With disjointed opening letters, consider whether the reciter pauses after the last letter-name or joins it to the following Qur’anic words. In certain contexts, joining changes the phonetic relationship at that boundary and may affect permissible performance. One must not impose an identical rule on all stopping and joining situations without examining them.
In «الم», joining the following text introduces a further boundary to consider after the letter-names. Stopping after the final name can make the originally still ending and its elongation especially clear.
A reciter should follow a specific transmitted recitational route and its accepted options, not combine ways at random. Where more than one duration is allowed, the chosen method must remain coherent. For accurate performance, listen to and imitate the whole opening passage under guidance, not only an isolated symbol.