Saktah is a brief silence without taking a breath. Waqf involves breaking the breath; saktah preserves the breath while the voice pauses briefly.
It is not a general technique for difficult words or a substitute for breathing. The source lists recognized occurrences where this short pause is taught as part of the transmitted reading.
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Saktah is not an ordinary breath pause
Rules of Waqf — Correct Stopping, Resumption, Rawm, Ishmām and Qurʾānic Orthography
Saktah is a brief silence without taking a breath. Waqf involves breaking the breath; saktah preserves the breath while the voice pauses briefly.
It is not a general technique for difficult words or a substitute for breathing. The source lists recognized occurrences where this short pause is taught as part of the transmitted reading.