mistakes

1. Switching between 4 and 5 inside one recitation

Both numbers are correct; mixing them within the same reading is the error. Pick one length when you begin and keep it until that recitation ends.

2. Confusing it with Munfasil because the lengths match

In Hafs they can sound identical. Classify by the word boundary, not by the sound.

3. Stretching the hamzah instead of the madd letter

The length belongs to the ا / و / ي. The hamzah is pronounced clearly at the end of it, not drawn out.

4. Treating شَيْء and سَوْء as Muttasil

Their يْ and وْ are sakin after a fathah — layn letters, not madd letters. In Hafs they are not lengthened while you continue. Only when you stop on the following hamzah with sukoon does Madd Lin apply, with 2, 4 or 6 counts allowed. Compare سُوءَ (dammah on the seen, then a true waw madd), which is Muttasil.

5. Using six while continuing

In Hafs by the way of Ash-Shatibiyyah, six is only an option when you stop with sukoon on a final hamzah. While you continue through the word, stay at your chosen four or five. At that stop, keeping your four or five is also correct — six is never compulsory.

6. Breaking or distorting the lengthened vowel

Keep one continuous vowel sound, with its correct quality, for the full length you adopted — no break in the middle, no extra letter slipping in, and no stretching beyond the length. Beautifying your voice is encouraged; the problem is only when the melody changes the letters or the lengths.

Practise Madd Wajib Muttasil

A. Hold-Duration Consistency Exercise

Recite each word aloud and press and hold the button for as long as you hold the madd. Your first hold becomes your reference, and each later hold is compared with it.

What this exercise can and cannot do:

It only measures how long you hold a button. It does not listen to you, and it cannot check your pronunciation, your Tajweed, or whether your hold really equals four or five counts.
The “close to your reference” range (within 15%) is a setting of this exercise, not a Tajweed or religious standard.
Choosing 4 or 5 just labels your practice. Switching resets the reference and your progress.
Whether your length is right is something a teacher confirms by listening.

Word 1 of 8

Mouse, touch, or keyboard: hold Space or Enter while focused on the button.

Hold from the start of the madd letter until you reach the hamzah.

B. Muttasil or Munfasil?

Twelve real Quran phrases — six of each — in shuffled order. The madd letter being tested is marked green and its hamzah orange. After you answer, a box is drawn around each word so you can see whether the two colours sit in one box or across two.

Question 1 of 12 Score: 0

Is the hamzah in the same word, or at the start of the next one?

Play: Madd Wajib Muttasil Words (Free Game)

Recognition under time pressure is a different skill from recognition on a page. Catch the words that carry a connected madd and let the rest go past. It works on phones and tablets, and no account is needed.

Game not loading? Open it in a new tab · or browse all our free Tajweed games · the full madd sorting game lives on the Madd rules hub.

Madd Wajib Muttasil FAQ

What is Madd Wajib Muttasil?

Madd Wajib Muttasil (المد الواجب المتصل) occurs when a hamzah (ء) comes directly after a madd letter — alif, waw or yaa — with both in the same word. In Hafs by the way of Ash-Shatibiyyah it is lengthened to four or five counts.

Why is it called “wajib”?

“Wajib” is a technical label: the reciters agree that this madd is lengthened beyond the natural two counts, although they differ on how far. It is contrasted with “jaiz” in Madd Jaiz Munfasil, where the reciters differ over whether to lengthen it at all.

How many counts is Madd Muttasil?

Four or five counts in Hafs ‘an ‘Asim by the way of Ash-Shatibiyyah. If the hamzah is the last letter of the word and you stop on it with sukoon, you may keep your chosen length or extend it to six.

How do I identify Madd Wajib Muttasil?

Find a madd letter, check whether a hamzah comes immediately after it, then check that the hamzah is in the same word. If all three are true, it is Madd Wajib Muttasil.

Should I read it with 4 or 5 counts?

Both are accepted. Follow the face your qualified teacher has taught you, and keep the same length for every Muttasil within a recitation. Your recitation speed changes how long a count lasts, but it does not by itself decide between four and five.

What is the difference between Madd Wajib Muttasil and Madd Jaiz Munfasil?

The cause is the same — a hamzah after a madd letter. In Muttasil the hamzah is in the same word; in Munfasil it starts the next word. In Hafs by the way of Ash-Shatibiyyah both are four or five counts. If you stop on the first word of a Munfasil, its cause is gone and the madd letter keeps only its natural two counts; a Muttasil’s hamzah cannot be separated from its word that way.

What is the difference between Madd Wajib Muttasil and Madd Asli?

Madd Asli has no cause beyond the madd letter itself and is always two counts. Madd Wajib Muttasil is caused by a hamzah in the same word and is lengthened to four or five.

Can Madd Muttasil ever be six counts?

In Hafs by the way of Ash-Shatibiyyah, six is an option only when the hamzah is the last letter of the word and you stop on it with sukoon, as in السَّمَاءِ or هَٰؤُلَاءِ. Keeping your chosen four or five there is also correct. While continuing — or when stopping with rawm — it stays at four or five.

Is the waw in سَوْء a Madd Muttasil?

No. That waw is sakin after a fathah, so it is a layn letter, not a madd letter. In Hafs it is not lengthened while you continue; if you stop on the hamzah with sukoon, it becomes Madd Lin with 2, 4 or 6 counts allowed. The word سُوءَ (dammah on the seen) is different: its waw is a madd letter, so it is Muttasil.

Where can I find Madd Wajib Muttasil in the Quran?

In جَاءَ (An-Nasr 110:1), السَّمَاءِ (Al-Baqarah 2:19), أُولَٰئِكَ (Al-Baqarah 2:5), سُوءَ (Ar-Ra’d 13:21) and وَجِيءَ (Az-Zumar 39:69), among many others. Surah Al-Fatihah contains none.

Learn More

How the neighbouring madds differ from Muttasil: Madd Lazim is caused by a permanent sukoon or shaddah and is always six. ‘Arid lis-Sukoon and Lin are caused by the sukoon of stopping, which is why both allow three lengths at a stop. Madd Silah is the madd on ha’ al-kinayah (هاء الكناية) — the singular masculine third-person pronoun “him / his”, ـهُ or ـهِ — between two voweled letters. Its Sughra form is two counts; its Kubra form, when the next word begins with a hamzah, is caused by that hamzah and is read like the Munfasil you just met.

The siblings under the same hub:

Madd Asli 2 The natural madd every other madd is measured against. Madd Jaiz Munfasil 4–5 Same cause, next word — stop on the first word and only the natural 2 counts remain. Madd Badal 2 The hamzah comes first, as in آمَنُوا — two counts in Hafs. Madd Rules (hub) Every madd type and the full counts table in one place.

The rest of the Tajweed cluster:

Tajweed Rules The complete guide this chapter belongs to. Rules of Meem Sakinah Three rules, one silent meem. Noon Sakin Rules Izhar, idgham, iqlab and ikhfa. Qalqalah Letters The five echoing letters. Tajweed for Adults Structured classes for beginners who started late. Tajweed for Kids Games, stories and short lessons for young learners.

Get Your Madd Length Checked in a Free Lesson

Small differences between four and five counts are hard to judge in your own voice. A qualified teacher can listen to your recitation, confirm the length you are reading with, and help you keep it steady across every Muttasil.

May Allah beautify your recitation and accept it from you. 🤲

Hafidha of the Quran · Arabic Language Graduate · Writer on Islamic Sciences

Jehad Mahmoud is a graduate of the Arabic Language department and a Hafidha of the Quran who writes the Islamic educational content at Quran Book Academy.

She writes with a focus on Tajweed, Quranic recitation and the sharia sciences, making technical rules accessible to English-speaking Muslim families.

Her articles are educational, not fatwa. For a ruling on a specific personal situation, readers are advised to consult a qualified scholar or mufti.

Tajweed Madd Quranic Sciences Quran Recitation

References & Sources

IslamWeb Fatwa 66313 — حكم الوقف على المد المتصل إذا كانت الهمزة متطرفة (stopping on a Muttasil whose hamzah ends the word)
IslamWeb Fatwa 49979 — مقدار المد المنفصل والمتصل عند القراء (agreement on lengthening Muttasil; lengths of Muttasil and Munfasil; learning lengths by oral transmission)
IslamWeb Fatwa 71008 — مد اللين.. تعريفه.. وسبب ومقدار مده (layn letters and when they are lengthened)
IslamWeb Articles — مصطلحات في علم القراءات (2) (definition of a count and how its duration varies with recitation speed)
Al-Marsafi, Hidayat al-Qari, IslamWeb Library — أقسام المد (the divisions of madd, including real and hukmi separation in Munfasil)
Al-Marsafi, Hidayat al-Qari, IslamWeb Library — فصل في بيان الأوجه الجائزة وقفا في المد العارض للسكون (permitted lengths when stopping on a final-hamzah Muttasil, with sukoon and with rawm)
Al-Nawawi, Al-Tibyan fi Adab Hamalat al-Quran, IslamWeb Library — فصل في استحباب تحسين الصوت بالقراءة (beautifying the voice, and its limits)
Quranic text, verse references and word positions — Quran.com
Full-verse recitation — Sheikh Mahmoud Khalil Al-Husary, via EveryAyah.com; word clips — Quran.com word-by-word audio

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October 3, 2026

Madd Jaiz Munfasil in Tajweed: Why the Separated Madd Is 4 or 5 Counts in Hafs—and Where the 2-Count Reading Comes From

Written by Jehad Mahmoud

Published: October 1, 2026 · Updated: October 1, 2026 · 12 min read

Madd Rules · Madd Jaiz Munfasil

Madd Jaiz Munfasil in Tajweed: Why the Separated Madd Is 4 or 5 Counts in Hafs — and Where the 2-Count Reading Comes From

Quran Book Academy · Quran & Tajweed Library

Hafs ‘an ‘Asim by way of Ash-Shatibiyyah · Audio by Sheikh Al-Husary · Free game & quiz

If you have seen 2, 4 and 5 counts all given as the length of this madd, each number is correct somewhere — for a different transmission route. Madd Jaiz Munfasil happens when a word ends in a madd letter and the next word begins with a hamzah. In Hafs ‘an ‘Asim by way of Ash-Shatibiyyah — the route behind the standard printed Hafs mushaf — it is read at 4 or 5 counts in connected recitation. A 2-count reading is also authentic for Hafs, but it belongs to specific routes of Tayyibat an-Nashr and comes with its own accompanying rules. This page covers the length, what “jaiz” really means, what happens when you stop, and the madd letters the Uthmani mushaf does not write out in full. It sits under our Madd rules hub, inside the wider set of Tajweed rules.

Also written Madd al-Jaiz al-Munfasil, separated madd or permissible separated madd — in Arabic, المد الجائز المنفصل.

⚡ The 30-second version

A word ends in ا / و / ي and the next word begins with a pronounced hamzah.
Hafs via Ash-Shatibiyyah, connected recitation: 4 or 5 counts — choose one and keep it for every Munfasil.
Pair it with Madd Muttasil at the same length: 4 with 4, or 5 with 5.
Stopping changes things, and not in one single way — see the three stopping cases.

Madd Jaiz Munfasil in Tajweed showing a madd letter at the end of a word and a hamzah starting the next — One word ends in a madd letter, the next opens with a hamzah — the rule lives in that junction.

What Is Madd Jaiz Munfasil in Tajweed?

Madd Jaiz Munfasil (المد الجائز المنفصل) is the madd that occurs when a word ends in a madd letter — alif (ا), waw (و) or yaa (ي) — and the next word begins with a hamzah (ء). In Hafs by way of Ash-Shatibiyyah it is lengthened to four or five counts in connected recitation.

Munfasil means separated: the madd letter (the condition) and the hamzah (the cause) sit in two different words. Bring the hamzah inside the same word and it becomes Madd Wajib Muttasil instead.

The cause is the hamzah at the start of the following word — not a sukoon or a shaddah, which produce other madds (Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon and Madd Lazim). One cause, one place to look: the first letter of the next word.

A word on the unit. A count (harakah) is roughly the length of one short vowel — a single fathah, dammah or kasrah — at the pace you are reciting. Because it scales with your tempo, counting is an approximation; the real measure is learned by ear from a teacher.

📖 All lengths on this page follow Hafs ‘an ‘Asim by way of Ash-Shatibiyyah unless a section names a different route.

What Do “Jaiz” and “Wajib” Actually Mean Here?

Jaiz (جائز, permissible) records a difference in transmission: for this madd, some readers transmitted shortening (2 counts) and others lengthening. Across the readers, its lengths range from 2 up to 6 counts.

Those transmitted options are valid today when they are read through their route, together with the rules that route carries. What “jaiz” does not mean is that a reader may shorten or lengthen whenever it feels convenient, or pick a different length for each occurrence. The practical rule is simple: recite the way a qualified teacher taught you, and don’t mix lengths from different routes.

Wajib (واجب) in Madd Wajib Muttasil means that every reader lengthens it beyond the natural 2 counts. It does not mean they all use one identical length — the amount still differs between readers (from 3 up to 6 counts). The agreement is on lengthening; the difference is on how much.

The Rule and Conditions of Madd Munfasil

Three conditions have to hold together. Miss any one of them and it is not Madd Munfasil.

1. The first word ends in a madd letter

Alif, waw or yaa, sakin, with the matching vowel before it: fathah before alif, dammah before waw, kasrah before yaa.

✅ إِنَّا · قُوا · أَمْرِي ❌ إِلَيْهِمْ — the يْ follows a fathah, so it is a letter of layn, not a madd letter.

2. The next word begins with a hamzat qat‘

A hamzah that is pronounced whether you begin with the word or connect into it. At the start of a word it is written on an alif — أَ / أُ / إِ, or آ (printed ءَا in many Uthmani mushafs).

✅ قُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ ❌ فِي الْأَرْضِ — that is hamzat wasl; see the warning below.

3. They belong to two separate words

The madd letter closes one word; the hamzah opens the next. Some pairs of words are joined in Uthmani spelling — يَٰٓأَيُّهَا, هَٰٓأَنتُمْ — and still count as two words, so a visible space is not a reliable test.

✅ قُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ ❌ جَاءَ — hamzah inside the same word: Madd Wajib Muttasil.

If all three hold, it is Madd Jaiz Munfasil — in Hafs by way of Ash-Shatibiyyah, 4 or 5 counts in connected recitation.

⚠️ The hamzat wasl trap: فِي الْأَرْضِ

Hamzat wasl exists so that you can begin a word whose first sound is sakin — like the لْ of الْأَرْضِ. You pronounce it when you begin with that word, and it drops when you connect into it from the word before.

So in connected recitation of فِي الْأَرْضِ there is no hamzah left after فِي. Its madd yaa now meets the sakin lam, and two sakin sounds cannot be pronounced back to back, so the yaa is dropped from pronunciation: you say fil-arḍ with a short kasrah. The junction is therefore neither Madd Munfasil nor a 2-count Madd Asli while connecting. Only if you stop on فِي itself does its natural 2-count madd return. The same applies to قَالُوا الْحَمْدُ and بِمَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ.

About the mushaf sign: most printed Hafs mushafs place a small wavy madd sign (~) over the madd letter. It is a helpful marker, not the rule itself — the same sign appears over Muttasil and Lazim too. Learn the cause, not the symbol.

How Many Counts Is Madd Jaiz Munfasil?

Four or five counts in connected recitation of Hafs ‘an ‘Asim by way of Ash-Shatibiyyah. Al-Marsafi notes in Hidayat al-Qari that both are valid for this route and that 4 (tawassut) is the better-known length and the one given precedence in performance. Here is where it sits against its neighbours:

Swipe the table sideways to see every column →

Madd lengths in Hafs by way of Ash-Shatibiyyah
Madd	Counts	Fixed or variable?
Madd Asli	2	Fixed
Madd Jaiz Munfasil ← this page	4 or 5	Choose one in connected recitation and keep it for every Munfasil
Madd Lazim	6	Fixed

The full counts table for every madd lives on the Madd rules hub.

2, 4 or 5 Counts? The Route Question

Ash-Shatibiyyah: Hafs reads Munfasil at 4 or 5 counts. Printed Hafs mushafs in wide use, such as the Madinah print, are marked for lengthening it.
The 2-count reading (qasr): authentic for Hafs through specific routes of Tayyibat an-Nashr — for example the Iraqi transmitters via al-Fil from ‘Amr from Hafs. Shortening is also the reading of other transmitters, such as Ibn Kathir and as-Susi from Abu ‘Amr. It is a different road, not an error.
That road has its own rules. Reading Hafs with a short Munfasil brings a set of accompanying choices elsewhere in the recitation that belong to that specific route. That is why it is learned from teachers who hold it with a chain, not picked up as a single change.
Don’t mix routes (tarkib). Taking the short Munfasil from one route while reciting everything else by Ash-Shatibiyyah combines routes in a way the scholars of recitation warn against.
Stay consistent. When several Munfasils occur, they are read at the same length — the second and every later one matches the first.

Pairing Munfasil With Muttasil

⭐ Our teaching standard for connected recitation of Hafs by way of Ash-Shatibiyyah: read the two madds at equal length — 4 with 4, or 5 with 5.

This follows Sheikh ‘Abd al-Fattah al-Marsafi in Hidayat al-Qari. He records that some authors allowed a third combination — Munfasil 4 with Muttasil 5 — and rejects it, stating that the transmitted text from ‘Asim gives only the two equal combinations, whichever of the two madds comes first.

This is specific to this route in connected recitation. Other routes have their own combinations, and stopping on a word that ends in hamzah has its own options (see Stopping).

إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ الْكَوْثَرَ

Al-Kawthar 108:1, recited in full by Sheikh Al-Husary — count along as إِنَّا ends and أَعْطَيْنَاكَ begins.

This follows the face-to-face (talaqqi) tradition: if your teacher has given you a specific length, follow your teacher. This page explains the defaults of the route most learners are taught; it does not replace reading to a qualified teacher.

How to Identify Madd Jaiz Munfasil in 3 Steps

1. Does the word end in a madd letter?

Alif, waw or yaa, sakin, with the matching vowel before it. It may not be written in full — see unwritten madd letters below.

2. Does the next word begin with a hamzat qat‘?

If it begins with hamzat wasl instead (ٱل, ٱ), there is no Munfasil — and in connected recitation the madd letter before it is dropped.

3. Are they two separate words?

Yes — even if the mushaf joins them in writing → Madd Jaiz Munfasil, 4 or 5 counts. No, they are in one word → Madd Wajib Muttasil.

Muttasil and Munfasil share the same cause. What separates them is the word boundary — which is not always a visible space.

What Happens to Madd Munfasil When You Stop?

The extra length of Munfasil exists because of the hamzah in the next word, so it only applies in connected recitation. What happens at a stop depends on which kind of Munfasil you are looking at:

1. True separation — قَالُوا, وَمَا

The madd letter is written and pronounced at the end of the first word. If you stop on that word, the hamzah that caused the lengthening is never reached, so only the natural madd remains: 2 counts — for all readers.

2. Constructive separation — يَٰٓأَيُّهَا, هَٰٓأَنتُمْ

The madd letter is pronounced but not written in full, and the two words are joined in the mushaf. You do not stop on يَا by itself, so the 4–5 count is not “escaped” by a stop the way case 1 is.

