Islam > Quran > Tajweed > Questions: the madds
Updated on 04 October 2026 at 11:01 PM
📖 13 min readThe scholars of tajweed agreed on the length of the natural madd: two harakat, the harakah being of the measure of the contraction of the finger or of its extension, in an average state, neither fast nor with slowness. The qasr, by contrast, is the shortening of the madd to this measure of two harakat. The detailed linguistic definitions of the madd and the qasr are not detailed in this module; see the book Qawa'id al-Tajwid on the recitation of Hafs.
The letters of madd are three in number, gathered in the word نُوحِيهَا: the alif preceded by a fathah, the ya' preceded by a kasrah and the waw preceded by a dammah, as the author of Tuhfat al-Atfal says: "its letters are three, gathered in the word نُوحِيهَا". The madd letter must have neither a hamzah before it, nor a hamzah or a sukoon after it. The ya' and the waw are leen letters when they are saakin with a fathah before them: "as for the leen among them, the ya' and the waw saakin, when the fathah precedes each of them, that is manifested".
The madd is divided into original (asli) and secondary (far'i). The madd asli is that whose madd letter has neither a hamzah before it, nor a hamzah or a sukoon after it; its length is two harakat. It is called asli because of its original character in relation to the other madds: its holding to a single measure, the madd letter being unable to exist without it, and it depends on no cause. It is called tabi'i (natural) because the one possessing a sound nature neither increases it nor diminishes it. Its three types: the madd letter established in connection and at the stop, like مَالِكِ and وَضُحَاهَا; established at the stop without the connection, like the alifs substituted for the tanween nasb عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًا at the stop and the alifs of prolonged sukoon أَنَا نَذِيرٌ; established in connection without the stop, like إِنَّهُ هُوَ, called madd silah.
The madd far'i is the madd added to the madd tabi'i for one of the causes. Its causes are two: the hamzah and the sukoon, called verbal causes because they are the reason for the increase of the madd far'i over the natural madd. Its types are five: muttasil, munfasil and badal (cause: hamzah); 'arid li-s-sukoon and lazim (cause: sukoon). Its rulings are three: the obligation, specific to the muttasil; the permission, specific to the munfasil, the 'arid and the badal; the necessity, specific to the lazim, for it must be lengthened by a single measure, which is six harakat.
The madd muttasil: after the madd letter there is a hamzah joined to it in the same word, like the alif of جَاءَ, the waw of قُرُوءٍ and the ya' of هَنِيئًا. Its ruling: the obligation of lengthening it beyond the natural madd by consensus. Its length: four harakat or five, in connection and at the stop, and six at the stop if its hamzah is mutatarrifah. It is called muttasil (connected) for the joining of its cause (the hamzah) to the madd letter in the same word.
With an open hamzah (fathah of i'rab like وَالسَّمَاءَ or fathah of structure like جَاءَ), three views at the stop: madd of four, five or six harakat with the pure sukoon. With a broken hamzah (kasrah of i'rab like وَالسَّمَاءِ or of structure like هَؤُلاءِ), five views: four or five harakat with the pure sukoon, and likewise with the rawm, then six harakat with the pure sukoon only. With a madmumah hamzah (dammah of i'rab like السُّفَهَاءُ or of structure like وَيَا سَمَاءُ), eight views: four, five or six harakat with the sukoon alone, and likewise with ishmaam, then four or five harakat with the rawm only.
The madd munfasil: after the madd letter there is a hamzah separated from it in another word, like the alif of إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ الْكَوْثَرَ, the waw of قُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ and the ya' of وَفِي أَنْفُسِكُمْ. Its ruling: the permissibility of lengthening it or shortening it, but the qasr in Hafs is not from the way of the Shatibiyya, and it requires the knowledge of the rules that follow from it. Its length: four harakat or five. It is called munfasil (separated) for the separation of its cause (the hamzah) from the madd letter, each in a word.
The madd 'arid li-s-sukoon: there is found after a madd letter or a leen letter a sukoon occurring at the time of stopping, like الرَّحْمَنُ, الْعَالَمِينَ, الْمُفْلِحُونَ, الْبَيْتِ, خَوفٍ. Its ruling: the permissibility of shortening it or lengthening it. Its length: three ways, the qasr of two harakat, the tawassut of four and the ishba' of six. It is called 'arid (occurring) for the occurrence of the sukoon at the time of stopping; for if there were connection, it would be a madd tabi'i.
The way of qasr takes the state of connection into account, where the madd becomes tabi'i: it is preferred in the recitation with the level of hadr. The way of tawassut takes the meeting of the saakin letters into account while observing the accidental character of the sukoon, which places it at an intermediate rank: it is preferred in the recitation with the level of tadwir. The way of ishba' proceeds by resemblance to the madd lazim, where two saakin letters meet: it is preferred with the level of tarteel. Any of the three ways remains permitted at any degree of the degrees of recitation.
