Warsh ʿan Nāfiʿ

The most distinctive of the ten to an untrained ear, and the one with the longest treatment in the book — twelve pages against one or two for most. Everything is long: six-count separated and connected madd, and alone among the ten he stretches madd al-badal. Add pervasive naql, a thickened lām and — in the other direction — a lightened rāʾ, and taqlīl throughout, and the reading has a texture nothing else shares.

Measures of madd

In ḥarakāt. Where several are given, all are permitted — the choice is the reciter’s. Vol. I p. 246.

Natural

2

Badal (hamzah first)

2, 4 or 6

Separated

6

Connected

6

Obligatory

6

For a pause

2, 4 or 6

Soft-letter

No hamzah: 2, 4 or 6 when pausing. With a hamzah: 4 or 6, pausing or continuing

Compensatory

2

Minor ṣilah

2

Major ṣilah

6

Transcribed from Vol. I pp. 192–203.

1. 1

   The basmalah between two sūrahs

   البسملة بين السورتين

   al-basmalah bayna al-sūratayn

   When one sūrah is joined to the next, Warsh has three possibilities, not one. Beyond the basmalah (which was already established for Nāfiʿ), he adds two more: a brief silence (sakt) at the join with no basmalah, and running the two sūrahs straight together (waṣl) with no basmalah and no pause. The exceptions are the two junctures every reader treats specially: al-Anfāl → Barāʾah, where all readers have waqf, sakt or waṣl but never a basmalah; and al-Nās → al-Fātiḥah, where all readers agree on one way (joining the end of the Qurʾān to its beginning, as one repeats Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ), and where the basmalah is agreed for all. Some transmitters of the practical art then singled out four junctures — the beginnings of al-Qiyāmah, al-Balad, al-Muṭaffifīn and al-Humazah — where they preferred the basmalah for a reader who otherwise takes sakt; this is what is called al-zahr. Because each juncture can be taken three ways, joining a run of sūrahs multiplies the options: the book works out that reciting from the end of al-Muzzammil into the opening of al-Qiyāmah yields nine admissible combinations, and the same nine again from the end of al-Muddaththir into the opening of Hal Atā (al-Insān).

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   زاد ورش عند الجمع بين السورتين ـ ما عدا الأنفال وبراءة، والناس والفاتحة ـ وجهَي السكت والوصل من غير بسملة. ثم إن بعض أهل الأداء اختار في الزهر الفصل بالبسملة لمن رَوى السكت في غيرها، في أربع، وهي: القيامة، البلد، التطفيف، والهمزة.

   Examples · 1

   • The book states this rule by naming the sūrah junctures (al-Muzzammil → al-Muddaththir → al-Qiyāmah → Hal Atā) and enumerating the nine resulting wujūh; it gives no vocalized āyah citation here, so none is supplied.
   The rule in general → The basmalah
2. 2

   The pronoun hāʾ in individually named places

   هاء الكناية في المواضع المفردة

   hāʾ al-kināyah fī al-mawāḍiʿ al-mufradah

   Four places where Ḥafṣ leaves the pronoun hāʾ vowelless, Warsh gives it a full kasrah and then draws that kasrah out into a following yāʾ sound (ishbāʿ), so the word ends in a long -ihī: arjihī, fa-alqihī, wa-yattaqhī. The four are ﴿أَرْجِه وَأَخَاهُ﴾ counted twice (al-Aʿrāf and al-Shuʿarāʾ), ﴿فَأَلْقِه إِلَيْهِمْ﴾ in al-Naml, and ﴿وَيَتَّقْه﴾ in al-Nūr. In two further places where Ḥafṣ vowels the hāʾ with ḍammah, Warsh reads a kasrah instead, without lengthening: ﴿أَنسَىٰنِيهِ﴾ in al-Kahf and ﴿عَلَيْهِ ٱللَّهَ﴾ in al-Fatḥ.

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   وروى ﴿أَرْجِه وَأَخَاهُ﴾ في الأعراف والشعراء، و﴿فَأَلْقِه إِلَيْهِمْ﴾ في النمل، و﴿وَيَتَّقْه فَأُو۟لَٰئِكَ﴾ في النور، بإشباع كسر الهاء في الأربعة، و﴿وَمَآ أَنسَىٰنِيهُ﴾ في الكهف، و﴿عَلَيْهُ ٱللَّهَ﴾ في الفتح، بكسر الهاء فيهما.

   Examples · 2

   • وَمَآ أَنسَىٰنِيهُal-Kahf 18:63Printed here in the Ḥafṣ vocalization, with ḍammah on the hāʾ. Warsh reads it with kasrah: anṣānīhi.
   • عَلَيْهُ ٱللَّهَal-Fatḥ 48:10Again printed with the Ḥafṣ ḍammah; Warsh reads ʿalayhi llāha.
   The rule in general → The pronoun hāʾ
3. 3

   The separated and joined prolongations

   مدّ المنفصل والمتصل

   madd al-munfaṣil wa-l-muttaṣil

   Warsh stretches both kinds of hamzah-induced prolongation to their maximum. Where a long vowel at the end of one word is followed by a hamzah at the start of the next (the separated madd, munfaṣil), and where a long vowel is followed by a hamzah inside the same word (the joined madd, muttaṣil), he holds the vowel for six counts — the longest measure in use, twice what Ḥafṣ gives the muttaṣil and three times what Ibn Kathīr gives the munfaṣil.

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   وروى مدَّ المنفصل والمتصل مدّاً مشبعاً وهو ست حركات.

