Levels of Madd and Combination of Causes

First: Ranks of Madd According to Strength

The types of madd vary in strength based on the strength of their causes. Scholars have ranked them in the following order:

• 1. Necesssary madd (al-madd al-lāzim) – the strongest.
• 2. Connected madd (al-madd al-muttaṣil).
• 3. Incidental madd due to sukoon (al-madd al-ʿāriḍ lil-sukūn).
• 4. Disconnected madd (al-madd al-munfaṣil).
• 5. Substituted Madd (Madd al-Badal) ¹.

Second: Rule of the Stronger of Two Causes

If more than one cause for madd is present on a single madd letter, the stronger cause is applied and the weaker one is left—unless the weaker cause allows for extra length in madd, in which case it is read accordingly. If both causes allow the same madd length, then both are considered together. ²

Third: Example of Multiple Causes on a Single Madd Letter and Their Ruling

There are several cases where more than one cause occurs on a single madd letter. For example:

First Case: Combination of Madd al-Badal with Madd al-Lazim

An example of this is found in the word: ﴿ءَآمِّينَ﴾ from the verse: ﴿وَلَآ ءَآمِّينَ ٱلۡبَيۡتَ ٱلۡحَرَامَ﴾. Here, two causes of elongation (madd) are present:

• 1. Madd al-Badal: This occurs due to the presence of a hamzah (ء) before the madd letter. Its length is two counts.
• 2. Madd al-Lazim: This occurs due to the presence of a shaddah ( ّ ) after the madd letter. Its length is six counts.

In such a case, the recitation is based on Madd al-Lazim, with a duration of six counts, because it is stronger than Madd al-Badal.

Second Case: Combination of Madd al-Muttasil with Madd al-‘Arid li al-Sukoon

When stopping at the word: ﴿ٱلۡمَآءِ﴾, two causes for madd appear:

• 1. Connected madd: due to the presence of a hamzah after the madd letter in the same word; its length is 4 or 5 counts.
• 2. Incidental madd due to sukoon: due to stopping on the word with a temporary sukoon after the madd letter; its length is 2, 4, or 6 counts.

In this case, we read it with the connected madd (4 or 5 counts), and it is permissible to extend it to 6 counts due to the incidental sukoon, since it adds more counts to the connected madd.³

Fourth: Important Notes

• 1. Incidental madd due to sukoon and disconnected madd do not occur on the same letter, because the former requires stopping, while the latter requires continuing to the next word.
• 2. Incidental madd due to sukoon and Necessary madd do not occur on the same letter, because the sukoon in necessary madd is original, and sukoon is either incidental or original—not both.
• 3. A reader must equalize the length of connected and disconnected madd in a single recitation. If one is read with 4 counts, the other must be the same; likewise if one is read with 5 counts.⁴