Rawm & Ishmam

The Correct Ways of Stopping

There are three ways of stopping.

The reciter, when stopping on the final voweled letter of a word, resorts to one of three ways, all of which achieve the meaning of "Waqf" (cutting off the sound), but which differ in how much of the original vowel remains apparent to the listener or observer.

All three ways are valid in recitation, though pure silence is the original and most common practice among most reciters, while Rawm and Ishmam are permissible options that add clarity, without being required — both are transmitted from reciters in specific positions.

Rawm

Definition and rulings:

This is producing part of the vowel with a sound audible to someone nearby but not to someone farther away, the remaining portion of the vowel being estimated at about one third.

Rawm applies only to a kasra or a damma, whether the letter is doubled or not, Tanween-marked or not, and never to a fatha. Example: ﴾Ahakadha 'arshuki﴿ (An-Naml: 42).

When stopping with Rawm on a Tanween-marked letter, the Tanween must be dropped, as in: ﴾Lafee khusr﴿ (Al-'Asr: 2).

Madd rulings when stopping with Rawm:

The ruling on Madd with Rawm is the same as with continuing (wasl) — that is, it is lengthened by the same amount as when continuing.

— If the letter stopped on is not a Hamzah, and is preceded by a Madd letter, it is given a natural Madd (two counts), as in:

●﴾Ar-Rahmani-r-Raheem﴿ (Al-Fatiha: 3)

●﴾Iyyaka na'budu wa'iyyaka nasta'een﴿ (Al-Fatiha: 5)

— If the letter stopped on is a Hamzah, preceded by a Madd letter, it is given four or five counts, as in the case of the Obligatory Connected Madd, never six counts. Example:

●﴾Mina-s-sama'﴿ (An-Nisa': 153)

Ishmam

Definition and rulings:

This is bringing the lips together without any sound, shortly after stopping on the word's final silent letter, as a visual gesture towards a damma — perceptible to a sighted observer, not to someone blind.

Ishmam applies only to a letter carrying a damma (nominative or otherwise), never to a fatha or kasra.

Madd rulings when stopping with Ishmam:

The ruling on Madd with Ishmam is the same as stopping with pure silence — that is, lengthened by the same amount as when stopping with sukoon.

— If the letter stopped on with Ishmam is not a Hamzah, preceded by a Madd letter, it is treated as a Madd 'Aaridh Lissukoon originating from a natural, Leen, or Badal Madd, given two, four, or six counts (2-4-6), as in ﴾Iyyaka na'budu wa'iyyaka nasta'een﴿ (Al-Fatiha: 5)

— If the letter stopped on is a Hamzah, preceded by a Madd letter, it is treated as a Madd 'Aaridh Lissukoon originating from the Connected Madd, given four, five, or six counts (4-5-6). Example: stopping in ﴾Kadhaliki-llahu yakhluqu ma yasha'﴿ (Aal-'Imran: 47)

Ishmam is perceived visually and is not heard.

Ishmam in the word "ta'manna":

The original form of ta'manna in ﴾Qaloo ya abana ma laka la ta'manna 'ala Yusufa wa'inna lahu lanasihoon﴿ (Yusuf: 11) is ta'manunana, the first Noon having been made silent for merging.

When pronouncing this word with Ishmam, the lips are brought together right after silencing the first Noon — as if intending to pronounce a damma without any pronunciation actually resulting — indicating that the dropped vowel was a damma. This is the same principle as Ishmam applied to a nominative-case word when stopping.

Pure Silence

Definition and rulings:

This is complete, pure silence, with no vowel or partial vowel remaining at all.

Stopping with pure silence applies to a fatha, damma, or kasra alike.

Madd rulings when stopping with pure silence:

The rulings on Madd when stopping with pure silence were already explained in the section on Madd 'Aaridh Lissukoon.

If the letter stopped on is not a Hamzah, preceded by a Madd letter, it is given two, four, or six counts (2-4-6).

If the letter stopped on is a Hamzah, preceded by a Madd letter, it is given four, five, or six counts (4-5-6).

Which Is the Original Practice Among Reciters?

Pure silence is the original, agreed-upon practice for stopping among the majority of reciters, including the transmission of Hafs from 'Asim relied upon in most printed Mushafs today; a reciter stopping with pure silence has followed the original practice without any deficiency. Rawm and Ishmam are permissible alternatives that add clarity regarding the dropped vowel when stopping, most often used in direct oral transmission and testing within Tajweed circles, without being obligatory upon the reciter.

An Important Note

Rawm or Ishmam never combine with the full duration of Madd 'Aaridh Lissukoon at pure silence's own measure; as seen in the table above, each of Rawm, Ishmam, and pure silence has a different effect on the Madd of the letter preceding the letter stopped on, so the reciter must apply the correct Madd duration according to whichever way of stopping was chosen, without mixing the rulings of different ways together.