   Examples · 1

   • جَآءَ أَمْرُنَاHūd 11:40The book cites this on p. 194 for the meeting of two hamzahs; it contains a muttaṣil (jāʾa) followed by a munfaṣil, both held six counts by Warsh.
   The rule in general → Separated prolongation
4. 4

   The substitute prolongation

   مدّ البدل

   madd al-badal

   This is the sign of Warsh's recitation. Where a long vowel (alif, wāw or yāʾ of prolongation) comes after a hamzah — rather than before one — Warsh may hold it for two, four or six counts, at the reciter's choice; every other reader holds it for two only. The hamzah may be a plain, firmly pronounced one (ءَامَنَ, إِيمَٰنًا, أُوتِىَ), or one that Warsh himself has altered by easing it (tashīl), by shifting its vowel back onto the preceding consonant (naql, as in ٱلْأَخِرَةِ read al-ākhirah), or by turning it into a letter of prolongation (ibdāl) — in all four situations the following long vowel counts as badal. There are standing exceptions, read short only: any form of ﴿يُؤَاخِذُ﴾, ﴿إِسْرَآءِيل﴾ wherever it occurs, and any case where the hamzah is itself preceded by a sound (non-madd) consonant with sukūn, as in ﴿قُرْءَان﴾ and ﴿مَذْءُومًا﴾. The three lengths of badal then have to be combined with Warsh's other variable lengths — the soft-letter madd, the temporary madd at a pause, fatḥ versus taqlīl — which is why the book spends pages counting the resulting permutations (four, five, six, nine, eleven, twelve, fifteen wujūh in various verses).

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   ووردَ عنه في البدل: وهو كل حرف مدّ جاء بعد همز ثابت أو مُغيَّر بتسهيل أو نقل أو إبدال، نحو ﴿ءَامَنَ﴾، ﴿إِيمَٰنًا﴾، ﴿أُوتِىَ﴾، ﴿ءَأَلِهَتُنَا﴾، ﴿ٱلْأَخِرَةِ﴾ القصر والتوسط والمد، ويُستثنى من ذلك ﴿يُؤَاخِذُ﴾ كيف جاءت، و﴿إِسْرَآءِيل﴾ حيث جاءت، وكذا ما قبل همزه ساكن صحيح نحو ﴿قُرْءَان﴾، و﴿مَذْءُومًا﴾.

   Examples · 8

   • ءَامَنَLong vowel after a firmly pronounced hamzah — the plainest case; 2, 4 or 6 counts.
   • إِيمَٰنًا
   • أُوتِىَ
   • ءَأَلِهَتُنَاal-Zukhruf 43:58Badal arising from an altered hamzah: the second hamzah of the pair is eased or turned into a madd.
   • ٱلْأَخِرَةِBadal arising from naql: the hamzah's vowel moves to the lām, leaving a long alif after it. Printed thus in the book, without a written madd alif.
   • يُؤَاخِذُExcluded from the three lengths — read short wherever it occurs.
   • قُرْءَانExcluded, because the hamzah is preceded by a sound consonant carrying sukūn.
   • مَذْءُومًاal-Aʿrāf 7:18Excluded for the same reason.
   The rule in general → Substitute prolongation
5. 5

   The soft-letter prolongation

   مدّ اللين

   madd al-līn

   A wāw or yāʾ with sukūn preceded by a fatḥah is a soft letter (ḥarf līn) — the -aw- and -ay- of English 'how' and 'high'. When a hamzah follows it in the same word, Warsh holds it, either medium (four counts) or long (six); other readers give it no extra length in continuous reading. It makes no difference whether one stops on the word or reads through it. This is his own rule: nobody else prolongs the soft letter before a hamzah in waṣl.

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   ورَوَى في حرفَي اللين والمراد بهما: الواو والياء الساكنتان المفتوح ما قبلهما، وبعدهما همز في الكلمة كـ﴿شَىْءٍ﴾، و﴿كَهَيْـَٔةِ﴾، و﴿مَثَلُ ٱلسَّوْءِ﴾، و﴿ٱمْرَأَ سَوْءٍ﴾، وجهين وهما: التوسط، والمدّ الطويل، والوصل والوقف في ذلك سيان.

   Examples · 3

   • شَىْءٍ
   • مَثَلُ ٱلسَّوْءِal-Naḥl 16:60
   • هُوَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ لَكُم مَّا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًاal-Baqarah 2:29Cited on p. 196: here a soft letter meets a case of fatḥ/taqlīl, giving four admissible wujūh — medium soft-letter madd with fatḥ, and with taqlīl, then long with each.
   The rule in general → Soft-letter prolongation
6. 6

   The light bending of the final alif that stands for a yāʾ

   إمالة ذوات الياء (التقليل)

   imālat dhawāt al-yāʾ (al-taqlīl)

   A word-final alif that originally was a yāʾ — because the dual or the first-person form brings the yāʾ back (hudā → hudayān, ramā → ramaytu), or simply because the muṣḥaf writes it with a yāʾ shape — may be pronounced by Warsh in either of two ways: plain (fatḥ, an ordinary long ā), or tilted a little toward ē (taqlīl, sometimes called imālah ṣughrā). Both are transmitted from him and both are read; the book lists fatḥ first and taqlīl second. This is not the full bending of Ḥamzah and al-Kisāʾī but a half-measure, roughly the vowel of English 'air' held long. It applies across a very large class: ٱلْهُدَىٰ, ٱلْهَوَىٰ, ٱلْمَأْوَىٰ, ٱلتَّقْوَىٰ, مُوسَىٰ, عِيسَىٰ, يَحْيَىٰ, سِيمَاهُمْ, and the rest.

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   واختلف عنه في إمالة ذوات الياء وهي كل ألف انقلبت عن الياء، أو رُدّت إليها، أو رسمت بها على أي وزن كان، نحو ﴿ٱلْهُدَىٰ﴾، و﴿ٱلْهَوَىٰ﴾، و﴿أَهْدَىٰ﴾، و﴿أَدْنَىٰ﴾، و﴿أَحْيَا﴾، و﴿ٱسْتَوَىٰ﴾ ... وما أشبه ذلك من كل اسم ثُنِّي بياء، وكل فعل رددته إليك وظهرت فيه الياء وقد ورد عنه في ذلك كله وجهان: الفتح ثم التقليل.

