Madni Qaida in English Page 46 – Lesson 16: When Ra Is Thick or Thin
Welcome to Madni Qaida in English Page 46 at Learning Quraan. This page lists the conditions for reading Ra thick and thin, and explains the temporary (Aridiyyah) Kasrah.
This page is part of Lesson 16: Tafkheem and Tarqeeq (Thick and Thin). See every page on the Madni Qaida in English index, or learn with a teacher in our online Quran courses.
What is on Madni Qaida in English Page 46?
- Seven cases where Ra is thick, such as with Fathah, Dammah or a standing Zabar.
- Three cases where Ra is thin, such as with Kasrah or after Ya Saakinah.
- Temporary Kasrah at the start of words like ارجعي, and the note on مرصاد.
How to Practise This Page
- Alif simply follows the letter before it: thick after a thick letter, thin after a thin one.
- The Lam in the name Allah is thick after Fathah or Dammah and thin after Kasrah.
- Go through the Ra conditions one by one before reading a word that has Ra.
The Rules of Ra, in a Table
This page sets out when Ra is read thick and when it is read thin. Every other Lam (apart from the Lam of the name of Allah) is thin, as the first line of the page says. For Ra there are seven thick cases and three thin ones. The examples are taken from the practice page that follows:
Ra is thick
| When | Examples |
|---|---|
| Fathah or Dammah on the Ra | رَجُلٌ · رُزِقُوْا |
| Fathatayn or Dammatayn on the Ra | اَجْرًا · اَجْرٌ |
| Khara Zabar on the Ra | اِبْرٰهِيْمَ |
| Ra Saakinah after a Fathah or Dammah | عَرْشٌ · تُرْجَعُوْنَ |
| Ra Saakinah after a temporary Kasrah | اِرْجِعْ · اِرْكَعُوْا |
| Ra Saakinah after a Kasrah in the previous word | رَبِّ ارْحَمْهُمَا · اِنِ ارْتَبْتُمْ |
| A heavy letter after Ra Saakinah, in the same word | مِرْصَادٍ · قِرْطَاسٍ |
Ra is thin
| When | Examples |
|---|---|
| Kasrah or Kasratayn under the Ra | رِجَالٌ · اَمْرٍ |
| Ra Saakinah after an original Kasrah in the same word | فَاصْبِرْ · فَاَنْذِرْ |
| Ra Saakinah after a Ya Saakinah (here, when stopping on the word) | خَيْرْ · نَذِيْرْ |
Temporary and Original Kasrah
The page explains an important difference. Some Quranic words begin with an Alif that carries no vowel, such as اِرْجِعِيْ. When we start reading from such a word we give the Alif a vowel, but that vowel is temporary (‘Aridiyyah). A temporary Kasrah does not make the Ra thin: اِرْجِعِيْ has a thick Ra. An original (Asli) Kasrah that belongs to the word does make a following Ra Saakinah thin, as in فَاصْبِرْ.
The Exception in the Note
A Ra Saakinah after an original Kasrah is normally thin, but if a heavy letter comes straight after the Ra in the same word, the Ra becomes thick. The page’s example is مِرْصَادٍ: the Ṣad after the Ra pulls it thick. The same is true of قِرْطَاسٍ and فِرْقَةٍ on the next page.
Mistakes to Watch For
- Thin Ra after a temporary Kasrah. اِرْجِعْ has a thick Ra.
- Thick Ra with Kasrah. رِجَالٌ has a thin Ra.
- Ignoring the stop. خَيْرٌ read on its own has a thick Ra (it has Dammatayn), but when you stop on it the Ra becomes Saakin after a Ya Saakin, and is read thin.
A Five-Minute Practice Plan
- Minute 1: read the thick table, saying each condition aloud.
- Minute 2: read the thin table the same way.
- Minute 3: compare اِرْجِعْ (thick) with فَاصْبِرْ (thin).
- Minute 4: compare فَاصْبِرْ (thin) with مِرْصَادٍ (thick).
- Minute 5: read the Check Yourself line below and say “thick” or “thin”.
Check Yourself
رُزِقُوْا · اِبْرٰهِيْمَ · عَرْشٌ · رِجَالٌ · فَاَنْذِرْ · قِرْطَاسٍ
Source: the page shown above is from the Madani Qa‘idah (English edition), Lesson 16, book page 35, published by Maktaba-tul-Madinah (Dawat-e-Islami). Lesson notes written by Learning Quraan.
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Page images: Madani Qa’idah, published by Maktaba-tul-Madinah (Dawat-e-Islami), shown here as a study reference.
