The letter Raa (ر) in the Tajweed of the Quran recitation is one of the most important letters in Tajweed (the rules of the correct pronunciation of the Holy Qur’an). The correct pronunciation of the letter “Raa” is essential for proper Quranic recitation and understanding.
How do we pronounce the letter Raa in Quran?
The Letter Raa is pronounced in the Tajweed of the Quran by vibrating the tip of the tongue against the upper gums of the front teeth. It can accurately be pronounced where the front teeth meet the gums. This area is called the alveolar ridge, which is a bony ridge that runs along the upper jawbone, just behind the upper front teeth.
When pronouncing the “Raa” sound in Quran, the tongue should be pressed firmly against the alveolar ridge while the air is expelled from the mouth, causing a vibration that produces the “Raa” sound.
It is essential to place the tongue in the correct position to ensure the proper pronunciation of the letter “Raa” and to avoid any mistakes in Quranic recitation.
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It is worth noting that Tajweed is a precise and detailed science, and the correct pronunciation of each letter is crucial to understanding and reciting the Quran accurately as it was revealed to prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Therefore, it is recommended to learn Tajweed and Quran from a qualified teacher who can guide and correct the student’s pronunciation to avoid any errors in recitation.
The Ruling of Raa in Tajweed:
There are 2 main types of the ruling of the letter Raa (ر): heavy Raa (Tafkheem Of Raa) or light Raa (Tarqeeq Of Raa). The Type of Raa depends on the Harakahs (diacritics) on Raa.
The cases Of Raa with Tafkheem And Tarqeeq can be divided into 4 main rules:
- The Letter Raa must be pronounced with Tarqeeq.
- The Letter Raa must be pronounced with Tafkheem.
- The Letter Raa Can be pronounced with either Tafkheem And Tarqeeq but the priority is for Tarqeeq (5 words in the Quran).
- The Letter Raa Can be pronounced with either Tafkheem And Tarqeeq but the priority is for Tafkheem (Only one word in the Quran).
Examples of Tarqeeq of Raa (4 Rules and Cases):
1- Tarqeeq of Raa when the Raa comes with Kasrah ــــــِ under it:
For example
| رِحْـــــــلَةَ الشِّـــــــــتاء | صُدُورِ النَّــــــــــاس | رِزْقًــــــا |
2- Tarqeeq of Raa when the Raa comes with sukoon (Original sukoon or sukoon because of stopping “Arid li as-Sikoon”) and preceded by a letter with kasrah.
For example:
| وَاسْتَغْفِـــــــــــــرْه | عَسِــــــــرٌ |
3- Tarqeeq of Raa when the Raa comes with sukoon and preceded by Yaa Sakinah
For example الْخَـــــــــيْرِ
4- Tarqeeq of Raa when the Raa comes with sukoon and preceded by a sakin letter and this letter preceded by a letter with a kasrah.
For example: حِجْــــرٍ
5- Tafkheem and Tarqeeq are Allowed but the priority is for Tarqeeq.
There are only 5 words in the Quran for this rule:
| فِرْقٍ | فَأَسْرِ | يَسْرِ | وَنُذُرِ | الْقِطْرِ |
Examples of Tafkheem of Raa (8 Main Rules):
1- Tafkheem of Raa when the Raa comes with a short vowel Fatha ــــــَ
For exaxmple:
| مُّطَهَّـــــــــــرَة | رَزَقْنـــــــــاكم | تَقْــــــرَبَا |
2- Tafkheem of Raa when the Raa comes with sukoon and it is preceded by a fat-ha
For example:
| بأَرْبَـــــــعَةِ | يَرْمُـــونَ | أَرْبَعِــــــيِنَ | الأَرْض |
3- Tafkheem of Raa when the Raa comes with sukoon and is preceded by a sakin letter which is preceded by fat- ha
For example:
| عَــــشْـــرٍ | وَالْعَصْــرِ |
4- Tafkheem of Raa when the Raa comes with the short vowel Dammah ــــــــــــــــُ
For example:
| يَتَفَـــجَّـــرُ مِــــنْــه | وَزُخْرُفَــــــــا |
5- Tafkheem of Raa when the Raa comes with sukoon and it is preceded by Dammah
For example
| الْـقُـرْءَانُ | نُكُرٍ | سُـــعُرٍــ |
6- Tafkheem of Raa when the Raa comes with sukoon and it’s preceded by sakin which is preceded by a dammah
For example:
| الْعُــــسْـر | وَحُمْـــــرٌ | صُـــــفْـرٌ |
7- Tafkheem of Raa when the Raa comes with Sukoon and preceded by Hamzatul- Wasl
For example:
| ارْحَمْهُمَــا | ارْتَضَى | فَارْجِــعوا |
8- The five words mentioned before: رْ – صَ – قَ – طَ
For example:
| فِرقَة | قِرْطَــاس | وَإرْصَـــــــــادا |
*Lightness and heaviness both are allowed but the priority for Raa to be heavy is in the only word (مِـــــصْـرَ)
Heavy vs. Light letters in Quran
Light letters are defined as letters that are pronounced by opening the mouth and letting the air out.
The heavy letters are seven: خ ص ض غ ط ق ظ
All other letters than those defined as heavy letters above are light letters. Except for the two letters in Quran Raa & Laam (ل) and (ر) are sometimes light and sometimes heavy.
The Golden Rule for Raa in Tajweed
The Golden Rule for Raa ر is when Raa has Harakah on top it is pronounced with heavy voice and when the letter Raa ر has a Harakah under it, it is pronounced as light letter.
Written By: Israa Adel.
