Signs and Notations
Terminology
Surah
A chapter of the Quran. There are 114 chapters in the Quran, each of different length.
Ayah
A verse in a particular Surah (chapter) of the Quran. The numbering of Ayahs is relative to the Surah. There are 6,236 Ayahs in the Quran.
Juz
A section of the Quran. There are 30 Juz (Ajza) of roughly equal length. Most Juz are named after the first word of their first verse.
Hizb
Each Juz is divided into two Hizbs (lit. “two groups”, plural: Aḥzāb). There are 60 Hizbs in the Quran.
Rub-el-Hizb / Maqra
Each Hizb is further divided into four quarters, called Maqra (lit. “reading”), making eight quarters per Juz.
- In Arabic, rub means “one-fourth” or “quarter”, while ḥizb (plural aḥzāb) translates to “a group”.
- There are 240 Maqras in the Quran.
- In most Mushafs, Maqras are marked with an octagram symbol (۞).
Manzil
For the convenience of those who read the Quran in a week, the text is divided into seven portions, called Manzil. There are 7 Manzils in the Quran.
Sajdah
Special Ayahs that require the reader to prostrate (Sujood). There are 15 Saajdah Ayahs in the Quran.
Ruku
A paragraph-like section in a Surah, grouping related Ayahs.
- The end of a Ruku is marked by the Arabic letter ﻉ in superscript.
- There are 558 Rukus in the Quran.
- Rukus are logical sections based on similar themes or meanings.
- Larger Surahs are divided into multiple Rukus to indicate natural stopping points for Ruku’ (bowing) in Salat without interrupting the subject matter of the Quran.
Additionally, on the margins of the Mushaf, three numbers appear next to ﻉ:
- Top number – Rukus completed in that Surah.
- Middle number – Ayahs in the completed Ruku.
- Bottom number – Rukus completed in that Juz.
Signs
| Sign | Description |
|---|---|
| ۞ | Rub’ al-Hizb Sign divides the hizb into four approximately equal parts |
| ۩ | Sajdah Sign indicates a verse after which it is recommended to perform a prostration |
| ◌ۘ | Sign of Mandatory Pause Must stop |
| ◌ۗ | Sign of Preferred Pause Better to stop |
| ◌ۛ | Sign indicating the permissibility of pausing at one of two places Pause at one of two places |
| ◌ۜ | Saktah Sign, indicating a short pause for a duration less than required for an inhalation Short pause |
| ◌ۚ | Sign of Permissible Pause Stop or continue |
| ◌ۖ | Sign indicating the preference for uninterrupted reading Better to continue |
| ◌ۙ | Sign indicating the impermissibility of pausing Do not stop |
Tajweed rules
| Colour | Rule | Description |
|---|---|---|
| hamza-wasl | Hamzat ul-Wasl | A connecting hamzah that is pronounced only when starting recitation and dropped when continuing from the previous word. |
| silent | Silent Letter | A letter written in the word but not pronounced during recitation. |
| laam-shamsiyah | Lam Shamsiyyah | The lam of “ال” is not pronounced and is assimilated into the following sun letter (e.g. ash-shams). |
| madda-normal | Madd Ṭabī‘ī (Normal) | A natural elongation of 2 vowel counts with no additional cause. |
| madda-permissible | Madd Jā’iz (Permissible) | Elongation of 2, 4, or 6 vowel counts due to a following hamzah in the next word. |
| madda-necesssary | Madd Lāzim (Necessary) | A mandatory elongation of 6 vowel counts caused by a permanent shaddah or sukoon. |
| qalaqah | Qalqalah | A bouncing or echoing sound when one of the letters ق ط ب ج د has a sukoon. |
| madda-obligatory | Madd Wājib (Obligatory) | Elongation of 4–5 vowel counts when a hamzah follows a madd letter in the same word. |
| ikhafa-shafawi | Ikhfā’ Shafawī | Concealment of meem sākinah before ba, with light nasalization (ghunnah). |
| ikhafa | Ikhfā’ | Partial concealment of noon sākinah or tanwīn before specific letters, with ghunnah. |
| idgham-shafawi | Idghām Shafawī | Merging of meem sākinah into another meem, with ghunnah. |
| iqlab | Iqlāb | Changing noon sākinah or tanwīn into a meem sound before ba, with ghunnah. |
| idgham-with-ghunnah | Idghām with Ghunnah | Merging of noon sākinah or tanwīn into ي ن م و, with nasalization. |
| idgham-without-ghunnah | Idghām without Ghunnah | Merging of noon sākinah or tanwīn into ل or ر, without nasalization. |
| idgham-mutajanisayn | Idghām Mutajānīsayn | Merging of two letters that share the same articulation point but differ in characteristics. |
| idgham-mutaqaribayn | Idghām Mutaqāribayn | Merging of two letters with closely related articulation points. |
| ghunnah | Ghunnah | A nasal sound held for 2 vowel counts, mainly with noon or meem with shaddah. |