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Words Read Apart in Hafs

14 words or word pairs · 30 places in the Quran · 6 read two ways · كلمات خاصة برواية حفص

Lesson 11.1 · Module 11 · Words particular to Hafs

Special words of Hafs: a few words of the Quran are read in Hafs differently from the general rule, or in two transmitted ways. The Madinah Mushaf marks several of them with a small sign; all are learned by ear, word by word.

The words at a glance

Each word, its places in the Quran, one or two ways, and the sign the Mushaf writes on it
The wordWhereWaysSign
Imalah: an alif leaning towards “é” 11:41 1 ـ۪
A ṣād written, a sīn read 2:245, 7:69 1 ـۜ
Ṣād or sīn: two ways 52:37 2 ـۣ
A ṣād, and nothing else 88:22 1 —
Fathah or dammah on the ḍād 30:54 2 —
The pronoun hā: long, short or vowelless 7:111, 26:36, 27:28, 24:52, 39:7, 25:69 1 —
The softened hamzah (tas-hīl) 41:44 1 ـ۬
The question before “al” 6:143, 6:144, 10:51, 10:91, 10:59, 27:59 2 —
The nūn said clearly before the wāw 36:1, 68:1 1 —
Two neighbouring letters that merge 7:176, 11:42 1 —
Two nūns in one: ishmām or a partial vowel 12:11 2 ـ۫
The final yā, when stopping 27:36 2 —
The final alif, when stopping 76:4 2 ـ۟
The same word, two different alifs 76:15, 76:16 1 ـ۠ـ۟

The words, one by one

Each word is taken from the text of the Madinah Mushaf, with the letter that matters highlighted. Tap ▶ to hear it in its verse, recited by al-Husary.

A letter read differently

The written letter is not always the one said, or it is said two ways.

  • Imalah: an alif leaning towards “é” one way

    The alif after the rā is said leaning towards “é”: this is imālah, the only one in Hafs in the whole Quran. The rā is then light. In the Mushaf, a small sign under the rā marks it.

    The sign in the Mushaf: ـ۪

  • A ṣād written, a sīn read one way

    Written with a ṣād, these two words are read with a sīn, with no other way by the route of the Shāṭibiyyah. The small sīn above the ṣād says so.

    The sign in the Mushaf: ـۜ

  • Ṣād or sīn: two ways two ways

    Two transmitted ways: with a ṣād, the way teachers read first, or with a sīn. The small sīn written under the ṣād points to the ṣād.

    The sign in the Mushaf: ـۣ

  • A ṣād, and nothing else one way

    This one is read with a ṣād only, by the route of the Shāṭibiyyah, even though it looks like the word of 52:37. No small sīn is written on it.

  • Fathah or dammah on the ḍād two ways

    This word comes three times in the verse. Two transmitted ways for the ḍād: a fathah, the way teachers read first, or a dammah. The Mushaf writes the fathah.

  • The pronoun hā: long, short or vowelless one way

    The pronoun hā (“-hu”, “-hi”) is usually lengthened between two letters that carry a vowel, and stays short after a letter with no vowel. Six places in Hafs are worth knowing: in 7:111, 26:36 and 27:28, the hā has no vowel; in 24:52, its vowel stays short, as the qāf before it has no vowel in Hafs; in 39:7, it stays short, between two vowels; in 25:69, it is lengthened, after a letter with no vowel. The Mushaf shows it: a small wāw or yā after the hā when the vowel is lengthened, nothing otherwise.

The hamzah

Two hamzahs in a row: the second is softened, or becomes an alif.

  • The softened hamzah (tas-hīl) one way

    The second hamzah is softened, between a hamzah and an alif: this is tas-hīl, with no other way in Hafs. The large dot written in its place in the Mushaf marks it; it is learned by ear from a teacher.

    The sign in the Mushaf: ـ۬

  • The question before “al” two ways

    A question hamzah comes before “al”: the hamzah of “al” does not drop, or the question would become a statement. Two transmitted ways: it becomes an alif held six counts, the way teachers read first, or it is softened, without lengthening.

When two letters meet

Where the general rule would merge, or say clearly, Hafs does otherwise.

  • The nūn said clearly before the wāw one way

    The nūn ending the letter names yā-sīn and nūn is said clearly before the wāw that follows, without merging, where the general rule would merge it. In 36:1, this is heard when joining to the next verse.

    • يسٓ وَٱلْقُرْءَانِ

      Ya-Sin 36:1

      End of one verse and start of the next: the meeting is heard when the two verses are joined.

    • نٓ وَٱلْقَلَمِ

      Al-Qalam 68:1

      The reciter on the page stops between these two words: the meeting is heard when they are joined.

  • Two neighbouring letters that merge one way

    The thā enters the dhāl that follows, and the bā enters the mīm: only the second letter is said, doubled. In Hafs, this is the route of the Shāṭibiyyah; other routes read them differently.

    • يَلْهَث ذَّٰلِكَ

      Al-A'raf 7:176

      The reciter on the page stops between these two words: the meeting is heard when they are joined.

    • ٱرْكَب مَّعَنَا

      Hud 11:42

  • Two nūns in one: ishmām or a partial vowel two ways

    The word is written with one doubled nūn, for two nūns. Two transmitted ways: say the first nūn’s vowel only partly, without merging (ikhtilās), the way teachers read first, or merge the two nūns while rounding the lips (ishmām). The small sign written above marks the ishmām; both are learned from a teacher.

    The sign in the Mushaf: ـ۫

When stopping

A final letter that is said or not, depending on whether you join or stop.

  • The final yā, when stopping two ways

    When joining, the word ends with a yā carrying a fathah. When stopping, two ways: keep the yā as a long vowel, the way teachers read first, or drop it, with the nūn vowelless. It is not a place to stop, unless breath runs out or for practice.

  • The final alif, when stopping two ways

    When joining, the final alif is not said. When stopping, two ways: say the alif, the way teachers read first, or stop on the lām without a vowel. The small round circle written on the alif is the sign of a letter that is not said: it matches the second way. It is not a place to stop, unless breath runs out or for practice.

    The sign in the Mushaf: ـ۟

  • The same word, two different alifs one way

    The same word, twice in a row. At the end of 76:15, the alif is not said when joining and is said when stopping; at the start of 76:16, it is never said, neither when joining nor when stopping. The small sign on each alif is not the same.

    The sign in the Mushaf: ـ۠ـ۟

Already in the course

Other words particular to Hafs have their place in a lesson:

Frequently asked questions

How many special words are there in Hafs?

This page gathers 14, at 30 places in the Quran: those to know one by one, on top of the rules. The list is not closed: manuals give them as reminders, and a teacher points out others. Others again have their own lesson: the sakt, the rā of 26:63, the merge of 77:20.

Why are some words read two ways?

Because the masters of Hafs, by the route of the Shatibiyyah, transmitted both, and both are correct. The page says which one teachers read first. A way from another route of Hafs (2:245 read with a ṣād, for example) is not mixed into a recitation by the Shatibiyyah.

How do you spot these words in the Mushaf?

The Madinah Mushaf often writes a small sign: a sīn above or below the ṣād, a sign under the rā of 11:41 or above the mīm of 12:11, a large dot in place of the hamzah of 41:44. The others, without a sign, are learned by ear.

How can I check my tajweed when I recite?

Tajweed is learned by ear: you need to hear yourself. Recite out loud in the Tilawa app, on iPhone or Android. It follows your recitation word by word and shows you the rules you missed or got wrong, with the correct recitation to replay.

Tilawa editorial team · Updated 2026-10-25 · Report an error