Tajweed rules, including Quran reading rules, can be better understood in light of the linguistic meaning of Madd, which is to increase or lengthen. Allah Almighty says in the Holy Qur’an: (وَنَمُدُّ لَه), where the word ‘madd’ in Arabic means that Allah will extend and add to their punishment. Hence, Madd in Tajweed rules refers to the stretching or extension of sounds of one of the three Madd letters. Madd means to stretch a sound, and there are three Madd letters: (ا – و – ي). When there is a Damma before Wow Sakin, we stretch it for two counts, which is called Wow Madd. When there is a Fatha before Alif, we stretch it for two counts, known as Alif Madd.

What Is Madd In the Quran?

Madd means to stretch a sound and there are 3 Madd letters which are (ا – و – ي). When there is a Damma before wow sakin we stretch it for two counts and it is called wow Madd. When there is a Fatha before alif we stretch it for two counts and it is called Alif Madd.

Arabic Madd Letters Rules

Before we expound on Madd rules in Tajweed, what are the 3 Madd letters? we will mention the 3 letters of Madd (ا , و , ي) that are found in the word: (نُوحِيهَا). By carefully examining this word, it is clear that the 3 Madd letters need to fulfill two conditions; firstly, they need to be without Fatha, Dummah or Kasrah and secondly, they need to be preceded by one of the 3 Harakah that is homogenous with the letter. This means that the vowel alif (ا) must be preceded by Fathah, the vowel yaa (ي) by Kasrah, and the vowel waw (و) by Dammah.

  • If Madd letter is Alif (ا), the letter before must have a fathah sign, and Alif itself remains silent without any vowel.
  • If Madd letter is Waw (و), the letter before must have a dammah, and Waaw remains silent without any vowel.
  • If Madd letter is Yaa (ي), the letter before must have a kasrah, and the Yaa itself remains silent without any vowel.

Letters of Madd

The Madd letters (حروف المد) are the three primary letters that are used in Madd:

  • Alif (ا) when a letter with a Fathah (ــَـ) comes before it.
  • Waw (و) When a letter with a Dhammah (ــُـ) comes before it, the word waw (و) is used.
  • Yaa (ي) when a letter with a Kasrah (ــِـ) comes before it.

These letters are stretched by nature, and their pronunciation indicates the presence of Madd. Whenever these letters appear, the rules of Madd must be applied according to the type of Madd in question

Types of Madd

The rules of Madd can be categorized into two major types:

  1. Madd Asli (Natural Madd)
  2. Madd Far’i (Secondary Madd)

 Madd Asli (مَدّ أصْلِي)

Madd Asli, also known as Madd Tabee’i (Natural Madd), is the basic form of elongation in Tajweed. It occurs when one of the Madd letters is not followed by a Hamzah (ء) or a Sukoon (◌ْ). This type of Madd is prolonged for two counts (two Harakaat).

(هَلْ أَتَاكَ حَدِيثُ مُوسَىٰ)- (الناس – أفواجا)

Madd Asli can also be found in the letters of mnemonic: (حي طهر) at the beginning of certain surahs of the Qur’an as in:

  • (1) حم
  • طسم (1)
  • طه (1)

In these verses, the Madd in the letters (حـ– طـ) is considered Natural Madd and is only lengthened for 2 counts.

1- Madd Al Iwad: compensated prolongation, occurs only at the end of a word that has tanween fat-h.

 Madd Far’i (مَدّ فَرْعِي)

Madd Far’i refers to the secondary form of elongation, which is further divided into several subtypes. Unlike Madd Asli, Madd Far’i occurs due to the influence of a Hamzah or Sukoon. Depending on the type of Madd Far’i, the elongation can be four, five, or six counts.

Subtypes of Madd Far’i:
  1. Madd Wajib Muttasil (مَدّ وَاجِب مُتَّصِل)
  2. Madd Jaiz Munfasil (مَدّ جَائِز مُنْفَصِل)
  3. Madd Lazim (مَدّ لَازِم)
  4. Madd Aridh Lissukoon (مَدّ عَارِض لِلسُّكُون)
  5. Madd Badal (مَدّ بَدَل)

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 Madd Wajib Muttasil (مَدّ وَاجِب مُتَّصِل)

When a Madd letter is followed within the same word by a Hamzah (ء), this is known as Madd Wajib Muttasil. The extension is often for four or five counts, and this kind of Madd is seen as required.