   Examples · 4

   • ٱلْهُدَىٰ
   • ٱلْهَوَىٰ
   • أَدْنَىٰ
   • ٱسْتَوَىٰ
   The rule in general → Slight inclination
7. 7

   Nine words kept plain

   الكلمات التسع المفتوحة

   al-kalimāt al-tisʿ al-maftūḥah

   Nine words are exempted from the taqlīl option and read plain, with one wajh only, exactly as Ḥafṣ reads them: لَدَى, مَا زَكَىٰ, حَتَّىٰ, the two prepositions إِلَىٰ and عَلَىٰ, ٱلرِّبَوٰا۟, مَرْضَاتِ wherever the last two occur, كَمِشْكَوٰةٍ in al-Nūr, and أَوْ كِلَاهُمَا in al-Isrāʾ. The book adds that naming them is useful precisely because it shows that everything else written with a yāʾ shape does admit the bending described above.

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   ورَوَى ﴿لَدَى﴾، و﴿مَا زَكَىٰ﴾، و﴿حَتَّىٰ﴾، و﴿إِلَىٰ﴾، و﴿عَلَى﴾ الجارَّتين، و﴿ٱلرِّبَوٰا۟﴾، و﴿مَرْضَاتِ﴾ كيف وقعا، و﴿كَمِشْكَوٰةٍ﴾ في النور، و﴿أَوْ كِلَاهُمَا﴾ في الإسراء، بالفتح قولاً واحداً في الكلمات التسع، كحفص.

   Examples · 3

   • حَتَّىٰ
   • أَوْ كِلَاهُمَاal-Isrāʾ 17:23
   • كَمِشْكَوٰةٍal-Nūr 24:35
   The rule in general → Open vowel
8. 8

   Bending the alif that touches a rāʾ

   تقليل الألف بعد الراء وقبلها

   taqlīl al-alif baʿd al-rāʾ wa-qablahā

   Where a rāʾ is involved the choice disappears and taqlīl becomes obligatory — one wajh only. Two situations: (a) a word-final alif standing immediately after a rāʾ (بُشْرَىٰ, ٱلْكُبْرَىٰ, أُخْرَىٰ, أَسْرَىٰ, ذِكْرَىٰ, ٱلشِّعْرَىٰ); and (b) an alif standing immediately before a word-final rāʾ carrying kasrah (أَبْصَٰرِهِمْ, ٱلدَّارِ, ٱلْكُفَّارِ, ٱلنَّارِ, ٱلْأَبْرَارِ, ٱلْقَرَارِ). Three words are left out of (b) altogether, with no bending at all: أَنصَارِى, فَلَا تُمَارِ, ٱلْجَوَارِ. Two words are disputed both ways — ﴿كَٰفِرِينَ﴾ and ﴿ٱلْكَٰفِرِينَ﴾ are always bent wherever they are spelled with a yāʾ, while ﴿وَٱلْجَارِ﴾ in al-Nisāʾ and ﴿جَبَّارِينَ﴾ in al-Māʾidah and al-Shuʿarāʾ hover between fatḥ and taqlīl, and the book records three whole schools (madhāhib) for how to combine ﴿وَٱلْجَارِ﴾ with the soft-letter madd.

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   وقلّل كلّ ألف متطرفة بعد راء وجهاً واحداً نحو ﴿بُشْرَىٰ﴾، و﴿ٱلْكُبْرَىٰ﴾، و﴿أُخْرَىٰ﴾، و﴿أَسْرَىٰ﴾ ... وقلّل كلّ ألفٍ وقعت قبل راء متطرفة مكسورة كـ﴿أَبْصَٰرِهِمْ﴾ ... وجهاً واحداً، لكن لا إمالة له أصلاً في ﴿أَنصَارِى﴾، و﴿فَلَا تُمَارِ﴾، و﴿ٱلْجَوَارِ﴾.

   Examples · 4

   • بُشْرَىٰ
   • ٱلْكُبْرَىٰ
   • أُخْرَىٰ
   • أَبْصَٰرِهِمْAlif before a final kasrah-bearing rāʾ.
9. 9

   Bending the verse-ends of eleven sūrahs

   تقليل رؤوس الآي

   taqlīl ruʾūs al-āy

   In certain sūrahs the rhyme itself is built on this bent alif, so Warsh bends every verse-end in them, with one wajh only: Ṭā Hā, al-Najm, al-Maʿārij, al-Qiyāmah, al-Nāziʿāt, ʿAbasa, al-Aʿlā, al-Layl, al-Ḍuḥā and al-ʿAlaq. The exception is a verse-end that carries the feminine pronoun -hā; there both fatḥ and taqlīl are open to him. There are ten such verse-ends in al-Nāziʿāt, running from ﴿بَنَىٰهَا﴾ to the end of the sūrah — except ﴿مِن ذِكْرَىٰهَآ﴾, which has taqlīl only, because it belongs to the rāʾ class above — and fifteen more in al-Shams.

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   ورَوَى تقليل أواخر آي طه، والنجم، والمعارج، والقيامة، والنازعات، وعبس، والأعلى، والليل، والضحى، والعلق، وجهاً واحداً، إلّا ما كان فيه (ها) ـ أي ضمير الغائبة ـ فيأتي له فيه الفتح والتقليل. وذلك عشر: في النازعات وهي قوله تعالى ﴿بَنَىٰهَا﴾ إلى آخر السورة، إلا قوله تعالى ﴿مِن ذِكْرَىٰهَآ﴾ فليس له فيه إلّا التقليل كسائر ذوات الراء، ومثل هذه العشر فواصل ﴿وَٱلشَّمْسِ وَضُحَىٰهَا﴾ الخمسة عشر.

