Question

Would you please serve as a judge for a dispute about the above.  How do you pronounce the letter  with a 'shaddah' above it as in ayaah #10 of surah al-Mujaadilah .

The first opinion is that the first ra' has sukoon above it, and the second ra' has a kasrah above it.  According to the rules of tajweed, the first ra' should have 'tafkhim', and the second ra' should have 'tarqiq'.

The second opinion is that the both 'ra's should be read with tarqiq. Please settle this dispute between two well-versed Hafez al-Qur'an scholars, so that this student will not be so confused.  :)  Also, please include your proof so that I may pass it on to them.  Thanks. Jazaaka Allahu khairan

Answer

Wa iyyakum wa al-muslimeen.

This question often comes up with students of the Qur’an when they study the rules of the , but we are quite surprised that there would be confusion at the described level of accomplishment in the Qur'an that the two differing opinions have.

The two parts of a shaddah cannot be separated from each other in rules.  The only time they are considered in a separate manner is when we are talking about how each letter is formed, either by collision  or separation .
When looking for a rule, such as tafkheem and tarqeeq, we look at the vowel on the letter that has a shaddah, and use that rule for both parts of the shaddah.  The shaddah cannot be opened up into two separate identities in rules.  Both of the  in this case: , and in similar cases such as in the word   have tarqeeq due to the kasrah on the shaddah.  In fact it would be quite difficult to try and pronounce the first  with tafkheem and then change the second to tarqeeq, while not leaving the articulation point of the . 

In the same light, if we look at the word , we do not separate the letter  which has a shaddah on it into two separate different levels of tafkheem, one due to the sukoon and the other due to the fat-h.  This was not done by the Prophet, , and was not passed down in transmission.

The rules of tajweed were derived from the way the Prophet, , the sahaabah, and those that had a chain of transmission (ijaazah) back to the Prophet, , read.  Sheikh Abu Bakr Ash-Shatree is one that has an ijaazah with only 30 men between him and the Prophet, .  His chain is a high chain, and in the chain are great scholars of the Qur’an and tajweed.  Please listen to how he recites the word in question, and notice that both parts of the shaddah on the  have tarqeeq. 

Click here to listen to Sheikh Ash-Shatree recite