Madd Tabee'ee
مدّ طبيعي
The natural stretch
Lesson 5.1 · Module 5 · Madd
Madd Tabee'ee (مدّ طبيعي): a long vowel with no hamzah or sukoon after it is held two counts. An alif, wāw or yā extending the vowel before it, and no hamzah or vowelless letter after. The Quran has 36,053 of them, in 114 surahs (Hafs reading).
What does Madd Tabee'ee mean?
Madd Tabee'ee (مدّ طبيعي): the natural stretch
Madd Tabee'ee is the natural elongation of two counts on alif, waw or yaa when they are madd letters. It is the basic madd, with no cause that lengthens it.
Madd Tabee'ee: when does it apply?
An alif, wāw or yā extending the vowel before it, and no hamzah or vowelless letter after.
The three madd letters
How to pronounce Madd Tabee'ee
Hold the vowel for two counts, evenly, neither cutting it short nor stretching it.
- The gesture
- Keep the madd sound steady for two counts: alif after fathah, wāw after dammah, or yā after kasrah. For the small wāw or small yā written after the pronoun hā, hold the hā’s vowel two counts.
- Avoid
- Do not stretch it for emphasis or shorten it until the long vowel disappears. Keep an even basic length.
- The condition
- If a hamzah or sukoon follows the long vowel, it is no longer natural madd. The small wāw or yā after the pronoun hā is held two counts; before a hamzah it takes four or five (madd munfasil).
The length, by ear
Two counts: no more, no less: the time of two short vowels.
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 Tabee'ee in the Quran
Short surahs first. Tap ▶ to hear Madd Tabee'ee in its verse, recited by al-Husary.
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ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ
l-insāna
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ٱلَّذِينَ
lladhīna
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أَعْطَيْنَـٰكَ
'aʿṭaynāka
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شَانِئَكَ
shāni'aka
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إِذَا
idhā
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ٱلنَّاسَ
n-nāsa
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إِنَّهُۥ
innahū
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لِإِيلَـٰفِ
li'īlāfi
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إِۦلَـٰفِهِمْ
īlāfihim
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فَلْيَعْبُدُوا۟
falyaʿbudū
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جُوعٍ
jūʿiw
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يُولَدْ
yūlad
Madd Tabee'ee: common mistakes
What is often heard, and how to fix it. The ▶ plays the right model, recited by al-Husary.
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Holding the long vowel three or four counts for no reason: with no hamza or sukūn after it, it lasts two counts.
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Shortening it to a short vowel: the long vowel is held for the time of two short vowels.
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Making the alif heavy after a light letter: the alif follows the letter before it, heavy after a heavy letter, light otherwise.
Madd Tabee'ee and neighbouring rules
| Rule | When | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 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. |
| 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 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 '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 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. |
By ear: two words that sound alike
Two words that sound alike: one is read with Madd Tabee'ee, the other with Madd Munfasil. Listen for the difference.
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إِلَّا
'illā
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إِلَّآ أَن
'illā 'ay
What I show you when you recite
Your turn: which rule?
By eye
The highlighted letters carry a rule. Which one?
- Al-Ikhlas 112:4
لَّهُۥ
lahū
- Al-Qadr 97:1
إِنَّآ أَنزَلْنَـٰهُ
innā 'anzalnāhu
- Al-Qadr 97:2
أَدْرَىٰكَ
'adrāka
- Al-Qadr 97:4
ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ
l-malā'ikatu
By ear
Listen, then choose the rule you hear. The word appears after you answer.
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سَلَـٰمٌ
salāmun
Al-Qadr 97:5 -
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا
yā'ayyuha
Al-Kafirun 109:1 -
ضَآلًّا
ḍāllan
Ad-Duhaa 93:7
Madd Tabee'ee in numbers
36,053times in the Quran
114surahs
| Surah | Verses | Madd Tabee'ee |
|---|---|---|
| 60. Al-Mumtahanah | 13 | 152 |
| 49. Al-Hujurat | 18 | 151 |
| 66. At-Tahrim | 12 | 124 |
| 61. As-Saf | 14 | 117 |
| 65. At-Talaq | 12 | 105 |
Computed by Tilawa on the text of the Madani Mushaf (Hafs reading), each verse read in one go with a stop at its end: a long vowel with no hamzah, sukoon or shaddah after it, and not just before the last letter of a verse. Counted apart: madd badal, a hamzah just before the long vowel (1,853 times), and the alif of the name of Allah, which the Mushaf does not write (2,703 times).
Frequently asked questions
What is Madd Tabee'ee in tajweed?
Natural madd: a long vowel with no hamzah or sukoon after it, held two counts. The small wāw or small yā written after the pronoun hā (“him”) is also held two counts.
When does Madd Tabee'ee apply?
An alif, wāw or yā extending the vowel before it, and no hamzah or vowelless letter after. If a hamzah or sukoon follows the long vowel, it is no longer natural madd. The small wāw or yā after the pronoun hā is held two counts; before a hamzah it takes four or five (madd munfasil).
How many times does Madd Tabee'ee occur in the Quran?
36,053 times, in 114 surahs, as computed by Tilawa on the text of the Madani Mushaf (Hafs reading). Among the surahs of 20 verses or fewer, Al-Mumtahanah has the most: 152 in 13 verses.
Madd Tabee'ee or Madd Munfasil: what is the difference?
Madd Tabee'ee: a long vowel with no hamzah or sukoon after it is held two counts. Madd Munfasil: a long vowel ends a word and a hamzah opens the next: four or five counts.
Madd Tabee'ee: 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 Tabee'ee was missed or done wrong, with the word to replay in its verse.
Tilawa editorial team · Updated 2026-10-24 · Report an error