3. The pronoun’s ṣilah — رَبِّهِ أَحَدًا

The pronoun haa is connected to an unwritten yaa or waw. Stop on the pronoun and the haa becomes sakin, so the connecting yaa or waw disappears completely — no 4–5, and no 2 either.

None of this is a licence to shorten at will: you only get case 1’s 2 counts if you genuinely stop there. It also explains why a skilled reciter can sound “inconsistent” when they are not — they stopped in one pass and connected in another.

Being able to stop on a word doesn’t make it a good stopping point. A stop should respect the meaning; when breath forces an unsuitable stop, the reader goes back and resumes from an appropriate earlier word. The demonstration below is about length, not about choosing where to stop.

The Waqf Switch

Switch between connecting and stopping to see how the length of the madd in قَالُوا changes. This is a visual demonstration; it does not play a recording.

قَالُوا آمَنَّا

Connecting: the waw of قَالُوا meets the hamzah of آمَنَّا, so it is a Madd Munfasil — 4 or 5 counts.

Al-Baqarah 2:14, recited continuously by Sheikh Al-Husary. This is a full-ayah reference recording, not a recorded comparison of stopping and continuing.

A Muttasil cannot be cut short like case 1 — its hamzah is inside the word. When you stop on a word whose last letter is that hamzah (such as الْعُلَمَاءُ), it keeps its 4 or 5 counts, and 6 is also permitted because of the stop. That extra option belongs only to stopping on the final hamzah itself.

Madd Letters the Mushaf Doesn’t Write in Full

In the Uthmani mushaf, the alif of the vocative يَا in يَٰٓأَيُّهَا appears only as a small superscript alif with a madd sign, and the two words are written as one. The same happens with هَٰٓأَنتُمْ (Aal ‘Imran 3:66) and يَٰٓإِبْرَٰهِيمُ (Maryam 19:46). Al-Marsafi calls these constructive separation: the madd letter is missing in writing but present in pronunciation.

A learner scanning only for a full-size ا will read straight past them — and يَٰٓأَيُّهَا opens a great many addresses in the Quran.

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا

As printed: one joined word, small alif above the yaa

يَا + أَيُّهَا

As pronounced: a madd letter meeting a hamzah — 4 or 5 counts

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا النَّاسُ

Al-Baqarah 2:21 — the unwritten alif of يَا meets the hamzah of أَيُّهَا inside one written word.

Judge the madd by what you pronounce, not only by what is printed.

A related case: the pronoun haa in رَبِّهِ أَحَدًا is pronounced with an unwritten yaa before a hamzah. Many curricula teach this separately as Madd Silah Kubra; al-Marsafi lists the pronoun’s ṣilah under constructive Munfasil. In connected recitation of Hafs by way of Ash-Shatibiyyah it takes the same 4–5 length — but at a stop it disappears completely (case 3 above). More on our Madd Silah page.

Madd Jaiz Munfasil vs Madd Asli

Swipe the table sideways to see every column →

Madd Asli compared with Madd Jaiz Munfasil
Feature	Madd Asli	Madd Jaiz Munfasil
Cause	None — it’s the baseline	A hamzah at the start of the next word
Length (connected)	Always 2	4 or 5 (Hafs via Ash-Shatibiyyah), kept consistent
At a stop	Stays 2 if you stop on a word ending in it	True Munfasil: 2 if you stop on the first word · Joined forms like يَٰٓأَيُّهَا: no stop on يَا · Pronoun ṣilah: disappears
Category	Asli (original / natural)	Far‘i (secondary)
Examples	قَالَ · يَقُولُ · قِيلَ	إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ · قُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ

Madd Munfasil is a natural madd letter standing next to a hamzah in the following word. Take that hamzah away by truly stopping on the first word, and what remains is the ordinary 2-count madd. More on the baseline: Madd Asli.

Madd Jaiz Munfasil vs Madd Wajib Muttasil

In إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ the hamzah sits in the next word; in جَاءَ it sits in the same word. That word boundary — not the sound — is what separates the twins.

إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ

two words · one word

جَاءَ

Swipe the table sideways to see every column →

Madd Jaiz Munfasil compared with Madd Wajib Muttasil
Feature	Madd Jaiz Munfasil	Madd Wajib Muttasil
Where is the hamzah?	At the start of the next word	In the same word
Meaning of the name	Separated; “jaiz” because readers transmitted both shortening and lengthening	Connected; “wajib” because every reader lengthens it beyond 2 — by differing amounts
Length in Hafs via Ash-Shatibiyyah (connected)	4 or 5	4 or 5
Reading both together (connected)	Equal length: 4 with 4, or 5 with 5 — our standard, following Hidayat al-Qari
Can it be shortened to 2?	Yes, through specific Tayyibah routes (with that route’s rules)	No — never 2
Stopping	True Munfasil: 2 if you stop on the first word (other cases: see Stopping)	Stopping on a word that ends in its hamzah: 4 or 5, and 6 is also permitted. Otherwise it keeps its connected length.
Example	إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ	جَاءَ · الْعُلَمَاءُ
Written joined	يَٰٓأَيُّهَا · هَٰٓأَنتُمْ	—

1. In connected Hafs via Ash-Shatibiyyah, you hear the same length for both. The differences show up at a stop and across other routes.

2. Only Munfasil has a transmitted 2-count reading, and only a true Munfasil drops to 2 when you stop on its first word.

إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ

Munfasil — Al-Kawthar 108:1 (full ayah)

جَاءَ نَصْرُ اللَّهِ

Muttasil — An-Nasr 110:1 (full ayah), same reciter

Full detail on the twin rule lives on Madd Wajib Muttasil.

Madd Jaiz Munfasil Examples in the Quran

12 examples, each with a full-ayah recitation by Sheikh Mahmoud Khalil Al-Husary. Several come from long ayat, so the highlighted words show you which junction to listen for. Waw and yaa examples are included alongside alif.

إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ الْكَوْثَرَ

Al-Kawthar 108:1 · alif + أ · final alif of إِنَّا, hamzah of أَعْطَيْنَاكَ

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا النَّاسُ

Al-Baqarah 2:21 · alif + أ · constructive separation: the alif of يَا is not written in full

لَا أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ

Al-Kafirun 109:2 · alif + أ

بِمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ

Al-Baqarah 2:4 · alif + أ · the same pattern returns later in the ayah (وَمَا أُنزِلَ)

قَالَ إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

Al-Baqarah 2:30 · yaa + أ · final yaa of إِنِّي meets the hamzah of أَعْلَمُ (the hamzah at the start of إِنِّي is not this junction — قَالَ ends in a lam)

قُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ وَأَهْلِيكُمْ نَارًا

At-Tahrim 66:6 · waw + أ

وَمَا أُوتِيتُم مِّنَ الْعِلْمِ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا

Al-Isra 17:85 · alif + أ · the closing words of a long ayah

وَأُفَوِّضُ أَمْرِي إِلَى اللَّهِ

Ghafir 40:44 · yaa + إ

قَالُوا آمَنَّا

Al-Baqarah 2:14 · waw + آ · the hamzah word also carries a Madd Badal (آ)

تُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ

At-Tahrim 66:8 · waw + إ · a kasrah-voweled hamzah works the same way

وَلَا أُشْرِكُ بِرَبِّي أَحَدًا

Al-Kahf 18:38 · two junctions: alif of وَلَا + hamzah of أُشْرِكُ, then yaa of بِرَبِّي + hamzah of أَحَدًا

بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ أَحَدًا

Related rule — pronoun ṣilah (Madd Silah Kubra). Al-Kahf 18:110 · the haa of رَبِّهِ is read with an unwritten yaa before the hamzah. Same 4–5 when connected; gone entirely if you stop on رَبِّهِ.

Madd Jaiz Munfasil in the Short Surahs

Surah Al-Kafirun is an excellent practice surah for this rule: a Munfasil appears in five of its six short ayat — يَٰٓأَيُّهَا, لَا أَعْبُدُ, وَلَا أَنتُمْ, مَا أَعْبُدُ and وَلَا أَنَا. Surah Al-Fatihah, by contrast, contains no Madd Munfasil at all.

Surah Al-Kafirun, ayat 1–6 — Al-Husary, in order

Plays the six ayat one after another. Starting any other recording stops it.

6 Common Madd Munfasil Mistakes

1. Mixing a 2-count Munfasil into a Shatibiyyah recitation

The short reading is authentic through specific Tayyibah routes, together with that route’s other rules. Dropping it alone into an otherwise Shatibiyyah recitation mixes routes. If you learned Hafs via Ash-Shatibiyyah, read 4 or 5.

2. Treating فِي الْأَرْضِ as Munfasil

The hamzah is hamzat wasl and drops when you connect; the yaa of فِي then drops too, because it meets a sakin letter. No Munfasil, and no held yaa.

3. Missing يَٰٓأَيُّهَا because the alif isn’t written in full

Judge the madd by pronunciation. Two words can be joined in Uthmani spelling and still form a Munfasil.

4. Inconsistent lengths

Reading one Munfasil at 4 and the next at 5, or pairing Munfasil 4 with Muttasil 5. In connected Hafs via Ash-Shatibiyyah: keep every Munfasil the same, and keep Munfasil and Muttasil equal — 4/4 or 5/5.

5. Holding 4–5 when you genuinely stop on the first word

For a true Munfasil like قَالُوا, a real stop removes the cause: 2 counts. (For the pronoun’s ṣilah, stopping removes the madd entirely.)

6. Calling every layn letter a madd letter

In إِلَيْهِمْ the يْ follows a fathah: it is a letter of layn. It cannot form a Munfasil, and the word is not automatically an example of Madd Lin either — Madd Lin needs its own cause, such as stopping on a word whose layn letter comes just before the last letter (خَوْف).

Practise: Munfasil or Muttasil?

Eight Quran phrases — four of each. Look only at the highlighted junction and ask: are the madd letter and the hamzah in the same word, or in two words? Instant feedback, no sign-up.

Question 1 of 8 Score: 0

Where does the hamzah sit — same word, or the next one?

Play: Munfasil Skyline (Free Game)

Eight rounds, one skyline. Every correct word pair you spot — a madd letter closing one word, a hamzah opening the next — raises a floor of the building. It works on phones and tablets, and no account is needed.

Game not loading? Open it in a new tab · or browse all our free Tajweed games.

Learn More

Madd Munfasil is caused by a hamzah in the next word. These pages cover the other causes: Madd Wajib Muttasil has the same cause inside one word; Madd Lazim comes from a permanent sukoon or shaddah; Madd Lin applies to a layn letter when you stop on the word; and Madd Silah covers the pronoun haa, whose Kubra form behaves like a Munfasil in connected recitation but vanishes at a stop.

All of them sit inside the wider set of Tajweed rules, alongside Rules of Meem Sakinah, Noon Sakin rules and Qalqalah letters — and are taught step by step in our Tajweed for adults and Tajweed for kids classes.

Madd Jaiz Munfasil FAQ

Q1. What is Madd Jaiz Munfasil?

Madd Jaiz Munfasil (المد الجائز المنفصل) occurs when a word ends in a madd letter — alif, waw or yaa — and the next word begins with a hamzah. In Hafs by way of Ash-Shatibiyyah it is lengthened to four or five counts in connected recitation.

Q2. Why is it called “jaiz”?

Because the readers transmitted both shortening and lengthening for it, so more than one length is authentic. Those options are valid when read through their own route with that route’s rules; it does not mean shortening or lengthening at will. It is contrasted with “wajib” in Madd Wajib Muttasil, which every reader lengthens beyond two counts, though by differing amounts.

Q3. How many counts is Madd Jaiz Munfasil?

Four or five counts in connected recitation of Hafs ‘an ‘Asim by way of Ash-Shatibiyyah, with four being the better-known length. A two-count reading (qasr) is authentic for Hafs through specific routes of Tayyibat an-Nashr and brings that route’s other rules with it, so it should not be mixed into a Shatibiyyah recitation.

Q4. Can I read Munfasil at 4 and Muttasil at 5?

In connected recitation of Hafs by way of Ash-Shatibiyyah, this page follows Hidayat al-Qari: read them equally, four with four or five with five. Its author notes that some writers allowed Munfasil four with Muttasil five and rejects that combination. Follow your teacher if you were taught by a specific route.

Q5. How do I identify Madd Jaiz Munfasil?

Check that the word ends in a madd letter, that the next word begins with a pronounced hamzah (hamzat qat‘, not hamzat wasl), and that the two belong to separate words — even if the mushaf joins them in writing, as in يَٰٓأَيُّهَا.

Q6. Is فِي الْأَرْضِ a Madd Munfasil?

No. The hamzah of الْأَرْضِ is hamzat wasl, which drops in connected recitation. The yaa of فِي then meets a sakin letter and is dropped from pronunciation, so it is read “fil-arḍ” with a short kasrah. It is neither a Munfasil nor a two-count Madd Asli while connecting; only if you stop on فِي itself does its natural madd return.

Q7. What is the difference between Madd Jaiz Munfasil and Madd Wajib Muttasil?

Both are caused by a hamzah after a madd letter. In Munfasil the hamzah begins the next word; in Muttasil it is in the same word. In connected Hafs by way of Ash-Shatibiyyah both are four or five counts, read at equal length. Munfasil has a transmitted two-count reading on other routes; Muttasil is never shortened to two.

Q8. What is the difference between Madd Jaiz Munfasil and Madd Asli?

Madd Asli has no cause and is two counts. Madd Jaiz Munfasil is a madd letter followed by a hamzah at the start of the next word, and in Hafs by way of Ash-Shatibiyyah it is lengthened to four or five counts in connected recitation.

Q9. What happens to Madd Munfasil if I stop?

It depends on the case. If you stop on the first word of a true Munfasil, such as قَالُوا, the extra length goes and only the natural two-count madd remains. Joined forms such as يَٰٓأَيُّهَا are not stopped on at يَا, so their four or five counts stay. With the pronoun’s ṣilah, such as رَبِّهِ أَحَدًا, stopping on the pronoun removes the madd entirely.

Q10. Why is the alif missing in يَٰٓأَيُّهَا?

In the Uthmani mushaf the alif of يَا is shown only as a small superscript alif, and the two words are written as one. The alif is still pronounced, so it is still a Madd Munfasil — a “constructive” one. Judge the madd by what you pronounce, not only by what is printed.

Q11. Where can I find Madd Jaiz Munfasil in the Quran?

For example in إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ (Al-Kawthar 108:1), يَٰٓأَيُّهَا النَّاسُ (Al-Baqarah 2:21), لَا أَعْبُدُ (Al-Kafirun 109:2), قُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ (At-Tahrim 66:6) and وَأُفَوِّضُ أَمْرِي إِلَى اللَّهِ (Ghafir 40:44). Surah Al-Kafirun has one in five of its six ayat, which makes it a good practice surah.

Find Out Which Length You Should Be Reciting

Your Munfasil length depends on the route you read by, and that comes from the teacher you read to. One free lesson settles your route and your Munfasil and Muttasil lengths together.

Or reach us directly on WhatsApp, or join our Telegram Maqra circle.

May Allah beautify your recitation and accept it from you. 🤲

Hafidha of the Quran · Arabic Language Graduate · Writer on Islamic Sciences

Jehad Mahmoud is a graduate of the Arabic Language department and a Hafidha of the Quran who writes the Islamic educational content at Quran Book Academy.

She writes with a focus on Tajweed, Quranic recitation and the sharia sciences, making technical rules — including route-specific questions of tariq and riwayah — accessible to English-speaking Muslim families.

Her articles are educational, not fatwa. For a ruling on a specific personal situation, readers are advised to consult a qualified scholar or mufti.

Tajweed Madd Rules Riwayah & Tariq Quran Recitation

References & Sources

The Tajweed rulings on this page are sourced from IslamWeb: three passages of a Tajweed book hosted in its library, and four fatwas from its Fatwa Center.

‘Abd al-Fattah al-Marsafi, Hidayat al-Qari ila Tajwid Kalam al-Bari (هداية القاري إلى تجويد كلام الباري), ch. 11, section “أقسام المد” — hosted in the IslamWeb library. islamweb.net/ar/library/content/231/54
Definition of Munfasil; true vs constructive separation (يا النداء, ها التنبيه, the pronoun’s ṣilah); why it is called “jaiz” and Muttasil “wajib”; 4 or 5 counts for Hafs via Ash-Shatibiyyah with 4 given precedence; 6 counts permitted when stopping on Muttasil’s final hamzah.
Al-Marsafi, Hidayat al-Qari, “سبعة تنبيهات هامة”, part 1 — IslamWeb library. islamweb.net/ar/library/content/231/55
What happens at a stop for true Munfasil, for يَا أَيُّهَا, and for the pronoun’s ṣilah; reading repeated Munfasils at equal length; the 2-count Munfasil for Hafs is not from Ash-Shatibiyyah but from Tayyibat an-Nashr; the layn letters.
Al-Marsafi, Hidayat al-Qari, “سبعة تنبيهات هامة”, part 2 — IslamWeb library. islamweb.net/ar/library/content/231/56
Fifth note: combining Munfasil and Muttasil for Hafs via Ash-Shatibiyyah in connected recitation — equal lengths only (4/4 or 5/5), rejecting Munfasil 4 with Muttasil 5; the rules that accompany a short Munfasil on Tayyibah routes; the prohibition of mixing routes (tarkib) and the need to read to qualified teachers.
IslamWeb Fatwa Center, fatwa no. 49979, “مقدار المد المنفصل والمتصل عند القراء”. islamweb.net/ar/fatwa/49979
Who lengthens and who shortens Munfasil; Hafs’s 4–5 via Ash-Shatibiyyah and the printed Hafs mushaf; lengths must be learned orally, with counting only an approximation; differences between readers are variety, not error.
IslamWeb Fatwa Center, fatwa no. 175201, “أحكام المد المنفصل في رواية حفص”. islamweb.net/ar/fatwa/175201
Most routes from Hafs lengthen Munfasil; the short reading reported via al-Fil from Hafs (an-Nashr / at-Tayyibah); both readings are valid.
IslamWeb Fatwa Center, fatwa no. 56031, “مد المنفصل في رواية حفص عن عاصم”. islamweb.net/ar/fatwa/56031
Lengthening is required when reading Hafs via Ash-Shatibiyyah; shortening via Tayyibah brings faces that must be observed to avoid mixing routes.
IslamWeb Fatwa Center, fatwa no. 66313, “حكم الوقف على المد المتصل إذا كانت الهمزة متطرفة”. islamweb.net/ar/fatwa/66313
Stopping on a Muttasil whose hamzah is the last letter: 4, 5 or 6 counts.

Audio

Recitation by Sheikh Mahmoud Khalil Al-Husary, streamed from EveryAyah.com. Every clip on this page is a complete ayah.

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October 1, 2026

Madd Badal in Tajweed: The Branch Madd That Is Only Two Counts—and Why

Madd Lazim 6 A permanent sukoon or shaddah after the madd letter — six counts. Madd Wajib Muttasil 4–5 The hamzah comes after the madd letter in the same word. Madd Jaiz Munfasil 4–5 The hamzah is in the next word, across a boundary. Madd Silah 2 · 4–5 The pronoun’s ha’: Sughra is two like Badal, Kubra behaves like Munfasil.

