Ra Tarqiq

Rules of Ra

ترقيق الراء

The ra is pronounced light when it carries a kasrah, or a sukun preceded by a kasrah.

When it applies

  • رِ
  • رْ after kasrah

How to pronounce it

Keep the tongue low and the sound thin, closer to an English "r" in "rip" than a rolled Arabic ra.

Worked examples

Each is cited so you can find it in the mushaf and check it yourself.

ReferenceExampleNote
108:2وَانْحَرْCompare with heavy contexts.
1:6الصِّرَاطَContext determines weight.

Common mistakes

  • Applying heaviness by default to every ra.
  • Ignoring the vowel before a ra with sukun.

Other rules in this group