The Influence of Qur’anic Orthography on Pausal Forms

Abstract

Qur'anic orthography represents a way of writing the Qur'anic text, consonants and words, harmonized during the codification and multiplication of the mushaf in the time of Caliph Uthman ('Uṯmān), and pausal and initial forms (al-waqf wa al-ibtidāʼ) are an important part of the science of tajwīd that preserves the meaning of the Qur'anic text. This paper deals with Qur'anic orthography and its influence on pausal forms and also with ways of applying pausal forms to words ending with the additional consonant yāʼ (al-yāʼāt az-zawāʼid) and the consonant hāʼ (hāʼ muʼannaṯ) that denotes the feminine gender, explained and confirmed by the authorities in the field of the science of qirāʼat. Also, the paper mentions ways of applying pausal forms to words of a specific orthographic form that could not fit into general principles.