المد الطبيعي

Madd (مَدّ) means "lengthening". In level 1 you learned the long vowels: they are the ones that carry madd.

The three madd letters: • ا after a fatha: قَالَ • و sakinah after a damma: يَقُولُ • ي sakinah after a kasra: قِيلَ

The natural madd (مَدّ طَبِيعِي). When a madd letter is followed by neither a hamza nor a sukun, it is lengthened by two counts, no more, no less. A "count" (ḥaraka) is about the length of a short vowel. It is called "natural" because a normal voice does it without effort. • نُوحِيهَا: each long vowel lasts two counts. • In Al-Fatiha, مَالِكِ (1:4): the ا lasts two counts.

How to measure: some teachers fold one finger per count, at a steady pace. What matters is that all your long vowels have the same length.

Stopping on an "an" tanwin (ـً). When you stop on a word ending in a fatha tanwin, you do not say the "n": you replace it with a long "a" of two counts. Examples: • تَوَّابًا (110:3): when stopping, we read "tawwaabaa". • أَفْوَاجًا (110:2): when stopping, "afwaajaa". This rule does not apply to ta marbuta (ـةً), on which you stop with a light "h".

Common mistakes: • Shortening a long vowel: قَالَ becomes "qala". • Lengthening a short vowel: رَبِّ becomes "raabbi". These mistakes can change the meaning of words: take the time to tell them apart.

Understanding the lesson: the natural madd

1. Explanation A long vowel is a short vowel extended by the same amount again: two counts. It is called "natural" because the madd letter cannot exist without it: without these two counts, it is no longer a long vowel but a short one, and the word changes. A related case, the "small connecting madd" (ṣila): the pronoun هُ or هِ placed between two vowels is lengthened by two counts when reading on, as in إِنَّهُ كَانَ (110:3), read "innahuu kaana". A few words are exceptions in the reading of Hafs: your teacher will show them to you. [À VÉRIFIER : exceptions à citer] Common mistakes (in addition to those in the lesson): • Long vowels of unequal lengths within the same verse. • Pronouncing the final ا of أَنَا ("I") when reading on to the next word: in Hafs, it is only pronounced when stopping. • Adding a madd on a letter without a long vowel at the end of a verse, "to sound nice".

2. Lessons to learn • Anas described the Prophet's ﷺ recitation: he lengthened the long vowels, for example in بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ. (Bukhari 5046) [À VÉRIFIER : numéro] • Recite at a steady pace, like a walking step: a stable rhythm keeps the lengths equal. • Choose a short passage and check each long vowel with your fingers, then without.

3. To remember • Three madd letters: ا after fatha, و with sukun after damma, ي with sukun after kasra. • With no hamza or sukun after it: two counts, always. • Stopping on an "an" tanwin: a long "a" of two counts.

4. The message of the lesson Length is part of the word: respecting long and short vowels preserves the meaning that the Word of Allah carries.

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.