   Examples · 1

   • مِن ذِكْرَىٰهَآal-Nāziʿāt 79:43Taqlīl only, being an alif after a rāʾ.
10. 10

    Full bending in ṭāhā, and the special cases of raʾā and al-Tawrāh

    الإمالة الكبرى وتقليل رَءَا والتوراة

    al-imālah al-kubrā wa-taqlīl raʾā wa-l-tawrāh

    Three further bending rules. First, in the verb ﴿رَءَا﴾ Warsh bends both the rāʾ and the hamzah together whenever a moving letter follows (رَءَا كَوْكَبًا, رَءَاكَ, رَءَاهُ); but where a consonant with sukūn follows — ﴿رَءَا ٱلْقَمَرَ﴾, ﴿رَءَا ٱلشَّمْسَ﴾ — he reads both letters plain when continuing and bends both when stopping. Second, ﴿ٱلتَّوْرَىٰةَ﴾ is bent wherever it occurs; so are the letter-name rāʾ in the six sūrah-openings that begin with alif-lām-rāʾ, the letter-name ḥāʾ in the seven Ḥā-Mīm sūrahs, and the hāʾ and yāʾ of the opening of Maryam. Third — and this is the one place in the whole Qurʾān where Warsh uses the full bend rather than the half-bend — the hāʾ of ﴿طه﴾ is given imālah kubrā, a true ē.

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    وقلّل الراء والهمزة من ﴿رَءَا﴾ حيث وقع قبل محرّك ... فإن أتى بعده ساكن نحو ﴿رَءَا ٱلْقَمَرَ﴾، و﴿رَءَا ٱلشَّمْسَ﴾، قرأ بفتح الحرفين وصلاً وبتقليلهما وقفاً. وقلّل لفظ ﴿ٱلتَّوْرَىٰةَ﴾ حيث أتى، وقلل أيضاً راء فواتح السور الست، وحاء ﴿حمٓ﴾ في السور السبع والهاء والياء من فاتحة مريم. وأمال الهاء من ﴿طه﴾ إمالة كبرى، ولم يمل إمالة كبرى في القرآن غيرها.

    Examples · 2

    • رَءَا ٱلْقَمَرَal-Anʿām 6:77Plain when read through, bent when stopping.
    • ٱلتَّوْرَىٰةَBent wherever it occurs.
    The rule in general → Full inclination
11. 11

    Transferring the hamzah's vowel back

    النقل

    al-naql

    This is the most audible thing about Warsh's recitation. When a word ends in a consonant with sukūn — any consonant except a letter of prolongation or a soft letter — and the next word begins with a hamzah, Warsh moves the hamzah's vowel back onto that consonant and drops the hamzah entirely. ﴿قَدْ أَفْلَحَ﴾ becomes qad-a-flaḥa, ﴿مَنْ ءَامَنَ﴾ becomes mana-āmana, ﴿مِنْ أَجْرٍ﴾ becomes mina-jrin, ﴿عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ﴾ becomes ʿadhābun-alīm. The definite article behaves the same way whenever the hamzah is written attached to it: ﴿ٱلْأَرْضِ﴾ is read la-rḍ, ﴿ٱلْأَخِرَةِ﴾ is read lā-khirah. When beginning afresh on such a word one has a choice: either restore the original hamzat al-waṣl and say al-ʾarḍ, or begin from the transferred form and say la-rḍ, li-nsān. But if one begins on ﴿ٱلْأُولَىٰ﴾ or ﴿ٱلْأَخِرَةِ﴾ with the hamzat al-waṣl, the long vowel that results is a badal and takes the three lengths; beginning with the lām, only the short reading is possible.

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    وإذا كان آخر الكلمة ساكناً غير حرف مدّ ولين، وأتى بعده همز قطع أول الكلمة الأخرى، فورش ينقل حركة الهمز إلى الساكن قبله ويحذف الهمز نحو ﴿خَلَوْا۟ إِلَىٰ﴾، و﴿قَدْ أَفْلَحَ﴾، و﴿مَنْ ءَامَنَ﴾، و﴿مِنْ أَجْرٍ﴾، و﴿ذَوَاتَىْ أُكُلٍ﴾، و﴿وَقَالَتْ أُولَىٰهُمْ﴾ ... و﴿عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ﴾. ومثل ذلك لام التعريف إن اتصلت رسماً نحو ﴿ٱلْأَخِرَةِ﴾، ﴿ٱلْأَرْضِ﴾.

    Examples · 6

    • قَدْ أَفْلَحَal-Muʾminūn 23:1
    • مَنْ ءَامَنَ
    • مِنْ أَجْرٍ
    • خَلَوْا۟ إِلَىٰal-Baqarah 2:14The written alif is silent; the kasrah moves onto the wāw.
    • عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
    • ٱلْأَرْضِDefinite article with an attached hamzah: read la-rḍ.
    The rule in general → Transferring the vowel
12. 12

    Naql in three individually named places

    النقل في المواضع المفردة

    al-naql fī al-mawāḍiʿ al-mufradah

    Three places are singled out. In ﴿رِدْءًا يُصَدِّقُنِى﴾ (al-Qaṣaṣ) the vowel of the hamzah moves onto the dāl, so the word is read ridan. At ﴿كِتَٰبِيَهْ ۞ إِنِّى﴾ in al-Ḥāqqah he has two ways, with naql and without; the book judges leaving it the sounder. At ﴿مَالِيَهْ ۞ هَلَكَ﴾ the two ways have consequences: if one takes naql, the two hāʾs must be merged into one; if one pronounces the hamzah plainly, one must instead pause briefly (sakt) on the hāʾ of mālīyah. And ﴿عَادًا ٱلْأُولَىٰ﴾ in al-Najm is read with the tanwīn merged into the lām — that is, after the transfer described above.

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    ورَوَى ﴿رِدْءًا يُصَدِّقُنِى﴾ في القصص بنقل حركة الهمزة إلى الدال. وله في ﴿كِتَٰبِيَهْ ۞ إِنِّى﴾ في الحاقة وجهان: النقل وتركه وهو الأصحّ. وإذا وصلتَ إلى ﴿مَالِيَهْ ۞ هَلَكَ﴾ تعيَّن إدغام الهاء في الهاء على وجه النقل. وتعيَّن السكت على هاء ﴿مَالِيَهْ﴾ على وجه التحقيق. وقرأ ﴿عَادًا ٱلْأُولَىٰ﴾ في ﴿وَٱلنَّجْمِ﴾ بإدغام التنوين في اللام أي بعد النقل كما مرّ.

