Question

As salaamu alaikum brothers in Islaam. I'm studying Hafs a'n Aasim, and seeing that Hazrat Ali (R.A) is said to have said in his definition of Tarteel :- Tajweed dul Hurufee wa ma' refatul wuquf. My question is due to the fact that the knowledge of stopping is a major part of Tajweed, and that even though various stops are indicated by signs; there are those stops that aren't indicated by signs, but don't change the meaning. However, I know from my little knowledge that such stops, if they are made by a person and he doesn't continue recitation from the last word of phrase, then such a stop is going against the rules of Stopping. In short, my question is, if such stopping really does go against the rules of stopping, then why is it that so many Qarees do it? Another question is that why is it that on must not stop at the sign  of the letter Laam?

 Jazakallahu khair

 Answer

Wa alaikum assalaam wa rahmatu Allahi wa barakatuh

The stops are indeed very important and can change the intended meaning if we are not careful.  The statement that is attributed to Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, is in many tajweed books, and related by Imam Al-Jazaree in An-Nashr, but the chain cannot be found going back to Ali, may Allah be pleased with him.  We therefore cannot verify its authenticity.  There are, however, numerous  great scholars who stress the great importance in the stop and start in recitation of the Qur’an.  Indeed, stopping in an incorrect place can change the intended meaning of Allah, and it is very serious in error.

There are stops that may not change the meaning, but are not grammatically correct; these are still not allowed.  The stops that are allowed are those that are complete in meaning and grammar, and either not linked to the next phrase in meaning or are.  If a phrase is complete in meaning, but not in grammar, it is or “good stop”, but we may not start on what comes next; instead we need to go back or word or two or three when we start after taking a breath.  It is not enough that the meaning is not changed by a stop, the phrase stopped on needs to be complete in meaning and in grammar, as suggested in the question.

It is unfortunate that some have not studied this very important area in tajweed, and randomly stop and start, paying no heed to the meaning and grammar structure of the phrases being read. 

The stop/start symbol  is not used exclusively for stopping; sometimes it is used as an indication that we must not start with that word.  An example of this is the in the first aayah of surah al-Mumtahinah:

In this aayah the symbol is seen over the word .  Stopping on this word after reading in continuum with the previous phrase would be , but starting on the word  would seriously change the meaning into one of warning not to fear Allah instead of the intended meaning that the disbelievers turned the Messenger and you all [believers] because they believed in Allah their Lord.  In this case then, the symbol is an indication that it is forbidden to start with this word. 

There are many cases, and they are the majority, when the    is  used for a forbidden stop.  When this symbol is used for a stop, it indicates that stopping here would seriously change the meaning or the meaning and or grammar is not complete, and stopping is therefore not allowed on this word.

Please also see the lessons on the stop and start:

Stop lessons

Start lessons

Wa iyyakum, and may Allah make your studies easy for you.