Written by Jehad Mahmoud

Published: September 30, 2026 · Updated: September 30, 2026 · 9 min read

Madd Rules · Madd Badal

Madd Badal in Tajweed: The Branch Madd Read for Two Counts in Hafs

Quran Book Academy · Quran & Tajweed Library

One cause · Two counts in Hafs · Word-by-word audio by Sheikh Al-Husary · Free practice & game

You have just learned that Madd Asli is two counts and the branch madds are usually longer. Then you reach ءَامَنُوا, you see a hamzah and a long alif, you stretch it to four — and in Hafs that is too long. Madd Badal occurs when a hamzah comes before a madd letter inside the same word, and in Tajweed according to Hafs it is read for two counts. It is classed among the branch madds, one of the Madd rules, yet in Hafs it is not lengthened beyond two unless a stronger cause comes after the madd letter.

One cause, one basic length, a name that tells you what happened to the word, and a letter-order test that separates Madd Badal in Tajweed from the two madds that look almost identical. Also written Madd al-Badal, Mad Badal, the substitute madd — in Arabic, المد البدل. All counts on this page follow Hafs ʿan ʿAsim by the way of Ash-Shatibiyyah.

⚡ The 30-second version: a hamzah (ء) comes before a madd letter (ا / و / ي) in one word · that makes it a branch madd by classification · in Hafs it is read for two counts, the same as Madd Asli — that is the transmitted reading · then glance at what comes after the madd letter: a hamzah or a sukoon there brings in a longer rule · reverse the two letters (madd letter first, hamzah second) and you have Madd Wajib Muttasil, four or five counts.

Madd Badal in Tajweed showing a hamzah before a madd letter held for two counts — Hamzah first, then the madd letter — a branch madd read for two counts in Hafs.

What Is Madd Badal in Tajweed?

Madd Badal (المد البدل) is a madd that occurs when a hamzah (ء) comes before a madd letter — alif (ا), waw (و) or yaa (ي) — with both in the same word. In Hafs ʿan ʿAsim it is read for two counts, the same as Madd Asli, even though it is classed as a branch madd (Madd Farʿi).

Read the first point before anything else, because it is the entire distinction:

The hamzah comes first. A hamzah, then a madd letter, in that order. That single fact is what makes it Badal and not one of the madds it is confused with.
It is a branch madd by classification, and a two-count madd in Hafs by transmission. The hamzah earns it the Farʿi label; the length you recite is the one transmitted in the riwayah. Naming that apparent contradiction out loud is the reason this page exists.
A “count” (harakah) is a rough unit — often taught as the time to fold or open one finger at a steady pace. It follows your recitation speed; it is not a fixed number of seconds.[3]

📌 One riwayah note: all counts here follow Hafs ʿan ʿAsim by the way of Ash-Shatibiyyah, where Badal is read short (two counts). In Warsh ʿan Nafiʿ by the route of al-Azraq, Badal may also be read medium or long — commonly taught as 2, 4 or 6 counts — but not in every word: the yaa of إِسْرَائِيلَ, and words such as الْقُرْآن where the hamzah is preceded by a sakin sahih (a consonant with sukoon) in the same word, are read short there too.[2] That is why you find different numbers online. If you recite Hafs, Badal is two.

Why Is It Called “Badal”? The Missing Hamzah

Badal means substitute. In the original Badal words, the madd letter stands in for a second hamzah. Two hamzahs in a row are heavy on the tongue, so the second (sakin) one was replaced by a madd letter matching the vowel on the first:[1]

Original form	Became	The substitution
أَأْمَنُوا	آمَنُوا	fathah + sakin hamzah → alif (ا)
إِئْمَان	إِيمَان	kasrah + sakin hamzah → yaa (ي)
أُؤْتُوا	أُوتُوا	dammah + sakin hamzah → waw (و)

In these words the madd letter you are reading used to be a hamzah — that is why the rule is named after a swap, not after a length.

Original Badal and Shabih bil-Badal. Where the madd letter after the hamzah was never a hamzah — for example الْقُرْآن, يَشَاءُونَ, مُتَّكِئِينَ and the yaa of إِسْرَائِيلَ — scholars call it shabih bil-badal, “resembling Badal”. It shares the defining shape (hamzah, then madd letter) and is taught under Badal, with the same two counts in Hafs.[1]

The Rule and Conditions of Madd Badal

These are the Madd Badal rules in Tajweed as a four-point checklist:

1. There is a hamzah you actually pronounce

Usually a hamzat al-qatʿ (أ / إ / ء). ✅ أُوتُوا · ❌ اهْدِنَا — its opening alif is a hamzat al-wasl, and no madd letter follows it, whether you start on the word or connect it.

When you start a word: starting on words such as ائْذَنْ (At-Tawbah 9:49) or اؤْتُمِنَ (Al-Baqarah 2:283) is different. You pronounce the hamzat al-wasl, and the word’s own sakin hamzah after it becomes a madd letter — you say إِيذَنْ, أُوتُمِنَ — so a Badal appears. Connect the word to the one before it and the hamzat al-wasl drops, the hamzah is pronounced sakin, and there is no Badal.[1][2] Not every hamzat al-wasl does this — only these words, where a sakin hamzah follows it.

2. A madd letter comes immediately after the hamzah

ا, و or ي — sakin, matching the hamzah’s vowel. ✅ آدَمَ · ❌ أَنْعَمْتَ (a hamzah, but no madd letter follows it).

3. Both are in the same word, in that order

Hamzah first, madd letter second. ✅ إِيمَانًا · ❌ جَاءَ (madd letter first, hamzah second → that is Madd Wajib Muttasil).

4. Nothing stronger comes after the madd letter

If a hamzah follows the madd letter (بُرَآءُ, Al-Mumtahanah 60:4; رَأَى أَيْدِيَهُمْ, Hud 11:70), or a permanent sukoon or shaddah (آمِّينَ, Al-Maʾidah 5:2), the stronger cause sets the length, and the madd is read by that rule instead.[1] When you stop on a word like الْمَآب, the madd letter is followed by the sukoon of stopping, so it is read by the rule of Madd ʿArid lis-Sukoon.

✅ If all four hold, it is Madd Badal — and in Hafs you read it for two counts.

⚠️ Spelling is not a length sign. In everyday Arabic spelling, a hamzah followed by an alif is written as one character, آ — an alif with a small wavy mark on top. That mark is part of the spelling; it is not an instruction to stretch.

The widely used Madinah mushaf (Hafs) prints the same Badal as ءَا — a hamzah with a fathah, then a plain alif — as in ءَامَنُوا۟ and ءَادَمَ, with no madd sign. In that print the small madd sign ( ـٓ ) sits over a madd letter that is lengthened beyond two counts, as in جَآءَ. Whatever print you use, decide from the letters — what comes before the madd letter and what comes after it — not from one symbol on its own.

How Many Beats Is Madd Badal?

Madd Badal is two counts in Hafs ʿan ʿAsim by the way of Ash-Shatibiyyah — the same length as Madd Asli — whenever nothing stronger (a hamzah or a sukoon) comes after the madd letter.

Here is where it sits among the madds you are learning. This is the short placement table; the full counts table lives on the Madd rules hub.

Madd	Counts in Hafs	Fixed or optional?
Madd Asli	2	Fixed
Madd Badal ← this page	2	Fixed, unless a stronger cause follows the madd letter
Madd Wajib Muttasil	4 or 5	Choose one, stay consistent
Madd Lazim	6	Fixed

Madd Badal 2 Beats: Why It Stays at Two in Hafs

Yes — in Hafs it really is two. If you typed that into a search box to have someone confirm it, here is the confirmation, and where it comes from:

It is two because that is how the reading is transmitted. Ash-Shatibiyyah states that a madd letter coming after a hamzah is read short (qasr) by the readers, and that only Warsh is reported with longer lengths. Hidayat al-Qari puts it plainly: فالقصر لجميع القراء، والتوسط والمد زائدان لورش من طريق الأزرق خاصة — “shortening is for all the readers; the medium and long lengths are additional, for Warsh by the route of al-Azraq only.”[1][2]
The hamzah’s position is how you recognise the rule. It tells you which madd you are looking at. It is not, on its own, the reason for the length — the same Badal words are read longer in Warsh.
A memory aid, not a ruling: “hamzah behind the madd letter — keep it at two; hamzah ahead of it — hold it longer.” It works for Hafs and helps you sort Badal from Muttasil quickly.
A stronger cause after the madd letter overrides it. آمِّينَ begins like a Badal but is six counts, because a shaddah follows the madd letter. And if someone taught you four or six for ordinary Badal words, they were most likely teaching Warsh.

ءَامَنُوا

Al-Baqarah 2:9 · hear an unhurried two-count Badal — the length a learner who over-stretches needs in their ear.

How to Identify Madd Badal in 4 Steps

1. Find the madd letter

Locate an ا, و or ي that is sakin, with the matching vowel before it.

2. Look at the letter immediately before it

Is it a hamzah? If no → it is not Badal; go back to the hub and check the other madds.

3. Is the hamzah before the madd letter, not after?

Before → a Badal pattern. After → Madd Wajib Muttasil (same word) or Madd Jaiz Munfasil (next word).

4. Check what comes after the madd letter

A plain vowelled letter → Madd Badal, 2 counts in Hafs. A hamzah, a permanent sukoon or a shaddah → that stronger rule sets the length (بُرَآءُ, آمِّينَ). When stopping makes the consonant immediately after the madd letter sakin, as in الْمَآبْ, Madd ʿArid lis-Sukoon applies. When stopping with pure sukoon, it may be read for 2, 4 or 6 counts.

Hamzah first, then the stretch — two counts in Hafs, if nothing stronger follows. Stretch first, then the hamzah — four or five. The order of two letters is the main difference.

The Order Flipper — reverse two letters, change the madd

Tap Flip the order. The hamzah and the madd letter swap places, the word changes, the count bar jumps from two to four-or-five, and the Al-Husary audio changes with it.

ءَامَنُوا

Madd Badal · hamzah before the madd letter

Length: 2 counts

آمَنُوا (Al-Baqarah 2:9) ↔ جَاءَ (An-Nasr 110:1). The same two ingredients in reverse order — a different madd and a different length.

Madd Badal vs Madd Asli

This is the comparison people search for at the exact moment they hit the contradiction. Both are two counts in Hafs — so what is the difference, and why bother learning it?

Feature	Madd Asli (المد الأصلي)	Madd Badal (المد البدل)
Cause	None — it is the baseline	A hamzah before the madd letter
Position of the hamzah	—	Immediately before, same word
Length in Hafs	2	2 (unless a stronger cause follows)
Classification	Asli (original)	Farʿi (branch)
Does it sound different?	—	No
Examples	قَالَ · يَقُولُ · قِيلَ	آمَنُوا · إِيمَان · أُوتُوا

1. They sound identical. In Hafs, a listener cannot tell a Badal from an Asli — both are two counts. The difference is one of classification, not of recitation.

2. So why learn it? Because knowing the rule is what stops you lengthening it. A reader who does not know آمَنُوا is a named two-count madd will see the hamzah, assume “branch = longer,” and stretch it.

▶ Audio A/B — the identical twins. Same reciter, back to back. They should sound the same length; that is the point.

قَالَ
Al-Baqarah 2:30 · Madd Asli — a plain two-count madd, no hamzah.
ءَامَنُوا
Al-Baqarah 2:9 · Madd Badal — a hamzah before the madd letter, same two counts.

Madd Badal vs Madd Wajib Muttasil and Madd Jaiz Munfasil

All three of these madds involve a hamzah next to a madd letter. Lining them up in one view is the fastest way to see that the order — and, for the last two, the word boundary — is what differs.

Feature	Madd Badal	Madd Wajib Muttasil	Madd Jaiz Munfasil
Where is the hamzah?	Before the madd letter	After it, same word	After it, next word
Shape	ء + ا	ا + ء	ا \| ء
Length in Hafs	2	4 or 5	4 or 5
Example	آمَنُوا	جَاءَ	إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ

All three involve a hamzah. Only Badal has the hamzah in front — and of the three, only Badal is read for two counts in Hafs.

▶ The order ladder — hear the length change when the hamzah moves after the madd letter:

ءَامَنُوا
Al-Baqarah 2:9 · Madd Badal — hamzah first · 2 counts
جَاءَ
An-Nasr 110:1 · Madd Wajib Muttasil — madd letter first, hamzah after, same word · 4–5 counts
مِنَ السَّمَاءِ
Al-Baqarah 2:22 · another Muttasil — hear how much longer the hold is than آمَنُوا · 4–5 counts

Madd Badal Examples in the Quran

Eleven Madd Badal examples from the Quran and one non-example, each with a word-by-word button in the voice of Sheikh Mahmoud Khalil Al-Husary. Each button plays one word, cut from the full-ayah recording using published word timings, so a clip may begin or end a fraction early or late. Badal appears with all three madd letters — alif, waw and yaa — not alif alone. All examples are read in connected recitation.

hamzahmadd letter

وَالَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا
Al-Baqarah 2:9 · ء + ا · the reference example.
وَعَلَّمَ ءَادَمَ
Al-Baqarah 2:31 · ء + ا · one of the most recognisable Badal words in the Quran.
زَادَتْهُمْ إِيمَانًا
Al-Anfal 8:2 · إ + ي · a yaa Badal.
الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ
Al-Baqarah 2:101 · أ + و · a waw Badal (the first waw, right after the hamzah).
أُنْزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْءَانُ
Al-Baqarah 2:185 · ء + ا · a Badal in the middle of a word — easily missed. Strictly shabih bil-badal, since this alif was never a hamzah.
وَبِالْءَاخِرَةِ هُمْ يُوقِنُونَ
Al-Baqarah 2:4 · ء + ا · the same pattern, extremely frequent.
الَّذِينَ ءَاتَيْنَاهُمُ الْكِتَابَ
Al-Baqarah 2:121 · ء + ا · a verb form.
قُلْ أُوحِيَ إِلَيَّ
Al-Jinn 72:1 · أ + و · a waw Badal opening the surah.
إِيلَافِهِمْ رِحْلَةَ الشِّتَاءِ
Quraysh 106:2 · إ + ي · a short surah — easy to memorise the rule with.
وَأُوذُوا حَتَّىٰ أَتَاهُمْ نَصْرُنَا
Al-Anʿam 6:34 · أ + و · a waw Badal.
يَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ
⭐ Al-Baqarah 2:40, read on without stopping · two madds in one word. The alif after the raa comes before the second hamzah → Madd Wajib Muttasil (4–5). The yaa comes after that kasrah-bearing hamzah (ئِ) → shabih bil-badal, taught under Badal: 2 counts. The word starts is- with a short kasrah — there is no long “ee” before the seen. (If you stop on this word, the yaa meets the sukoon of stopping and is read by that rule.)
أَحْسَنُ أَثَاثًا وَرِئْيًا
Maryam 19:74 · non-example: the hamzah here is sakin and comes before the yaa, and the yaa carries a vowel, so it is not a madd letter. The tooth that holds the hamzah (ئ) is only its written seat, not a separate yaa. No madd letter after a hamzah → no Badal.

A note on Surah Al-Fatihah

Your instinct is that every rule must appear in the surah you know best. Surah Al-Fatihah contains no Madd Badal — its hamzahs in إِيَّاكَ and أَنْعَمْتَ are not followed by a madd letter. That clean negative is a strong memory hook. Instead, reach for the short surah that does contain one, Quraysh, and hear it word by word above (إِيلَافِهِمْ, 106:2).

5 Common Madd Badal Mistakes

1. Stretching it to 4 or 6 because it “looks long”

The wavy mark in the everyday spelling آ is spelling, not a length instruction — and the Madinah mushaf prints this Badal as ءَا with no madd sign at all. If nothing stronger follows the madd letter, it is two counts in Hafs.

2. Reading a Warsh length in a Hafs recitation

Medium and long Badal are authentic — in Warsh by the route of al-Azraq, and even there with exceptions. If you recite Hafs, it is two.

3. Confusing Badal with Muttasil because both have a hamzah

Check the order, not the presence. Hamzah before the madd letter is Badal; after it is Muttasil. Words like إِسْرَائِيلَ contain both.

4. Getting the hamzat al-wasl wrong in either direction

In اهْدِنَا no madd letter follows the opening hamzah, so there is no Badal whether you start or connect. But when you start on words like ائْذَنْ or اؤْتُمِنَ, a Badal does appear — and it disappears when you connect.

5. Cutting it shorter than two counts because it “isn’t a real madd”

It is a full two counts, like Madd Asli — not a fleeting vowel.

🔎 Advanced note: in آمِّينَ الْبَيْتَ (Al-Maʾidah 5:2) the word begins like a Badal, but the madd letter is followed by a shaddah — which makes it Madd Lazim Kalimi Muthaqqal, six counts. The same check applies to بُرَآءُ, where a hamzah follows the madd letter. That is step 4 of the checklist: always look at what comes after the madd letter.

Practise Madd Badal

A two-beat rhythm exercise

Choose a practice tempo and watch the two beats. Then press and hold the bar for the length of the highlighted madd vowel only — the green alif — not for the whole word, and release when you would end it.

This exercise measures how long you hold the button — it cannot hear or judge your pronunciation. Real madd timing follows the speed of your recitation and is learned by listening to a qualified reciter.[3] Works with mouse, touch, pen, or the Space and Enter keys.

Practice tempo

ءَامَنُوا

The green band marks two beats at the chosen practice tempo.

Listen and choose: which madd do you hear?

Nine words, one highlighted in each. Play the Al-Husary clip, then tap the madd it is. Instant feedback, no sign-up. Watch the order of the hamzah and the madd letter.

Question 1 of 9 Score: 0

Choose the madd that applies to the highlighted letters.

Play: Madd Badal Tower (Free Game)

Recognition under time pressure is a different skill from recognition on a page. Catch only the words that contain Madd Badal — hamzah first, then the madd letter — and let the rest fall past. It works on phones and tablets, and no account is needed.

Game not loading? Open it in a new tab · or browse all our free Tajweed games.

Learn More

Madd Badal has its hamzah in front and, in Hafs, is read for two counts. The four madds below are lengthened — each for a different reason. Madd Lazim is caused by a permanent sukoon or shaddah after the madd letter and is read for six. Madd Wajib Muttasil and Madd Jaiz Munfasil share Badal’s ingredient — a hamzah — but have it after the madd letter, which is their cause for lengthening to four or five; what separates those two is whether the hamzah is in the same word or the next one. Madd Silah’s Sughra form is a plain two-count like Badal, while its Kubra form is followed by a hamzah in the next word and behaves like the Munfasil.

The sibling madds under the same hub:

Madd Asli (2) The baseline two-count madd — the one Badal is so often confused with. Madd Rules (hub) All the madds in one place, with the full counts table. Tajweed Game Every free letter and rule game we have built, in one place.

All of them sit inside the wider set of Tajweed rules, and are taught step by step in our Tajweed for adults and Tajweed for kids classes. See also the rules of Meem Sakinah, Noon Sakin rules and Qalqalah letters.

Madd Badal FAQ

Q1. What is Madd Badal?

Madd Badal (المد البدل) occurs when a hamzah (ء) comes before a madd letter — alif, waw or yaa — with both in the same word, as in آمَنُوا. In Hafs it is read for two counts, provided no stronger cause (a hamzah or sukoon) follows the madd letter.

