Why Do Quran Reciters Sometimes Repeat Parts of a Verse after Pausing?
Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick
Question
I was listening to a recitation of Surat al-Kahf by Shaykh al-Husari on an app to improve my Arabic reading fluency. He pauses at verses 2 and 14, then repeats some of the words he said before the pause and continues with his recitation.
What could be the reason for this? My question looks pretty ignorant, but I don’t know much about Islam and am eager to learn more.
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
May Allah alleviate our difficulties and guide us to that which is pleasing to Him. Amin.
May Allah reward you for your desire to learn, improve, and recite the Quran accurately. There are no ignorant questions when they are sincere.
When a reciter pauses at a point in a verse where the portion after the pause is connected to the portion before the pause, grammatically and in meaning, the reciter must repeat a portion before the point of pause to connect it to the rest of the verse, and Allah knows best. [Gaibie, Anis al-Nashr Sharh Tayba al-Nashr]
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I pray this is of benefit and that Allah guides us all.
[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan.
Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Mawlana Yusuf Karaan, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.
He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has served as the Director of the Discover Islam Centre and Al Jeem Foundation. For the last five years till present, he has served as the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.
Shaykh Irshaad has thirteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic online learning and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy living and fitness.
