Stop signs in Quran: what each waqf symbol means

Why stopping matters

Stopping (waqf) and starting again (ibtida) are part of tajweed because the Quran's meaning depends on how words are grouped. Stopping in the wrong place can join two ideas that should be separate, or cut a sentence in half. The stop signs were added by scholars to guide readers who do not know Arabic grammar well enough to decide for themselves.

Each symbol explained

In the Madinah (Uthmani) mushaf

Sign	Name	What to do
مـ	Necessary stop (lazim)	Stop here. Continuing could change or confuse the meaning.
لا	Do not stop	Do not stop here. If you stop by necessity, go back and restart from an earlier point.
ج	Permissible (ja'iz)	Stopping and continuing are equally fine.
صلى	Continuing is better	You may stop, but it is better to carry on.
قلى	Stopping is better	You may continue, but it is better to stop.
∴ ∴	Paired stop (mu'anaqah)	Stop at one of the two marked places, not both.

The circle with a number marks the end of a verse. Stopping there is always permitted.

In the IndoPak mushaf

IndoPak prints, common in UK homes and mosques, use a wider set of symbols. The most frequent are:

Sign	Meaning	What to do
ط	Complete stop	Stop here.
ز	Permitted stop	You may stop, but continuing is better.
ص	Allowed if needed	Stop only if you are out of breath.
قف	Pause	Stopping is preferred.
ق	Some scholars stopped here	Continuing is generally preferred.
ک	Same as before	Follow the same sign as the previous one.

IndoPak mushafs also use م for a necessary stop, لا for do not stop and ج for permissible, with the same meanings as the Madinah mushaf. Editions vary slightly, so check the key at the back of your copy.

Saktah: a pause without breath

A saktah (marked with a small س) is a very short pause, without taking a breath, before carrying on. In the recitation of Hafs it occurs in four places, for example between عِوَجَا and قَيِّمًا (Al-Kahf 18:1–2).

How to restart after stopping

• Stop on a still letter. The last letter takes a sukoon: ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ is read ending in a quiet "n".
• Tanween with fathah becomes a long "a": عَلِيمًا is read عَلِيمَا when you stop.
• Taa marbutah becomes "h": رَحْمَةً is read ending in ه when you stop.
• Restart where the meaning is complete. If you stopped in the middle of a phrase to take a breath, go back to a sensible starting point rather than beginning mid-sentence.

Stopping rules affect other tajweed rules too: stopping on a qalqalah letter makes the bounce stronger (see qalqalah letters), and stopping after a long vowel changes how long it is held. All of this is covered in our tajweed rules guide.

Learning where to pause is much easier with a teacher reading alongside you. Our Quran reading course and tajweed course both include stopping and starting, and you can see all our online tajweed classes.