Q2. How many beats is Madd Badal?

Two counts in Hafs ʿan ʿAsim by the way of Ash-Shatibiyyah — that is the transmitted reading. A count is a rough unit that follows your recitation speed, not a fixed number of seconds. If a hamzah, sukoon or shaddah follows the madd letter, that stronger rule sets the length instead.

Q3. Why is it called “badal”?

Badal means substitute. In the original Badal words the madd letter replaced a second, sakin hamzah: أَأْمَنُوا became آمَنُوا, and إِئْمَان became إِيمَان. Words where the madd letter was never a hamzah, such as الْقُرْآن, are called shabih bil-badal and are taught under the same heading.

Q4. What are the conditions of Madd Badal?

A hamzah you actually pronounce, a madd letter immediately after it, both in the same word in that order, and nothing stronger (a hamzah, a permanent sukoon or a shaddah) after the madd letter. When you start on words like ائْذَنْ or اؤْتُمِنَ, a Badal appears that is not there when the word is connected.

Q5. How do I identify Madd Badal?

Find the madd letter, check that the letter directly before it is a hamzah, confirm the hamzah comes before rather than after, and then look at what follows the madd letter. Hamzah first with nothing stronger after means Badal; madd letter first then hamzah means Muttasil or Munfasil.

Q6. What is the difference between Madd Badal and Madd Asli?

In Hafs both are two counts and sound identical. Madd Asli has no cause at all, while Madd Badal has a hamzah before the madd letter, which places it in the branch (farʿi) category without changing its length in Hafs.

Q7. What is the difference between Madd Badal and Madd Wajib Muttasil?

The position of the hamzah. In Badal the hamzah comes before the madd letter and, in Hafs, it is two counts. In Muttasil the hamzah comes after it in the same word and the madd is lengthened to four or five.

Q8. Can Madd Badal ever be 4 or 6 counts?

Not as Badal in Hafs. A word that looks like a Badal can be read longer when a stronger cause follows the madd letter — آمِّينَ is six counts because of the shaddah — or when stopping makes the consonant immediately after the madd letter sakin, as in الْمَآبْ. In this case, Madd ʿArid lis-Sukoon permits 2, 4 or 6 counts when stopping with pure sukoon. In Warsh by the route of al-Azraq, Badal may be read short, medium or long, with some words excepted; that is why different lengths appear online.

Q9. Is الْقُرْآن a Madd Badal?

Yes, it is taught under Madd Badal: the hamzah comes directly before the alif in the same word, so in Hafs it is two counts. Strictly it is shabih bil-badal, because this alif was never a hamzah.

Q10. Where can I find Madd Badal in the Quran?

In آمَنُوا (Al-Baqarah 2:9), آدَمَ (Al-Baqarah 2:31), إِيمَانًا (Al-Anfal 8:2), أُوتُوا (Al-Baqarah 2:101) and إِيلَافِهِمْ (Quraysh 106:2). Surah Al-Fatihah contains none.

Have Your Madd Lengths Checked in One Free Lesson

Badal errors are silent — you cannot hear yourself over-lengthening a madd you believe is long. A teacher listening to you read catches it on the first page, and shows you where a longer rule really applies.

May Allah beautify your recitation and accept it from you. 🤲

Hafidha of the Quran · Arabic Language Graduate · Writer on Islamic Sciences

Jehad Mahmoud is a graduate of the Arabic Language department and a Hafidha of the Quran who writes the Islamic educational content at Quran Book Academy.

She writes with a focus on Tajweed, Quranic recitation and the sharia sciences, making technical rules accessible to English-speaking Muslim families.

Her articles are educational, not fatwa. For a ruling on a specific personal situation, readers are advised to consult a qualified scholar or mufti.

Tajweed Madd Quranic Sciences Quran Recitation

Sources and Further Reading

Book · IslamWeb Libraryهداية القاري إلى تجويد كلام الباري (Hidayat al-Qari ila Tajwid Kalam al-Bari), ʿAbd al-Fattah al-Marsafi — Chapter 11, al-Madd wal-Qasr, section «الكلام على النوع الثالث وهو المد الجائز البدل»: definition, original Badal vs shabih bil-badal, the Warsh (al-Azraq) lengths, the stronger-cause condition, and Badal that appears only when starting a word.
Book · IslamWeb Libraryالوافي في شرح الشاطبية (Al-Wafi fi Sharh al-Shatibiyyah), ʿAbd al-Fattah al-Qadi — Bab al-Madd wal-Qasr, commentary on the verses «وما بعد همز ثابت أو مغير فقصر…»: qasr for all readers, the added lengths for Warsh, and the words excepted from them (the yaa of إسرائيل, a hamzah preceded by a sakin sahih (a consonant with sukoon) in the same word, as in القرآن, and starting after hamzat al-wasl).
Fatwa · IslamWebIslamWeb Fatwa No. 196957 — «مراتب القراءة في المدود والغنة على قدر أسلوب قراءتهم» (2013): the length of madd and ghunnah follows the speed of recitation (tahqiq, tadwir, hadr) and is learned by hearing it from skilled teachers.
AudioRecitation: Sheikh Mahmoud Khalil Al-Husary, Hafs, murattal — verse files from the EveryAyah collection (EveryAyah.com, served via the QuranicAudio mirror). Word timings: Quran.com word segments for the same Al-Husary verse files. Timings are approximate.
TextSurahs Al-Baqarah, Al-Anʿam, Al-Anfal, Maryam, Al-Jinn and Quraysh — Quran.com.

Book Your Free Trial · Empowering Muslims Worldwide to Connect with the Quran

September 30, 2026

Madd Lazim in Tajweed: Four Types, Six Counts & Quran Examples

HUB Madd Rules All the madds and the full counts table. 2 COUNTS Madd Asli The baseline. Work on this first. 4–5 COUNTS Madd Wajib Muttasil Hamzah in the same word. 4–5 COUNTS Madd Jaiz Munfasil Hamzah in the next word. 2 · 4–5 COUNTS Madd Silah The pronoun’s ha’, Sughra and Kubra.

Written by Jehad Mahmoud

Published: 28 September 2026 · Updated: 28 September 2026 · 22 min read

Madd Rules · The Necessary Madd

Madd Lazim in Tajweed: Four Types, Six Counts & Quran Examples

Quran Book Academy · Quran & Tajweed Library

Four types · Six counts as the general rule · Full-ayah audio by Sheikh Al-Husary · Free rhythm exercise, quiz & game

Madd Lazim (المد اللازم) is the lengthening of a madd letter that is followed by an original sukoon — a sukoon that belongs to the word itself and stays whether you stop or continue, often appearing as a shaddah. As a general rule it is held for six counts. It has four types: Kalimi Muthaqqal, Kalimi Mukhaffaf, Harfi Muthaqqal and Harfi Mukhaffaf.

Every ruling on this page follows Hafs ʿan ʿAsim through Ash-Shatibiyyah. Within that route, a small number of transmitted cases differ from the plain six-count rule; they are listed in Special cases. Madd Lazim is one of the Madd rules, part of the wider chapter of Tajweed rules.

Also written Madd al-Lazim, Madd Laazim, Mad Lazim, the necessary madd or the compulsory madd.

⚡ The 30-second version: a madd letter meets an original sukoon (or a shaddah) · that cause does not depend on stopping · six counts is the general rule in all four types · two types are inside ordinary words, two inside the disjointed letters that open twenty-nine surahs · a few transmitted cases have their own ruling.

Madd Lazim in Tajweed showing the four types held for six counts — Four types, one general length: six counts.

What Is Madd Lazim in Tajweed?

Madd Lazim (المد اللازم) is the lengthening of a madd letter — alif (ا), waw (و) or yaa (ي) — when it is followed by an original sukoon, whether plain or inside a shaddah. In Hafs through Ash-Shatibiyyah it is held for six counts, whether you stop or continue, apart from the few transmitted special cases.

Lazim means necessary or binding, and the books give two explanations for the name. The cause is binding: the sukoon belongs to the word and is present both when you stop and when you continue. And the length is binding: the reciters agree on holding it for one full length, six counts. Shortening it by choice is not permitted.

Compare it with its nearest neighbour. Madd ʿArid lis-Sukoon also has a sukoon after the madd letter — but only while you are stopping; continue reading and that sukoon becomes a vowel again. Unlike Madd ʿArid lis-Sukoon, Madd Lazim is caused by an original sukoon rather than a sukoon introduced by stopping.

One word on the unit: a count (harakah) is a relative unit tied to the reciter’s own steady pace, not a fixed number of seconds. Beginners often feel it by opening or closing one finger at an even pace. Whatever your pace, six counts is three times your Madd Asli.

📖 Riwayah: every count on this page follows Hafs ʿan ʿAsim through Ash-Shatibiyyah. Other turuq and qiraʾat may differ.

The Rules and Conditions of Madd Lazim

The Madd Lazim rules come down to two conditions:

1. There is a madd letter

One of the three huroof al-madd — ا, و or ي — sakin, with the matching vowel on the letter before it.

✅ الضَّالِّينَ — alif with a fathah before it · ❌ خَوْف — a waw with sukoon after a fathah is a letter of leen, not a madd letter; stopping on this word gives Madd Leen.

2. It is followed by an original sukoon (plain or inside a shaddah)

The sukoon belongs to the word, so it is present whether you stop or continue.

✅ الْحَاقَّةُ — shaddah · ✅ آلْآنَ — sukoon on the laam (ibdal reading) · ❌ نَسْتَعِينُ at a stop — that sukoon comes from stopping, so it is Madd ʿArid lis-Sukoon.

If both conditions hold, it is Madd Lazim: six counts, whether you stop or continue. A faster or slower pace changes how long each count lasts, not the number of counts. The few transmitted exceptions are listed under Special cases.

How Many Counts Is Madd Lazim?

Six counts (six harakat) as the general rule, in all four types. Six is the longest length any madd reaches in this route; the difference is that Madd Lazim takes it by rule, where other madds such as Madd ʿArid lis-Sukoon allow it only as one option. Here is where it sits against two madds you already know:

Madd	Counts	Fixed or optional?
Madd Asli	2	Fixed
Madd Wajib Muttasil	4 or 5	Choose one, stay consistent
Madd Lazim ← this page	6	Six by rule — see special cases

Three rows only. The full table of every madd and its length is on the Madd rules hub. Madd Jaiz Munfasil also takes 4 or 5 in this route.

⚠️ Muthaqqal and mukhaffaf describe what happens to the sukoon, not the length. Both are six counts.

Muthaqqal (heavy) refers to assimilation producing a doubled consonant: the sukoon after the madd letter merges into the next letter, which is written with a shaddah. Mukhaffaf (light) means there is no such merging: the sukoon is not doubled into the next letter.

Ghunnah is applied where required by the consonant and its rule; it is not a feature of every muthaqqal example. The doubled lam of الضَّالِّينَ has no ghunnah. The doubled meem produced in الۤمۤ does, because a doubled meem or noon always carries ghunnah.

Light never means shorter. In English the words suggest a difference in length, so it is easy to assume one — but there is none.

Special cases in this route

The general rule is six counts. A few specific cases have a transmitted ruling of their own. These are documented readings — not permission to shorten an ordinary Madd Lazim.

ʿAyn in كۤهيعۤصۤ (Maryam 19:1) and عۤسۤقۤ (Ash-Shura 42:2): in Hafs through Ash-Shatibiyyah it is prolonged for four or six counts, with six preferred. Its middle letter is a letter of leen, not a madd letter — see the explanation below.
الۤمۤ ۝ اللَّهُ at the opening of Aal ʿImran (3:1–2): when you join the two ayat, the meem is given a temporary fatḥah (مِيمَ اللَّهُ) so that two sukoons do not meet. The yaa of meem may then be read with six counts (considering the original sukoon) or two counts (considering the temporary vowel). If you stop on الۤمۤ, it is six as usual.
آلْآنَ (Yunus 10:51 and 10:91): Hafs has two recognised ways of reading the second hamzah. With ibdal it becomes a long alif that meets the sukoon of the laam, giving a six-count Kalimi Mukhaffaf. With tashil — easing it between hamzah and alif — there is no substituted alif, so that six-count madd does not occur. The ibdal way is the one generally given first, and it is the one this page uses as the Kalimi Mukhaffaf example.

Outside these transmitted cases, shortening a Madd Lazim is an error, not an option.

Madd Lazim pronunciation: what six counts should sound like

Six counts is one continuous vowel held for the full length. Keep the vowel’s own quality from start to finish — “aa” stays “aa” — and keep the articulation of the letters around it correct. Two things go wrong most often: rushing the tail, because six counts can feel long in continuous reading, and changing the sound during the hold, for example breaking it into pulses, drifting towards another vowel, or adding a catch or an “h” at the end. Natural variation in the voice is not a fault; distorting or breaking the vowel is.

🎧 Reference recitation · Al-Fatihah 1:7 · full ayah

… وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ

Full ayah — the Madd Lazim is in the last word. Listen for the long alif before the doubled lam.

The settings above apply to every play button on this page. Slow speed and repeat affect playback only; they do not change the ruling.

Tap a play button to hear the full ayah in Al-Husary’s voice.

The Four Types of Madd Lazim

The types of Madd Lazim are the answers to two yes/no questions:

Question 1 — where is it? Inside an ordinary word, or inside a spelled-out letter? → Kalimi (كلمي, word-based) or Harfi (حرفي, letter-based).

Question 2 — is the sukoon merged into the next letter? Yes, producing a doubled letter (shaddah), or no? → Muthaqqal (مثقل, heavy) or Mukhaffaf (مخفف, light).

Two questions × two answers = four types:

Kalimi Muthaqqal

In a word · a doubled letter follows

الضَّالِّينَ

6 counts

Kalimi Mukhaffaf

In a word · a plain sukoon follows

آلْآنَ

6 counts (ibdal)

Only 2 places in Hafs: Yunus 10:51 and 10:91

Harfi Muthaqqal

In a spelled letter · merged into the next

الۤمۤ

The laam: laam’s final meem merges into the meem that follows.

6 counts

Harfi Mukhaffaf

In a spelled letter · no idgham into the next

صۤ · قۤ · نۤ

6 counts

All four cells: six counts as the general rule. The types differ in where they sit and whether the sukoon merges into the next letter — not in their basic length.

Madd Lazim types branching diagram showing Kalimi and Harfi, Muthaqqal and Mukhaffaf — Two questions, four answers — and one general length underneath them.

Madd Lazim Kalimi

Kalimi comes from kalimah (كلمة), a word. In Madd Lazim Kalimi the madd letter and the sukoon that causes it sit inside one single word, so both are visible on the page. It is usually the first type learners meet.

Madd Lazim Kalimi Muthaqqal

A madd letter followed by a doubled letter (shaddah) inside one word — the type you recite at the end of Al-Fatihah in every rakʿah.

The mechanic in one line: a shaddah is really two letters — a sakin one merged into a vowelled one. So the original sukoon required by the rule is there; the shaddah is the result of that merging. Pronounce the doubled letter fully. Whether ghunnah is added depends on the letter: لّ, قّ, خّ, بّ and جّ take none; a doubled مّ or نّ does.

Each button below plays the full ayah. The note under each example tells you where the word falls.

وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ

Al-Fatihah 1:7 · last word of the ayah · alif, then a doubled lam (no ghunnah) · 6 counts

الْحَاقَّةُ

Al-Haqqah 69:1 · the whole ayah is this word · doubled qaaf · 6 counts

فَإِذَا جَاءَتِ الصَّاخَّةُ

ʿAbasa 80:33 · last word · doubled khaa · 6 counts

فَإِذَا جَاءَتِ الطَّامَّةُ الْكُبْرَىٰ

An-Naziʿat 79:34 · third word · doubled meem, so ghunnah applies to the meem · 6 counts

… مِن كُلِّ دَابَّةٍ …

Al-Baqarah 2:164 · a long ayah; the word comes in its second half · doubled baa · 6 counts

قَالَ أَتُحَاجُّونِّي فِي اللَّهِ

Al-Anʿam 6:80 · near the start of the ayah · two Kalimi Muthaqqal in one word: the alif before the doubled jeem (no ghunnah) and the waw before the doubled noon (with ghunnah) · 6 counts each

Madd Lazim Kalimi Mukhaffaf

A madd letter followed by a plain original sukoon inside one word — no doubling, no merging, and still six counts.

📌 The rarest type of Madd Lazim in Hafs

In Hafs, Madd Lazim Kalimi Mukhaffaf occurs in two places only — both the word آلْآنَ, in Surah Yunus 10:51 and 10:91 — and only on the ibdal reading described in Special cases. The madd is the alif of آ, and the sukoon sits on the لْ that follows it.

أَثُمَّ إِذَا مَا وَقَعَ آمَنتُم بِهِ ۚ آلْآنَ وَقَدْ كُنتُم بِهِ تَسْتَعْجِلُونَ

Yunus 10:51 · occurrence 1 of 2 · the word comes in the middle of the ayah, after بِهِ

آلْآنَ وَقَدْ عَصَيْتَ قَبْلُ وَكُنتَ مِنَ الْمُفْسِدِينَ

Yunus 10:91 · occurrence 2 of 2 · the ayah opens with the word

Why only here? الآن (“now”) begins with the definite article, whose laam carries an original sukoon. When the interrogative hamzah is placed before it, the hamzah of ال may be changed into a long alif (ibdal). That alif now stands directly before the laam’s sukoon — a madd letter followed by an original, un-doubled sukoon inside one word.

Madd Lazim Harfi

To see Madd Lazim Harfi you need one prerequisite: the disjointed letters at the start of twenty-nine surahs are pronounced as their full names, not as their sounds. ص is read ṣaad. ق is read qaaf. ن is read noon.

Now look at what those names are made of: three letters, with a madd letter in the middle and a sukoon at the end — ṣ-aa-d. That is a madd letter followed by an original sukoon, so it is a Madd Lazim of six counts, even though no alif is written on the page. These are the huroof muqattaʿat (الحروف المقطعة), also called fawatih as-suwar.

Fourteen letters appear in these openings. They sort into three groups, with ʿayn as a special case inside the first. Two mnemonic phrases cover them:

Group	Letters	Spoken name	Madd
نَقَصَ عَسَلُكُمْ	ن ق ص ع س ل ك م	3 letters, madd letter in the middle (ʿayn: a leen letter in the middle)	Madd Lazim Harfi — 6 ʿayn: 4 or 6, six preferred
حَيٌّ طَهُرَ	ح ي ط ه ر	2 letters, no sukoon after the madd	Madd Asli — 2
ا	alif, spoken أَلِفْ	3 letters, but the middle letter (laam) is not a madd letter	No madd

⚠️ The special case of ʿayn: ع is spoken عَيْنْ. Its middle يْ comes after a fatḥah, so it is a letter of leen, not a madd letter. In Hafs through Ash-Shatibiyyah, ʿayn in the openings of Maryam and Ash-Shura is prolonged for four or six counts, with six preferred.

This is not the same as ordinary Madd Leen, which appears only when you stop on a word like خَوْف. Here the sukoon after the leen letter is original — it is part of the letter’s name — so it is present whether you stop or continue. That is why ʿayn is listed in نَقَصَ عَسَلُكُمْ but has its own ruling.

