Question

1.The recitation of assosiy reads many verses of the Quran very differently from other riwayah. My question is more about the mudood in a few places of the Quran where some verses are read differently. For examples (this is just one example among many as I know the rules go far deeper than that) in surat Mudjadalah verse 11 "...idha qila lakum...", the recitation of Assosiy rather reads (when I listen to it) "...idha qiiLakum.." by lengthening the letter "Ya" with kasra in "qiil" and but merging the laam in "qiila"  with the laam of "Kum in Lakum". I would like to know: What are the vowel counts usually allowed when these types of idgham (merging) occur? Does Assosiy allow a 2, 4,or 6 vowel count?

2. What is the meaning of the flower designs found in many places in the King Fahd's versions of the Quran? Do they indicate stops or beginnings when reading? Or do they represent some sort of division (more like classification) For example in surah 100 beginning of verse 9.
wa salamu alaikum. 

Answer

Wa alaikum assalaam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,

1.  The qira’ah of Imam  is unique in the fact that it has many types of idhgaam kabeer  (), meaning both when the letters are identical and both are voweled, () and also when the letters are similar  (or close () and voweled.  If there is a medd letter before the idhgaam, the medd letter is lengthened the same length that the reader is using for .  As we know,  can be 2, 4, or 6 vowel counts.  So if the read is using two vowel counts for , he/she will then lengthen the  two vowels counts when making  of  the  of  into the  of .  When making the , we put a sukoon on the first of the two letters of the .   In the same line, if the reader is lengthening  four or six vowel counts, then the  before the  will be four or six vowel counts accordingly. 

This line of poetry written by a scholar gives us the evidence for this rule:

2.  The King Fahd Complex printing of the Glorious Qur’an and most other printings of the Qur’an divide the Qur’an into fourths ( ) of a hizb ().  Each hizb is one half a juz’, and each fourth mark is then one-eighth of a juz’.  There are marks also at the   and juz’ ends.  These marks assist the reader who is reviewing a certain amount each day, or memorizing a certain amount each day so he/she can plan their weekly or monthly schedule in an even manner.  The mark then referred to in the question is one of these  markers.

We prefer to use the term “printing” instead of “version”.  The term “version” may indicate to some the idea that there is a difference in the essence of the Qur’an in the different printings.  The differences are in markings and additions such as stop marks, but not in the essence. 

Jazakum Allahu khairan. Wa assalaam alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.