Intermediate
Letter Attributes
Surah: Al-Fatiha (3)
Sifat Al-Takrir and the Letter Ra — Should It Be Repeated?
ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
— الفاتحة الآية 3
Definition of Takrir:
Takrir: the trembling of the tip of the tongue when pronouncing the letter ra — the possibility of the vibration repeating at the moment of articulation.
Ruling on takrir in tajweed:
Takrir is a natural attribute of ra — but the reader must not exaggerate it or make it apparent. Ibn Al-Jazari says: "Take care to leave takrir without making it apparent" — meaning ra has this property but do not make it visible.
Common mistake:
Some readers repeat ra audibly producing "rrrrahman" — this is an error. Ra should be pronounced once cleanly with awareness of its light vibrating nature.
Doubled ra:
If ra is doubled (shadda) it is two raas: the first with sukoon and the second voweled — and a doubled letter is always pronounced twice. This is not takrir but natural doubling.
Quranic example:
"Al-Rahman" — ra is doubled so pronounced twice (rr) — while "Kareem" has an undoubled ra pronounced once cleanly without apparent vibration.
Takrir: the trembling of the tip of the tongue when pronouncing the letter ra — the possibility of the vibration repeating at the moment of articulation.
Ruling on takrir in tajweed:
Takrir is a natural attribute of ra — but the reader must not exaggerate it or make it apparent. Ibn Al-Jazari says: "Take care to leave takrir without making it apparent" — meaning ra has this property but do not make it visible.
Common mistake:
Some readers repeat ra audibly producing "rrrrahman" — this is an error. Ra should be pronounced once cleanly with awareness of its light vibrating nature.
Doubled ra:
If ra is doubled (shadda) it is two raas: the first with sukoon and the second voweled — and a doubled letter is always pronounced twice. This is not takrir but natural doubling.
Quranic example:
"Al-Rahman" — ra is doubled so pronounced twice (rr) — while "Kareem" has an undoubled ra pronounced once cleanly without apparent vibration.
Source: Matn Al-Jazariyya (takrir verse); Hidayat Al-Qari (1/100); Al-Tamheed (p.96)
Test Yourself
Is it permissible to make takrir apparent in ra? What is the difference between a doubled ra and ra repetition?
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