What are the madd letters?
Huroof Maddah means "stretching letters". There are three: ا (Alif), و (Waw) and ي (Yaa). When one of them has no vowel of its own and comes after the matching short vowel, it stretches that vowel for two counts. This is called the natural madd. Madd means "to extend".
| Madd letter | Needs this vowel before it | Sound | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alif ا | Fatha | "aa" | بَا baa |
| Waw و | Damma | "oo" | بُو boo |
| Yaa ي | Kasra | "ee" | بِي bee |
The rule to teach children is simple: the vowel and the letter must match. A fatha goes with Alif, a damma with Waw and a kasra with Yaa.
How lesson 7 connects to lesson 6
The sounds are the same as the standing vowels of lesson 6: "aa", "oo" and "ee", two counts each. The difference is only in how they are written. In lesson 6 a small mark does the job; in lesson 7 a full letter does. So بٰ and بَا are both read "baa".
Practice table
Read across each row: Alif, then Waw, then Yaa. Keep every stretch to two even counts.
| Letter | With Alif | With Waw | With Yaa |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baa | بَا | بُو | بِي |
| Taa | تَا | تُو | تِي |
| Jeem | جَا | جُو | جِي |
| Daal | دَا | دُو | دِي |
| Raa | رَا | رُو | رِي |
| Seen | سَا | سُو | سِي |
| Ain | عَا | عُو | عِي |
| Qaaf | قَا | قُو | قِي |
| Kaaf | كَا | كُو | كِي |
| Laam | لَا | لُو | لِي |
| Meem | مَا | مُو | مِي |
| Noon | نَا | نُو | نِي |
Madd letters in the Quran
Almost every verse has a madd letter. These words come directly from the Tanzil Uthmani text; the stretched sound is marked in the reading.
| Word | Read | Madd letter | Meaning | Where |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ٱلنَّاسِ | an-naa-si | Alif after fatha | the people | Quran 114:1 |
| إِيَّاكَ | iy-yaa-ka | Alif after fatha | You (alone) | Quran 1:5 |
| تَعْلَمُونَ | ta'-la-moo-na | Waw after damma | you will know | Quran 102:3 |
| يُولَدْ | yoo-lad | Waw after damma | is born | Quran 112:3 |
| ٱلرَّحِيمِ | ar-ra-heem | Yaa after kasra | the Especially Merciful | Quran 1:3 |
| نَسْتَعِينُ | nas-ta-'een | Yaa after kasra | we ask for help | Quran 1:5 |
Notice how many endings are madd: the "-oon" ending of تَعْلَمُونَ and the "-een" ending of نَسْتَعِينُ are both two counts. Children often skip these because the stretch comes just before the final letter.
When it is not a madd letter
- If the letter has its own vowel, it is just a normal consonant. A Waw with a fatha is read "wa", not stretched.
- If the vowel before it does not match, there is no stretch of that kind. A Waw or Yaa with no vowel after a fatha is a different rule: the leen letters, the next lesson in the series.
- If a madd letter is followed by a hamzah or a silent letter, the stretch is longer than two counts. That is a Tajweed rule for later. In Qaida lesson 7, keep every stretch to two counts.
Common mistakes in lesson 7
- Skipping the stretch at the end of a word, so نَسْتَعِينُ sounds like "nasta'in".
- Stretching too long. Two counts means two counts, not as long as the breath allows.
- Changing the vowel halfway, such as turning "oo" into "ow".
- Reading the letter as a separate syllable, for example "ba-a" with a break instead of one smooth "baa".
A two-week practice plan
| Days | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1-4 | Alif only: read the right-hand column of the table, tapping two fingers. |
| 5-8 | Add Waw, then Yaa. Say "baa, boo, bee" in a row. |
| 9-12 | Read whole rows, then random cells. Ask your child to point to each madd letter before reading. |
| 13-14 | Read the six Quran words above, then recite Al-Fatiha and listen for every stretch. |
Madd is learned by ear, so recite to a teacher who can hear the length. Our Noorani Qaida course covers every lesson one-to-one, and our Tajweed course continues with the longer kinds of madd. Book a free trial to meet a teacher, or see all lessons on the Noorani Qaida lessons page.