    Examples · 2

    • رِدْءًا يُصَدِّقُنِىal-Qaṣaṣ 28:34
    • عَادًا ٱلْأُولَىٰal-Najm 53:50
13. 13

    Turning the hamzah into a long vowel

    إبدال الهمز

    ibdāl al-hamz

    A vowelless hamzah standing as the first radical of a word is not pronounced at all: it becomes a long vowel matching the vowel before it. يُؤْمِنُونَ is read yūminūn, مُؤْمِنِينَ is read mūminīn, فَأْتُوا۟ is read fātū, ٱئْتُونِى is read ītūnī. The one class held back is words from the root of ʾīwāʾ, 'shelter': مَأْوَىٰهُمْ and ٱلْمَأْوَىٰ keep their hamzah. The same softening reaches three words where the vowelless hamzah is the middle radical — ﴿وَبِئْرٍ﴾, ﴿بِئْسَ﴾, ﴿ٱلذِّئْبُ﴾, read bīr, bīsa, al-dhīb. Separately, a hamzah carrying fatḥah after a ḍammah, standing as the first radical, becomes a plain wāw: مُؤَذِّنٌ is read muwadhdhin, ٱلْمُؤَلَّفَةِ al-muwallafah, يُؤَلِّفُ yuwallif, يُؤَاخِذُ yuwākhidh.

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    وأبدل كل همز ساكن حرف مد بحركة ما قبله حيث كان فاء الكلمة نحو ﴿يُؤْمِنُونَ﴾، و﴿يُؤْمِنُ﴾، و﴿مُؤْمِنِينَ﴾، و﴿مَأْمُونٍ﴾، و﴿فَأْتُوا۟﴾ ... سوى ما كان من الإيواء نحو ﴿مَأْوَىٰهُمْ﴾، و﴿ٱلْمَأْوَىٰ﴾. وأبدل أيضاً الهمز الساكن إذا كان عيناً في ثلاث كلمات ﴿وَبِئْرٍ﴾، و﴿بِئْسَ﴾، و﴿ٱلذِّئْبُ﴾، وأبدل أيضاً الهمز المفتوح بعد ضمة واواً إذا كان فاء الكلمة نحو ﴿مُؤَذِّنٌ﴾، ﴿ٱلْمُؤَلَّفَةِ﴾، ﴿يُؤَلِّفُ﴾، ﴿يُؤَيِّدُ﴾، و﴿يُؤَدِّهِ﴾، ﴿يُؤَاخِذُ﴾.

    Examples · 9

    • يُؤْمِنُونَ
    • مُؤْمِنِينَ
    • فَأْتُوا۟
    • مَأْمُونٍal-Maʿārij 70:28
    • ٱلْمَأْوَىٰHeld back — from the root of ʾīwāʾ, so the hamzah stays.
    • بِئْسَMiddle-radical hamzah: read bīsa.
    • ٱلذِّئْبُRead al-dhību.
    • مُؤَذِّنٌFatḥah-bearing hamzah after ḍammah becomes a plain wāw.
    • ٱلْمُؤَلَّفَةِal-Tawbah 9:60
    The rule in general → Replacing the hamzah
14. 14

    Two hamzahs meeting inside one word

    الهمزتان من كلمة

    al-hamzatān min kalimah

    Where two hamzahs of the same word collide, Warsh eases the second — pronouncing it halfway between a hamzah and the long vowel of its own colour, which is what the manuals call bayna bayna. When the second hamzah carries fatḥah he has an additional option: turn it into a fully drawn-out madd of six counts, so ﴿ءَأَنذَرْتَهُمْ﴾ may be read āandhartahum. Where the interrogative is repeated in a single verse — ﴿أَءِذَا كُنَّا تُرَٰبًا أَءِنَّا﴾ — he keeps the question in the first and turns the second into a statement; in al-Naml and al-ʿAnkabūt he reverses this, statement first and question second. And ﴿أَشْهَدُوا۟﴾ in al-Zukhruf he reads with a firm hamzah carrying fatḥah, then an eased hamzah carrying ḍammah, with the shīn given sukūn.

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    وإذا التقى همزتا قطع في كلمة نحو ﴿ءَأَنذَرْتَهُمْ﴾، ﴿أَئِنَّكُمْ﴾، ﴿أَؤُنَبِّئُكُم﴾ قرأ بتسهيل الهمزة الثانية منهما، وزاد في المفتوحة وجهاً ثانياً وهو إبدالها مداً مشبعاً ... وروى فيما تكرر فيه الاستفهام نحو ﴿أَءِذَا كُنَّا تُرَٰبًا أَءِنَّا﴾ بالاستفهام في الأول والإخبار في الثاني، إلّا ما كان في النمل والعنكبوت، فإنه قرأ بالإخبار في الأول والاستفهام في الثاني، ورَوَى ﴿أَشْهَدُوا۟﴾ في الزخرف بهمزة مفتوحة محققة، فهمزة مضمومة مسهلة مع إسكان شينه.

    Examples · 3

    • ءَأَنذَرْتَهُمْal-Baqarah 2:6
    • أَئِنَّكُمْ
    • أَؤُنَبِّئُكُمĀl ʿImrān 3:15
    The rule in general → Softening the hamzah
15. 15

    Two hamzahs meeting across a word boundary

    الهمزتان من كلمتين

    al-hamzatān min kalimatayn

    When two hamzahs of the same vowel-colour meet across a word boundary, Warsh eases the second one; and if a consonant with sukūn follows, he instead turns it into a fully drawn-out madd. Where the two differ in vowel, the treatment follows the pair: a fatḥah followed by a kasrah gives easing or a change to a plain yāʾ; a fatḥah followed by a ḍammah gives easing or a change to a plain wāw; a kasrah followed by a fatḥah gives a plain yāʾ; a ḍammah followed by a fatḥah gives a plain wāw. All of this belongs to continuous reading only: if one stops on the first word and begins again on the second, the hamzah must be pronounced firmly.

