Pausing at the ends of verses is Sunnah, even if they are connected to what follows

Firstly: 

It is Sunnah to pause at the ends of verses, even if they are connected to what comes after them, according to the more correct of the two scholarly opinions. 

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to interrupt his recitation, pausing at the end of every verse, so he would say: “Al-hamdu Lillahi Rabb il-‘Aalameen (All the praises and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of the Alameen (mankind, jinns and all that exists)),” and pause; “ar-Rahmaan ir-Raheem (The Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful)”, and pause; ‘Maaliki yawm id-deen (The Only Owner (and the Only Ruling Judge) of the Day of Recompense (i.e. the Day of Resurrection))”… 

Az-Zuhri stated that the recitation of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was verse by verse, and this is what is best, to pause at the ends of verses, even if they are connected to what comes after them. 

Some reciters are of the view that one should pay attention to the meaning and context of the verses, and pause at the end of each meaning, but following the practice and Sunnah of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is preferable. 

This was mentioned by al-Bayhaqi in Shu‘ab al-Eemaan and others, and he regarded it is more correct to pause at the ends of verses, even if they are connected to what comes after them. End quote. 

Zaad al-Ma‘aad (1/326) 

Ibn al-Jazari (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

Some of them regarded pausing at the end of the verses as Sunnah. Abu ‘Amr said: That is dearer to me. This view was also favoured by al-Bayhaqi in Shu‘ab al-Eemaan and by other scholars. They said: What is best is to pause at the ends of verses, even if they are connected to what comes after them. They said: Following the practice and Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is preferable. End quote. 

An-Nashr fi’l-Qiraa’aat al-‘Ashr (1/226) 

Secondly: 

This is also indicated by what is proven in the Sunnah, that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to pause at the ends of verses. 

Abu Dawood (4001) and at-Tirmidhi (2927) narrated that Umm Salamah said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to interrupt his recitation, so he would recite, “Al-hamdu Lillahi Rabb il-‘Aalameen (All the praises and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of the Alameen (mankind, jinns and all that exists)),” then pause; “ar-Rahmaan ir-Raheem (The Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful)”, then pause. 

Ibn al-Jazari (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

This is a hasan hadith; its isnaad is saheeh. 

An-Nashr fi’l-Qiraa’aat al-‘Ashr (1/226) 

It was classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood. 

Al-Qaari (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

“He would interrupt his recitation” means that he would recite with pauses at the ends of verses. End quote. 

Mirqaat al-Mafaateeh (4/1503) 

Ahmad (26470) narrated from Naafi‘ ibn ‘Umar, from Ibn Abi Mulaykah, from one of the wives of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) – Naafi‘ said: I think it was Hafsah – that she was asked about the recitation of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and she said: You cannot do that. He said: I said to her: Tell us about it. He said: So she recited with a slow and deliberate pace. Naafi ‘ said: Ibn Abi Mulaykah demonstrated to us: “Al-hamdu Lillahi Rabb il-‘Aalameen (All the praises and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of the Alameen (mankind, jinns and all that exists)),” then he stopped; “ar-Rahmaan ir-Raheem (The Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful)”, then he stopped; ‘Maaliki yawm id-deen (The Only Owner (and the Only Ruling Judge) of the Day of Recompense (i.e. the Day of Resurrection))”… 

The commentators on al-Musnad said: Its men are thiqaat (trustworthy), the men of the two shaykhs [al-Bukhaari and Muslim]. 

It was classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Sifat as-Salaah (1/295). 

At-Tirmidhi (2923), an-Nasaa’i (1022) and al-Haakim (1165) narrated from Ya‘la ibn Mamlak that he asked Umm Salamah about the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and his prayer. She said: His prayer is different from yours. Then she described his recitation, and she described a recitation in which every single letter was very clearly pronounced. 

Classed as saheeh by at-Tirmidhi and al-Haakim; classed as hasan by al-Baghawi in Sharh as-Sunnah (4/482); classed as da‘eef by al-Albaani in Da‘eef at-Tirmidhi

As-Sakhkhaawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

Her words “in which every single letter was very clearly pronounced” refer to what we have seen above in the first hadith about pausing at the end of every verse. End quote. 

Jamaal al-Qurra’ (p. 668) 

Thirdly:

 Some of the scholars are of the view that pauses should not be made at the ends of verses if there is a strong connection to what follows, as in the passage in which Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): “So woe unto those performers of Salat (prayers) (hypocrites), Who delay their Salat (prayer) from their stated fixed times” [al-Maa‘oon 107:4-5]. 

Zakariyya al-Ansaari (may Allah have mercy on him) said in al-Maqsid (p. 5): 

It is Sunnah for the reciter to learn the pauses, and to pause at the ends of verses, except in cases where there is a strong connection to what follows, as in the verses in which Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): “And even if We opened to them a gate from the heaven and they were to continue ascending thereto, they would surely say: ‘Our eyes have been (as if) dazzled. Nay, we are a people bewitched’” [al-Hijr 15:14] and “(Iblees (Satan)) said: ‘By Your Might, then I will surely mislead them all, except Your chosen slaves amongst them (faithful, obedient, true believers of Islamic Monotheism)” [Saad 38:82], because the structure of the wording in both cases indicates that the second verse in each case is strongly connected to the preceding verse. End quote. 

However what is more likely to be correct is that one should pause at the ends of verses in all cases, even if it is strongly connected to what follows it, because of the apparent meaning of the Sunnah. 

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

For the reader to pause at the ends of verses is Sunnah, even if the following verse is strongly connected to the preceding verse. End quote. 

Al-Fataawa al-Kubra (5/334) 

However it is disallowed to stop reciting altogether at a particular point if that will change the meaning, such as one who recites the words “So woe unto those performers of Salat (prayers)” [al-Maa‘oon 107:4], and stops there without reciting the following verse. 

Fourthly: 

Other books that discuss this topic – other than those referred to above – include the following: 

·Al-Jaami‘ li Ahkaam al-Qur’an (20/201) by al-Qurtubi

·At-Tahreer wa’t-Tanweer (1/76) by Ibn ‘Ashoor

·Al-Muktafa fi’l-Waqf wa’l-Ibtida by Abu ‘Amr ad-Daani (p. 244)

·Jamaal al-Qurra’ wa Kamaal al-Iqra’ (p. 673) by ‘Alam ad-Deen as-Sakhkhaawi

·Al-Burhaan fi ‘Uloom al-Qur’an (1/350) by Badr ad-Deen az-Zarkashi

·Al-Itqaan fi ‘Uloom al-Qur’an (1/299) by Jalaal ad-Deen as-Suyooti 

For more information, please see the answer to question no. 13340

And Allah knows best.