The mansub (ending with a fathah, like الْمُسْتَقِيمَ or الْعَالَمِينَ) has three ways: qasr of two, tawassut of four and ishba' of six harakat, all with the pure sukoon. The majrur (ending with a kasrah, like الرَّحِيمِ) has four ways: the three previous ones, then the rawm with the qasr. The marfu' (ending with a dammah, like نَسْتَعِينُ) has seven ways: the three with the pure sukoon, the same with ishmaam, and the rawm with the qasr. Ishmaam is specific to what ends with a dammah, and the rawm is specific to what ends with a kasrah or a dammah.
The madd badal: the hamzah precedes the madd letter in a word, and after the madd letter there is neither hamzah nor sukoon, like the alif of ءامِنُوا, the ya' of إِيمَانًا and the waw of أُوتُوا. Its ruling: the permissibility of lengthening it and shortening it, but Hafs has in this only the qasr. Its length: two harakat, like the natural madd. It is called badal (substituted) because the madd letter is in it substituted for the hamzah in general: the origin of every badal is the meeting of two hamzahs in a word, the second saakin being substituted by a madd letter of the same kind as the vowel of the first, for lightness.
No: the madd is annulled in it, for these words carry madds of a stronger rank that preceded them. ءآمِيْنَ is a madd lazim; برءآؤاْ is a madd muttasil; and مَآبٍ at the stop is a madd 'arid li-s-sukoon. That is why it has been made a condition in the definition of the madd badal that after the madd letter there be neither hamzah nor sukoon.
The madd lazim has as its cause an original sukoon established in connection as at the stop after the madd letter: its ruling is the necessity (luzum) of lengthening its madd by a single measure, which is six harakat, and it is the strongest of the madds. Its divisions, according to the author of Tuhfat al-Atfal, are four in number: the kalimi muthaqqal, the kalimi mukhaffaf, the harfi muthaqqal and the harfi mukhaffaf. The detail of each division with its illustrations is not detailed in this module; see the book Qawa'id al-Tajwid on the recitation of Hafs.
The madd lazim is the strongest of the madds for the originality of its cause: a sukoon established in connection as at the stop, with a fixed length of six harakat. The condition of the original sukoon distinguishes it from the madd 'arid li-s-sukoon, whose sukoon is only accidental, occurring at the time of stopping; the rank of the lazim in the degrees of the madds follows from this.
The module mentions for these three words the madd farq: the alif brought in place of the connecting hamzah in آلذَّكَرَيْنِ, آللَّهُ and آلْآنَ, in the case of the substitution by the long madd, which is lengthened six harakat. The way of Rawdat al-Huffaz, cited in the module, makes it an obligation at the qasr of the munfasil. The complete exposition of all the ways allowed is not detailed in this module; see the book Qawa'id al-Tajwid on the recitation of Hafs.
The madd lazim harfi exists only at the beginning of a surah, and its existence is limited to eight letters, gathered by "كم عسل نقص" and "عين" which has two faces, with the long madd of six harakat. As for the letters gathered by "حَيٌّ طَهُورَ" (fourteen openings coming under two letters of which the second is a madd letter), their madd is not lazim: it is a madd tabi'i of two harakat, like the alif of الم or the ha' of حم at the beginning of the Hawamim.
The degrees of the madds are five: the madd lazim, the madd muttasil, the madd 'arid li-s-sukoon, the madd munfasil and the madd badal. The lazim is the strongest for the originality of its cause (the sukoon in connection as at the stop) and the fixedness of its madd (six harakat). The muttasil is at the second degree for the originality of its cause (the hamzah) and its meeting with it in a single word. The 'arid is at the third degree: its cause (the sukoon) is joined to it in a single word but it is accidental. The munfasil is at the fourth degree for the separation of its cause from it. The badal is at the last degree because its cause precedes it, while the cause of the others comes after them, and it is substituted for the hamzah most often.
This notion is not detailed in this module; see the book Qawa'id al-Tajwid on the recitation of Hafs.
When two causes of madd meet, one strong and the other weak, one acts according to the strong one and the weak is annulled. Example: وَجَاءُوا أَبَاهُمْ. The first hamzah followed by a waw of madd belongs to the badal, the second hamzah preceded by a waw of madd belongs to the munfasil; the munfasil being stronger than the badal, the madd is considered munfasil and the badal annulled. The poem summarizes it: "Two causes of madd, when they are found together... then the stronger of the two causes acts alone".
Apply the causes: if a hamzah follows the madd letter in the same word, it is a muttasil (obligatory); if the hamzah is in the following word, it is a munfasil (permitted); if the hamzah precedes the madd letter, it is a badal (qasr in Hafs); if an original sukoon in connection and at the stop follows the madd letter, it is a lazim (necessary, six harakat); if the sukoon occurs only at the stop, it is an 'arid li-s-sukoon (permitted); if there is no cause, it is a tabi'i (two harakat). In case of the meeting of two causes, the stronger acts alone.
Revision: Madd far'i, Degrees of the madds and Reminders on the madds