Rules of proper Quran recitation
Must Stop
Waqf Lazim — must stop here
Better to Stop
Waqf Awla — stopping is preferred
Stop or Continue
Waqf Jaiz — stopping or continuing is allowed
Better to Continue
Waqf Mujawwaz — continuing is preferred
Do Not Stop
Waqf Mamnu' — must not stop here
Slight Pause
Saktah — brief pause without breathing
Pause at One
Stop at one of the two marks
Any ن or م will have a sound that emanates from the nose (nasal cavity) when followed by certain letters.
إِنَّهَا عَلَيْهِم مُّؤْصَدَةٌ
Any ن or ً ٍ ٌ followed by one of 15 letters will be pronounced with a slight nasal sound — between Idgham and Iqlab.
مِن كُلِّ أَمْرٍ
ن or tanwin merges into the following letter. With ghunna (ن م و ي) and without ghunna (ل ر).
مَن يَعْمَلْ
ن or tanwin is converted into م sound when followed by ب.
مِن بَعْدِ
ن or tanwin is pronounced clearly without merging when followed by throat letters: ء ه ع ح غ خ.
مِنْ عِلْمٍ
Lengthening of a vowel. Natural Madd = 2 counts. Necessary Madd = 6 counts. Permissible Madd = 2-6 counts.
آمَنُوا
A slight echo/bounce when stopping on letters ق ط ب ج د — especially clear at end of verse.
قُلْ أَعُوذُ
Heavy, full-mouthed pronunciation of certain letters, especially ق ص ض غ خ ط ظ and لفظ الجلالة (الله).
اللَّهُ
Light, thin pronunciation of letters that are not heavy. All letters except the heavy ones are pronounced with tarqiq.
رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