Rules of Starting and Stopping During Recitation From a Mughali Script Mushaf

Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Question

1. Can I follow the rules of tajweed of Hafs an ‘Asim Shatibiyya in my Indo-Pak style Quran, or is it only restricted to using for Uthmani mushafs because of some differences in the style of writing?

2. Plus, in the Indo-Pak style, there is no hamzah on the alif. At the beginning of words, when there is hamzatul wasl in the Uthmani script, sometimes in the Indo-Pak, instead of hamzatul wasl, the alif has a vowel, but sometimes it doesn’t. Is it read as an alif or hamza here?

Answer

I pray you are well.

Bismillah.

The rules of tajwid should be applied no matter which script one is reciting from. The basis of this is the variant (Qira’a) and not the script.

The absence of the hamza al-wasl in the Mughali (Indo-Pak) script is to facilitate ease and fluency of recitation for anyone who does not know Arabic. Therefore, if someone knows the rules of al-Waqf wa al-Ibtida (Stopping and Starting recitation) he may deviate from the vowel written and recite with the appropriate vowel.

An example of this is the verse “Allahu al-Samad” (Quran, 112:2). Starting on this verse requires a fatha on the Supreme Name of God, but if it was merged with the previous verse it would be recited with the rule of merging two still letters (iltiqa al-sakinayn) and recited as “…Ahadu-nillahu al-Samad.”

If one is unsure of how these rules are to be implemented, then he should just stick to the stops and starting points in the Mughali script. Those stops and pauses are all based on the stops of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), tafsir-related positions, and choices that facilitate recitation. Following them will lead to a beautiful flow in one’s recitation.

If someone knows the intricacies of the rules and the differences of interpretation within a verse, he may stop and start at other points.

May Allah make the Quran the spring of our hearts.

[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began his studies in Arabic Grammar and Morphology in 2005. After graduating with a degree in English and History, he moved to Damascus in 2007, where, for 18 months, he studied with many erudite scholars. In late 2008 he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continued his studies for the next six years in Sacred Law (fiqh), legal theory (Usul al-fiqh), theology, hadith methodology, hadith commentary, and Logic. He was also given licenses of mastery in the science of Quranic recital, and he was able to study an extensive curriculum of Quranic sciences, tafsir, Arabic grammar, and Arabic eloquence.