Lam of Allah, ra, and stopping (waqf)
The lam in the name “Allah”
- Heavy after a fathah or dammah: قَالَ اللّٰهُ, رَسُولُ اللّٰهِ
- Light after a kasrah: بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ, لِلّٰهِ
The letter ra (ر)
- Heavy with fathah or dammah: رَبِّ, رُسُلٌ
- Light with kasrah: رِجَالٌ
- With sukun it follows the vowel before it — heavy after fathah/dammah (مَرْيَمَ), usually light after kasrah (فِرْعَوْنَ)
Waqf — where and how to stop
When stopping, the last letter takes sukun. Tanween with fathah becomes a long “aa” (عَلِيمًا → ‘aleemaa), and a round ta (ة) becomes “h” (رَحْمَةٌ → rahmah).
| Sign | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ○ | End of an ayah — stopping is preferred |
| مـ | Necessary stop — you must stop |
| لا | Do not stop; if you do, start again from before |
| ج | Stopping or continuing are both fine |
| صلى | Continuing is better |
| قلى | Stopping is better |
| ∴ ∴ | Stop at one of the two places, not both |
If your breath runs out, do not stop in the middle of a word; stop where stopping is allowed and, to keep the meaning, restart a word or two earlier.