Question

Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullah

I would like to ask your help in clarifying the lengthening patterns used in the single or set of letters used at the starting of certain suras (e.g., Taa-Haa, Yaa-Siin). In a previous lesson, you have nicely explained to us that those letters could be categorized depending on the spelling of their names (unless I misunderstood the lesson or forgot it). 

I have noticed that in the letters haa-miim, for example, miim has the madda sign but not haa, and the same rule seems to apply to the other letters with a final hamza in the spelling of their name, like yaa and raa. Yet we know that one case of required lengthening (extra-lengthening of 4 or more vowel counts rather than 2 for the ordinary lengthening) in the recitation of the Qur'an is when hamza follows a long vowel. Based on that rule I would expect that the letters haa, yaa, etc should bear the madda (sign for extra-lengthening) and not the other letters, like siin, which have no hamza. We do know that at the end of the word, if the reciters stop, letters like miim in this example can have extra-lengthening (because the final letter is given a sukun after a long vowel). But in that case, at most I would expect that the letters having hamza in their spelling too bear the madda sign like the others.  

If there is any rule, I will highly appreciate your explanation. Of course, we know that certain things in the recitation of the Qur'an were just transmitted to us as such from the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him). If this is the case with the lengthening of those letters, there is no problem.

Answer

Wa alaikum assalaam wa rahmatu Allahi wa barakatuh.  There is absolutely no bother in your questions.  This website was set up to help others in understanding tajweed, and answering questions is part of that.  Your questions are very useful questions too, baarak Allahu feek.

The individual letters in the group:at the beginning of some surahs are pronounced as only two letters, and the hamzah that normally is present when writing out the name of these letters is not present.  That is the reason these letters only have two vowel counts, that of a natural medd.  So the letters are read as:.   

The individual letters in the group: that begin some surahs as separately pronounced letters are pronounced exactly like they are written with three letters, the middle letter being a medd letter and the last letter having a fixed sukoon.  They are pronounced as written with  three letters in:
,  ,  , , ,  , .  All of these letters then have an original sukoon as the last letter.  We know that when there is a medd letter followed by an original (fixed) sukoon, the lengthening is six vowel counts.  That then is the reason all of these letters (in the group ), when beginning a surah as separately pronounced letters, receive six vowel counts.

The letter  is a special case in that the middle letter is not a medd letter, but a leen letter.  It is considered a follower of the medd al-leen and is lengthened either four or six counts by the way of Hafs 'an 'Aasim min tareeq Ash-Shaatibiyyah
 ().   

May Allah reward you for your questions.