Reading the muṣḥaf
Stop and go marks
Open any page of the Qur'an and you will see tiny symbols sitting above the line. They are not letters and they are not part of the words. They are road signs for the voice: this is a good place to take a breath, this is a place you should not break, here a pause makes the meaning clearer. Learn the six main ones and reading aloud stops feeling like guesswork.
Tap Teach me on this page and the assistant will read the marks aloud one by one, so you can learn them while walking or driving.
Where the marks come from
The wording of the Qur'an is fixed and unchanged. These marks were added later by scholars of recitation, above all the system worked out by al-Sajāwandī, and then simplified in the printed muṣḥaf most people read from today. Their whole purpose is to protect the meaning: a breath taken in the wrong place can join two halves of a sentence that were never meant to be joined. So the marks are guidance for the reciter, not extra text from Allah. Reading without them is still valid; reading with them keeps you safe.
The marks, one by one
Each entry below shows the symbol as it is printed, what it is called, what you do when you reach it, and why it is placed there. Take the first two first — must stop and do not stop. Those two alone will carry most of your reading.
- Must stop مـ (وَقْف لَازِم)
- Stop here. Carrying straight on would join two sentences that mean different things, and the sense would change.Read aloud as: the small letter meem, called waqf laazim · King Fahd muṣḥaf, table of pause marks; al-Sajāwandī's waqf system
- Do not stop لا (لَا وَقْف)
- Do not stop here — carry on. The sentence is not finished. If you must take a breath, go back a few words and start again from there.Read aloud as: the small word laa · King Fahd muṣḥaf, table of pause marks
- You may stop ج (وَقْف جَائِز)
- Stopping and carrying on are both fine. The words on either side stand on their own, so neither choice harms the meaning.Read aloud as: the small letter jeem · King Fahd muṣḥaf, table of pause marks
- Stopping is better قلى (الوَقْفُ أَوْلَى)
- Stopping is better, but going on is allowed. A pause here lets the point that has just been made settle before the next one begins.Read aloud as: the small letters qaaf and laa · King Fahd muṣḥaf, table of pause marks
- Going on is better صلى (الوَصْلُ أَوْلَى)
- Better to carry on, though you may stop. The next words finish the thought, so joining them keeps the meaning whole.Read aloud as: the small letters saad and laa · King Fahd muṣḥaf, table of pause marks
- The linked pair ∴ ∴ (وَقْف المُعَانَقَة)
- You will see this mark twice, close together. Stop at one of them — never at both. A phrase in the middle can belong to the words before it or the words after it. Whichever side you join it to, the other pause is the one you take.Read aloud as: the three-dot mark, which always comes as a pair · King Fahd muṣḥaf, table of pause marks; tajwīd manuals on waqf al-muʿānaqah
- Short silent pause س / سكتة (سَكْتَة)
- Stop the sound for a moment without breathing, then carry straight on. It keeps two words from running into each other in a way that would blur what they mean.Read aloud as: the small letter seen, called sakta · King Fahd muṣḥaf; ḥadīth of Ḥafṣ ʿan ʿĀṣim on the four places of sakta
- End of the āyah خَاتِمَة الآيَة
- This circle holds the āyah number. It is always a good place to stop. The Prophet ﷺ used to pause at the end of each āyah when he recited, so stopping here follows his practice.Read aloud as: the small circle with a number inside it · Sunan Abī Dāwūd 4001, ḥadīth of Umm Salamah (peace be upon her) on his ﷺ recitation
- Prostration mark عَلَامَة السَّجْدَة
- When you reach this, prostrate once — the reciter and anyone listening. The āyah speaks of falling down before Allah, and the mark invites you to answer it with your body, not only your tongue.Read aloud as: the small prostration sign · Qurʾān 19:58; Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1067 on the prostration of recitation
How to use them while you recite
Plan your breath. Look ahead to the next mark before you begin a line, and take your breath there rather than wherever your lungs run out. If you do stop in the middle of a sentence by accident, the settled practice is simple: go back a few words and start again from a point that makes sense, then carry on. When you stop, the last letter is read with a plain ending rather than its usual vowel, which is why a stop sounds heavier than the middle of a line.
The Prophet ﷺ used to pause at the end of every āyah when he recited, keeping each one distinct. That is the easiest habit to copy from day one: read to the circle that holds the āyah number, breathe, and begin the next.