The Lengthenings (Al-Mudood) Part 9
The Compulsory Lengthening in a Letter 
The Separate Letters that begin some surahs
Preface: The letters that begin some of the
surahs of the Qur’an are fourteen in number. These fourteen letters are found
in the phrase:"
" These
letters are divided into four groups:
1. That which has no medd at all: This refers to the alif (
) as it has no medd letter in it.
2. That which has a medd of two counts: The letters in this category can be found
in the phrase:
"
"
meaning the letters are recited as 
when found in the letters that sometimes
begin a surah, and are lengthened two counts. When these letters are written
out as above, they consist of only two letters, and are of the natural medd
(
).
3. That which has a medd of six vowel counts: The rest of the letters from the fourteen
that start some surahs of the Qur’an fall into this category. These letters
are seven in number, and can be found in the phrase: "
". All are
lengthened six counts. The letters of the group 
are categorized into to two groups:
The Light Compulsory Lengthening in a letter
and The Heavy Compulsory Lengthening in a letter 
.
The category that the letter falls into depends on whether it is merged into
the next letter, or not.
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A. The letter when written out consists of three letters B. The middle of the three letters is a medd letter C. A merged letter follows the medd letter, meaning that the third letter is merged with the letter that follows it. |
A. The letter when written out consists of three letters B. The middle of the three letters is a medd letter C. A saakin letter follows the medd letter, but it is not merged with the letter that comes after it |
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4. The "
": The can
be lengthened four or six vowel counts, according to the rules of the
way we read, which is the way of: Hafs ‘an ‘Aasim
from the way of Shatibiyyah
( 
). This is due to the fact that the is
a follower of the medd leen in this situation, and not a compulsory medd. The
middle letter of is
not a medd letter. The letter as a separate letter of an opening to a surah is found at the
beginning of surah Maryam 
click here to listen to this aayah,
and the beginning (second aayah) of surah Ash-Shooraa 
.
The Compulsory Lengthening in a Letter
The Compulsory Light Lengthening in Letters 
Its definition: The letters of the group ""
are each individually read as a three letter word, the middle letter being a medd letter, and the third letter
having an original (or permanent) sukoon. The determiner of the letter being 
or 
is the last letter and whether it merges with the first letter of
the next three letter word or not. In the case of the letter,
it is not merged with what comes next. This is why it is called . This medd
is lengthened six vowel counts.
Examples: 
Click here to listen to this aayah
In this example we can see that the 
when
written out consists of three letters; the middle letter is a medd letter (alif) ,
the last letter
("
") has a sukoon it, and is followed by a 
,
which the does not merge into, and therefore it is called .
The Compulsory Heavy Lengthening in Letters 
Its definition: This type of lengthening occurs when a
letter of the ""
group of letters that begin some of the surahs, (as described above), has the
last letter of the three letter word representing the individual letter,
merging into the letter that comes after it. This is the reason for it being
called (heavy). This medd has a
required lengthening of six counts.
Example:
Click here to listen to this aayah
In this example, we find two
letters, the and the that
consist of three letters. The has
a medd letter as the middle letter, then followed by a letter that is a sakinah, but merged with the first letter of the next spelled out
letter . The is
then .
The does
not have its third letter merging with what comes next (there is none after the
meem), so it is
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Summary of different medd in the letters that begin some surahs |
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No medd |
Two count natural medd |
Merged Six vowel counts |
Follower of the leen medd |
The different separate letters that are found at the beginning of some surahs appear in the following combinations:
