The Rāʾ — Heavy or Light

Quick recap

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1. 1

   Does the rāʾ have fatḥa or ḍamma? Then it is heavy. If it has kasra, it is light.

2. 2

   If it is sākin: what is before it? A fatḥa or ḍamma makes it heavy (with the exceptions above); a kasra sends you to the next question; after a yāʾ of līn it is light.

3. 3

   If there is a kasra before it: is there an istiʿlāʾ letter after it in the word? If not, it is light; if that letter is kasra, both can be read; if not kasra, it is heavy.

4. 4

   If it is sākin and the letter before it is also sākin: look at the letter before that. A fatḥa or ḍamma there makes it heavy; a kasra makes it light; if the sākin letter is an istiʿlāʾ letter, follow the two-way cases above.

5. 5

   Are you stopping on it with sukūn? In the first two-way case tafkhīm stays; in the second both are allowed. Otherwise the ruling does not change.