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    وإذا التقت همزتا قطع متفقتان في الشكل من كلمتَين كـ﴿جَآءَ أَمْرُنَا﴾، ﴿مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ إِن﴾، ﴿أَوْلِيَآءَ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ﴾، قرأ بتسهيل الهمزة الثانية منهما وبإبدالها مداً مع إشباعه إن أتى بعدها ساكن ... وإذا اختلف الهمزتان الملتقيتان من كلمتين ... فإن كانت الأولى مفتوحة والثانية مكسورة كـ﴿جَآءَ أُمَّةً﴾، أو مضمومة ... فله فيها وجهان: تسهيل الثانية وإبدالها واواً.

    Examples · 2

    • جَآءَ أَمْرُنَاHūd 11:40
    • مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ إِن
16. 16

    Thinning the rāʾ

    ترقيق الراءات

    tarqīq al-rāʾāt

    Ḥafṣ pronounces rāʾ heavy (thick, velarised) whenever it carries fatḥah or ḍammah. Warsh does not: he thins it — pronounces it light, like an English r — whenever a yāʾ with sukūn or a kasrah stands before it in the same word: بَشِيرًا, نَذِيرًا, مُنِيرًا, تَحْرِيرُ, نَخِرَةً. The thinning is blocked when the kasrah or yāʾ belongs to the previous word (فِى رَيْبٍ, بِرَسُولِهِ), and when the yāʾ is itself vowelled (ٱلْخِيَرَةُ). A consonant standing between the kasrah and the rāʾ does not block it (إِخْرَاج) — unless that consonant is ṣād, ṭāʾ or qāf, which are themselves heavy: إِصْرًا, قِطْرًا, وِقْرًا stay thick. Three foreign proper names keep the heavy rāʾ against the rule — إِبْرَٰهِيمَ, إِسْرَآءِيلَ, عِمْرَٰنَ — and so does a repeated rāʾ (ضِرَارًا, مِدْرَارًا, فِرَارًا). Seven words are transmitted both ways, heavy and thin: ذِكْرًا, سِتْرًا, حِجْرًا, إِمْرًا, وِزْرًا, صِهْرًا, حَيْرَانَ — except that the thin reading of the first six is unavailable when the badal is given the medium length.

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    ورقّق كلّ راءٍ مفتوحة أو مضمومة إذا كان قبلها ياء ساكنة أو كسرة متصلة، نحو ﴿بَشِيرًا﴾، و﴿نَذِيرًا﴾، و﴿مُنِيرًا﴾، و﴿تَحْرِيرُ﴾ ... فإن كانت الياء الساكنة أو الكسرة منفصلة نحو ﴿فِى رَيْبٍ﴾، امتنع الترقيق وكذا إذا كانت الياء متحركة نحو ﴿ٱلْخِيَرَةُ﴾. وإذا حال بين الكسرة والراء ساكن نحو ﴿إِخْرَاج﴾، لم يمنع من ترقيق الراء إلّا إذا كان صاداً أو طاءً أو قافاً نحو ﴿إِصْرًا﴾، و﴿قِطْرًا﴾، و﴿وِقْرًا﴾. وفخّم الراء في الاسم الأعجمي وذلك في ﴿إِبْرَٰهِيمَ﴾، و﴿إِسْرَآءِيلَ﴾، و﴿عِمْرَٰنَ﴾ لا غير، وفخمها أيضاً إذا تكررت نحو ﴿ضِرَارًا﴾، و﴿مِدْرَارًا﴾. ووردَ عنه التفخيم والترقيق في سبع كلمات وهي ﴿ذِكْرًا﴾، و﴿سِتْرًا﴾، و﴿حِجْرًا﴾، و﴿إِمْرًا﴾، و﴿وِزْرًا﴾، و﴿صِهْرًا﴾، و﴿حَيْرَانَ﴾.

    Examples · 6

    • بَشِيرًاThin rāʾ: a kasrah-bearing consonant precedes it in the same word.
    • نَذِيرًا
    • إِصْرًاStays heavy — the intervening consonant is ṣād.
    • قِطْرًاStays heavy — the intervening consonant is ṭāʾ.
    • عِمْرَٰنَForeign proper name — heavy against the rule.
    • ذِكْرًاOne of the seven read both ways.
    The rule in general → The letter rāʾ
17. 17

    Thickening the lām

    تغليظ اللامات

    taghlīẓ al-lāmāt

    The mirror image of the rāʾ rule. Where Ḥafṣ pronounces lām light everywhere except in the name of God, Warsh thickens it — gives it the deep, velarised quality of the heavy letters — whenever a lām carrying fatḥah immediately follows a ṣād, ṭāʾ or ẓāʾ that itself has sukūn or fatḥah: ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ, يُوصَلَ, إِصْلَٰحًا, ٱلطَّلَٰقُ, ٱلْمُطَلَّقَٰتُ, مَطْلَعِ ٱلْفَجْرِ, ظَلَّ, ظَلْتَ, وَظَلَّلْنَا. The book warns the reciter not to let the thickening spread to the second lām of وَظَلَّلْنَا and فَظَلْتُمْ, which is a separate letter and is disputed. Three words are disputed in themselves — طَالَ, طَالَ عَلَيْهِمُ, يَصْلَحَا — and فِصَالًا in al-Baqarah, where the sounder reading is thickening. Where such a lām falls at the end of a phrase and is given sukūn for the pause (يُوصَلَ, فَلَمَّا فَصَلَ, وَفَصْلَ ٱلْخِطَابِ, بَطَلَ, ظَلَّ), both ways are transmitted, and the sounder is again thickening. The book adds a general principle: any letter that is bent must be thinned, whether it is a lām or a rāʾ.

