المد الفرعي

The natural madd lasts two counts. But when the madd letter is followed by a hamza or a sukun, it is lengthened further. Here are the basic cases, with the lengths most often taught in the reading of Hafs (ash-Shatibiyya chain). Your teacher may follow another one: above all, remember which ones are longer than the natural madd.

1. The connected madd (مَدّ مُتَّصِل). The madd letter and the hamza are in the same word. It is lengthened by four or five counts, and this lengthening is required. • جَاءَ (110:1), السَّمَاءِ, سُوءٍ. In the mushaf, a small wavy sign (ـٓ) is placed above the madd letter to signal it.

2. The separated madd (مَدّ مُنْفَصِل). The madd letter is at the end of a word and the hamza at the start of the next word. It is lengthened by four or five counts in this chain (other chains of Hafs allow two counts). • إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ (108:1): the ا of إِنَّا, followed by the hamza of أَعْطَيْنَاكَ. • يَا أَيُّهَا: the ا of يَا, followed by the hamza of أَيُّهَا.

3. The madd caused by stopping (مَدّ عَارِض لِلسُّكُون). The madd letter is followed by a letter made sakinah because you stop. It can be lengthened by two, four or six counts; what matters is keeping the same length throughout the recitation. • الْعَالَمِينَ (1:2), الرَّحِيمِ (1:3), نَسْتَعِينُ (1:5) when you stop at the end of the verse.

4. The necessary madd (مَدّ لَازِم). The madd letter is followed by a letter that always carries a sukun or a shadda, even without stopping. It is lengthened by six counts. • الضَّالِّينَ (1:7): the ا is followed by a ل with shadda. In level 1 we said "clearly more than two counts": it is six counts. • The separate letters at the start of some surahs, such as الم (2:1), also follow madd rules: your teacher will show you.

In short: natural madd 2; connected 4-5; separated 4-5 (or 2 depending on the chain); at a stop 2, 4 or 6; necessary 6.

Understanding the lesson: madd before a hamza or a sukun

1. Explanation Why lengthen more? The hamza is a strong letter, pronounced deep in the throat: the lengthening gives the voice time to prepare it well. Before a sukun, two letters without a vowel would follow each other; the lengthening lets us move from one to the other without crushing them. The lengths given here are those of the ash-Shatibiyya chain of Hafs: connected 4 or 5; separated 4 or 5 (2 in other chains); at a stop 2, 4 or 6; necessary 6. Other chains of transmission give other lengths. [À VÉRIFIER : durées enseignées au centre] A consistency rule commonly taught: within the same recitation, the separated madd is not longer than the connected madd, and each kind of madd keeps the same length from start to finish. [À VÉRIFIER : formulation de la règle] Common mistakes: • Treating الضَّالِّينَ (necessary madd, 6 counts) as a madd at a stop and shortening it. • Lengthening one verse by 6 counts and the next by 2. • Forgetting the separated madd when joining two words (يَا أَيُّهَا).

2. Lessons to learn • It is reported that Ibn Mas'uud corrected a man who read لِلْفُقَرَاءِ (9:60) without lengthening, telling him that the Prophet ﷺ had not taught it to him that way. [À VÉRIFIER : source et authenticité du récit] • Choose your lengths with your teacher, then keep to them: regularity matters more than length. • Before reciting, spot the ـٓ signs in the passage: they announce the long madds.

3. To remember • Hamza in the same word: connected madd, required, longer than two counts. • Hamza in the next word: separated madd. • Stop sukun: 2, 4 or 6 counts, always the same; permanent sukun or shadda: 6 counts.

4. The message of the lesson The long madds are part of the transmission received from the Prophet ﷺ: we learn them from our teacher, apply them consistently, and the recitation gains in beauty and faithfulness.

Source: rules according to the reading of Hafs from 'Asim (ash-Shatibiyya chain), as set out in standard tajwid manuals; the meaning of the verses from Al-Mukhtasar fi tafsir al-Qur'an.