The Rules of the Letter ‘R’ According to Warsh

Who is Warsh?

Osman bin Said bin Abdullah, known by his title Abu Said, was a prominent scholar and authority among the reciters in Egypt during his time. He was born in Egypt in the year 110 AH (Islamic calendar) and later traveled to meet Nafie Al-Madani, one of the ten renowned reciters, in the city of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). Warsh completed multiple recitations of the Qur’an under Nafie in 155 AH. He was noted for his beautiful voice and remarkable recitation, demonstrating exceptional accuracy in pronouncing letters and articulating their qualities with precision.

Nafie bestowed upon him the nickname “Warsh,” which refers to a white substance made from milk. It is said that it derives from the term “warshtal” meaning to take a small portion of food. Warsh became widely known by this name, to the extent that he is primarily recognized through it; his recitation is popularly referred to as Warsh from Nafie.

Throughout his life, Warsh had numerous students who learned the Qur’an from him, including Ahmad bin Saleh, Dawood bin Abi Taiba, Abu Al-Rabi’ Dawood bin Sulayman Al-Mahri, Abu Al-Ash’ath Amir bin Said Al-Jurashi, Abdul Samad bin Abdul Rahman, Abu Ya’qub Al-Azraq, and others. He passed away, may Allah have mercy on him, in Egypt in 197 AH.

The Rules of Pronouncing the Letter “Ra” According to Warsh

Emphasizing the “Ra”

The letter “Ra” is emphasized by Imam Warsh in the following instances:

When the “Ra” is broken by a temporary kasrah, as in (ارْجِعِي), (ارْجِعُونِ).
When the “Ra” appears in a foreign name, such as (إبراهيم, إسرائيل, عمران).
When the “Ra” is repeated within a word, as in (ضِرَاراً لَّتَعْتَدُوا).
When the consonant following a kasrah is a ص, ط or ق, for instance (صِرَاطَ), (إعْرَاضاً), (فِرَاقُ), (والْإِشْرَاقِ).
When the “Ra” appears at the end of a word in pause and the preceding letter is either open, rounded, or silent, as in (الْكُبَرِ), (الزُّبُرِ).

Softening the “Ra”

Imam Warsh softens the “Ra” in the following circumstances:

When the “Ra” is open or rounded following a kasrah, such as (ناضرة), (وتُعَزِّرُوهُ), (الْكَافِرُونَ), (سَاحِرٌ).
When there is a letter that separates the kasrah from the “Ra,” which is not a letter of elevation, except for خ, for instance: (وِزْرَكَ), (إِخْرَاجٍ).
When the moving “Ra” follows a silent ي, as in (وَنَذِيراً), (ضَيْرَ).
When the “Ra” repeats at the end of a single word, such as (فِرَاراً).

Permissible Dual Pronunciation

The “Ra” can be either emphasized or softened by Imam Warsh in one specific case: when the noun is treated as a clarified verb with a tanween, such as (ذِكْراً), (سِتْراً), (إِمْراً), (وِزْراً), (وَصِهْراً), (حِجْرا). There has been debate regarding the following words when paused: (وَنُذُرِ) in Surah Al-Qamar, (يَسْر) in Surah Al-Fajr, and (حَيْرَانَ) in Surah Al-An’am.

Principles of Warsh’s Recitation from Nafie

Each of the ten reciters has distinct principles. The principles of Imam Warsh’s recitation from Imam Nafie include:

He maintains three options between two verses: connection, pause, and both without the basmalah; he has three options for the basmalah, while it is prohibited to recite the basmalah between Al-Anfal and At-Tawbah.
He narrated the elongation of the letter م when followed by an isolated hamzah, for instance: (لِيَبلُوَكُم أَيُّكُم أَحسَنُ عَمَلًا); the elongation here falls under the category of the separated elongation, and this connection is limited to the case of connection, with a pause on the م where it is pronounced lightly.
He permits the complete elongation in both separated and connected cases; for substitution elongation, he provides three methods: shortening, moderation, and complete elongation, irrespective of whether the substitution is confirmed or modified by facilitation, replacement, or transfer. However, there are three exceptions concerning substitution and two words agreed upon, along with two words with differing opinions.
He has two approaches regarding the soft letter when followed by a connected hamzah: moderation and complete elongation, e.g. (شَيْءٍ, سُوءَ, يَيْأَسُ, كَهَيْئَةِ).
When dealing with two hamzah from one word, if the second is open, he allows for two approaches: substitution and facilitation. The context of substitution is considered; if what follows the substituted alif is a silent letter, it is elongated; as in (أَأَنْذَرْتَهُمْ), whereas if there is a movement, it is shortened as in (فَإِذا أَمِنْتُمْ). When the second is rounded or broken, he allows for facilitation in between, similar to Qalon in repeated interrogative forms.
He allows two approaches for two hamzah from different words, provided they share the same vowel movement: substitution and facilitation.
He narrated the substitution of a silent hamzah when it is the root of the word, for example: (يُؤْمِنَّ, فَأْتِيا, أَنِ ائْتِ). Additionally, the substitution of an open hamzah following a round letter is permissible when it serves as the root, such as (مُؤَذِّنٌ), much like the silent and moving hamzah in various terms.
He recited the term (النَّبِيُّ) with a hamzah similar to Qalon.
He narrated the transfer of the hamzah movement to the preceding silent letter and suppressing the hamzah, provided what it is transferred to is a well-separated silent letter, such as: (مَنْ آمَنَ, وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنا, قُلْ إِنِّي, بِالْآخِرَةِ).
He acknowledged the merging of د with ض as in: (فَقَدْ ضَلَّ), and with ظ as in: (فَقَدْ ظَلَمَ); he merges the ت of feminine pronouns into the ظ as in: (كانَتْ ظالِمَة). Moreover, he merges ذ into ت in terms like: (أَخَذَتِ) and (اتَّخَذْتُمُ) where applicable and accepts merging in (يس وَالْقُرْآنِ), and in (ن وَالْقَلَمِ), both merging and articulating are permissible.