Madd Lazim Harfi Muthaqqal

The spelled-out letter ends in a sukoon that is merged (idgham) into the letter that follows, producing a doubled consonant. In the openings read in Hafs, that doubled consonant is a meem, so ghunnah is present in these examples — because the doubled letter is a meem, not because every muthaqqal madd has ghunnah.

This type is easy to miss, because nothing on the page looks like a madd and the merge happens between two separate letter names.

الۤمۤ

Al-Baqarah 2:1 · alif · laaam · meeem — the final meem of laam merges into the meem that follows, so the laam is Harfi Muthaqqal, with the ghunnah of the doubled meem. See rules of Meem Sakinah.

طسۤمۤ

Ash-Shuʿara 26:1 · the final noon of seen merges into the meem (idgham with ghunnah) · the seen is Harfi Muthaqqal, 6 counts

Madd Lazim Harfi Mukhaffaf

The spelled-out letter ends in a sukoon that is not merged into the next letter — no idgham — with the same six counts. The absence of idgham does not switch off other rules: in عۤسۤقۤ, for example, the final noon of seen is pronounced with ikhfa before the qaaf, yet the seen is still Mukhaffaf. Each of these ayat opens with the letter:

صۤ وَالْقُرْآنِ ذِي الذِّكْرِ

Sad 38:1 · ṣaad · 6 counts

قۤ وَالْقُرْآنِ الْمَجِيدِ

Qaf 50:1 · qaaf · 6 counts

نۤ وَالْقَلَمِ وَمَا يَسْطُرُونَ

Al-Qalam 68:1 · noon · in Hafs the final noon is pronounced clearly before the waw · 6 counts

The meem of الۤمۤ is Mukhaffaf too, and so are the kaaf and ṣaad of كۤهيعۤصۤ — which brings us to a useful five-letter example.

Worked example: كۤهيعۤصۤ, letter by letter

Five letters, three different rulings, one ayah — Maryam 19:1. The whole ayah is these five letters, so the button plays all of them in order:

كۤهيعۤصۤ

Maryam 19:1 · listen for the order: kaaf · haa · yaa · ʿayn · ṣaad

Letter	Read as	Ruling	Counts
كۤ	kaaf	Madd Lazim Harfi Mukhaffaf	6
هـ	haa	Madd Asli	2
ي	yaa	Madd Asli	2
عۤ	ʿayn	Leen letter + original sukoon (special case); its final noon has ikhfa before the ṣaad	4 or 6 six preferred
صۤ	ṣaad	Madd Lazim Harfi Mukhaffaf	6

The same treatment works on حمۤ ۝ عۤسۤقۤ (Ash-Shura 42:1–2): ḥaa is 2, meem is 6, ʿayn is 4 or 6 (six preferred), seen is 6 and qaaf is 6. None of the letters merges into the next, so there is no Muthaqqal here — although the final noon of ʿayn and of seen is pronounced with ikhfa. That makes it a useful contrast with الۤمۤ.

حمۤ

Ash-Shura 42:1 · ḥaa 2 · meem 6 (Mukhaffaf)

عۤسۤقۤ

Ash-Shura 42:2 · ʿayn 4 or 6 (six preferred) · seen 6 (Mukhaffaf, with ikhfa) · qaaf 6 (Mukhaffaf)

الۤمۤصۤ

Al-Aʿraf 7:1 · laam 6 (Muthaqqal) · meem 6 (Mukhaffaf) · ṣaad 6 (Mukhaffaf)

How to Identify Madd Lazim in 2 Steps

Ask two questions, in this order:

1. Is this a spelled-out disjointed letter at the start of a surah?

Yes → check it against نَقَصَ عَسَلُكُمْ. If it is in that list, it is Madd Lazim Harfi: six counts, except ʿayn (four or six, six preferred). Then ask: does its final sukoon merge into the next letter (Muthaqqal) or not (Mukhaffaf)?

No → go to step 2.

2. Is there a madd letter followed by an original sukoon inside the word?

Doubled letter (shaddah) → Kalimi Muthaqqal, six counts. Plain sukoon → Kalimi Mukhaffaf, six counts (in Hafs, only آلْآنَ on the ibdal reading).

Neither → it is not Madd Lazim. If the sukoon only appears because you stopped, it is Madd ʿArid lis-Sukoon.

How to identify Madd Lazim in two steps, original sukoon versus sukoon from stopping — Two questions, and the four types sort themselves.

The key question: is the sukoon original — part of the word — or introduced by stopping? Original → Madd Lazim, six counts as the rule. Introduced by stopping → Madd ʿArid lis-Sukoon, where two, four or six are permitted.

Madd Lazim vs Madd Asli

These two sit at opposite ends of the madd chapter: the two-count baseline with no cause, and the six-count madd with a permanent cause.

Feature	Madd Asli (المد الأصلي)	Madd Lazim (المد اللازم)
Cause	None — it is the baseline	An original sukoon (plain or doubled) after the madd letter
Length	2	6 (general rule; see special cases)
Ruling	Fixed, as the natural length	Necessary — lazim
Where the sukoon comes from	No sukoon is involved	From the word itself, not from stopping — unlike Madd ʿArid lis-Sukoon
Where you find it	Throughout the Quran	Specific words, and the disjointed letters that open twenty-nine surahs
Examples	قَالَ · نُوحِيهَا · يَقُولُ	الضَّالِّينَ · آلْآنَ · الۤمۤ · صۤ
Sub-types	ʿIwad · Silah Sughra · Tamkeen	Kalimi Muthaqqal · Kalimi Mukhaffaf · Harfi Muthaqqal · Harfi Mukhaffaf

Your Madd Lazim is three times your Madd Asli, so a steady two-count makes a steady six-count much easier to build. Work on the baseline first.

Madd Lazim Examples in the Quran

Twelve Madd Lazim examples in Quran text, covering all four types, each linked to the recitation of Sheikh Mahmoud Khalil Al-Husary. Every button plays the full ayah; where the ayah is longer than the example, the note tells you where to listen. The madd letter is marked in blue and its cause — the sukoon or the doubled letter — in orange.

وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ

Al-Fatihah 1:7 · Kalimi Muthaqqal · last word · alif, then a doubled lam

الْحَاقَّةُ

Al-Haqqah 69:1 · Kalimi Muthaqqal · the whole ayah · doubled qaaf

الصَّاخَّةُ

ʿAbasa 80:33 · Kalimi Muthaqqal · last word · doubled khaa

الطَّامَّةُ

An-Naziʿat 79:34 · Kalimi Muthaqqal · third word · doubled meem, with ghunnah

دَابَّةٍ

Al-Baqarah 2:164 · Kalimi Muthaqqal · second half of a long ayah · doubled baa

أَتُحَاجُّونِّي

Al-Anʿam 6:80 · Kalimi Muthaqqal ×2 · near the start · doubled jeem (no ghunnah), then doubled noon (ghunnah)

آلْآنَ

Yunus 10:51 · Kalimi Mukhaffaf (ibdal reading) · middle of the ayah · 1 of 2 in Hafs

آلْآنَ

Yunus 10:91 · Kalimi Mukhaffaf (ibdal reading) · first word · 2 of 2 in Hafs

الۤمۤ

Al-Baqarah 2:1 · both harfi types in one ayah — Muthaqqal in the laam, Mukhaffaf in the meem

طسۤمۤ

Ash-Shuʿara 26:1 · Harfi Muthaqqal in the seen (its noon merges into the meem) · Harfi Mukhaffaf in the meem

قۤ وَالْقُرْآنِ الْمَجِيدِ

Qaf 50:1 · Harfi Mukhaffaf · qaaf — madd, then a sukoon that is not merged

كۤهيعۤصۤ

Maryam 19:1 · Harfi Mukhaffaf ×2 (kaaf, ṣaad), Madd Asli ×2 (haa, yaa), and ʿayn at 4 or 6

🎧 Listen to example 9 twice. الۤمۤ holds both harfi types: the final meem of laam merges into the next meem (idgham, with the ghunnah of a doubled meem), while the final meem of meem is not merged into anything. Both are six counts — a clear demonstration that muthaqqal and mukhaffaf describe the merging, not the length.

Madd Lazim Quran examples you already recite

Al-Fatihah ends on one in every rakʿah — وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ. Add the openings of the three surahs that begin with a single letter: Qaf (قۤ), Sad (صۤ) and Al-Qalam (نۤ) — four examples of Madd Lazim, three of them in the first word of a surah.

6 Common Madd Lazim Mistakes

1. Assuming mukhaffaf is shorter than muthaqqal

The English words “heavy” and “light” can suggest a difference in length. There is none: the terms describe whether the sukoon merges into the next letter. Both are six counts.

2. Not stretching the disjointed letters

Reciting صۤ as a clipped sound instead of ṣaaaaaad. This often happens when a learner has not been taught that each letter is read as its full name.

3. Cutting the six counts short

Six counts can feel long in continuous reading, so it is easy to settle at four without noticing. The rhythm exercise below can help you build a steadier feel for the proportion; a teacher listening to your recitation is the reliable check.

4. Not pronouncing the doubled consonant fully

In the muthaqqal types the sukoon merges into the next letter, so that letter is doubled. Reading الضَّالِّينَ with a single, light lam — or releasing the doubled qaaf of الْحَاقَّةُ too quickly — loses the doubling even if the six counts are correct. Do not add ghunnah to letters such as lam or qaaf to make up for it.

A separate error is omitting ghunnah where it does apply: on a doubled meem or noon, as in the merged meem of الۤمۤ, the مّ of الطَّامَّةُ, or the نّ of أَتُحَاجُّونِّي.

5. Confusing it with Madd ʿArid lis-Sukoon

Treating a sukoon created by stopping as if it belonged to the word, and so believing only six is allowed where two, four or six are all permitted — or, the other way round, treating a Madd Lazim as optional. Original or introduced by stopping: that is the test.

6. Letting the vowel change or break during the hold

Filling the six counts by breaking the vowel into pulses, drifting to another vowel, nasalising a vowel that has no ghunnah, or ending with an added catch or “h”. The vowel should stay the same sound, with correct articulation, for the full length. Ordinary variation in the voice is not the issue; a change in the sound itself is.

Practise Madd Lazim

Six-beat rhythm exercise

This is a timing exercise, not a recitation test. Choose a practice tempo, then press and hold the button only while you sustain the madd vowel — for example the long “aa” of الضَّالِّينَ — and release the moment that vowel ends. Do not time the whole word.

The tool measures only how long you hold the button. It cannot hear you, and it does not assess ghunnah, makhraj, pronunciation or whether your recitation is correct.

Practice tempo: Round 1 of 10 · Matches: 0

At this tempo one beat lasts 0.5 s, so the two-beat reference is 1.0 s and the six-beat target is 3.0 s.

The tempo exists only for this exercise. It does not define how long a harakah lasts: in real recitation a count follows the reciter’s own steady pace.

Visual rhythm guide

A standalone visual guide at the tempo above. It is not synchronised with any recording. The first two segments mark a two-beat length.

Hold for the length of the madd vowel. The green zone is this exercise’s six-beat target.

Mouse, touch or keyboard: with the button focused, hold Space or Enter. A hold is cancelled, and not counted, if your finger slides off, the page loses focus, or the browser interrupts the touch. The recording is Al-Husary’s natural recitation pace; the exercise tempo is separate from it.

Which Madd Lazim is it?

Ten questions. Each one names a target — a word, or one letter inside a disjointed opening. Play the ayah if you like, then choose the type of Madd Lazim in that target.

Question 1 of 10 Score: 0

Word or spelled letter? Merged into the next letter or not?

Spell the letter: all 14 disjointed letters

Tap any letter to see how its name is pronounced, how many letters that spoken name contains, and what ruling follows. The count is of the letters in the spoken name, not of the symbols printed in the mushaf.

Tap a letter above to reveal its spoken name and its ruling.

Play: Madd Lazim Gates (Free Game)

Spotting a Madd Lazim slowly on a page is one skill; spotting it while the recitation keeps moving is another. Pick the right gate before the word reaches it. The game runs in your browser and needs no account.

Game not loading? Open it in a new tab · or browse all our free Tajweed games · the full madd counts drill is on the Madd rules hub.

📚 Learn More

Madd Asli is the baseline at two counts, and Madd Lazim is three of them. Madd Wajib Muttasil and Madd Jaiz Munfasil sit between at four or five in this route — Muttasil obligatory because its hamzah is in the same word, Munfasil permissible because the hamzah is in the next word. Madd Silah is the pronoun’s ha’: two counts in its Sughra form, four or five in its Kubra form when a hamzah follows. Read in that order, the chapter is a scale from two to six.

The rest of the madd family

Madd Badal (2) · Madd ʿArid lis-Sukoon (2 · 4 · 6) · Madd Leen (2 · 4 · 6, when stopping)

The rest of the Tajweed cluster

Tajweed Rules · Rules of Meem Sakinah · Noon Sakin Rules · Qalqalah Letters · Tajweed Game · Tajweed for Adults · Tajweed for Kids

Madd Lazim FAQ

Q1. What is Madd Lazim?

Madd Lazim (المد اللازم) is the lengthening of a madd letter — alif, waw or yaa — when it is followed by an original sukoon, plain or inside a shaddah. In Hafs through Ash-Shatibiyyah it is held for six counts as a general rule, with a few transmitted special cases.

Q2. Why is it called Madd Lazim?

Lazim means necessary or binding. Two explanations are given: its cause is binding — the sukoon belongs to the word and is present whether you stop or continue — and its length is binding, since the reciters agree on holding it for six counts.

Q3. How many beats is Madd Lazim?

Six counts, as the general rule in all four types. In Hafs through Ash-Shatibiyyah a few specific cases have a transmitted ruling of their own: ʿayn in Maryam and Ash-Shura (four or six, six preferred); الۤمۤ joined to اللَّهُ at the opening of Aal ʿImran (two or six); and آلْآنَ read with tashil, which has no six-count madd. Shortening an ordinary Madd Lazim by choice is not permitted.

Q4. How do I identify Madd Lazim?

Ask whether the sukoon after the madd letter is original or only introduced by stopping. If a madd letter is followed by a shaddah or an original sukoon inside the word, or if you are reciting a spelled-out disjointed letter from نَقَصَ عَسَلُكُمْ, it is Madd Lazim (with ʿayn as a special case).

Q5. What are the four types of Madd Lazim?

Kalimi Muthaqqal (in a word, followed by a doubled letter), Kalimi Mukhaffaf (in a word, followed by a plain sukoon), Harfi Muthaqqal (in a spelled-out letter whose final sukoon merges into the next letter) and Harfi Mukhaffaf (in a spelled-out letter, with no such merging). All four are six counts as a general rule.

Q6. What is the difference between muthaqqal and mukhaffaf?

Muthaqqal refers to assimilation producing a doubled consonant: the sukoon after the madd letter merges into the next letter. Mukhaffaf means there is no such merging. Ghunnah is applied where required by the consonant and its rule; it is not a feature of every muthaqqal example — the doubled lam of الضَّالِّينَ has none, while the doubled meem in الۤمۤ has it. The difference is not in length: both are six counts.

Q7. What is the difference between Madd Lazim Kalimi and Harfi?

Kalimi occurs inside an ordinary word, like الضَّالِّينَ. Harfi occurs inside a disjointed letter at the start of a surah, like صۤ or الۤمۤ, where the letter is pronounced as its full name rather than as its sound.

Q8. Where is Madd Lazim Kalimi Mukhaffaf in the Quran?

In Hafs, only in the word آلْآنَ, in Surah Yunus 10:51 and 10:91, when its second hamzah is read with ibdal (changed into a long alif). Read with tashil, the word does not contain this six-count madd.

Q9. What is the difference between Madd Lazim and Madd ʿArid lis-Sukoon?

Both have a sukoon after the madd letter. In Madd Lazim the sukoon is original — part of the word — so the length is six by rule. In Madd ʿArid lis-Sukoon the sukoon exists only because you stopped, so two, four or six are all permitted.

Q10. Which disjointed letters have Madd Lazim?

The letters of نَقَصَ عَسَلُكُمْ (ن ق ص ع س ل ك م), because each spoken name has three letters with a sukoon at the end. Seven of them have a madd letter in the middle and take six counts. ʿAyn has a leen letter in the middle instead: in Hafs through Ash-Shatibiyyah it takes four or six counts, with six preferred. The five letters of حَيٌّ طَهُرَ take two counts, and alif has no madd.

Get Individual Feedback on Your Madd Lazim

Length is hard to judge in your own recitation. In a free trial lesson, a teacher listens as you recite and corrects your Madd Lazim — the length, the doubled letters and the ghunnah where it applies — as you go.

May Allah beautify your recitation and accept it from you. 🤲

Hafidha of the Quran · Arabic Language Graduate · Writer on Islamic Sciences

Jehad Mahmoud is a graduate of the Arabic Language department and a Hafidha of the Quran who writes the Islamic educational content at Quran Book Academy.

She writes with a focus on Tajweed, Quranic recitation and the sharia sciences, making technical rules accessible to English-speaking Muslim families.

Her articles are educational, not fatwa. For a ruling on a specific personal situation, readers are advised to consult a qualified scholar or mufti.

Tajweed Madd Quranic Sciences Quran Recitation

References & Sources

1. ʿAbd al-Fattah al-Qadi, Al-Wafi fi Sharh ash-Shatibiyyah, chapter on madd and qasr (باب المد والقصر) — Islamweb library. Six counts for a madd before an original sukoon; the four groups of opening letters; ʿayn with four or six counts, six preferred; the two ways for الۤمۤ ۝ اللَّهُ in Aal ʿImran.

2. Muhammad ʿAbd al-Munʿim al-Muslimi, “أقسام المد اللازم” (The Types of Madd Lazim) — Alukah. The four types; آلْآنَ as the only Kalimi Mukhaffaf in Hafs, with ibdal or tashil; the reasons for the name; ʿayn and the opening letters.

3. Sulayman al-Jamzuri, Tuhfat al-Atfal — the madd chapter and its divisions, and the line on the ghunnah of the doubled meem and noon (وغُنَّ ميمًا ثم نونًا شُدِّدا). Classical primer; no online edition linked.

4. Quran text — Yunus 10:51 · Al-Anʿam 6:80 (Quran.com, Uthmani script).

5. Recitation — Sheikh Mahmoud Khalil Al-Husary (Hafs, murattal), full-ayah files via EveryAyah.com.

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September 28, 2026

Madd Asli in Tajweed: The Natural Madd, Its Three Letters, and Why It Is Always 2 Counts

Madd Lazim 6 The longest madd, caused by a sukoon or shaddah that never goes away. Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon 2 · 4 · 6 What a madd becomes when your stop makes the letter right after the madd letter sakin — when that letter is not a hamzah — e.g. الْعَالَمِينْ at the end of the ayah. Madd Lin 2 · 4 · 6 The خَوْف case at a stop: a sakin waw or yaa after a fathah — a layn letter, not a madd letter. Madd Silah 2 · 4–5 Sughra is two counts in connected recitation, Kubra is a secondary madd — one letter, two very different lengths.

