The Alif of Pause in Quranic Recitation: Linguistic Evidence and Reader Positions
The addition of alif in pause positions in Quranic recitation is a matter of established Arabic linguistic practice, with multiple scholarly positions supported by poetic evidence, dialectal usage, and the rulings of the classical grammarians. This is permissible among the Arabs: the alif is given the status of a fatha, and it is obligatory to pause after it because it occurs in pause positions.
The Linguistic Basis: Alif in Pause
The alif established in pause carries the status of a fatha — and its occurrence in pause positions is the basis for its legitimacy. As the poet said:
“We have brought the caravans wounds — we mobilize the last ones and the first ones.”
Here the alif is established in the pause according to this usage, and this is the language of the Arabs.
The Readers Who Omit the Alif
Abu Amr, al-Jahdari, Ya’qub, and Hamzah read without the alif in both connection and pause. Their argument is that the alif is extra in writing — just as the alif was added in the statement of Allah the Almighty: “And they would have placed it among you” (ata’ana), and other similar cases in the Mushaf.
As for the addition of alif in poetry, that is a position of necessity — and the Quran, which is the most eloquent of speech, has no necessity in it. This is the counter-argument against those who cite poetic precedent to justify the alif as merely a metrical addition.
Ibn al-Anbari’s Position
“Whoever reads al-Zunun, al-Sabil, and al-Rasul without an alif in the three letters and writes them in the Quran with an alif has not contradicted the Mushaf — because the alif inata’ana and the alif that is included in the beginning of al-Rasul, al-Zunun, and al-Sabil is sufficient from the final alif that comes later, just as the alif of Abu Jaad was sufficient from the alif of Hawaz.”
The grammatical basis for this is as follows: the alif is lowered to the position of the fatha, and what is attached to it is a support for the movement that precedes it — the intention in it therefore falls away. When analysed in this way, the alif together with the fatha becomes like one thing; the pause requires both of them to fall together. The scholar then worked on the principle that the image of the alif in writing does not necessarily require a place in pronunciation — making it like the alif in Sihraan, in Fatir al-Samawat wal-Ard, and in our promise to Moses — all of which are deleted from the script yet present in pronunciation, or omitted from the script and from pronunciation alike.
The Dialectal Argument
^^This writing convention follows the language of those who say laqaytu al-rajula (with alif), while the reading follows the language of those who say laqaytu al-rajul (without alif).^^ These are two established and recognised dialects of the Arabs.
Ahmad ibn Yahya narrated on the authority of a group of linguists, who in turn narrated on the authority of the Arabs:
“The man stood” — with a waw (al-rajulu waqafa). “I passed by the two men” — with a ya (marartu bil-rajulayni). “I met the man” — with an alif (laqaytu al-rajula) — in both connection and stopping.
The poets composed upon this dialect. The first said:
“I asked Umaira about her father during the army — the riders acknowledged him.”
Here the alif is established in al-rakbu (the riders) according to this dialect.
Another poet said:
“If the Gemini followed the Pleiades — I suspected the suspicions of the family of Fatima.”
This verse also follows the same dialectal pattern.
The Readers Who Follow This Dialect
On this dialect, Bani Nafi’ and others read — as do Ibn Kathir, Ibn Muhaisin, and al-Kisa’i — establishing the alif in stopping and deleting it in connection.
“Whoever connects without an alif and stops with an alif: it is permissible to argue that the alif was needed when pausing in order to ensure the fatha remains, and that the alif supports and strengthens it.”
The addition of alif in pause positions in Quranic recitation is linguistically grounded in established Arabic dialect and poetic usage. Those who read with the alif in pause and those who omit it entirely are both following recognised positions of the classical readers — and neither group contradicts the Mushaf.