Message #16341

[Heba E. Husseyn]

Salams again Sis.  I'm back.  Ah, no.   None of you ever jump at the wrong time    Time is always right and your topic is very good info for readers.

Well yes, the signs you are referring to basically have only a grammatical significance and are useful while reciting the original Arabic.  Plus, the instructions to pause or continue also help the reciter to follow a suitable recitational rhythm.  I repeat, it is relevant primarily while reading the original in Arabic.  Some translations may also try to use the equivalents of these signs via English punctuation or whichever language the original is translated into.  But you're right, it doesn't really matter at all in the course of understanding the contents of the Quran. In some Verses these signs may help to comprehend the meaning more easily.  But it's basically in the category of phonetics and assists the style of rhythm.   As we know, the Noble Quran in original Arabic has its own unique and beautiful style where some Ayats, sentences or narrations are longer than others. It's often easier to understand the grammar of the longer ones by arranging their tone and style by fragmenting them with pause signs.  That's all, nothing more.  And of  course these signs are not a part of the original Quran.  As we would also know, the Noble Quran was revealed to the Final Messenger (pbuh) verbally through angel Gabriel, it did not come to him in written form.

The following are the list of signs you inquired about.  There maybe more.  Some segments of our scholars have made this topic quite lengthy with quite a large number of signs.  However, the basic ones that are commonly utilized for assistance during recitations are given below.

From Instagram:



This is from Corpus Quran:



The following are the few Verses cited as examples by Corpus Quran showing the pause signs on Quranic Words.  The pause signs are shown in little circles.


V.6:51  (not permissible to stop or pause):  You will find the sign on Quranic word rabbihim (their Rab).



V.5:64  (compulsory stop or pause):  You will find the sign on Quranic word qalu ( they said).



V.4:19  (continuation preferred):  You will find the sign on Quranic word karhan ( force).



V.4:23  (pause preferred):  You will find the mark in Quranic word salafa  (passed before).



V.4:18  (permitted either to pause or continue): You will find the mark on Quranic word kuffarun  (disbelievers).



V.5:26  (two marks with three dots, reciter may pause at either one, not both):  You will find the marks on two Quranic words, ʿalayhim ( to them) and sanatan (years).  Please note:  In the Quran in Verse 5:26 these two words don't appear side by side.  It's in the form of a  complete Ayat and there is another word in between these two, which is arbaʿīna (meaning forty).  I've put these two words side by side only for displaying the example of this particular pause sign.  For better understanding, kindly check the original Arabic Quranic Verse 5:26 as displayed in Corpus Quran here. You can also check all these examples directly from Corpus Quran at the yellow link provided above the Corpus Quran content image. When you open that link, simply click on the Surah and Ayat numbers.