Islam > Quran > Tajweed > Questions: maqtu' and mawsul
Updated on 04 October 2026 at 11:01 PM
📖 6 min readThe maqtu' (separated word) is every word separated from what follows it in the rasm of the Uthmani masaahif; the mawsul (joined word) is every word joined to what follows it by the rasm. The maqtu' is the original and the mawsul derives from it: the rule for every word is to be written separately from every other, while joined words are joined in writing while being separated in the language in certain cases.
Separation and joining are among the characteristics of the Uthmani rasm that the scholars of recitation made it binding on the reader to know and follow: he thus knows on which word it is permitted for him to stop according to its rasm in the Uthmani masaahif, except for what has been excepted from this rule.
If the word is separated from what follows it, stopping on it is permitted in a context of teaching, of examination, or in case of necessity, and not deliberately, for that is bad. If it is joined to what follows it, stopping on it is not permitted, but on the second of the two words. If there is divergence over their separation or joining, stopping on the first is permitted in consideration of their separation, while only stopping on the second is permitted in consideration of their joining.
The words separated by consensus are limited to six. Three of them: "أَنْ", a hamza with fathah and a light noon, with "لم", separated wherever it occurs, as in أَيَحْسَبُ أَنْ لَمْ يَرَهُ أَحَدٌ; "عن" with the relative "من", separated in two occurrences, as in فَيُصِيبُ بِهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَيَصْرِفُهُ عَنْ مَنْ يَشَاءُ; and "حيث" with "ما", separated in two occurrences in al-Baqarah, as in وَحَيْثُ مَا كُنْتُمْ فَوَلُّوا وُجُوهَكُمْ شَطْرَهُ.
The words joined by consensus are limited to twenty-two. Five of them: the conditional "إنْ" with the negative "لا", as in إِلَّا تَفْعَلُوهُ تَكُنْ فِتْنَةٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ; "أمّا", as in أَمَّا يُشْرِكُون; "كأنَّما", as in فَكَأَنَّمَا خَرَّ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ; the article "أل" in every occurrence; and the "يا" of the vocative, very frequent in the Quran, as in يَا مَرْيَمُ اقْنُتِي لِرَبِّكِ.
"أنْ", a hamza with fathah and a sakina noon, with the negative "لا": agreement of the masaahif on separation in ten occurrences, as in أَنْ لا تُشْرِكْ بِي شَيْئًا and أَنْ لا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا اللَّهَ. The divergence takes place in only one occurrence: فَنَادَى فِي الظُّلُمَاتِ أَنْ لا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ سُبْحَانَكَ in al-Anbiya', written separated in most of the masaahif and joined in some: the choice there is separation, and it is upon it that one acts. In all the occurrences other than these eleven, the agreement is on joining, as in أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا اللَّهَ.
"أَنْ" with "لو": agreement of the masaahif on its separation in three occurrences: أَنْ لَوْ نَشَاءُ أَصَبْنَاهُمْ بِذُنُوبِهِمْ in al-A'raf, أَنْ لَوْ يَشَاءُ اللَّهُ لَهَدَى النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا in ar-Ra'd, and أَنْ لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ الْغَيْبَ in Saba'. The divergence takes place only in the fourth occurrence: وَأَلَّوِ اسْتَقَامُوا عَلَى الطَّرِيقَةِ in al-Jinn; the usage there is joining, as shown by the examination of the masaahif, among them the mushaf of al-Azhar and that of Medina.
"عن" with the relative "ما": agreement of the masaahif on its separation in a single occurrence: فَلَمَّا عَتَوْا عَنْ مَا نُهُوا عَنْهُ in al-A'raf. In all the occurrences other than the preceding one, the agreement is on its joining, as in وَإِنْ لَمْ يَنْتَهُوا عَمَّا يَقُولُونَ in al-Ma'idah and سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ in an-Nahl.
"يوم" with "هم": agreement of the masaahif on its separation, that is, the separation of "يوم" from "هم", in two occurrences: يَوْمَ هُمْ بَارِزُونَ in Ghafir and يَوْمَ هُمْ عَلَى النَّارِ يُفْتَنُونَ in adh-Dhariyat. This separation is due to the fact that "يوم" is not in direct annexation with the pronoun, but in annexation with the sentence. In contrast, "يوم" with "هم" as an attached pronoun in the genitive function is joined by agreement of the masaahif, as in حَتَّى يُلاقُوا يَوْمَهُمُ الَّذِي يُوعَدُونَ, for the two then become like a single word.
In وَلاتَ حِينَ مَنَاصٍ in surah Sad, the masaahif differed: in some, the taa was written separated from the word "حين", in others, joined. The correct view is separation, and that "لاتَ" be an independent word and "حين" another word: the negative "لا" entered there followed by a taa of the feminine, as it entered upon "رب" and "ثم", whence "ربت" and "ثمت".
Apply the method: spot each word with hamza and light noon (أنْ, إنْ, أنَّ...), check in the rasm whether it is separated from or joined to what follows, then determine: separated by consensus, joined by consensus, or divergent, and if divergent, upon which occurrence one acts. أَلَّنْ نَجْمَعَ عِظَامَهُ: "أنْ" with "لن", joined by agreement. أَيَحْسَبُ أَنْ لَمْ يَرَهُ: "أَنْ" with "لم", separated by agreement. فَإِنْ لَمْ تَأْتُونِي بِهِ: "إنْ" with "لم", separated by agreement, joining taking place only in فَإِلَّمْ يَسْتَجِيبُوا لَكُمْ. فَإِمَّا تَثْقَفَنَّهُمْ فِي الْحَرْبِ: "إنْ" with "ما", joined by agreement. أَمْ مَنْ أَسَّسَ بُنْيَانَهُ: "أمْ" with the interrogative "من", separated by agreement. إِنَّمَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ هُوَ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ: "إنَّ" with "ما", divergent, joining there being the most widespread and the strongest. وَحَيْثُ مَا كُنتُمْ فَوَلُّوا وُجُوهَكُمْ شَطْرَهُ: "حيث" with "ما", separated by agreement. لَبِئْسَ مَا كَانُوا يَصْنَعُونَ: "بئس" with "ما", separated by agreement. فَمَالِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا قِبَلَكَ مُهْطِعِينَ: the relative "ما" with "الَّذِينَ", separated by agreement, stopping on "ما" or on "اللام" being permitted in case of necessity or in a context of examination.
Review: Separated and joined words of the rasm, Words separated by consensus, Words joined by consensus and Words that differ between masaahif