Examples of Madd Wajib Muttasil:
  •     سُوءَ (Sū’an): The Waw, which is preceded by a Dhammah, is followed by a Hamzah, indicating Madd Wajib Muttasil.
  •     جَاءَ (Jā’a): The Alif, which is preceded by a Fathah, is followed by a Hamzah, making it Madd Wajib Muttasil.

Madd Munfasil Examples

Separate Madd (Madd Munfasil): a similar condition is present with this type of Madd but the main difference is that the Madd letter and the Hamza are in separate words instead of being in one. It is permissible for the reader to shorten the vowel for 2 counts or lengthen it for four or five counts. Examine the Madd in the following verses:

بِمَا أُنزِلَ (Bimā Unzila): The Alif at the end of “Bimā” is followed by the Hamzah at the start of “Unzila.”

إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ (Innā A’taynāka): The Alif at the end of “Innā” is followed by the Hamzah at the start of “A’taynāka.”

Madd Al Iwad Examples

(عليمًا – حكيمًا – خبيرًا)

2- One type of Madd that falls under Madd Asli category is “Lesser Connecting Madd” “مد صلة” which is associated with the use of the Arabic third-person masculine pronoun (هاء). This is one of the types of tide in the Qur’an that occurs when this pronoun that is not part of the word form has a duma or kasra but is not followed by a hamza or Sukoon – in the case of Sukoon. Some examples of this kind are:

Take a minute and test yourself on recognizing Madd Muttasil and Madd Monfasil in the following verse from Qur’an:

(إن هي إلا أسماء سميتموها أنتم وآباؤكم ما أنزل الله بها من سلطان)

Mad Sila Examples

(حكماً من أهلهِ وحكما من أهلها)- (فاعلم أنه لا إله إلا الله)- (كمن زيّن لهُ سوء عمله)

3- Another type of Madd that belongs to Natural Madd is “Substitute Madd” “مد بدل”. When the word ends with Alif and Tanween in case of pausing by the reader, this Alif should be stretched for two counts. These words provide some examples:

Madd Al Badal Examples

 ﴾ هُدًى ﴾ – ﴿ سُوًى ﴾ – ﴿ أَحَدًا ﴿

Here’s a quick recap of the points mentioned about Natural Madd:

Types Of Madd Faree

Therefore, Madd Far’ee is divided into two groups:

  1. Madd Faree due to Hamza
  2. Madd Faree due to Sukoon

Madd Faree Examples

Meanwhile, Secondary Madd or Madd Far’ee is the elongation of vowels but it is dependent on the presence of Hamza or Sukoon. These are some Madd Far’ee examples:

(إلا أن يشاء الله) – (ربّ اجعل لي ءاية)

Madd Faree Due To Hamza

Attached Madd (Madd Muttasil): this type of Madd occurs when the Madd letter is followed by Hamza within a word. It has to be stretched or elongated for 4,5 or 6 counts. Some examples of this Madd in Qur’an are:

(وقالوا لو شاء الرحمن ما عبدناهم)- (فبأي آلاء ربكما تكذبان)

Madd Badal Examples

Exchange Madd (Madd Badal): unlike the previous types of Madd Far’ee, the exchange Madd is found in words where the Hamza precedes the Madd letter and in this case the Madd is lengthened for 2 counts. Some examples of this Madd in Qur’an include:

(ماء غير ءاسن) (أُورثوا الكتاب) (وإيتاء الزكاة)

Examples of Madd Badal:
  •     ءَامَنُوا (Āmanū): The Hamzah is followed by an Alif.
  •     إِيمَان (Īmān): The Hamzah is followed by a Yaa.

