Madd: Fard and Mustahab

September 23, 2006 on 11:16 am | In Arabic, Tajweed
| By Ilm Seeker

Madd (pronounced like "mud"), literally means "extension". In recitation of the Qur'an (tajweed), madd is when you extend and stretch a vowel sound (aah, ooh, etc.).

There are two types of madd: fard (obligatory: you have to recite it) and mustahab (recommended: you should recite it). The general rule is that a madd inside a word is fard, while a madd that connects two words is mustahab.

For example, in Surah Baqarah, Allah says:

فَقَالَ أَنْبِئُونِي بِأَسْمَاءِ هَؤُلاء إِنْ كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ

Translation: Reveal the names if you are true. [Surah Baqarah, verse 31]

the word [هَؤُلاء] contains two madh in the middle of the word (they are part of the word)--so you should always extend them in your recitation.

Meanwhile, in another verse of Surah Baqarah, Allah says:

وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ وَبِالآخرَةِ هُمْ يُوقِنُونَ

Translation: Those who believe in what was revealed to them and what was revealed before them and in the Akhira they have certainty. [Surah Baqarah, verse 4]

Here, we see a madd that connects two words, [مَا] and [أُنْزِلَ], so it is recommended to extend the alif sound.

Also, madd most commonly occurs when you have an alif, waw, or ya, followed by a hamza--these vowels recieve madd.

Wallahu ta'ala 'alim.

Related Posts:

Like this post? Get instant ilm-ification via our RSS feed or through email!