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    وغلّظ اللام المفتوحة إذا وقعت بعد صاد أو طاء أو ظاء ساكنة أو مفتوحة نحو ﴿ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ﴾، و﴿يُوصَلَ﴾، و﴿إِصْلَٰحًا﴾، و﴿ٱلطَّلَٰقُ﴾، و﴿وَٱلْمُطَلَّقَٰتُ﴾، و﴿مَطْلَعِ ٱلْفَجْرِ﴾، و﴿ظَلَّ﴾، و﴿ظَلْتَ﴾، و﴿وَظَلَّلْنَا﴾ ... وليحذر القارىء من تفخيم اللام الثانية من ﴿وَظَلَّلْنَا﴾ و﴿فَظَلْتُمْ﴾. واختلف عنه أيضاً فيما سكنت لامه للوقف نحو: ﴿يُوصَلَ﴾، ﴿فَلَمَّا فَصَلَ﴾، و﴿وَفَصْلَ ٱلْخِطَابِ﴾، و﴿بَطَلَ﴾، و﴿ظَلَّ﴾، وأصحّ الوجهين التفخيم.

    Examples · 4

    • ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ
    • يُوصَلَ
    • مَطْلَعِ ٱلْفَجْرِal-Qadr 97:5
    • ظَلْتَ
    The rule in general → The letter lām
18. 18

    Dropping the four pauses

    ترك السكت في المواضع الأربعة

    tark al-sakt fī al-mawāḍiʿ al-arbaʿah

    The four places where Ḥafṣ makes a brief, breathless stop — after ﴿عِوَجَا﴾ in al-Kahf, after ﴿مَرْقَدِنَا﴾ in Yā Sīn, and at ﴿مَنْ رَاقٍ﴾ and ﴿بَلْ رَانَ﴾ — Warsh reads straight through, with no pause at all. Because there is no pause, the nūn of مَنْ and the lām of بَلْ merge fully into the rāʾ that follows: mar-rāq, bar-rāna.

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    ﴿عِوَجَا ۞ قَيِّمًا﴾، ﴿مَرْقَدِنَا ۞ هَٰذَا﴾، ﴿مَنْ رَاقٍ﴾، ﴿بَلْ رَانَ﴾ بترك السكت في الأربعة مع إدغام نون ﴿مَنْ﴾ ولام ﴿بَلْ﴾ في الراء بعدهما.

    Examples · 2

    • مَنْ رَاقٍal-Qiyāmah 75:27Read through with the nūn merged into the rāʾ.
    • بَلْ رَانَal-Muṭaffifīn 83:14
    The rule in general → Brief pause
19. 19

    Merging and separating individual consonants

    الإدغام والإظهار

    al-idghām wa-l-iẓhār

    A short list of consonant assimilations. The dāl of قَد merges into a following ḍād or ẓāʾ; the feminine tāʾ with sukūn merges into a following ẓāʾ; the nūn of the letter-name Yā Sīn merges into the wāw of ﴿وَٱلْقُرْءَانِ﴾ with one wajh only, and the nūn of ﴿ن﴾ into the wāw of ﴿وَٱلْقَلَمِ﴾ on one of his two ways; the dhāl merges into a following tāʾ in ٱتَّخَذْتُمْ and أَخَذْتُمْ wherever they occur. Two places go the other way: Warsh keeps the thāʾ distinct from the following dhāl in ﴿يَلْهَث ذَّٰلِكَ﴾ (al-Aʿrāf) and the bāʾ distinct from the following mīm in ﴿ٱرْكَب مَّعَنَا﴾ (Hūd), where Ḥafṣ merges both.

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    وأدغم دال ﴿قَد﴾ في الضاد، والظاء، المعجمتَين نحو ﴿فَقَد ضَلَّ﴾، ﴿فَقَد ظَلَمَ﴾، وتاء التأنيث الساكنة في الظاء المعجمة نحو ﴿حُرِّمَتْ ظُهُورُهَا﴾، وأدغم النون في الواو من ﴿يسٓ ۞ وَٱلْقُرْءَانِ﴾ وجهاً واحداً، ومن ﴿ن وَٱلْقَلَمِ﴾ في أحد وجهَيه، والذال في التاء نحو ﴿ٱتَّخَذْتُمْ﴾، و﴿أَخَذْتُمْ﴾ كيف أتيا. وأظهر الثاء عند الذال من ﴿يَلْهَث ذَّٰلِكَ﴾ في الأعراف، والباء عند الميم من ﴿ٱرْكَب مَّعَنَا﴾ في هود.

    Examples · 4

    • فَقَد ظَلَمَ
    • حُرِّمَتْ ظُهُورُهَاal-Anʿām 6:138
    • ٱتَّخَذْتُمْ
    • يَلْهَث ذَّٰلِكَal-Aʿrāf 7:176Printed in the Ḥafṣ vocalization with the shaddah of merging; the book says Warsh keeps the two letters separate.
20. 20

    The first-person yāʾ

    ياءات الإضافة

    yāʾāt al-iḍāfah

    The 'yāʾ of annexation' is the -ī that means 'my'. Where it is followed by a hamzah beginning the next word — 176 such places in the Qurʾān — the readers divide over whether to sound it as a full vowel (fatḥ) or leave it with sukūn. Warsh leaves it silent in eighteen of them (ذَرُونِى أَقْتُلْ in Ghāfir, فَٱذْكُرُونِى أَذْكُرْكُمْ in al-Baqarah, and sixteen more) and sounds it in the remaining 158. He also sounds it before a hamzat waṣl that carries the definite article, as in ﴿عَهْدِى ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ﴾, and before a hamzat waṣl without the article in exactly four places: ﴿لِنَفْسِى ٱذْهَبْ﴾ and ﴿ذِكْرِى ٱذْهَبَا﴾ in Ṭā Hā, ﴿قَوْمِى ٱتَّخَذُوا۟﴾ in al-Furqān, ﴿مِنْ بَعْدِى ٱسْمُهُ﴾ in al-Ṣaff. He agrees with Ḥafṣ where the yāʾ is followed by an ordinary consonant, except that he sounds it in وَمَمَاتِى لِلَّهِ, وَإِن لَّمْ تُؤْمِنُوا۟ لِى, وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا۟ بِى, and silences it in وَلِىَ نَعْجَةٌ, وَبِنِتِى مُؤْمِنُوا۟ and others. ﴿وَمَحْيَاىَ﴾ in al-Anʿām is disputed: fatḥ or sukūn, and each of those may be combined with fatḥ or taqlīl of the alif, giving four wujūh in all; with the sukūn the alif before it must be given its full length.

