Question

It has been my habit for many years to stop in the "middle" of the last ayah of surah al-Fatihah i.e. after the words - " " - and then reading on with what follows after that without going back.  There is no marked stop there so is my stop wrong?  Thank you and may Allah reward you.

Answer

And may Allah reward you and all Muslims.

The next phrase after    (until the end of the aayah) is a continuation in grammar and in meaning to the previous phase, so the stop you are making is , or “good stop”.  The rule for this stop is that it is allowed to stop on it, but not allowed to continue with what comes next.  You may note the kasrah on the word  after the phrase , meaning it is a characteristic of what preceded it, and following it in grammar.  You need to go back a few words if you run out of breath at the phrase , then continue linking the phrase with what comes next.  And Allah knows best.