Tajweed and Quran Recitation Rules
Letters The Definite Article Letter Hamza Letter 'RA' Letter 'LAAM' Letter 'MEEM' Noon Saakin & Tanween Idghaam Rules of Madd Madd Hamza Madd Sukoon or Shaddah Madd Others Waqf Sifaat Makhaarij Finishing Touches

The Definite Article
Letters
Letter Hamza
Letter 'RA'
Letter 'LAAM'
Letter 'MEEM'
Noon Saakin & Tanween
Idghaam
Rules of Madd
Madd Hamza
Madd Sukoon or Shaddah
Madd Others
Waqf
Sifaat
Makhaarij
Finishing Touches

The Rules of the letter ر ('RA')

There are 2 categories as the letter can either be:
  1. Tafkheem (rough / thick) ﺗَﻔْﺨِﻴْﻢ
  2. Tarqeeq (soft / thin) ﺗَﺮْﻗِﻴْﻖ

Tafkheem

To produce this sound the back of the tongue rises in the mouth. This elevation of the tongue produces a thick or heavy sound.

There are 5 categories for when the produces a thick, round sound:

  1. When it carries a fathah or dammah
E.g (91:13)
  (91:14)
  1. When it carries a sukoon and the letter before it carries a fathah or dammah
E.g (91:6)
(102:2)
  1. When it carries a sukoon and the letter before it carries a kasrah , and the letter after the is a rough letter (ista'ala) that doesn't carry a kasrah
E.g (78:21)
  1. When it carries a sukoon and the letter before it carries a 'helping' kasra (not an original kasra)
E.g (89:28)
  1. When it carries a sukoon as a result of wanting to stop (therefore not an original sukoon), and the letter before it is not a ya and carries a sukoon , and the letter before that has either a fathah or dammah
E.g (103:1)
(103:2)

 

Click 'here' to view practice exercises for the rules of Tafkheem

Tarqeeq

To produce this sound, the back of the tongue lowers so that a flat sound is produced.

There are 4 categories for when the produces a thin sound:

  1. When it carries a kasrah
E.g (79:36)
(80:37)
  1. When it carries a sukoon and the letter before it carries an original kasra in the same word and a letter of ista'ala (thick) doesn't follow it
E.g (79:17)
  1. When it carries a sukoon (as a result of stopping, either in the middle or end of an ayah) and the letter before it is a (elongated or otherwise) and the carries a sukoon
E.g (100:11)
  (85:11)
  1. When it carries a sukoon (due to stopping either in the middle or end of an ayah), and the letter before it is a letter of istifaal (thin) which carries a sukoon , and the letter before this carries a kasrah
E.g (89:5)

 

Click 'here' to view practice exercises for the rules of Tarqeeq

Click on the ' Summary Chart ' link on the right hand sidebar to view a summarised chart for the rules of the letter  'RA' ()

Click here to view a printable image that summarizes the difference between the two categories of the letter