Tajwid rule
Waqf (stopping)
الوقف
Transliteration: Waqf
What it is
Waqf is the practice of stopping at a permissible point during recitation. The Mushaf marks these with small symbols (ه، ط، ج، ز، ص، لا) indicating whether the stop is mandatory, recommended, permitted or forbidden.
When it applies
Whenever the reciter reaches a waqf symbol or the end of a verse. Some symbols make stopping obligatory (ه = waqf lazim), others make it forbidden (لا = la waqf), others leave it optional.
How it sounds
At a stop, the final letter of the word is silenced (sukoon), the last vowel is dropped, and — for qalqalah letters — the letter is bounced slightly. Words ending in ta marbuta are stopped on 'ha'.
Examples from the Mushaf
رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
rabbil-ʿālamīn
Al-Fatihah 1:2
الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
ar-raḥmānir-raḥīm
Al-Fatihah 1:3
Practice with surahs that use this rule
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