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    ورَوَى ياء المتكلم إذا كان بعدها همز قطع (وجملة ما وقع من ذلك في القرآن مائة وست وسبعون ياء) بالإسكان في ثمان عشرة ياء وهن ﴿ذَرُونِى أَقْتُلْ﴾ في غافر، ﴿فَٱذْكُرُونِى أَذْكُرْكُمْ﴾ في البقرة ... وبالفتح فيما بقي وهو مائة وثمان وخمسون ياء. وفتح ياء المتكلم أيضاً إذا كان بعدها همز وصل مصحوب بلام التعريف نحو ﴿عَهْدِى ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ﴾، وفتحها أيضاً إذا أتى بعدها همز وصل غير مصحوب باللام في أربعة مواضع ﴿لِنَفْسِى ٱذْهَبْ﴾، ﴿ذِكْرِى ٱذْهَبَا﴾ كلاهما في طه، و﴿قَوْمِى ٱتَّخَذُوا۟﴾ بالفرقان، و﴿مِنْ بَعْدِى ٱسْمُهُ﴾ بالصف. واختُلف في ﴿وَمَحْيَاىَ﴾ بالأنعام، فله فيه الفتح والإسكان، وله أيضاً فتحه وتقليله على كل منهما، ففيه أربعة أوجه.

    Examples · 3

    • ذَرُونِى أَقْتُلْGhāfir 40:26One of the eighteen read with sukūn.
    • فَٱذْكُرُونِى أَذْكُرْكُمْal-Baqarah 2:152
    • عَهْدِى ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَal-Baqarah 2:124Yāʾ sounded before a hamzat waṣl with the article.
    The rule in general → The possessive yāʾ
21. 21

    The yāʾs not written in the muṣḥaf

    ياءات الزوائد

    yāʾāt al-zawāʾid

    In forty-seven places the muṣḥaf writes no yāʾ but the reading may supply one. Warsh supplies it when reading through into the next word and drops it when stopping. The list begins ﴿دَعْوَةَ ٱلدَّاعِ﴾ and ﴿إِذَا دَعَانِ﴾ in al-Baqarah, ﴿ٱتَّبَعَنِ وَقُل﴾ in Āl ʿImrān, ﴿تَسْـَٔلَنِ﴾ in Hūd, ﴿يَوْمَ يَأْتِ﴾ and ﴿لَا تَكَلَّمُ﴾ there also, ﴿أَخَّرْتَنِ﴾ in al-Isrāʾ, ﴿ٱلْمُهْتَدِ﴾, ﴿نَبْغِ﴾, ﴿تُعَلِّمَنِ﴾, ﴿يُؤْتِيَنِ﴾ and ﴿يَهْدِيَنِ﴾ in al-Kahf, and runs on through ﴿ٱلتَّلَاقِ﴾, ﴿ٱلتَّنَادِ﴾, ﴿ٱلْجَوَابِ﴾, ﴿ٱلدَّاعِ﴾, ﴿نَذِيرِ﴾, ﴿نَكِيرِ﴾, ﴿ٱلْجَوَارِ﴾, ﴿ٱلْمُنَادِ﴾ and ﴿وَعِيدِ﴾ to the end. One word, ﴿فَمَا ءَاتَىٰنِ﴾ in al-Naml, is read with the yāʾ sounded as a full vowel in waṣl and dropped in the pause, one wajh only. And ﴿يَٰعِبَادِ لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْكُمْ﴾ in al-Zukhruf keeps its yāʾ, with sukūn, whether one reads on or stops.

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    وأثبتَ سبعاً وأربعين ياءً حال الوصل وهي ﴿دَعْوَةَ ٱلدَّاعِ﴾، ﴿إِذَا دَعَانِ﴾ كلاهما في البقرة، و﴿ٱتَّبَعَنِ وَقُل﴾ في آل عمران، و﴿تَسْـَٔلَنِ﴾ في هود ... و﴿فَمَا ءَاتَىٰنِ﴾ في النمل، لكنه يفتح الياء وصلاً ويقف عليه بالحذف وجهاً واحداً. ورَوَى ﴿يَٰعِبَادِ لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْكُمْ﴾ بالزخرف بإثبات الياء ساكنة في الحالين.

    Examples · 3

    • إِذَا دَعَانِal-Baqarah 2:186
    • دَعْوَةَ ٱلدَّاعِal-Baqarah 2:186
    • يَٰعِبَادِ لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْكُمْal-Zukhruf 43:68Yāʾ present, with sukūn, in both waṣl and waqf.
    The rule in general → The restored yāʾ

Cross-reference

Every rule in the general reference that names Warsh ʿan Nāfiʿ explicitly, or that applies to all ten.

• Natural prolongationالمد الطبيعي

  All ten: 2 counts, without exception

• Separated prolongationالمد المنفصل

  6 — A long vowel at the end of a word followed by a hamzah at the start of the next — length varies from 2 to 6.

• Connected prolongationالمد المتصل

  6 — A long vowel and a following hamzah inside the same word — at least 4 for everyone.

• Substitute prolongationمد البدل

  2, 4 or 6 — A hamzah *before* a long vowel — 2 for everyone except Warsh.

• Obligatory prolongationالمد اللازم

  All ten: 6, unanimously

• Prolongation for a pauseالمد العارض للسكون

  All ten: 2, 4 or 6

• Soft-letter prolongationمد اللين

  no hamzah: 2, 4 or 6 on pausing. With a hamzah: 4 or 6, whether pausing or continuing. — A vowelless و or ي after a fatḥah, before a pause.

• Minor connectionۥۦالصلة الصغرى

  All ten: 2

• Major connectionۥۦالصلة الكبرى

  6 — The same glide, but before a hamzah — so it lengthens like a separated madd.