The basmalah

البسملة

al-basmalah

All ten begin a sūrah with the basmalah, wherever in the muṣḥaf they start — with the single exception of Sūrat al-Tawbah, which is never begun with it. The real question is what happens at the *seam* between one sūrah and the next: some readers say the basmalah there, some join the two sūrahs directly, and some pause briefly without saying it.

Example

…وَلَا ٱلضَّآلِّينَ ۝ بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ ۝ الٓمٓ

al-Fātiḥah → al-Baqarah

The three permitted sequences at this seam are set out in the table below; the fourth is not allowed.

Between two sūrahs — for readers who say the basmalah

أوجه البسملة بين السورتين

You are finishing one sūrah and moving to the next. Four sequences are conceivable; three are permitted and the fourth is not.

#	Name	Sequence	What you do
1	قطع الجميعqaṭʿ al-jamīʿ	…end of sūrah‖basmalah‖next sūrah	Stop at the end of the sūrah, say the basmalah on its own, stop again, then begin.
2	قطع الأول ووصل البسملة بأول السورةqaṭʿ al-awwal wa-waṣl al-basmalah bi-awwal al-sūrah	…end of sūrah‖basmalah+next sūrah	Stop at the end of the sūrah, then run the basmalah into the opening of the next.
3	وصل الجميعwaṣl al-jamīʿ	…end of sūrah+basmalah+next sūrah	Run the end of the sūrah, the basmalah and the next sūrah together without a break.
✗	وصل آخر السورة بالبسملة والوقف عليهاwaṣl ākhir al-sūrah bi-l-basmalah	…end of sūrah+basmalah‖next sūrah	Running the end of the sūrah into the basmalah and then stopping.Not permitted: it attaches the basmalah to the sūrah that has just ended, implying it belongs to the end of that sūrah rather than the start of the next.

‖ break · + joined · · brief silenceCollated from the printed source · Vol. I, pp. 5–6; junction tables at each sūrah seam

Between two sūrahs — for readers who do not say the basmalah

أوجه ترك البسملة بين السورتين

Some readers do not say the basmalah at the seam. Three ways of getting from one sūrah to the next remain, and the difference between them is exactly the difference between the three terms above.

#	Name	Sequence	What you do
1	الوقفal-waqf	…end of sūrah‖(breath)‖next sūrah	Stop, take a breath, then begin the next sūrah.
2	السكتal-sakt	…end of sūrah·next sūrah	Cut the voice for an instant without breathing, then continue.
3	الوصلal-waṣl	…end of sūrah+next sūrah	Run the two sūrahs together with no break at all.

‖ break · + joined · · brief silenceCollated from the printed source · Vol. I, pp. 5–6

These same three are the only options between al-Anfāl and al-Tawbah, for every reader, since al-Tawbah is never begun with the basmalah.

The terms

English renders several of these the same way — “stop”, “pause”, “break” — so the Arabic term is the one worth learning. They are distinguished by whether you breathe, and whether you intend to carry on.

الاستعاذةal-istiʿādhahseeking refuge: Saying أَعُوذُ بِٱللَّهِ مِنَ ٱلشَّيْطَٰنِ ٱلرَّجِيمِ before beginning to recite. Aloud when reciting to others, quietly when reciting alone.
البسملةal-basmalahthe basmalah: Saying بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ.
القطعal-qaṭʿbreaking off: Cutting the voice on a word intending to stop reciting altogether and turn to something else — not a pause within recitation, but the end of it.(Vol. I, p. 5 n. 2)
الوقفal-waqfpausing: Cutting the voice on a word for long enough to take a breath, intending to resume. This is the ordinary pause of recitation.(Vol. I, p. 5 n. 3)
السكتal-saktbrief silence: Cutting the voice for a moment without taking a breath — shorter than a waqf, and deliberately not a breath-break.
الوصلal-waṣljoining: Running straight on with no break of any kind.
الابتداءal-ibtidāʾbeginning: Starting recitation, whether at the head of a sūrah or partway into one.