Pause marks are special signs placed in mushafs to help reciters decide when to pause and when to recite continuously. There are six pause marks used in Medina Mushaf, which are also used in Uthmani and Imla'ei Quran texts provided by Tanzil. These six pause marks are listed below.
| Pause Mark | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| م | Compulsory Pause | فَلَا يَحْزُنكَ قَوْلُهُمْ ۘ إِنَّا نَعْلَمُ مَا يُسِرُّونَ وَمَا يُعْلِنُونَ (36:76) |
| لا | Impermissible Pause | وَيَجْعَلُونَ لِلَّـهِ الْبَنَاتِ سُبْحَانَهُ ۙ وَلَهُم مَّا يَشْتَهُونَ (16:57) |
| ج | Permissible Pause It is equally permissible to make pause or continue | وَاسْتَعِينُوا بِالصَّبْرِ وَالصَّلَاةِ ۚ وَإِنَّهَا لَكَبِيرَةٌ إِلَّا عَلَى الْخَاشِعِينَ (2:45) |
| قلی | Permissible Pause It is preferred to make pause | أَفَمَن يَخْلُقُ كَمَن لَّا يَخْلُقُ ۗ أَفَلَا تَذَكَّرُونَ (16:17) |
| صلی | Permissible Pause It is preferred to continue | أَمْوَاتٌ غَيْرُ أَحْيَاءٍ ۖ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ أَيَّانَ يُبْعَثُونَ (16:21) |
| ∴ ∴ | Interchangeable Pause You can pause on any of the two pause marks, not on both | ذَٰلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لَا رَيْبَ ۛ فِيهِ ۛ هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ (2:2) |