Written by Jehad Mahmoud

9 min read

Madd Rules · The Natural Madd

Madd Asli in Tajweed: The Natural Madd, Its Three Letters, and Why It Is Always 2 Counts

Quran Book Academy · Quran & Tajweed Library

Three letters · Three conditions · One length · Ayah audio by Sheikh Al-Husary · Free practice tools & game

A learner reads قَالَ and clips its alif to a single count without noticing — because nothing after that alif calls for attention, and no special sign marks it. That alif is Madd Asli: the madd that needs no hamzah and no sukoon after it to exist. It is the same rule your teacher may call Madd Tabee’i — two names, one rule — and it is held for two counts. It belongs to the wider chapter of madd rules inside Tajweed rules, and every count on this page follows the riwayah of Hafs ‘an ‘Asim by the way of Ash-Shatibiyyah.

Also written Madd al-Asli (المد الأصلي), Madd Tabi’i (المد الطبيعي), Mad Asli, Madd Aslee, or simply the natural madd / original madd / primary madd in English.

⚡ The 30-second version: three madd letters (ا · و · ي) · no hamzah and no sukoon right after them · two counts, fixed · and one habit that sorts most cases: once you have found the madd letter, look at what comes immediately after it, the way you are actually reading (continuing or stopping).

Alif (ا) Always sakin, and the letter before it always carries a fathah. قَالَ qaa-la · the alif after قَـ · “aa”

Waw (و) Sakin, and the letter before it carries a dammah. يَقُولُ ya-qoo-lu · the waw after قُـ · “oo”

Yaa (ي) Sakin, and the letter before it carries a kasrah. قِيلَ qee-la · the yaa after قِـ · “ee”

The three madd letters and the vowel each one needs before it. With nothing after them that changes the length, each is held for two counts.

What Is Madd Asli in Tajweed?

Madd Asli (المد الأصلي), also called Madd Tabee’i (المد الطبيعي), is the natural lengthening of a madd letter — alif (ا), waw (و) or yaa (ي) — when no hamzah and no sukoon follows it. It is held for two counts, and it needs no additional cause to exist.

Both names are literal. Asli means original; tabee’i means natural. They describe the length a madd letter already has before any other rule acts on it — the baseline state of a madd letter, not a special case.

A helpful way to see the whole chapter: several secondary madds are named after the cause that lengthens them. Muttasil is named after a hamzah joined to the madd letter in the same word, Munfasil after a hamzah separated from it in the next word, ‘Arid lis-Sukoon after a sukoon that appears only when you stop, and Lazim after a sukoon that stays. Madd Asli needs none of these, so it is named after what it is: the original, natural length of the letter.

One word on the unit. A count (harakah, also called a beat) is commonly explained as the time it takes to fold or open one finger at a steady pace. It is relative, not a fixed number of seconds: the classical scholars state that reciters lengthen the madd in proportion to their pace, so a slow, careful recitation has longer counts than a fast one. What matters is that your two counts stay in proportion to the pace you are reciting at.

This is why Madd Asli deserves more attention than it usually gets. It is often taught as the easy one and then given little practice — yet the longer madds are measured in the same counts. Four counts is twice this length; six is three times it. If your 2-count is unstable, your longer madds become harder to measure too. Madd Asli is not just the easy rule; it is the measuring stick.

📖 Note on riwayah: all counts on this page follow Hafs ‘an ‘Asim by the way of Ash-Shatibiyyah.

Madd Asli and Madd Tabee’i: Are They the Same?

Yes — identical rule, two names. Some books and teachers say madd tabee’i, others say madd asli, and many translate it as the natural madd. If your teacher says “tabee’i” and your book says “asli”, nothing has changed and there is nothing extra to learn.

The Madd Asli Letters

There are three — the huroof al-madd (حروف المد) — and the other madds of the madd letters are built on the same three. (Madd Lin is the exception: it is built on the layn letters, covered below.) In most cases, what separates one madd from another is not the letter but what comes right after it.

Madd letter	Must be	Preceded by	Example	Sounds like
ا (alif)	always sakinah — it has no vowel of its own	fathah	قَالَ	aa
و (waw)	sakinah	dammah	يَقُولُ	oo
ي (yaa)	sakinah	kasrah	قِيلَ	ee

The matching condition in that table is the whole rule, and it prevents a very common misidentification. A waw or a yaa is a madd letter only when it is sakin and the letter before it carries the matching vowel. The وَ in وَلَد carries a fathah of its own, so it is not a madd letter at all — and neither is the waw of هُوَ, which also carries a fathah. The وْ in خَوْف is sakin, but it is preceded by a fathah rather than a dammah — that is a layn letter, not a madd letter. It is not lengthened while you continue reading; it may be lengthened (Madd Lin) only when you stop on the word, because the stop makes the letter right after it sakin.

🧠 The memory hook

All three madd letters are written in one word: نُوحِيهَآ (Hud 11:49). Waw after a dammah, yaa after a kasrah, alif after a fathah.

But look at what follows in the ayah: نُوحِيهَآ إِلَيْكَ. The و and the ي are natural madd, two counts each. The final ا is followed by the hamzah that begins إِلَيْكَ, so in connected recitation it becomes Madd Munfasil (4 or 5 counts in Hafs via Ash-Shatibiyyah). Only if you stop on نُوحِيهَا is that final alif two counts. One word, three madd letters — but not three natural madds when you recite the ayah through.

نُوحِيهَآ إِلَيْكَ

Hud 11:49 · Al-Husary · full ayah · these two words come near the start

This plays the complete ayah in connected recitation. The reciter continues from نُوحِيهَآ into إِلَيْكَ without stopping, so the final alif you hear is the Munfasil length.

The Rules and Conditions of Madd Asli

Three conditions, and all three must hold at the same time for the madd letter you are looking at. Miss any one of them and that occurrence is no longer Madd Asli.

1. There is a madd letter

An ا, و or ي that is sakin, with the matching vowel on the letter before it.

✅ قَالَ · ❌ وَلَد (the waw carries a fathah — not a madd letter)

2. No hamzah follows it

Not in the same word, and — when you continue reading — not at the start of the next word.

✅ قِيلَ · ❌ جَاءَ (that is Madd Wajib Muttasil) · ❌ the final alif of نُوحِيهَآ إِلَيْكَ (Madd Munfasil when continuing)

3. No sukoon follows it

The letter immediately after the madd letter must not be sakin. A permanent sukoon or a shaddah there gives Madd Lazim. And if you stop on a word so that the letter immediately after the madd letter becomes temporarily sakin, that occurrence becomes Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon — unless that last letter is a hamzah. Before a final hamzah in the same word (السَّمَاءْ at a stop), the madd is still Muttasil: 4, 5 or 6 counts at the stop, never 2.

Stopping does not change every madd in the word. It only affects a madd letter that sits directly before the letter you stop on. In الْعَالَمِينَ at a stop, the ي before the final ن becomes ‘Arid, while the ا after the ع stays natural. And when the madd letter is itself the last sound — stopping on نُوحِيهَا or فِي — nothing follows it, so it stays two counts. (These examples show how a stop changes the ruling; they are not advice on where to stop for meaning.)

✅ الرَّحْمَٰنِ (continuing) · ❌ الضَّالِّينَ (the alif before the doubled lam is Madd Lazim)

If all three hold, it is Madd Asli and it is 2 counts — at whatever pace you are reciting.

That line is worth sitting with. Madd Asli has a fixed length of two counts. Munfasil, in Hafs via Ash-Shatibiyyah, is read at four or five. ‘Arid lis-Sukoon allows two, four or six. Asli stays at two — and that stability is what makes it a reliable measuring stick for everything else.

How Many Counts Is Madd Asli?

Two counts (harakatayn). Not one, not three. Here is where that sits against two lengths you will meet next:

Madd	Counts	Fixed or optional?
Madd Asli	2	Fixed — two counts at your recitation pace
Madd Wajib Muttasil	4 or 5	Choose one, then stay consistent (stopping on its final hamzah: that length or 6, never 2)
Madd Lazim	6	Fixed

This is the short version. The full counts table for every madd lives on the madd rules hub.

Shortening a natural madd below two counts is an error, not a lighter option. Note the terminology: this error is not what the scholars mean by qasr (قصر). In discussions of madd lengths, qasr means keeping the madd letter at its basic length, without extra lengthening — two counts. That is why, for example, the shortest permitted length of Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon is called qasr.

Drifting to three is the “creeping madd” habit: it tends to develop when the reader sees a Muttasil or a Lazim coming later in the ayah and starts stretching early, so the long madd will not feel like a jump. Both errors are hard to hear in your own recitation.

Madd Asli two count length compared with four and six count madds — Two counts is the unit. Four is two of them; six is three of them.

Madd Asli pronunciation: what a correct 2-count sounds like

A clear, continuous vowel held for two counts. The vowel keeps its own quality from start to finish — “aa” stays “aa” without drifting toward another vowel — and it is not interrupted, broken into pulses, or finished with an added sound such as a hamzah-like catch, an “h”, a nasal ghunnah or an extra vowel. The natural melody of recitation can carry the voice across the madd; a change in pitch on its own does not make a madd wrong. What you are checking is length, continuity and vowel quality.

قَالَ

Al-Baqarah 2:30 · full ayah · قَالَ is the second word: listen to the alif after the qaf, then stop whenever you like

How to Identify Madd Asli in 3 Steps

This is the method that makes the rest of the chapter readable. Work on one madd letter at a time — a single word can hold more than one madd, and they do not always have the same ruling. With practice it becomes quick.

Step 1 · Find the madd letter. Is there an ا, و or ي that is sakin, with the matching vowel on the letter before it? (A sakin waw or yaa after a fathah is a layn letter — a different case.)

Step 2 · Look at what comes immediately after that letter, the way you are actually reading. A hamzah, in the same word or — when continuing — at the start of the next word? A shaddah or a permanent sukoon? Are you stopping on the letter right after it, so that it becomes sakin? Or does the next word begin with a sakin letter (as in اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ), so that the madd letter drops in pronunciation when you continue?

Step 3 · If every answer in step 2 is “no” → Madd Asli, 2 counts. That includes a madd letter that is itself the last sound you stop on (نُوحِيهَا at a stop). If any answer is “yes”, that occurrence is a Far’i madd (or, in the اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ case, not pronounced) and belongs to one of the pages linked below.

Finding the madd letter is step one. What comes immediately after it — as you are actually reading — decides which madd it is.

Madd Asli · المد الأصلي

Cause: none needed — no hamzah and no sukoon right after the madd letter.

Length: 2 counts, fixed.

قَالَ · يَقُولُ · قِيلَ

Madd Far’i · المد الفرعي

Madd that depends on an additional cause, such as hamzah or sukoon; its permitted length depends on the specific rule.

Not always longer: ‘Arid lis-Sukoon and Lin also permit 2 counts at a stop.

جَاءَ · الضَّالِّينَ · الْعَالَمِينْ

The key question: is there a cause right after the madd letter, or not?

The Sub-Types of Madd Asli

Three forms that are commonly grouped with the natural madd. They are not exceptions to it — they are the same two-count length appearing in three specific situations.

Sub-type	What it is	Example	Counts
Madd ‘Iwad مد العوض	A tanween fath is replaced by a 2-count alif — but only when you stop on the word. This does not apply to a word ending in taa marbutah (ة): رَحْمَةً is stopped on with a sakin haa (رَحْمَهْ), not with an alif.	تَوَّابًا → تَوَّابَا An-Nasr 110:3	2
Madd Silah Sughra الصلة الصغرى	The pronoun haa sitting between two vowelled letters, with no hamzah after it, gets a two-count silah in connected recitation — although the madd letter is only written small (ۥ / ۦ) or not at all. The silah is dropped when you stop on the haa. Hafs has a few transmitted exceptions: يَرْضَهُ لَكُمْ (39:7) has no silah, and فِيهِۦ مُهَانًا (25:69) has silah even though a sakin letter comes before the haa.	إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ An-Nasr 110:3 · continuing	2
Madd Tamkeen مد التمكين	A yaa mushaddadah with kasrah followed by a yaa sakinah — the madd is “made firm” so the two yaas do not collapse into one.	حُيِّيتُم An-Nisa 4:86	2

A note on Madd Badal (آمَنُوا — a hamzah before the madd letter rather than after it). In Hafs it is two counts, the same length as the natural madd. Books classify it differently: some group it with the natural madd, others list it among the secondary madds because the hamzah is treated as its cause (and in some other riwayat it may be lengthened). This page does not build any rule on either classification; the details are on Madd Badal. The larger form of Silah — Silah Kubra — is not natural madd at all; it lives with Madd Silah.

Madd Asli vs Madd Far’i

	Madd Asli (المد الأصلي)	Madd Far’i (المد الفرعي)
Cause	None needed — no hamzah or sukoon right after the madd letter	A cause, usually a hamzah or a sukoon (permanent, or temporary at a stop) — depending on the type
Length	2 counts	Depends on the type: Muttasil and Munfasil 4 or 5 (Hafs via Ash-Shatibiyyah; a Muttasil stopped on its final hamzah also allows 6, never 2) · Lazim 6 · ‘Arid lis-Sukoon 2, 4 or 6 · Lin at a stop 2, 4 or 6
Ruling	Fixed at two counts	Some lengths are required, others allow a choice — depending on the type
Named after	Being original / natural	Often its cause (Muttasil, Munfasil, Lazim, ‘Arid); others after their form (Lin, Silah)
Examples	قَالَ · يَقُولُ · قِيلَ	جَاءَ · إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ · الضَّالِّينَ
Branches	‘Iwad · Silah Sughra · Tamkeen	Madd Wajib Muttasil · Madd Jaiz Munfasil · Madd Lazim · Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon · Madd Lin · Madd Silah Kubra
Classified differently	Madd Badal — two counts in Hafs; some books group it with the natural madd, others with the secondary madds.

Most secondary madds sit on a madd letter that would otherwise have its natural two counts; the hamzah or the sukoon after it is what requires or permits a different length. Madd Lin is different: it sits on a layn letter, which has no natural madd at all — while you continue reading, the waw of خَوْف is simply not lengthened.

Hear the difference — same reciter

قَالَ

Al-Baqarah 2:30 · full ayah · قَالَ is the second word · Madd Asli · 2 counts

إِذَا جَاءَ نَصْرُ اللَّهِ وَالْفَتْحُ

An-Nasr 110:1 · Madd Wajib Muttasil in جَاءَ · 4–5 counts

جَاءَ is the second word of this short ayah.

In isolation neither one sounds wrong. Back to back, the difference is clear — and that contrast is why an unstable 2-count is so hard to self-diagnose.

Madd Asli Examples in the Quran

Madd Asli in the Quran is not rare and it is not hidden — it is on nearly every line you read. Ten examples below, each with the complete ayah recited by Sheikh Mahmoud Khalil Al-Husary. Each card shows the words to listen for; in the longer ayahs they come at the very start.

How to read the underlines

Solid blue — the marked madd is natural (2 counts) in this reading. Solid orange — the marked madd is a secondary madd here. Dashed blue — the word holds more than one madd, or its ruling depends on whether you continue or stop; read the note under the card. Dotted grey — a madd letter is written but dropped when you continue. Faded words are not teaching targets.

Underlines mark selected teaching targets only. A word without an underline may still contain a madd.

👆 Press ▶ Play ayah to hear the complete ayah; press it again, or ■ Stop audio, to stop. The audio is never cut into single words, so you hear the reciter’s own connected recitation and his stop at the end of the ayah.

وَإِذْ قَالَ

1 · Al-Baqarah 2:30 · opening words of a long ayah · alif after fathah · a vowelled lam follows it

تِلْكَ مِنْ أَنبَاءِ الْغَيْبِ نُوحِيهَآ إِلَيْكَ

2 · Hud 11:49 · opening words of the ayah · three madd letters in one word — two natural madds and one Munfasil in this connected recitation

In نُوحِيهَآ: و after a dammah → natural, 2 · ي after a kasrah → natural, 2 · final ا → Madd Munfasil (4 or 5) because إِلَيْكَ begins with a hamzah; it would be natural, 2, only if you stopped on نُوحِيهَا. أَنبَاءِ beside it is Muttasil, for contrast.

وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَقُولُ

3 · Al-Baqarah 2:8 · opening words of the ayah · waw after dammah in يَقُولُ · alif after fathah in النَّاسِ

وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ

4 · Al-Baqarah 2:11 · opening words of the ayah · yaa after kasrah in قِيلَ

قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ

5 · Al-Ikhlas 112:1 · the alif pronounced after the lam in اللَّهُ

The madd here is the alif pronounced after the doubled lam of اللَّهُ (Allaa-hu) — natural, two counts, because a vowelled ha’ follows it. The waw of هُوَ carries a fathah, so it is not a madd letter.

الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

6 · Al-Fatihah 1:3

The ا of الرَّحْمَٰنِ → natural, 2. The ي of الرَّحِيمِ → natural, 2 if you continue into the next ayah; Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon (2, 4 or 6) when you stop, because the stop makes the meem right after it sakin. In an ayah-by-ayah recording the last word is normally heard at a stop.

مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ

7 · Al-Fatihah 1:4

مَالِكِ → natural, 2. The waw of يَوْمِ is a layn letter (sakin after a fathah), not a madd letter, and it is not lengthened while you continue. The ي of الدِّينِ → natural if continuing; Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon at the stop.

إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ الْكَوْثَرَ

8 · Al-Kawthar 108:1 · the alif of إِنَّا is Munfasil (4–5) · the alif of نَاكَ is natural (2) · same ayah

إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ تَوَّابًا

9 · An-Nasr 110:3 · at the reciter’s stop at the end of the ayah, the tanween becomes a 2-count alif — Madd ‘Iwad

إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ

10 · An-Nasr 110:3 · the pronoun haa of إِنَّهُۥ between two vowelled letters, no hamzah after it, read in connected recitation — Madd Silah Sughra

The reciter continues from إِنَّهُۥ into كَانَ, so the haa gets its two-count silah. If you stop on the haa, the silah is dropped. This is the general rule; Hafs has a few transmitted exceptions, such as يَرْضَهُ لَكُمْ (Az-Zumar 39:7), read without silah, and فِيهِۦ مُهَانًا (Al-Furqan 25:69), read with silah even though a sakin letter comes before the haa.

⚠️ Look again at examples 2 and 8. One ayah — even one word — can hold madds of different lengths. “There is a long madd in this ayah” never means “everything in this ayah is long”, and “this word has a madd” never means “every madd in this word has the same ruling”.

Natural Madd Examples in Surah Al-Fatihah

Familiar text, zero new vocabulary, and the identification test applied word by word. Each card plays its complete ayah.

Two things to keep in mind. First, the underlines mark selected teaching targets, not every madd in the surah. Second, the last word of each ayah is normally recited with a stop in these ayah-by-ayah recordings. Where a madd letter sits right before that final letter (الْعَالَمِينَ · الرَّحِيمِ · الدِّينِ · نَسْتَعِينُ · الْمُسْتَقِيمَ), it is natural madd when you continue to the next ayah, and Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon (2, 4 or 6) when you stop.

Ayah 2 · two madds in الْعَالَمِينَ, two different answers

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

In الْعَالَمِينَ: the ا after the ع → natural, 2, whether you continue or stop · the ي before the final ن → natural if you continue into ayah 3; Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon at the stop.

