If you listen closely to a good reciter, much of the rhythm comes from madd. Some vowels are short, some are held, and the lengths are consistent from the first verse to the last. Once you understand why a vowel is stretched, the counts stop being a list to memorise and start to feel obvious.

The three madd letters

A madd happens on one of these, and only when it has no vowel of its own and the letter before it has the matching vowel:

• Alif after a fatha: قَالَ
• Waw sakinah after a dammah: يَقُولُ
• Ya sakinah after a kasrah: قِيلَ

The "count" (harakah) is the length of one short vowel at your normal speed. Teachers often measure it by folding one finger per count. The key is to stay consistent.

1. Natural madd (madd tabi'i): 2 counts

When nothing special comes after the madd letter, you stretch it two counts. This is the most common madd and the base for the others: قَالَ، نُوحِيهَا، يَقُولُ.

Several smaller types are also two counts and are counted with the natural madd:

• Madd badal: a hamza comes before the madd letter, as in آمَنُوا، إِيمَانًا، أُوتُوا. Two counts in Hafs.
• Madd 'iwad: when you stop on a word ending in fathatayn, the tanween becomes a two-count alif: عَلِيمًا is read 'alīmā at a stop.
• Silah sughra: the pronoun ـهُ / ـهِ between two voweled letters is stretched two counts: إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ.

2. Madd caused by hamza

Madd muttasil (connected): 4 or 5 counts

The madd letter and the hamza are in the same word: جَاءَ، السَّمَاءِ، سُوءَ، جِيءَ. It is called wajib (obligatory) because every reciter lengthens it beyond two counts. In Hafs via ash-Shatibiyyah it is 4 or 5. If you stop on a word ending in hamza, like السَّمَاءْ, it can go to 6.

Madd munfasil (separated): 4 or 5 counts

The madd letter ends one word and the hamza starts the next: بِمَا أُنْزِلَ، يَا أَيُّهَا، قُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ. It is called ja'iz (permissible) because the recitations differ. In Hafs via ash-Shatibiyyah, the most widespread practice, it is 4 or 5. Hafs via the Tayyibah route also allows 2.

Whatever length you choose, use it consistently. Reading one munfasil at 4 and the next at 2 is a mistake.

Silah kubra: 4 or 5 counts

The pronoun silah followed by a hamza is treated like munfasil: عِنْدَهُۥٓ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ (Ayat al-Kursi, 2:255).

3. Madd caused by sukoon

Madd 'arid lis-sukun: 2, 4 or 6 counts

The sukoon is not originally there; it appears because you stop. The most common example is the end of verses: الْعَالَمِينْ، الرَّحِيمْ، نَسْتَعِينْ. You may choose 2, 4 or 6, but again, stay consistent within a recitation.

Madd leen: 2, 4 or 6 counts at a stop

A waw or ya with sukoon after a fatha, when you stop on the next letter: خَوْفْ, الْبَيْتْ (Quraysh 106:3-4). In continuous reading it is not stretched.

Madd lazim: always 6 counts

The sukoon or shaddah after the madd letter is permanent, so the length is fixed at six. There are four kinds:

All the lengths at a glance

Where people go wrong

• Stretching short vowels. A fatha with no alif after it is one count. Students who have just learnt madd sometimes stretch everything.
• Cutting madd lazim short. وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ in al-Fatiha needs a full six counts, including in prayer.
• Inconsistent lengths. Choosing 4 for one munfasil and 5 for the next.
• Stretching madd leen in the middle of reading. خَوْفٍ is only stretched when you stop on it.

Madd is where a teacher's ear helps most, because counts are hard to judge in your own voice. It is a core part of our Quran with Tajweed course, and you can see where it fits in our beginner's tajweed roadmap.