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.