Ayah 3 · الرَّحْمَٰنِ natural · الرَّحِيمِ depends on the stop

الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Ayah 4 · مَالِكِ natural · يَوْمِ has a layn letter, no madd while continuing · الدِّينِ depends on the stop

مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ

Ayah 5 · a useful negative: نَعْبُدُ has no madd letter · نَسْتَعِينُ depends on the stop

إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ

Ayah 6 · the alif of اهْدِنَا drops when joined · الْمُسْتَقِيمَ depends on the stop

اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ

اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ: when you continue, the final alif of اهْدِنَا is not pronounced — it would meet the sakin letter at the start of الصِّرَاطَ, and two sakin letters do not meet, so the madd letter drops (ihdinaṣ-ṣirāṭ). If you stop on اهْدِنَا, the alif is pronounced for two counts. The ا of الصِّرَاطَ → natural, 2. The ي of الْمُسْتَقِيمَ → natural, 2 if you continue into ayah 7; Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon at the stop.

Ayah 7 · selected excerpt · الَّذِينَ natural (2) · the alif of الضَّالِّينَ Madd Lazim (6)

صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ الضَّالِّينَ

The words shown are an excerpt: غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا is skipped on screen, but the audio plays the complete ayah. Listen for الَّذِينَ and then الضَّالِّينَ — 2 against 6.

In الضَّالِّينَ: the ا before the doubled lam → Madd Lazim, 6 · the ي before the final ن → Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon at the stop. The yaa of عَلَيْهِمْ is a layn letter (sakin after a fathah), not lengthened while continuing.

Press ▶ Play ayah on any card to hear it.

5 Common Madd Asli Mistakes

1. Shortening it below two counts in fast recitation

Especially in short, frequent words: the alif of مَا or قَالَ, or the yaa of فِي when the next word does not begin with a hamzah. It is a frequent error and usually unconscious — the reader is not rushing on purpose; the word simply feels finished. A faster pace means shorter counts, but the madd must still be two counts of that pace.

2. Stretching it to 3 or 4 counts

It often happens when a Muttasil or a Lazim is coming later in the ayah: the lengths bleed backwards into each other and the 2-count quietly grows. Your Madd Asli should sound the same whether or not a long madd is two words away. Over-lengthening is an error in its length; it does not turn the madd into a different type.

3. Treating a vowelled waw or yaa, or a layn letter, as a madd letter

وَلَد, هُوَ and بَيَان have a vowelled waw or yaa; يَوْم has a sakin waw after a fathah — a layn letter. They look like madd letters on the page; none of them is one. The vowel before, and the sukoon on, decide it.

4. Applying Madd ‘Iwad while continuing

تَوَّابًا becomes a 2-count alif only when you stop. If you continue reading, the tanween is pronounced normally and there is no madd there at all.

5. Breaking or distorting the vowel

Wavering the vowel so it breaks into pulses, letting “aa” drift into another vowel, or tacking an extra sound onto its end. The madd should be one clear, continuous vowel for two counts. Melodic recitation is fine — a change in pitch on its own is not proof of an error; length, continuity and vowel quality are what must stay correct.

Practise Madd Asli

The 2-count consistency exercise

Choose an exercise pace, watch the beat for a moment, then press and hold the bar for exactly the length of the sustained alif in قَالَ — from the moment the “aa” begins to the moment it ends. Time the vowel only, not the whole word.

What this tool does and does not do: it measures how long you hold the button, not your recitation — it does not hear you. A count has no fixed length in seconds; it follows your recitation pace, so the window below is only an exercise definition for the pace you select. Matching it does not verify that your Tajweed is correct. Use it to build a consistent sense of two counts, and have a teacher check your actual recitation.

قَالَ

Al-Husary · Al-Baqarah 2:30 · full ayah · قَالَ is the second word · his pace is not the exercise pace

Exercise pace (length of one count) Slow · 0.60 s Medium · 0.45 s Faster · 0.32 s

Mouse, touch, or keyboard: focus the bar and hold Space or Enter.

Target at this pace: two counts ≈ 0.90 s (window 0.72–1.08 s).

Holds: 0 · inside the window: 0

Is it Madd Asli? A simplified decision tree

The same method as the section above, made clickable. Answer for one madd occurrence at a time — a single letter, not the whole word. The tree covers the common cases; when it cannot classify a case reliably, it says so and points you to a teacher or the relevant lesson. The stopping options show how a stop changes the ruling of a madd; they are not advice on where to stop for meaning.

Step 1 · Look at the letter you are asking about. What is it?

Play: the Madd Asli training game (free)

Recognising a madd on a quiet page is one skill; recognising it while you are actually moving through the text is another. This game trains the second one. It works on phones and tablets, and no account is needed.

Game not loading, or cramped on your screen? Open it in a new tab · or browse all our free Tajweed games · the full madd length game lives on the madd rules hub.

Learn More

Next: four madds you will meet right after this one. Lazim is caused by a permanent sukoon or shaddah and does not change. ‘Arid lis-Sukoon and Lin are caused by a temporary sukoon that exists only when you stop — on the letter right after the madd or layn letter. Silah is the pronoun’s ha’ — you already met its Sughra form above; its Kubra form is a secondary madd.

The siblings under the same hub:

Madd Wajib Muttasil 4–5 Hamzah in the same word — the lengthening is obligatory. Madd Jaiz Munfasil 4–5 Hamzah at the start of the next word — permissible, and reciters differ. Madd Badal 2 Hamzah before the madd letter — two counts in Hafs; books differ on how to classify it. Madd Rules (hub) Every type of madd and the full counts table in one place.

The rest of the Tajweed cluster:

Tajweed Rules The full chapter map, from the letters to the madd. Rules of Meem Sakinah Three rules for the silent meem, one of them a single letter. Noon Sakin Rules Izhar, idgham, iqlab and ikhfa — the busiest chapter in Tajweed. Qalqalah The five echoing letters that bounce when they carry a sukoon. Tajweed Game Every free letter and rule game we have built, in one place.

All of it is taught step by step in our Tajweed for adults and Tajweed for kids classes.

Madd Asli FAQ

Q1. What is Madd Asli?

Madd Asli (المد الأصلي), also called Madd Tabee’i (المد الطبيعي), is the natural lengthening of a madd letter — an alif (ا) after a fathah, a sakin waw (و) after a dammah, or a sakin yaa (ي) after a kasrah — when no hamzah and no sukoon follows it. It is held for two counts and needs no additional cause.

Q2. What is the difference between Madd Asli and Madd Tabee’i?

There is none. They are two names for the same rule: asli means original and tabee’i means natural. Many teachers also call it the natural madd in English.

Q3. How many beats is Madd Asli?

Two counts (harakatayn). A count is relative to your recitation pace, so its length in seconds changes between slower and faster recitation, but the natural madd stays at two counts of the pace you are reciting at. Unlike Madd Jaiz Munfasil or Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon, it has no optional lengths.

Q4. How do I identify Madd Asli?

Find the madd letter, then look at the letter immediately after it, the way you are actually reading. If that letter is not a hamzah, not a shaddah or permanent sukoon, and not a letter that becomes sakin because you are stopping on it, the madd is natural: two counts. A madd letter that is itself the last sound you stop on — stopping on نُوحِيهَا, for example — also stays at two counts. If the madd letter ends a word and the next word begins with a sakin letter, it is dropped in pronunciation when you continue, as in اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ.

Q5. What are the Madd Asli letters?

The three madd letters: alif (ا) preceded by a fathah, waw (و) sakinah preceded by a dammah, and yaa (ي) sakinah preceded by a kasrah. All three are written in the word نُوحِيهَآ (Hud 11:49). When you continue into إِلَيْكَ, only the waw and the yaa are natural madd; the final alif is followed by the hamzah of the next word, so it becomes Madd Munfasil. If you stop on نُوحِيهَا, that final alif is two counts.

Q6. What is the difference between Madd Asli and Madd Far’i?

Madd Asli needs no hamzah or sukoon after the madd letter and is two counts. Madd Far’i has a cause — usually a hamzah or a sukoon — and its length depends on the type: Muttasil and Munfasil are four or five counts in Hafs via Ash-Shatibiyyah, Lazim is six, and ‘Arid lis-Sukoon and Lin (at a stop) may be two, four or six. So a secondary madd is not always longer than two counts.

Q7. What are the sub-types of Madd Asli?

Madd ‘Iwad (the tanween fath replaced by an alif when you stop, as in تَوَّابًا — but not on a word ending in taa marbutah: رَحْمَةً is stopped on with a sakin haa), Madd Silah Sughra (the pronoun haa between two vowelled letters with no hamzah after it, lengthened in connected recitation, as in إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ; the silah is dropped when you stop on the haa, and Hafs has transmitted exceptions such as يَرْضَهُ لَكُمْ, read without silah, and فِيهِۦ مُهَانًا, read with silah) and Madd Tamkeen (a yaa with shaddah and kasrah followed by a sakin yaa, as in حُيِّيتُم). All three are two counts. Madd Badal (آمَنُوا) is also two counts in Hafs, but books differ on whether to group it with the natural madd or with the secondary madds.

Q8. Can Madd Asli ever be longer than two counts?

No. A madd is held longer only when a cause after it, such as a hamzah or a sukoon, calls for it — and then it is a secondary madd. Holding a natural madd beyond two counts without such a cause is simply an error in its length; it does not change the madd into another type.

Q9. Is the waw in خَوْف a Madd Asli?

No. It is sakin but preceded by a fathah, not a dammah, so it is a layn letter (harf layn), not a madd letter. While you continue reading, it is not lengthened. If you stop on the word, the faa right after it becomes sakin, and the waw may be lengthened as Madd Lin — two, four or six counts. See Madd Lin.

Q10. Where can I find Madd Asli examples in the Quran?

Almost everywhere — قَالَ, يَقُولُ, قِيلَ, the waw and yaa of نُوحِيهَا, and several words in Surah Al-Fatihah such as الرَّحْمَٰنِ, مَالِكِ, إِيَّاكَ and الصِّرَاطَ. Because it appears so often, an unstable two-count affects almost every page you recite.

Fix Your 2-Count in One Free Lesson

A clipped Madd Asli is easy to miss in your own recitation — it can feel complete from the inside. A teacher can usually hear it quickly, and a steady two-count makes every longer madd easier to measure.

May Allah beautify your recitation and accept it from you. 🤲

Hafidha of the Quran · Arabic Language Graduate · Writer on Islamic Sciences

Jehad Mahmoud is a graduate of the Arabic Language department and a Hafidha of the Quran who writes the Islamic educational content at Quran Book Academy.

She writes with a focus on Tajweed, Quranic recitation and the sharia sciences, making technical rules accessible to English-speaking Muslim families.

Her articles are educational, not fatwa. For a ruling on a specific personal situation, readers are advised to consult a qualified scholar or mufti.

Tajweed Madd Quranic Sciences Quran Recitation

References & Sources

‘Abd al-Fattah al-Marsafi, Hidayat al-Qari ila Tajwid Kalam al-Bari, “Divisions of Madd” (أقسام المد) — Islamweb library
Al-Wafi fi Sharh al-Shatibiyyah, “The Chapter of Madd and Qasr” (باب المد والقصر) — Islamweb library
Islamweb fatwa: the effect of recitation pace (tahqiq, tadwir, hadr) on the length of madd and ghunnah — fatwa 196957
Islamweb fatwa: the definition, cause and length of Madd Lin — fatwa 71008
Quranic text: Al-Fatihah · Hud 11:49 · An-Nasr 110:3 · Al-Ikhlas 112:1 — Quran.com
Recitation: Sheikh Mahmoud Khalil Al-Husary (Hafs, murattal), ayah files via EveryAyah.com
Islamweb fatwa: stopping on Madd Muttasil when the hamzah ends the word — four, five or six counts for Hafs — fatwa 66313
Al-Wafi fi Sharh al-Shatibiyyah, “The Chapter of the Pronoun Haa” (باب هاء الكناية): silah between two moving letters, its omission at a stop, and Hafs in فِيهِۦ مُهَانًا and يَرْضَهُ — Islamweb library
Ibn al-Jazari, An-Nashr fi al-Qira’at al-‘Ashr, “Stopping on the Ends of Words” (باب الوقف على أواخر الكلم): tanween fath stopped on with an alif; a singular noun ending in taa marbutah stopped on with a haa — Islamweb library
Audio: every play button plays the complete ayah file; no word-level clipping or timing data is used.

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September 22, 2026

Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon in Tajweed: The Madd You Create by Stopping — 2, 4 or 6 Counts

Madd Asli 2 The baseline. What an ordinary ‘Arid madd reverts to the moment you decide to continue. Madd Badal 2 The hamzah comes first, before the madd letter — which is exactly why it stays at two. Madd Wajib Muttasil 4–5 Obligatory and permanent — the mirror image of the rule on this page. Madd Silah 2 · 4–5 Sughra or Kubra, decided by whatever follows the pronoun’s ha’.

Written by Jehad Mahmoud

Published: 20 September 2026 · Updated: 20 September 2026 · 10 min read

Madd Rules · Waqf

Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon in Tajweed: The Madd You Create by Stopping — 2, 4 or 6 Counts

Quran Book Academy · Quran & Tajweed Library · Hafs ‘an ‘Asim via Ash-Shatibiyyah

One condition · Three permitted lengths · Word-by-word audio by Sheikh Al-Husary · Free trainer, quiz & game

You reach the end of the ayah — رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ — and you take a breath. In that instant the yaa stopped being an ordinary two-count madd and became a decision. That is Madd Arid Sukoon: the Madd Arid Lis-Sukoon tajweed rule that only exists when you stop, and that is held for 2, 4 or 6 counts. It belongs to the Madd rules chapter of Tajweed rules. All counts here follow Hafs ‘an ‘Asim by the way of Ash-Shatibiyyah.

Also written Madd Arid As-Sukoon, Madd Aridh Lis-Sukoon, Madd Arid Lissukoon or Madd Arid Lis-Sukun — in Arabic, المد العارض للسكون. All one rule.

⚡ The 30-second version (the ordinary form taught here): a madd letter (ا · و · ي) sits immediately before the last letter of a word · you stop on that word · your stop creates a temporary sukoon · hold the madd for 2, 4 or 6 counts · and keep to the same length across the comparable stops in one sitting. All three lengths are valid in Hafs ‘an ‘Asim; this page shows you how to settle on one and hold it.

Madd Arid Lis-Sukoon in Tajweed showing a madd letter held for two four or six counts at a stop — One madd letter, one stop, three permitted lengths — all three valid, and the one you practise is yours to choose.

What Is Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon?

Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon (المد العارض للسكون) happens when a madd letter — alif (ا), waw (و) or yaa (ي) — is the second-to-last letter of a word and you stop on that word. The temporary sukoon arises when you stop on the final consonant, and the madd is then lengthened to 2, 4 or 6 counts. If you continue reading, it disappears.

Scope of this page: This page focuses on the ordinary Madd Asli-based form of Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon at a stop with full sukoon. Cases involving another existing madd cause, such as Madd Wajib Muttasil, follow additional stopping rules. For example, a word-final Madd Muttasil such as يَشَاءُ does not become a two-count madd when you continue, and its options at a stop depend on the applicable Hafs via Ash-Shatibiyyah rules and the length already chosen for Madd Muttasil in that recitation.

Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon Meaning

Every word of the name is doing work, which is why the name is the rule. Madd is lengthening. ‘Arid means temporary, newly-presented, accidental — something that was not there a moment ago. Lis-sukoon means “because of the sukoon.” Read literally: the lengthening that appears temporarily because of a sukoon. Learn the name properly and you never need to memorise a definition.

📖 The sentence that unlocks the whole rule

The sukoon is not written in the mushaf. The temporary sukoon arises when you stop on the final consonant. In the ordinary form taught here, continue past the word and the final letter takes its normal vowel back, the sukoon never forms, and the madd is a plain two-count Madd Asli.

What is a count? A harakah (count, or beat) is the time it takes to open or close one finger at a steady, unhurried pace. It is relative to your own recitation speed, not a fixed number of seconds. All counts on this page follow Hafs ‘an ‘Asim by the way of Ash-Shatibiyyah.

Why This Madd Only Exists When You Stop

Most madd rules are a property of the text. The hamzah is there or it is not; the shaddah is there or it is not. This one is different — it is a property of your waqf. The same word, in the same ayah, follows two different rules depending on nothing but whether you stopped there. Two other rules on this page behave the same way — Madd Lin at a stop, and Madd ‘Iwad when you stop on a tanween fath (other than on a taa marbutah) — so stop-dependence is a family trait, not something unique to ‘Arid. Hear it for yourself:

رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

Continue → Madd Asli, 2 counts, no choice · Stop → Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon, 2 / 4 / 6

الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Continue → Madd Asli, 2 counts · Stop → Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon, 2 / 4 / 6

The madd is not a property of the word — it is a property of your waqf.

This is why no symbol for Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon is printed in the mushaf. You can identify the potential locations in advance — any word whose second-to-last letter is a madd letter is a candidate (unless the final letter is a hamzah, as in يَشَاءُ — that is Madd Wajib Muttasil, which follows additional stopping rules), and the four ending patterns further down let you spot them at a glance — but whether the rule actually applies is decided at the moment you stop. The length you hold is the one you have chosen to practise; it is not dictated by how much breath is left.

The Rules and Conditions of Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon

Three conditions, and the third one is yours to control:

1 · There is a madd letter

A sakinah ا, و or ي, with the matching vowel before it — fathah before alif, dammah before waw, kasrah before yaa. ✅ الْكِتَابُ ❌ الْكَوْثَرَ — that waw follows a fathah, so it is a layn letter, not a madd letter.

2 · Exactly one letter follows it, and it is the last letter of the word

This is the condition that is easiest to overlook, and most misidentifications trace back to it. ✅ نَسْتَعِينُ (ي then ن) ❌ يُولَدْ — the waw is a madd letter and the word does end in sukoon, but there is a ل in between. That one stays Madd Asli.

3 · You stop on that word

✅ stopping on الْمُفْلِحُونَ ❌ reading straight through it — then it is Madd Asli at two counts and nothing more.

All three must be true at the same moment. Whether this madd applies at all is decided by where you choose to stop — as it is for Madd Lin at a stop, and for Madd ‘Iwad on a tanween fath (except on a taa marbutah).

These conditions describe the ordinary form taught on this page. If the final letter is a hamzah — as in يَشَاءُ — the madd already has a cause of its own (Madd Wajib Muttasil). It does not drop to two counts when you continue, and its stopping options follow additional rules that are not covered here.

How Many Counts Is Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon? 2, 4 or 6

Two, four or six counts. All three are correct in Hafs ‘an ‘Asim by the way of Ash-Shatibiyyah, and the reciter chooses which one to use. None of the three is reserved for a particular reading speed — what changes with your pace is how long a single count lasts, not which lengths are permitted.

The three permitted lengths of Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon in Hafs ‘an ‘Asim via Ash-Shatibiyyah
Length	Arabic name	Counts	Status
Short	qasr · قصر	2	Valid. Often paired with a brisk pace (hadr), but permitted at any pace.
Medium	tawassut · توسط	4	Valid. Often paired with a moderate pace (tadweer), but permitted at any pace.
Long	tool · طول	6	Valid. Often paired with slow, measured recitation (tarteel), but permitted at any pace.

