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Madd Lazim

مدّ لازم

The required stretch

Lesson 5.5 · Module 5 · Madd

Madd Lazim (مدّ لازم): a long vowel, then a doubled or always-vowelless letter: it is held six counts. Before a doubled or always-vowelless letter, and in some opening letters of surahs. The Quran has 148 of them, in 56 surahs (Hafs reading).

What does Madd Lazim mean?

Madd Lazim (مدّ لازم): the required stretch

A fixed elongation of six counts when a madd letter is followed by a letter with shaddah or with an original sukun, present when joining as when stopping.

Madd Lazim: when does it apply?

Before a doubled or always-vowelless letter, and in some opening letters of surahs.

The three madd letters

How to pronounce Madd Lazim

Hold the vowel six counts, full and even, then say the next letter.

The gesture
Keep the madd sound steady, then pronounce the following letter as written: once if it bears sukoon, or doubled if it bears shaddah.
Avoid
Do not shorten it like a natural madd, and do not apply it to a sukoon created only by stopping.
The condition
The sukoon must remain when joining and stopping. If it appears only at a stop, the rule is Madd ‘Arid.

The length, by ear

Six counts: always, when joining and when stopping.

ٱلضَّآلِّينَ Al-Fatiha 1:7

One count is the length of a short vowel.

Where the letters come from

Each point is shown on the mouth map, and each letter has its own page.

12 examples of Madd Lazim in the Quran

Short surahs first. Tap ▶ to hear Madd Lazim in its verse, recited by al-Husary.

Madd Lazim: common mistakes

What is often heard, and how to fix it. The ▶ plays the right model, recited by al-Husary.

  1. Shortening it to two or four counts: madd lāzim is held six counts.

    The right model · Ad-Duhaa 93:7

  2. Holding the vowel, then rushing the doubled letter: after the six counts, it is said fully doubled.

    The right model · At-Talaq 65:6

  3. Holding the opening letters of “حي طاهر” (ح ي ط ه ر) six counts: they last two counts; six for those of “كم عسل نقص” (ʿayn: four or six, six preferred).

    The right model · As-Sajdah 32:1

Madd Lazim and neighbouring rules

RuleWhenWhat happens
Madd Lazim Before a doubled or always-vowelless letter, and in some opening letters of surahs. A long vowel, then a doubled or always-vowelless letter: it is held six counts.
Madd 'Aarid Li-Sukun When you stop on a word ending in a long vowel and then one letter. The same goes for “ay” and “aw” (yā or wāw with no vowel after a fatḥa): this is madd līn. When you stop, a long vowel placed just before the last letter may last two, four or six counts.
Madd Muttasil When the long vowel and the hamzah are in the same word. Inside one word, a long vowel followed by a hamzah is held four or five counts.
Madd Munfasil When a word ends with a long vowel and the next one begins with a hamzah. A long vowel ends a word and a hamzah opens the next: four or five counts.
Madd Tabee'ee An alif, wāw or yā extending the vowel before it, and no hamzah or vowelless letter after. A long vowel with no hamzah or sukoon after it is held two counts.

By ear: two words that sound alike

Two words that sound alike: one is read with Madd Lazim, the other with Madd Tabee'ee. Listen for the difference.

What I show you when you recite

Your turn: which rule?

By eye

The highlighted letters carry a rule. Which one?

  1. يَتَمَآسَّا

    yatamāssā

    Al-Mujadila 58:4

  2. قُرَيْشٍ

    quraysh

    Quraysh 106:1

  3. يُحَآدُّونَ

    yuḥāddūna

    Al-Mujadila 58:20

  4. جَآءَ

    jā'a

    An-Nasr 110:1

By ear

Listen, then choose the rule you hear. The word appears after you answer.

Practise: tajweed exercises with answers

Madd Lazim in numbers

148times in the Quran

56surahs

Where to practise: the surahs of 20 verses or fewer with the most Madd Lazim
SurahVersesMadd Lazim
1. Al-Fatiha 7 1
93. Ad-Duhaa 11 1
65. At-Talaq 12 1

Counted on the text of the Madani Mushaf (Hafs reading).

Frequently asked questions

What is Madd Lazim in tajweed?

Madd lāzim: a long vowel followed by a sukoon that stays whether you join or stop, or by a doubled letter. It is held six counts. Among the opening letters, ʿayn (19:1, 42:2) is held four or six counts, six preferred.

When does Madd Lazim apply?

Before a doubled or always-vowelless letter, and in some opening letters of surahs. The sukoon must remain when joining and stopping. If it appears only at a stop, the rule is Madd ‘Arid.

How many times does Madd Lazim occur in the Quran?

148 times, in 56 surahs, according to the text of the Madani Mushaf (Hafs reading). Among the surahs of 20 verses or fewer, Al-Fatiha has the most: 1 in 7 verses.

Madd Lazim or Madd 'Aarid Li-Sukun: what is the difference?

Madd Lazim: a long vowel, then a doubled or always-vowelless letter: it is held six counts. Madd 'Aarid Li-Sukun: when you stop, a long vowel placed just before the last letter may last two, four or six counts.

Madd Lazim: how do I know I apply it correctly?

A rule is learned by ear: recite a surah out loud in the Tilawa app, which follows your recitation word by word and shows you where Madd Lazim was missed or done wrong, with the word to replay in its verse.

Tilawa editorial team · Updated 2026-10-24 · Report an error