Madd II: Muttaṣil and Munfaṣil · Tajweed

Madd caused by hamza

A hamza is a hard, abrupt sound from the deepest part of the throat. When it comes straight after a madd letter, reciters lengthen the madd to give the voice a run-up to it. This produces the two most common secondary madds, both named for the position of the hamza: muttaṣil (مُتَّصِلٌ, "connected") when madd letter and hamza are in one word, and munfaṣil (مُنْفَصِلٌ, "separated") when the madd letter ends one word and the hamza begins the next. The muṣḥaf marks both with a wavy madd sign (ٓ) over the madd letter.

Rule 1: Madd muttaṣil: the obligatory connected madd

When the hamza follows the madd letter inside the same word, the madd is wājib, obligatory: every reciter lengthens it. In the recitation of Ḥafṣ it is held for four or five counts; choose one and keep it. If the hamza is the last letter of the word and you stop on it, you may lengthen to six counts, since the stop adds a sukūn after the madd.

إِذَا جَاءَ
idhā jāʾa
when there comes
ā then hamza in one word: four or five counts (110:1).
وَالسَّمَاءِ
was-samāʾi
by the sky
madd muttaṣil at the end of a word; six counts if you stop here (86:1).
اَلسَّائِلَ
as-sāʾila
the one who asks
muttaṣil in the middle of the word (93:10).
أُولَٰٓئِكَ
ulāʾika
those
the dagger alif over ل is followed by hamza in the same word: muttaṣil (2:5).
يَتَسَاءَلُونَ
yatasāʾalūna
they ask one another
muttaṣil on سَاءَ (78:1).
مَاءً ثَجَّاجًا
māʾan thajjājā
pouring water
muttaṣil on مَاءً (78:14).

Rule 2: Madd munfaṣil: the permitted separated madd

When the madd letter is the last sound of one word and the hamza is the first letter of the next, the madd is jāʾiz, permitted: different transmissions lengthen it differently, from two counts up to five. In the common recitation of Ḥafṣ by the way of ash-Shāṭibiyya it is held for four or five counts, the same as the connected madd; a reading with two counts also exists for Ḥafṣ by other routes. Whatever you choose, use the same length for every munfaṣil in your recitation. Note that the pronoun hāʾ with ṣila counts as a madd letter here: بِهِۦٓ أَحَدًا.

لَا أَعْبُدُ
lā aʿbudu
I do not worship
ā at the end of لَا, hamza beginning أَعْبُدُ (109:2).
إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ
innā aʿṭaynāka
indeed We have granted you
munfaṣil across إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ (108:1).
وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ
wa mā adrāka
and what can make you know
munfaṣil; a phrase that recurs in many short sūras (104:5).
بِمَا أُنزِلَ
bimā unzila
in what was sent down
munfaṣil before a hamza with ḍamma (2:4).
لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ
lā ilāha illā huwa
there is no god but He
two munfaṣils in a row: لَا إِلَٰهَ and ـهَ إِلَّا (2:255).
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا
yā ayyuhā
O you
the vocative يَا plus أَيُّهَا is written as one word but counts as munfaṣil (109:1).

Connected and separated madd compared

	Muttaṣil (connected)	Munfaṣil (separated)
Where is the hamza?	in the same word as the madd letter	first letter of the next word
Status	wājib: obligatory for all reciters	jāʾiz: length varies by transmission
Length (Ḥafṣ)	4 or 5 counts; 6 allowed when stopping on a final hamza	4 or 5 counts (2 by some routes)
Sign in the muṣḥaf	wavy madd sign over the madd letter	wavy madd sign over the madd letter
Example	جَاءَ · اَلسَّمَاءِ	لَا أَعْبُدُ · وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