Categories of Surahs

The Number of Quranic Surahs

Scholars agree that the Quran contains one hundred and fourteen surahs. In the order of the standard Mushaf, the first is Surah Al-Fatiha and the last is Surah An-Nas.

The Classification of Quranic Surahs

Scholars have divided the surahs of the Quran into four categories:

As-Sab' At-Tiwal (the Seven Long Surahs): Al-Baqarah, Aal-'Imran, An-Nisa', Al-Ma'idah, Al-An'am, Al-A'raf, and At-Tawbah. It is also said that the seventh consists of Al-Anfal and At-Tawbah together, since they are not separated by the Basmalah.

Al-Mi'oon: surahs whose verse count exceeds or approaches one hundred. It is also said that Al-Mi'oon extends from Surah Yunus to Ash-Shu'ara.

Al-Mathani: the surahs following Al-Mi'oon in verse count. They are so named because the reciter repeats (yuthanni) them in prayer more often than the long surahs and Al-Mi'oon.

Al-Mufassal: the surahs frequently separated by the Basmalah, due to their brevity. Scholars differ on where Al-Mufassal begins — some say from the start of Al-Hujurat, others from the start of Surah Qaf, and others give different views. Al-Mufassal is further divided into:

• The long section of Al-Mufassal: up to Surah Al-Mursalat.
• The middle section of Al-Mufassal: from Surah An-Naba' to Surah Al-Layl.
• The short section of Al-Mufassal: from Ad-Duha to Surah An-Nas.

Important Notes

These are some important notes to observe when reciting according to the transmission of Hafs from 'Asim through Ash-Shatibiyyah.

Seen and Saad

Hafs recited with Seen the word:

— yabsutu in ﴾Wallahu yaqbidu wayabsutu wa'ilayhi turja'oon﴿ (Al-Baqarah: 245)

— bastah in ﴾Wadhkuroo idh ja'alakum khulafa'a min ba'di qawmi Noohin wazadakum fi-l-khalqi bastah﴿ (Al-A'raf: 69)

— bastah in ﴾Qala innallaha-stafahu 'alaykum wazadahu bastah fi-l-'ilmi wa-l-jism﴿ (Al-Baqarah: 247)

— He recited with Saad the word bimusaytir in ﴾Lasta 'alayhim bimusaytir﴿ (Al-Ghashiyah: 22)

— He recited with both Saad and Seen the word al-musaytiroon in ﴾Am 'indahum khaza'inu rabbika am humu-l-musaytiroon﴿ (At-Tur: 37) — pronunciation with Saad being more well-known.

The word "Da'f"

Hafs recited the words da'f and da'fan in ﴾Allahu-lladhi khalaqakum min da'fin thumma ja'ala min ba'di da'fin quwwatan thumma ja'ala min ba'di quwwatin da'fan washaybah﴿ (Ar-Rum: 54) with two valid pronunciations: Fatha or Damma on the Ddaad, with Fatha being preferred in performance.

The word "A'ajamiyy"

The word A'a'jamiyyun in ﴾A'a'jamiyyun wa'arabiyy﴿ (Fussilat: 44) is recited with Tasheel of the second Hamzah — pronouncing it midway between a Hamzah and an Alif.

The word "Majraha"

The word majraha in ﴾Waqala-rkaboo feeha bismillahi majraha wamursaha﴿ (Hud: 41) is recited with Imalah of the Alif following the Raa, which requires that the Raa be pronounced light (Tarqeeq). Imalah is a sound midway between an Alif and a Yaa.

The word "Ta'manna"

The word ta'manna in ﴾Qaloo ya abana ma laka la ta'manna 'ala Yusufa wa'inna lahu lanasihoon﴿ (Yusuf: 11) is recited with two valid pronunciations:

• Ishmam: a gesture with the lips towards a damma while pronouncing the doubled Noon.
• Ikhtilas: partially eliding the damma vowel while pronouncing the Noon, so that two-thirds of the vowel remains and one-third is dropped.

Both pronunciations are recited to show that the doubled Noon's origin is one Noon with a damma and another with a fatha.

The word "Aataniya"

The word aataniya in ﴾Falamma ja'a Sulaymana qala atumiddoonani bimalin fama aataniya Allahu khayrun mimma aatakum﴿ (An-Naml: 36) is recited with a pronounced, fatha-carrying Yaa when continuing (wasl). When stopping (waqf), two pronunciations are valid:

◆ Keeping the Yaa, silent

— Dropping the Yaa and stopping on a silent Noon, or stopping with Rawm.

Keeping the Yaa is preferred.

The Opening of Surah Aal-'Imran

There are three valid ways of reciting the opening of Surah Aal-'Imran ﴾Alif Lam Meem * Allahu la ilaha illa huwa-l-Hayyu-l-Qayyoom﴿ (Aal-'Imran: 1–2):

1. Stopping on Alif Lam Meem, then beginning with the word Allah. In this case, the Yaa of Meem is given a Madd Lazim.
2. Continuing (wasl), in which case two silent letters meet — the Meem and the Lam of "Allah" — so the Meem takes a fatha vowel, and its Yaa is then given only a natural Madd, since the cause of the Madd Lazim (silence) has been removed. This is the view of those who do not count an incidental vowel [as removing the Madd Lazim cause].
3. Continuing (wasl) with a fatha on the Meem, while still giving the Yaa a full Madd Lazim of six counts. This is the view of those who do count the incidental vowel [as not removing the cause].

The Openings of Surahs Ya-Sin and Al-Qalam

When continuing Ya-Sin and Noon with what follows them in ﴾Ya-Sin * Wa-l-Qur'ani-l-Hakeem﴿ (Ya-Sin: 1–2) and ﴾Noon wa-l-qalami wama yasturoon﴿ (Al-Qalam: 1), the Noon is not merged into the Waw; rather, it must be pronounced clearly (Idhar) in both places.

Connecting Al-Anfal with Bara'ah

There are three ways of connecting the end of Surah Al-Anfal with the start of Surah Bara'ah:

1. Stopping at the end of Al-Anfal, then beginning Bara'ah without the Basmalah.
2. Connecting 'Aleem to Bara'ah, with Iqlab.
3. As-Sakt between 'Aleem and Bara'ah.

Common Mistakes Regarding the Shortened Separate Madd

1. Inconsistency across occurrences of the separate Madd — some reciters shorten it in some places and lengthen it in others within the same recitation session, mixing two different transmission methods.
2. Some who shorten the separate Madd fail to observe the other rulings transmitted alongside the shortened method that we mentioned earlier, such as reciting "bastah" with Saad and "firq" with a heavy Raa, and so on.
3. Some shorten the Alif of haa'umu in ﴾Fa'amma man ootiya kitabahu biyameenihi fayaqoolu haa'umu iqra'oo kitabiyah﴿ (Al-Haqqah: 19), mistakenly thinking it is like ha'ula' and ha'antum, treating it as a separate Madd. This is incorrect, since it is a single word, and the Madd within it is an obligatory connected Madd that must be lengthened.