Tip Tongue Letters 1 (ن ر). Salam alaikum wa rahmatu Allahi wa BarakatuHu. Peace be upon the followers of guidance.

In this lesson we will go over the letters of the tip tongue part 1 (tarfal Lisan).



The letters of the tongue are divided into four sections:

1. The far tongue (aqsal lisan) .
2. The middle tongue (wasatal lisan)
3. The side tongue (Hafatul lisan)
4. The tip of the tongue (tarful lisan)

The tip tongue (tarfal lisan) has 11 letters that emit from it. Incha Allah we will go over it in four parts. :


1. part 1 ن (nun) and ر (raw).
2. part 2 ت (ta) ط (taw) and د (dal).
3. part 3 ث (tha) ذ (dhal) and ظ (dhaw)
4. part 4 س (sa) ص (saw) ز (za)

In this lesson, we go over part 1 ن (nun) and ر (raw).



ن

The ن (nun) is a thin letter (Muraqaqa) . When pronouncing thin (muraqaqa) letters like ن (nun) keep the side of the mouth apart. The thick letters have a "o" sound, and the thin letters have an "a" sound. ن (nun) sounds sort of like "nana", not like "gnaw". It is good to practice, and recite to a shaikh so that one will become used to pronouncing the ن (nun) correctly. After a while, you will get used to it, and pronounce it correctly without even thinking about it. May Allah reward you much for your efforts.

Listen to the نَا in the following ayat from surah Kauthar:

{إِنَّآ أَعۡطَيۡنَـٰكَ ٱلۡكَوۡثَرَ}

Did you notice how the نَا sounds like "naaaaa", not "nawww" ? The ن (nun) is pronounced thin.

The ن (nun) with a sakun ( نْ ) has certain timings, depending on what letter comes after it. In some circumstances, it also gets absorbed (itgham) by the letter following it. Allah willing, we will cover in more details the rules for the ن (nun) with a sakun ( نْ ) and tanween in a future lesson. For now it is best to recite along with our noble shuyukh, may Allah protect them and have mercy on them, and try your best to follow along with them. It is a really noble achievement if one has the humbleness to correct one's own pronounciation, learning and following the path of our ulema. Indeed the arrogance is from the shaitaan, and we all have to humble ourselves and absorb the beneficial knowledge going back to prophet Muhammed, May Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, along with those that followed him with goodness afterwards.

One of the easy rules to remember is that whenever you have a ن (nun) with shadda ( نّ ) , you always pronounce the ن (nun) sound longer.

Listen to the following ayats:

{ إِنَّ شَانِئَكَ هُوَ ٱلۡأَبۡتَرُ }

{إِنَّ قَـٰرُونَ ڪَانَ مِن قَوۡمِ مُوسَى}

Did you notice how the ن (nun) sakinah was pronounced longer? Whenever you have a نّ (nun with shaddah), you pronounce the "nnnn" sound longer.



Some people stutter when pronouncing certain letters like ن (nun). This person should practice reciting to a shaikh, and Allah willing after time the stuttering will go away. Allah will reward much for making the effort to correct one's recitation.

Here are some more examples of ن (nun):

{إِنَّ قَـٰرُونَ ڪَانَ مِن قَوۡمِ مُوسَى}

{وَوَضَعۡنَا عَنكَ وِزۡرَكَ}

{كَلَّآ إِنَّ ٱلۡإِنسَـٰنَ لَيَطۡغَىٰٓ}

{مِنَ ٱلۡجِنَّةِ وَٱلنَّاسِ}

{إِنَّآ أَرۡسَلۡنَا نُوحًا إِلَىٰ قَوۡمِهِۦۤ أَنۡ أَنذِرۡ}

{نٓ‌}

ر

The ر (raw) is emitted from the tip of the tongue.

The رْ (raw) sakinah should not be pronounced rolled or trilled like "arrarrarrarrarrarrarr", only pronounced one time, not repetitively.

Whenever the ر (raw) has a fatha (رَ) or a dhumma (رُ) the ر (raw) is pronounced thick, with an "o" sound with lips close together. In some the other recitations like Warsh, the ر (raw) is pronounced thin in some cases. In the recitiation that we are covering, hafs, the ر (raw) is always pronounced thick whenever it has a fatha (رَ) or a dhumma (رُ).

Listen to the ر (raw) in the following ayat:

{ وَمَآ أَدۡرَٮٰكَ مَا ٱلۡقَارِعَةُ } HAFS Correct

{ وَمَآ أَدۡرَٮٰكَ مَا ٱلۡقَارِعَةُ } WARSH

The رَ (raw) with fatha should be pronounced thick like "raw", not thin like "raa".

In the case when ر (raw) has a qasra (رِ) it is pronounced thin with the mouth open wide. In the case when ر (raw) has a sakun (رْ) , sometimes it is pronounced thick, sometimes thin depending on what comes before it and what comes after. Allah willing, we will cover these cases of the ر (raw) more in detail in a future lesson.

You should keep continuing learning the tajwid, and not quit. Allah will give you great rewards in the jannah for learning the beneficial knowledge of the recitation of the Quran. Allah will give you much happiness and honor. This beneficial knowledge has been passed along through our shuyukh and ulema going back to prophet Muhammed, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him. It will also continue through the ages for a very long time, by the permission of Allah, through devout people that want to change themselves to this beneficial knowledge taught by our noble ulema.

Here are some more examples of ر (raw).:

{قُلۡ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ ٱلۡفَلَقِ}

{مِن شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ}

{قُلۡ يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلۡڪَـٰفِرُونَ}

{ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ}

{وَلَلۡأَخِرَةُ خَيۡرٌ۬ لَّكَ مِنَ ٱلۡأُولَىٰ}

{وَٱلۡفَجۡرِ}

{وَمَن يَعۡمَلۡ مِثۡقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ۬ شَرًّ۬ا يَرَهُۥ}

{وَمِن شَرِّ حَاسِدٍ إِذَا حَسَدَ}



The ن (nun) and ر (raw) are letters that are pronounced from the tip of the tongue, and may peace and blessings be upon prophet Muhammed.