The rules of the silence – السَّكْتُ | Tajweed rules

Silence or sakt – السَّكْتُ is defined as a shortstop without resuming breathing to continue to read; it comes in two forms:

 

• Compulsory silence
• Permissible silence

 

1. The compulsory silence – السَّكْتُ الْوَاجِبُ

Also called the light pause.

It is a little silence on a word from Holy Qu’ran, without taking a breath, for a brief moment of 2 movements (one movement corresponds to about 1 second), then continue reading.

It is represented in the mushaf by a small seen:

It is found in the Holy Qu’ran on four occasions:

 

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي أَنزَلَ عَلَىٰ عَبْدِهِ الْكِتَابَ وَلَمْ يَجْعَل لَّهُ عِوَجًا ۜ ﴿١﴾ قَيِّمًا لِّيُنذِرَ بَأْسًا شَدِيدًا مِّن لَّدُنْهُ وَيُبَشِّرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ الصَّالِحَاتِ أَنَّ لَهُمْ أَجْرًا حَسَنًا 

(1)[All] praise is [due] to Allah, who has sent down upon His Servant the Book and has not made therein any deviance. (2) [He has made it] straight, to warn of severe punishment from Him and to give good tidings to the believers who do righteous deeds that they will have a good reward (18:1-2)

 

 قَالُوا يَا وَيْلَنَا مَن بَعَثَنَا مِن مَّرْقَدِنَا ۜ ۗ هَـٰذَا مَا وَعَدَ الرَّحْمَـٰنُ وَصَدَقَ الْمُرْسَلُونَ

They will say, “O woe to us! Who has raised us up from our sleeping place?” [The reply will be], “This is what the Most Merciful had promised, and the messengers told the truth.”(36:52)

 

 وَقِيلَ مَنْ ۜ رَاقٍ

And it is said, “Who will cure [him]?” (75:27)

 

كَلَّا ۖ بَلْ ۜ رَانَ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِم مَّا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ 

No! Rather, the stain has covered their hearts of that which they were earning. (83:14)

 

The silence is therefore compulsory if the reader continues reading without stopping.

For the first two examples, however, the reader can stop, catch their breath, and then continue reading.

Conversely, in the last two examples, the reader must observe a little silence without taking a breath.