Why three lengths at all? Because the sukoon here is temporary. The scholars placed this madd between Madd Asli — natural madd, which needs no hamzah or sukoon after the madd letter at all and is fixed at 2 — and Madd Lazim, whose sukoon is permanent and which is held for 6 (with one known exception, noted in the comparison below). A temporary cause earns a flexible ruling — and the whole thing stops looking arbitrary. For how every madd type compares side by side, the full counts table lives on the Madd rules hub.

The 2-4-6 Practice-Target Selector · Surah Al-Fatihah

Pick the length you intend to practise. It sets the same target for every ‘Arid madd in the surah at once — never just one. That is the consistency habit, built into the interface instead of written as a sentence.

Your practice target: 2 counts. The reference recording does not change with this selection.

This selector changes the labels and the beat bar only. There is one recording on this page and it plays exactly as recorded — the buttons cannot alter it, and nothing here is sped up, slowed down or cut short to imitate a different count.

Tap a line to hear it.

Audio is Sheikh Al-Husary’s own recitation (murattal, Hafs ‘an ‘Asim). Use it to hear how each ayah ending is shaped and where the stop falls. Use the beat bar separately, when you recite on your own, as the target for the length you have chosen — do not try to hold your own count against his in the same breath.

Which Length Should I Choose — 2, 4 or 6?

All three lengths are valid — pick one and practise it. Two, four and six counts are each permitted in Hafs ‘an ‘Asim by the way of Ash-Shatibiyyah, and none of them is tied to a particular reading speed. What your pace changes is the duration of a single count: recite quickly and a count is short, so six counts pass quickly too; recite slowly and every count stretches, including a two-count madd. Measure the counts against the pace you are actually reciting at, and the length you chose will sit naturally inside it.

Then stay consistent. Once you have chosen, apply that same length to the comparable ‘Arid stops in the same sitting. Reciting الْعَالَمِينَ at six counts and الرَّحِيمِ at two inside the same Fatihah is what sounds unsettled — not the two, and not the six. This is guidance about comparable Madd ‘Arid stops; it is not a rule that every madd in the Quran, or every possible way of stopping, must share one length.

A note on rawm and ishmam

Rawm (روم) is sounding a faint trace of the final vowel as you stop. It applies only to eligible endings whose original vowel is a kasrah or a dammah — not to a fathah. On the ordinary Madd ‘Arid endings taught on this page, stopping with rawm means the madd is read at two counts, because a full sukoon was never applied to the final letter.

Ishmam (إشمام) — rounding the lips after the stop, with no sound — applies only to eligible endings whose original vowel is a dammah. It does not affect the length; all three remain available. Both are refinements to take up with a teacher; neither changes the plain stop you are learning here.

✅ A practical way to start

If you would rather not choose, 4 is one reasonable practice target to begin with: it is long enough that you can hear your own length and correct it. Two and six are equally valid, so take your teacher’s guidance over any default suggested on a page. Practise one consistently with your teacher, measuring the counts according to your recitation pace.

How to Pronounce Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon

1 · Keep the vowel continuous for the whole length

Keep the vowel continuous and preserve the correct madd length. Avoid breaking the sound or introducing extra vowels or consonants. A reciter’s voice naturally rises and falls, and that on its own is not a Tajweed error — what damages the madd is fragmenting it: a gap, a catch in the throat, a re-attack halfway through, or a stray vowel appearing inside the stretch. One unbroken sound, held for the length you chose.

2 · Pronounce the final consonant clearly, with no vowel after it

Pronounce the final consonant clearly with its proper characteristics, without adding a vowel after it. Sukoon means the absence of a vowel — not the omission of the letter and not a whispered version of it. Stopping on الْعَالَمِينَ, the noon is still fully articulated and audible, with its ghunnah, and simply carries no vowel: …meen, not …meena and not …meenuh.

3 · Madd + qalqalah, when the final letter bounces

If that final letter is one of ب ج د ط ق, you get both rules at once: hold the madd for your chosen length, then give the final letter its qalqalah bounce. Qalqalah is the one place where the vowel-less final letter is released with an audible echo of its own — it is a separate rule, and it does not contradict the point above. See the full set of Qalqalah letters.

لَبِالْمِرْصَادِ

Al-Fajr 89:14 · hold the alif, then bounce the daal

How to Spot It in 3 Steps

1. Are you stopping on this word? If no → it is not ‘Arid. Stop here.

2. Is the second-to-last letter a madd letter? If it is a layn letter instead (وْ or يْ after a fathah) → that is Madd Lin, a different rule with its own page. If the final letter is a hamzah (يَشَاءُ), it is Madd Wajib Muttasil, which follows additional stopping rules not covered here.

3. Yes to both, and the final letter is not a hamzah → Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon in its ordinary form. Hold 2, 4 or 6 — whichever length you are practising across the comparable stops in this sitting.

You can see the candidates on the page; it is your stop that turns one into this madd.

Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon Examples in the Quran

Start with Surah Al-Fatihah, because you already know the text and no new vocabulary gets in the way. All seven verse endings of Al-Fatihah, using the numbering shown here, contain Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon when stopped on. The seventh is the interesting one, because it carries two different madds at once. In الضَّالِّينَ, the alif has Madd Lazim at six counts, while the final yaa has Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon at 2, 4 or 6 counts. The one does not cancel the other. The madd letter is marked in blue, the letter you stop on in orange. Every Word button plays from that word to the end of the ayah in Al-Husary’s voice.

The walkthrough above is inside the Length Selector — set your register there first, then use these rows for the wider set.

Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon Quran Examples · 13 verse endings

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

Al-Fatihah 1:2 · yaa → noon · if you continue: Madd Asli, 2

الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Al-Fatihah 1:3 · yaa → meem · if you continue: Madd Asli, 2

مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ

Al-Fatihah 1:4 · yaa → noon · if you continue: Madd Asli, 2

وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ

Al-Fatihah 1:5 · yaa → noon · if you continue: Madd Asli, 2

الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ

Al-Fatihah 1:6 · yaa → meem · if you continue: Madd Asli, 2

وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ

Al-Fatihah 1:7 · two madds in one word. The alif before the doubled lam is Madd Lazim Kalimi Muthaqqal — six counts, fixed. The final yaa before the noon is Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon when you stop — 2, 4 or 6, your choice. The alif’s six counts do not cancel the yaa’s choice.

هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ

Al-Baqarah 2:2 · yaa → noon · if you continue: Madd Asli, 2

وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ

Al-Baqarah 2:5 · waw → noon · the ـُونَ pattern that ends hundreds of ayat

قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا الْكَافِرُونَ

Al-Kafirun 109:1 · waw → noon · ayat 1, 2 and 6 of this surah end in one; ayat 3–5 do not

لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِيَ دِينِ

Al-Kafirun 109:6 · yaa → noon · When stopping on دِينِ, the yaa has Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon at 2, 4 or 6 counts.

قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ

An-Nas 114:1 · alif → seen · the ـَاسِ pattern

الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ

An-Nas 114:4 · alif → seen · same pattern, three ayat later

إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَبِالْمِرْصَادِ

Al-Fajr 89:14 · alif → daal · madd and qalqalah at the stop

Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon Words: Learn the Ending, Not the Word

Once you notice that most ayat in the Quran close on one of four or five endings, you stop identifying this madd word by word — you start recognising the shape. These four patterns cover the overwhelming majority of stops you will ever make:

Common verse endings that carry Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon when you stop
Ending	Madd letter	Examples
ـُونَ / ـِينَ	waw / yaa	يَعْمَلُونَ · الصَّابِرِينَ · تُفْلِحُونَ · الْمُتَّقِينَ
ـِيمِ / ـِيمٌ	yaa	عَظِيمٌ · حَكِيمٌ · الْحَكِيمُ · الرَّحِيمِ
ـَابُ / ـَابٍ	alif	الْكِتَابُ · حِسَابٍ · الْعِقَابِ
ـَاسِ	alif	النَّاسِ · الْخَنَّاسِ · الْوَسْوَاسِ

🎧 The consistency demo: three stops, one length

Play ayat 1, 2 and 6 of Surah Al-Kafirun in order. Each of these three ends in a Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon when you stop there — الْكَافِرُونَ, تَعْبُدُونَ and دِينِ. Ayat 3, 4 and 5 are left out on purpose: they end in أَعْبُدُ, عَبَدتُّمْ and أَعْبُدُ, with no Madd ‘Arid at the ending. Listen for whether each of the three endings sounds like the one before it. That comparison, ending against ending, is what consistency means in practice; then try the same three stops in your own voice at the length you are practising.

Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon vs Madd Lazim vs Madd Lin

All three involve a sukoon, which is exactly why learners confuse them. Compare them letter by letter — and note that a single word can contain more than one of them:

Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon compared with Madd Lazim and Madd Lin
Feature	Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon	Madd Lazim	Madd Lin
Cause	Temporary sukoon that arises when you stop on the final consonant	Permanent sukoon or shaddah written in the mushaf	Layn letter + temporary sukoon from stopping
Letter before	Madd letter (ا/و/ي, matching vowel)	Madd letter	Layn letter — وْ or يْ after a fathah
Counts	2, 4 or 6 — you choose	6 — normally fixed. Known exception: the ‘Ayn in the opening letters of Maryam (كهيعص) and Ash-Shura (عسق), where Hafs via Ash-Shatibiyyah permits 4 or 6	2, 4 or 6 — you choose
Exists when continuing?	No — in the ordinary form taught here, it becomes Madd Asli (a word-final Madd Muttasil such as يَشَاءُ does not)	Yes, always	No
Example	The final yaa of الْعَالَمِينَ, at a stop	The alif before the doubled lam in الضَّالِّينَ	The yaa of وَالصَّيْفِ, at a stop
Listen

One word, two madds: الضَّالِّينَ

This word appears in the Madd Lazim column because of its alif, not because the whole word is Lazim. The alif before the doubled lam is Madd Lazim Kalimi Muthaqqal at six counts. The final yaa before the noon is a separate madd letter, and when you stop on the word it carries Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon at 2, 4 or 6 counts like any other verse ending. The alif’s fixed six counts do not cancel the yaa’s choice — the two madds sit in the same word and are governed independently.

The verdict line: judge each madd letter on its own. If the sukoon after it is written in the mushaf, that letter is Lazim and it is normally 6. If the sukoon after it arises only because you stopped, it is ‘Arid — unless that letter is a layn letter rather than a madd letter, in which case it is Madd Lin, which has its own conditions and its own page.

6 Common Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon Mistakes

1 · Changing length between comparable stops

Six counts on الْعَالَمِينَ, two on الرَّحِيمِ. All three lengths are correct in themselves; drifting between them across the comparable ‘Arid stops of one sitting is what sounds unsettled.

2 · Applying it while continuing

Stretching الْعَالَمِينَ to four counts and then reading straight on into الرَّحْمَٰنِ. If you did not stop, there is no ‘Arid madd at all.

3 · Adding a vowel to the final letter — or swallowing the letter

Ending الْمُفْلِحُونَ as …hoona or …hoonuh is one error; trailing off so the noon barely sounds at all is the opposite one. Pronounce the final consonant clearly with its proper characteristics, without adding a vowel after it.

4 · Treating الضَّالِّينَ as one madd instead of two

Shortening the alif before the doubled lam to two or four counts — it is Madd Lazim at six, with no choice. And the mirror error: assuming that because of the alif, the final yaa loses its Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon. It does not. When you stop, the yaa takes 2, 4 or 6 counts like every other verse ending. Identify the letter first, then apply its rule.

5 · Treating a layn ending as ‘Arid

خَوْفٍ · الصَّيْفِ · بَيْتٍ — those are Madd Lin. Same 2/4/6 options, different letter, different rule.

6 · Breaking or distorting the prolonged vowel

A gap, a catch, a re-attack halfway through, or an extra vowel or consonant creeping into the stretch — and, most often, the length collapsing as the voice wavers. Keep the vowel continuous and preserve the correct madd length. A natural rise or fall in pitch is not itself a Tajweed error; fragmenting or distorting the sound is.

One more that comes up often: stopping on a tanween fath — حَكِيمًا read as حَكِيمَا — is also stop-dependent, but it is Madd ‘Iwad, a sub-type of Madd Asli fixed at two counts. Not ‘Arid, and not a choice. When stopping on a word ending in tanween fath, the tanween is normally replaced by an alif held for two counts. This does not apply to taa marbutah: a word such as رَحْمَةً is stopped on with a sakin haa, without Madd ‘Iwad.

Practise Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon

The Hold Timer · ten holds at the length you are practising

Pick a target, then press and hold the button for as long as you sustain the madd out loud. Two things are reported back: how close your holds were to the target duration, and how little they varied from each other. Read this honestly: the timer measures how long you held a button. It does not listen to your voice and it cannot judge your recitation. Use it to build a steady internal sense of length — then have the actual recitation heard by a teacher.

Practice tempo (illustrative):

Round 1 of 10 · target 2 counts (1.0s at the selected tempo)

Green = hold length within 20% of the target · amber = shorter than that · red = longer than that.

A count (حركة) has no fixed value in seconds — it is relative to your own recitation pace, and reciters differ. The seconds-per-count above is an adjustable practice tempo for this timer only, not a Tajweed standard. Set it to whatever matches the pace you actually recite at.

Listen and choose: which madd is on the highlighted letter?

Ten stops, each played from the final word onward. One madd letter is highlighted in each question — judge that letter, assuming you stop on the word. Instant feedback, no sign-up.

Question 1 of 10 Score: 0

Assume you are stopping on the word shown, and judge the highlighted letter.

Play: Madd ‘Arid Vault (Free Game)

Recognition under time pressure is a different skill from recognition on a page. Sort real Quranic word endings into the right madd before the clock runs out. It works on phones and tablets, and no account is needed.

Game not loading? Open it in a new tab · or browse all our free Tajweed games · the full madd sorter lives on the Madd rules hub.

Learn More

The four madds to learn next. Madd Asli is the baseline every other madd is measured against; Madd Badal puts the hamzah before the madd letter rather than after it, which is why it stays at 2; Madd Wajib Muttasil is the exact opposite of the rule you just learned — a hamzah in the same word makes it obligatory and permanent, not temporary; and Madd Silah splits into a 2-count Sughra and a 4–5-count Kubra depending on what follows the pronoun’s ها.

The madds most often confused with this one. These share either the sukoon or the choice of length — the comparison table above tells them apart in one glance.

Madd Lazim 6 The permanent sukoon. Six counts — with one known exception: the ‘Ayn in the opening letters of Maryam and Ash-Shura, where 4 or 6 is permitted. Madd Lin 2/4/6 Same three lengths, same dependence on stopping — but a layn letter, not a madd letter. Madd Jaiz Munfasil 4–5 The other madd where the reciter is given a permitted range. Madd Rules (hub) The chapter this rule belongs to — every madd type and the full counts table.

The rest of the chapter.

Tajweed Rules The full pillar: every chapter of Tajweed, mapped in one place. Rules of Meem Sakinah Idgham, Ikhfa and Izhar Shafawi — the three rules of the silent meem. Noon Sakin Rules The four rules that govern the silent noon and tanween. Qalqalah Letters The five echoing letters — and what happens when one of them ends your stop. Tajweed Game Every free letter and rule game we have built, in one place.

All of it is taught step by step in our Tajweed for adults and Tajweed for kids classes.

Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon FAQ

Q1. What is Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon?

Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon (المد العارض للسكون) happens when a madd letter — alif, waw or yaa — is the second-to-last letter of a word and you stop on that word. The temporary sukoon arises when you stop on the final consonant, and the madd is then held for 2, 4 or 6 counts. All counts on this page follow Hafs ‘an ‘Asim by the way of Ash-Shatibiyyah. This describes the ordinary form taught here; a madd that already has another cause, such as a word-final Madd Wajib Muttasil (يَشَاءُ), follows additional stopping rules.

Q2. What does ‘Arid lis-Sukoon mean?

‘Arid means temporary or newly-presented, and lis-sukoon means “because of the sukoon.” The name says it exactly: a lengthening that appears temporarily because of a sukoon that arises when you stop on the final consonant.

Q3. How many counts is Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon?

In the ordinary form taught here, two, four or six counts. All three are correct in Hafs ‘an ‘Asim by the way of Ash-Shatibiyyah and the reciter chooses. Keep to the same length across the comparable ‘Arid stops in one sitting, and measure the counts by your own recitation pace — the duration of a count follows your pace, while which lengths are permitted does not.

Q4. Which length should I use — 2, 4 or 6?

All three lengths are valid, and none of them is reserved for a particular reading speed. What changes with your pace is how long a single count lasts. Practise one consistently with your teacher, measuring the counts according to your recitation pace; 4 is one reasonable practice target if you would rather not choose. What matters most is that you do not drift between lengths across comparable stops in the same sitting.

Q5. How do I pronounce Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon?

Keep the vowel continuous for your chosen length and preserve the correct madd length — avoid breaking the sound or introducing extra vowels or consonants. Natural pitch variation is not itself a Tajweed error; fragmenting or distorting the sound is. Then pronounce the final consonant clearly with its proper characteristics, without adding a vowel after it: sukoon means the absence of a vowel, not the omission of the letter. If that final letter is ب ج د ط ق, add a qalqalah bounce.

Q6. Does Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon exist if I don’t stop?

Not in the ordinary form taught here. If you continue reading, the final letter keeps its normal vowel, the temporary sukoon never forms, and the madd is simply Madd Asli at two counts. A word-final Madd Wajib Muttasil such as يَشَاءُ is different: it does not become a two-count madd when you continue.

Q7. What is the difference between Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon and Madd Lazim?

Madd Lazim is caused by a permanent sukoon or shaddah written in the mushaf and is six counts, with one known exception: the ‘Ayn in the opening letters of Surah Maryam (كهيعص) and Surah Ash-Shura (عسق), where Hafs via Ash-Shatibiyyah permits four or six. Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon is caused by a temporary sukoon that arises when you stop, and offers a choice of 2, 4 or 6. Judge each madd letter separately: one word can contain both, as in الضَّالِّينَ, where the alif before the doubled lam is Madd Lazim at six counts while the final yaa is Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon at 2, 4 or 6 when you stop.

Q8. What is the difference between Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon and Madd Lin?

Both appear only when you stop and both allow 2, 4 or 6. The difference is the letter: ‘Arid needs a madd letter (waw after a dammah, yaa after a kasrah, or alif), while Madd Lin has a waw or yaa sakinah preceded by a fathah.

Q9. Can I use rawm with Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon?

Rawm applies only to eligible endings whose original vowel is a kasrah or a dammah, not a fathah. On the ordinary Madd ‘Arid endings taught here, stopping with rawm means the madd is read at two counts, because a full sukoon was never applied to the final letter. Ishmam applies only to eligible endings whose original vowel is a dammah, and it does not affect the length.

Q10. Where are Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon examples in the Quran?

At the end of most ayat. All seven verse endings of Al-Fatihah, using the numbering shown here, contain Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon when stopped on — including الضَّالِّينَ, where the alif has Madd Lazim at six counts while the final yaa has Madd ‘Arid lis-Sukoon at 2, 4 or 6. In Surah Al-Kafirun, ayat 1, 2 and 6 end in one when stopped on (الْكَافِرُونَ · تَعْبُدُونَ · دِينِ); ayat 3, 4 and 5 end in أَعْبُدُ and عَبَدتُّمْ, with no Madd ‘Arid at the ending. Because so many ayat end this way, an inconsistent length is quickly audible.

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