Lesson 12: Pause Signs
When reading the Quran, scholars have determined where and for how long one should pause or not. In Quran editions following the Asim recitation, signs determined by Imam Sajawandi are written as small letters at the end of words.
[م] Waqf Lazim: One must definitely stop; if one continues, the meaning would be corrupted, which is sinful.
[ط] Waqf Mutlaq: The sentence is complete; one should stop.
[ج] Waqf Jaiz: Stopping is preferable to continuing. [قف (وقفة )] a brief pause is made.
[ق ص ز] One may stop if running out of breath; otherwise continuing is preferable.
[لا] Do not stop; if one stops despite the verse being incomplete, reading should be resumed from a bit earlier; if identifiable, from the beginning of the clause.
… Mu’anaqa: (Musaqqala) It indicates that one should continue past one and stop at the other. It appears immediately after verse or pause signs. In normal script it is shown with three dots.
[ع] Ruku sign. Each section of approximately 8-10 verses in the Quran that covers a specific topic is called an Ashir. Those who pray with a complete Quran reading customarily read one Ashir in each rakat.
[=] In Braille this is the verse-end sign.