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Noor Quranنُورُ القُرْآن

Stopping & starting (waqf)

عَلَامَات الْوَقْف

Waqf signs (stopping marks)

Small signs above the line in the mushaf show where to stop, where to continue and where a stop is not allowed.

Definition

Waqf (“stopping”) is pausing to take a breath at a place where the meaning is complete enough. The Madani mushaf marks the places with the signs below. They guide you but do not replace a teacher; the signs used in South-Asian mushafs differ a little.

Waqf sign

How to pronounce it

  1. 1

    Learn the seven signs in the table and find them in the examples below.

  2. 2

    At every ayah end you may stop; when you stop, a vowel becomes sukun (with the usual rules for ta marbuta, tanween and madd).

  3. 3

    If you must stop at a place where stopping is not preferred, go back a few words when you resume.

Examples from the Quran

Only the letters that follow this rule are coloured. Press play to hear the ayah, or open it for the full page.

Waqf lazim: stopping is necessary

Open ayah

فَتَوَلَّ عَنْهُمْ‌ۘ يَوْمَ يَدْعُ ٱلدَّاعِ إِلَىٰ شَىْءٍ نُّكُرٍ

Waqf sign

So leave them, [O Muḥammad]. The Day the Caller calls to something forbidding,

Open ayah

لَّعَنَهُ ٱللَّهُ‌ۘ وَقَالَ لَأَتَّخِذَنَّ مِنْ عِبَادِكَ نَصِيبًا مَّفْرُوضًا

Waqf sign

Whom Allāh has cursed. For he had said, "I will surely take from among Your servants a specific portion.

Open ayah

فَلَا يَحْزُنكَ قَوْلُهُمْ‌ۘ إِنَّا نَعْلَمُ مَا يُسِرُّونَ وَمَا يُعْلِنُونَ

Waqf sign

So let not their speech grieve you. Indeed, We know what they conceal and what they declare.

Continuing is preferred

Stopping is preferred

Open ayah

ذُرِّيَّةَۢ بَعْضُهَا مِنۢ بَعْضٍ‌ۗ وَٱللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ

Waqf sign

Descendants, some of them from others. And Allāh is Hearing and Knowing.

Open ayah

أَفَمَن يَخْلُقُ كَمَن لَّا يَخْلُقُ‌ۗ أَفَلَا تَذَكَّرُونَ

Waqf sign

Then is He who creates like one who does not create? So will you not be reminded?

Stopping or continuing are both permitted

Open ayah

قٓ‌ۚ وَٱلْقُرْءَانِ ٱلْمَجِيدِ

Waqf sign

Qāf. By the honored Qur’ān...

Open ayah

صٓ‌ۚ وَٱلْقُرْءَانِ ذِى ٱلذِّكْرِ

Waqf sign

Ṣād. By the Qur’ān containing reminder...

Stop at one of the two marked places (mu‘anaqah)

Open ayah

ذَٲلِكَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبُ لَا رَيْبَ‌ۛ فِيهِ‌ۛ هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ

Waqf sign

This is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for those conscious of Allāh -

Open ayah

قَالَ فَإِنَّهَا مُحَرَّمَةٌ عَلَيْهِمْ‌ۛ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً‌ۛ يَتِيهُونَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ‌ۚ فَلَا تَأْسَ عَلَى ٱلْقَوْمِ ٱلْفَـٰسِقِينَ

Waqf sign

[Allāh] said, "Then indeed, it is forbidden to them for forty years [in which] they will wander throughout the land. So do not grieve over the defiantly disobedient people."

Open ayah

وَإِذْ أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِنۢ بَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ مِن ظُهُورِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَأَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ‌ۖ قَالُواْ بَلَىٰ‌ۛ شَهِدْنَآ‌ۛ أَن تَقُولُواْ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ إِنَّا كُنَّا عَنْ هَـٰذَا غَـٰفِلِينَ

Waqf sign

And [mention] when your Lord took from the children of Adam - from their loins - their descendants and made them testify of themselves, [saying to them], "Am I not your Lord?" They said, "Yes, we have testified." [This] - lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection, "Indeed, we were of this unaware."

Do not stop here

Open ayah

إِلَّا ٱمْرَأَتَهُۥ قَدَّرْنَآ‌ۙ إِنَّهَا لَمِنَ ٱلْغَـٰبِرِينَ

Waqf sign

Except his wife." We [i.e., Allāh] decreed that she is of those who remain behind.

Open ayah

وَيَجْعَلُونَ لِلَّهِ ٱلْبَنَـٰتِ سُبْحَـٰنَهُۥ‌ۙ وَلَهُم مَّا يَشْتَهُونَ

Waqf sign

And they attribute to Allāh daughters - exalted is He - and for them is what they desire [i.e., sons].

Open ayah

وَٱلَّذِى جَآءَ بِٱلصِّدْقِ وَصَدَّقَ بِهِۦٓ‌ۙ أُوْلَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُتَّقُونَ

Waqf sign

And the one who has brought the truth [i.e., the Prophet (ﷺ)] and [they who] believed in it - those are the righteous.

Saktah: a brief pause without breath

Open ayah

كَلَّا‌ۖ بَلْۜ رَانَ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِم مَّا كَانُواْ يَكْسِبُونَ

Waqf sign

No! Rather, the stain has covered their hearts of that which they were earning.

Common mistakes

  • Stopping in the middle of a phrase because the breath ran out, without going back when you resume.
  • Ignoring the stops at the signs and reading through a long passage without a breath.

Frequently asked questions

What is Waqf signs?

Small signs above the line in the mushaf show where to stop, where to continue and where a stop is not allowed.

What does the sign ۘ mean?

It is the meem of waqf lazim: stopping is necessary here so that the meaning is not confused.

What does the sign ۙ mean?

It stands for “la” (do not stop here), unless it comes at the end of an ayah.

Cite this

Permanent link: https://holy-quran-noor.vercel.app/learn/tajweed/waqf-signs

Plain
Waqf signs: Tajweed Rule, Letters & Quran Examples | ওয়াকফের চিহ্ন (Tajweed). Noor Quran. https://holy-quran-noor.vercel.app/learn/tajweed/waqf-signs
APA
Noor Quran. (n.d.). Waqf signs: Tajweed Rule, Letters & Quran Examples | ওয়াকফের চিহ্ন [Tajweed]. Retrieved November 13, 2026, from https://holy-quran-noor.vercel.app/learn/tajweed/waqf-signs
MLA
“Waqf signs: Tajweed Rule, Letters & Quran Examples | ওয়াকফের চিহ্ন.” Tajweed. Noor Quran, https://holy-quran-noor.vercel.app/learn/tajweed/waqf-signs. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.
Markdown
[Waqf signs: Tajweed Rule, Letters & Quran Examples | ওয়াকফের চিহ্ন](https://holy-quran-noor.vercel.app/learn/tajweed/waqf-signs) — Tajweed, Noor Quran

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