Letters at the Beginning of Surahs Notice that the letters at the beginning of Surahs are recited by the individual letter name not by pronunciation. If one of these letters has the Madd sign [ ~ ], it should be lengthened by six counts [Harakah]. This rule fits all the letters at the beginning of Qur"an surahs except the letter [ ع ], which should be lengthened by four counts [Harakah] only. Listen to the example to know how these letters are recited.