Is it linguistically correct to pause after: "He admits whom He wills into His Mercy, and the wrongdoers" and "We went off racing and left Joseph with our belongings, and the wolf devoured him"?

The science of waqf (وقف - pausing) and ibtida’ (ابتداء - recommencing) is crucial for the reciter of the Qur’an. It requires proficiency in Arabic, the recitations (qira'at), tafsir (exegesis), and language. One should not pause at every point that some grammarians or reciters arbitrarily choose. Rather, one must seek the most complete meaning and the most appropriate pause. A pause might be hasan (حسن - good), while recommencing from it is qabih (قبيح - abominable). Conversely, a pause might be qabih, while recommencing from it is good. The science of waqf and ibtida’ is connected to meaning and Arabic grammar, and it is impermissible to pause in a way that suggests a false meaning.

Regarding the verse: "He admits whom He wills into His mercy; and as for the wrongdoers, He has prepared for them a painful torment" (Surat Al-Insan/31), pausing at “rahmatih” (His mercy) and commencing with “wal-dhalimeen” (and as for the wrongdoers) is good and poses no issue. The word "al-dhalimeen" (the wrongdoers) is in the accusative case due to an implied verb, meaning “and He tormented the wrongdoers.”

As for the verse in Surat Yusuf/17: "They said, 'O our father, indeed we went off racing and left Joseph with our belongings, and the wolf ate him,'" scholars are unanimous that the act of eating pertains to the wolf, not to Yusuf. Therefore, pausing at “fa-akalahu” (so he ate him) is incorrect and a distortion of the words from their proper contexts.

Not everything that is linguistically sound is necessarily sound in tafsir. It is impermissible to mention every linguistic possibility in the Book of Allah without referring to scholars of tafsir. The well-known and apparent meaning of a word should not be abandoned for an obscure one except with evidence. Otherwise, tafsir would become excessively broad, and reproachable interpretations would enter into it.