The Arabic text of the Quran contains pause marks to aid recitation. These marks indicate if pausing after a specific word is compulsory, permissible, preferred, or not preferred. Pause marks are rendered in superscript in the middle of verses, at the end of the word they refer to. The six types of pause marks are listed in Figure 1 below:
| Pause Mark | Pause Type | Description |
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Compulsory | It is compulsory to pause. |
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Not permissible | It is not permissible to pause. |
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Continuation preferred | To pause is allowed, although to continue is preferred. |
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Pause preferred | To continue is allowed, although to pause is preferred. |
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Permissible | It is equally permissible to pause or to continue. |
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Interchangeable | An interchangeable pause, where two marks are found each consisting of three dots. A reciter may pause on either of them but not on both. |
Fig 1. Pause marks.
Examples
The following examples illustrate the different types of pause marks found in the Quran:
- (5:64:10) - Compulsory
- (6:51:8) - Not permissible
- (4:19:10) - Continuation preferred
- (4:23:49) - Pause preferred
- (4:18:19) - Permissible
- (5:26:4) - Interchangeable