Although there were manuscripts written on the topic, the convention that took off is attributed to Muhammad ibn Tayfour Sajawandi (d. 560 AH).
[1] There are various hadiths related to the topic, one of them being:[2] Umm Salama narrated: "Rasulullah, when reading the Qur'an, would cut his recitation by ayah (he would stop at the verse endings). "
لا (la) - Lam and alif glyph which means 'no' in Arabic when uttered in isolation.
Pausing in this symbol may lead to meaning change or a incorrect statement or it will make nonsense.
[4][2] وقفة (wqfẗ) or وقف (wqf) - Same with the previous one, but with a somewhat longer pause.
Because the reciter may feel the need to stop, for example, because of need for a breath or other bodily necessities, there are these signs placed.
ق (q) - abbr of قيل عليه الوقف (qyl glyh alwqf).
◌ۛ - Named معانقة (mganqẗ) (hugging) signs, these three dots are usually paired and placed near each other.
In Indopak mushafs, these three dots are placed above a small ج sign.
The mushafs are also divided into thirty equal parts (juz'), for those who wish to finish the recitation in a given time.
There are 3 different hizb signs at the margin indicating the place in the juz': الربع for the first quarter, النصف for the half, and الثلٰثة (abbr.