Stopping on words with a weak ending
There are general standards for words ending with any one of the three medd letters that are uniform:
1. If the medd letter is established in writing and a saakin letter does not follow it, the medd letter is then affirmed and established in pronunciation when stopping just as it is when continuing following the writing of the Qur'an.
2. If a saakin follows a word ending in a medd letter, the medd letter then is dropped in pronunciation when continuing, because of the forbidding of two saakin letters from meeting between two words, but is established in pronunciation when stopping.
3. If the medd letter is not present in the written copy of the Qur'an, the medd letter is dropped in pronunciation when continuing and stopping.
We will be discuss words ending in medd letters that have special indications in the recitation of Hafs 'an 'Aasim. Other than these words that have special indication, Hafs stops on words according to the writing in Qur'an.
The special indications for some words ending in a written lengthened alif by the way of Hafs 'an 'Aasim
A. Case one
The written alif is dropped in pronunciation when stopping and continuing. This occurs in certain words and the indication of this is what is called which is the symbol , written over the alif.
The words that end in a written by not pronounced alif in which this occurs are:
The word in the following four aayaat:
The word the first word in the aayah:
B. Case two
The written alif is dropped in pronunciation when continuing, but established in pronunciation when stopping:
These are more notably called the "seven alifaat" or . The indication for these alif is what looks very much like the number zero over the alif, 0, which is called . These seven alifaat occur in seven different words in different places in the Qur'an. These words are:
Whenever it occurs in the Qur'an
One of two allowable ways of stopping on this word
A special note: There are three places in the Qur'an where the alif of and is not written, and therefore Hafs 'an 'Aasim stops on these words with a saakinah. These three aayat are:
This is as a reminder, for as stated above, Hafs stops on words ending with a medd letter according to the writing in the copy of the Qur'an. Stopping on these words in the above three aayaat would only be done in a compelled stop, , or when requested by a teacher as a test.