Greater Connecting Madd: much like the Lesser Connecting Madd, the Greater Connecting Madd also occurs when the masculine pronoun of third person singular, with the aforementioned conditions, comes at the end of a word and the following word starts with Hamza. The reader is allowed to lengthen this Madd for 2 or 4 counts as in:

(اسمه أحمد) – (ربه أحدا)

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Madd Arid Lissukun Examples

This type of Madd Far’ee is the result of the presence of two letters within a word, the first one is a Madd letter and the other is a letter with any Harakah on it but due to pausing, this Harakah turns into a Sukoon. This is found in verses from the Qur’an like:

Examples of Madd Aridh Lissukoon:

رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ (Rabbul ‘Ālamīn): At the end of the verse, there is a temporary Sukoon due to stopping.

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ (Alhamdu Lillāh): The recitation is elongated due to stopping.

(الرحمــن الرحيم)– (إن في ذلك لآيات لقوم يؤمنون)

In such cases, it is permissible to lengthen it for 2, 4 or 6 counts. However, if the reader doesn’t stop on it, the letter is only stretched for two counts as a natural Madd.

 Madd Lazim (مَدّ لَازِم)

When a Sukoon (permanent sukoon) comes after a Madd letter, either inside a word or in between words, this is known as Madd Lazim. Elongating the sound for six counts is required. The longest extension in the Quranic recital is this Madd.

1- Kalimi Muthaqqal (heavy): The first type which occurs within a word is a compulsory Madd that is the outcome of the following combination:

Madd Letter+ a saakin letter with shaddah on it.

The following verse of the Qur’an includes two Madd Lazims (with alif and wow) in which the Madd letter is followed by a saakin letter with shaddah within one word:

Madd Lazim Examples

(قال أتحاجوني في الله وقد هدانِ)

2- Kalimi Mukhaffaf (light): the second type is caused by a similar combination but it differs that the saakin letter doesn’t have shaddah on it    

Madd Letter+ a saakin letter without shaddah on it.

The word (آلآن) in this verse illustrates the aforementioned Tajweed Madd rule:

(أثم إذا ما وقع آمنتم به آلآن وقد كنتم به تستعجلون)

If you look closely, you will find that both words (آمنتم) and (آلآن) have what seems to be a similar structure but the key difference between them is that in (آمنتم), the Madd letter occurred after hamza and is not followed by Sukoon so it is a case of Madd Badal while in (آلآن) the Madd letter occurred before a saakin letter without shaddah on it which is Madd Kalimi Mukhaffaf.

3- Harfi Muthaqqal: the third type is spotted in the letters that are at the beginning of certain surahs. These letters are grouped in the mnemonic (كم عسل نقص) and as each letter is read as a three-letter word, this type of Madd only occurs when the last letter of the three is originally saakin. This letter is merged into the following letter as in:

﴾ الم ﴿

Here, the first letter (لام) ends with the same letter that begins the next one (ميم); thus, they are merged and the Madd letter is stretched for 6 counts.

4- Harfi Mukhaffaf: it is also in letters that begin some surahs of the Qur’an but it is distinguishable from the Harfi Muthaqqal by observing the letter that follows one of the following (كم عسل نقص) but it is not merged into the next letter. Some examples of this Madd rule are:

﴾ الر ﴾  ﴿ ق ﴾ ﴿ يس ﴿

In summary, the other type of Madd Far’ee that occurs due to Sukoon has two kinds where the Sukoon is an original part of the word in one unlike the other. In the verse (فإذا جاءت الصاخّة), the Madd letter is followed by a saakin letter that has shaddah which is Madd Kalimi Muthaqqal, a type of Madd Lazim. On the other hand, the verse (الذي هم فيه مختلفون) exhibits another kind of Madd Far’ee where the Sukoon is not an essential part of the word form, rather it only occurs in the case of pausing. This is Madd Arid Lil-sukoon. After knowing types of madd and examples, reciter can improve their recitation to a great extent.

Conclusion

Madd is a very important rule of intonation because it plays a vital role in understanding the meanings of Quranic verses. Therefore, it is necessary to know the correct way to recite the verses and to understand the different types of midad in the Qur’an and their applications.

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