The Abjad value of Ra (ر) is 200, and it is the same in both the Mashriqi and Maghribi systems. Ra is the twentieth letter in the Abjad order. It is a sun letter with a light, rolled “r” sound, and it opens many words of mercy and provision, such as Rahmah (mercy), Rabb (Lord), and the great names Ar-Rahman and Ar-Raheem.
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Diacritics | اعراب
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Values are arithmetic only, for study and reference. For full name analysis, open the full Abjad Calculator.
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Some letters are quiet workers inside a word. Ra is one of them, a short curve that dips below the line and rolls off the tongue. Yet it opens some of the most repeated words a Muslim ever says, the words of mercy and provision.
What Is the Arabic Letter Ra (ر)?
Ra is the tenth letter of the modern Arabic alphabet and the twentieth letter in the Abjad order. It makes a light, rolled “r” sound, close to the trilled r in Spanish or Italian. In shape it is a short curved stroke that sits on the line and dips below it.
- Abjad Position: 20th, value 200
- Modern Alphabet Position: 10th
- Origin: Phoenician Resh (𐤓) = “head”
- Sound: a light, rolled /r/, at the front of the mouth
- Type: a sun letter, so “al” blends into it (al-Rahman is read ar-Rahman)
- Joining: joins to the letter before it, not the one after it
- Look-alike: Zay (ز, value 7) is Ra with one dot above
- Opens: Rahmah (mercy), Rabb (Lord), Rizq (provision), Ar-Rahman, Ar-Raheem
What Is the Abjad Value of Ra?
In the Abjad system, also called Hisab al-Jummal, the Abjad value of Ra is 200. It is one of the “hundreds” letters, so it adds a large amount to a word’s total. The value never changes with the letter’s position in a word.
Ra keeps the value 200 in both main systems, because it is not one of the six letters that differ between Mashriqi and Maghribi. So a word with Ra gives the same Ra contribution either way. For the full method, see the Abjad Calculation Rules.
| System | Ra value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Mashriqi (Eastern / Standard) | 200 | Used across most of the Arab world and South Asia |
| Maghribi (Western) | 200 | Used in North Africa; unchanged for Ra |
Ra: The Letter of Mercy and Provision
Ra opens a family of words tied to mercy and sustenance. This is a fact of the language, not a property of the number.
It begins رحمة (Rahmah, mercy), رزق (Rizq, provision), and رب (Rabb, Lord). It also carries the two great names of mercy, الرحمن (Ar-Rahman) and الرحيم (Ar-Raheem), which open every chapter of the Quran but one.
Names of Allah That Contain Ra
| Name | Meaning | Abjad value |
|---|---|---|
| الرحمن | Ar-Rahman, the Most Gracious | 329 |
| الرحيم | Ar-Raheem, the Most Merciful | 289 |
| الرزاق | Ar-Razzaq, the Provider | 339 |
You can check any of these in the calculator above. For the full set, see the 99 Names of Allah.
Companions and Names That Contain Ra
Ra appears in many well-known names from Islamic history. The values below are plain letter sums, shown for study only. They carry no ranking or hidden meaning.
Sahaba (Male Companions)
| Name | Who they were | Abjad value |
|---|---|---|
| عمر | Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second caliph | 310 |
| بكر | Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, the first caliph | 222 |
| الزبير | Az-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam | 250 |
| جعفر | Ja’far ibn Abi Talib | 353 |
| عمار | Ammar ibn Yasir | 311 |
| عمرو | Amr ibn al-As | 316 |
Sahabiat (Female Companions)
| Name | Who they were | Abjad value |
|---|---|---|
| رقية | Ruqayyah, a daughter of the Prophet | 315 |
| أروى | Arwa, an early companion | 217 |
| بريرة | Barirah, a freed companion | 417 |
Scholars and Notable Muslims
| Name | Who they were | Abjad value |
|---|---|---|
| عبدالرحمن | Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf, a companion | 405 |
| البخاري | Imam al-Bukhari, hadith scholar | 844 |
| الطبري | Imam at-Tabari, historian and exegete | 252 |
Check any of these names yourself in the calculator above, and switch the method to compare Mashriqi and Maghribi totals.
Everyday Words That Begin With Ra
Ra also starts many common Arabic words, beyond the mercy family above.
| Word | Meaning | Abjad value |
|---|---|---|
| رجل | Man (rajul) | 233 |
| رزق | Provision (rizq) | 307 |
| رمضان | Ramadan | 1091 |
How to Write and Recognize Ra (ر)
Ra is written as a short curve that starts on the line and drops below it. It does not join to the letter that follows it, so it has two main shapes rather than four.
| Position | Form | Example | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isolated / Initial | ر | رحمة | Rahmah (mercy) |
| Medial / Final | ـر | نور | Noor (light) |
Common Confusion: Ra (ر) vs. Zay (ز)
Ra and Zay share the exact same curve. The only difference is a single dot, and it changes both the sound and the Abjad value (Ra = 200 vs. Zay = 7):
Sound: rolled /r/
Opens: rahmah, rabb, rizq
Sound: /z/
Opens: zakat, zaytun
اردو میں حرف را (ر)
حرف ر عربی حروفِ تہجی کا حرف ہے، اور اس کی ابجد قدر (Abjad value) 200 ہے۔ یہ قدر مشرقی اور مغربی دونوں طریقوں میں یکساں رہتی ہے۔
یہ حرف رحمت اور رزق سے جُڑے کئی الفاظ کی بنیاد ہے، جیسے رحمة (رحمت)، رب (پروردگار)، اور رزق (روزی)۔ اللہ کے دو عظیم نام الرحمن اور الرحيم بھی اسی حرف سے شروع ہوتے ہیں۔
یاد رہے کہ یہ عدد صرف حساب اور تعلیمی مقصد کے لیے ہے۔ یہ کسی کے نصیب یا مستقبل کا دعویٰ نہیں کرتا۔ کسی مذہبی مسئلے کے لیے کسی مستند عالم سے رجوع کریں۔
Ra Across Ancient Alphabets
The Arabic Ra descends from the Phoenician letter Resh (𐤓), which meant “head.” That same ancestor gave several familiar letters, and the value 200 travels with it in the Semitic scripts.
| Tradition | Letter | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arabic Abjad | ر | 200 | Ra, from Resh |
| Hebrew Gematria | ר | 200 | Resh, “head”, same value |
| Phoenician | 𐤓 | n/a | Resh, the original “head” symbol |
| Greek / Latin | Ρ (Rho) · R | n/a | The Greek Rho and Latin R also descend from Resh |
Frequently Asked Questions
The letter Ra (ر) has an Abjad value of 200 in both the Mashriqi and Maghribi systems. It is the twentieth letter in the Abjad order.
No. Ra is 200 in both systems. Only six letters change between Mashriqi and Maghribi, and Ra is not one of them.
Ra is the twentieth letter in the Abjad sequence, right after Qaf (100) and before Sheen (300). Its value opens the second of the “hundreds.”
Umar (عمر) has an Abjad value of 310: Ayn 70, plus Meem 40, plus Ra 200.
Ra begins Rahmah (mercy), Rabb (Lord), and Rizq (provision), and it carries the great names Ar-Rahman and Ar-Raheem.
Ra is a sun letter. The “l” in the article “al” blends into it in speech, so “al-Rahman” is read as “ar-Rahman.”
They share the same curved shape. Zay (ز, value 7) is simply Ra with a single dot above it, while Ra (ر) has no dot.
Ra joins to the letter before it but not to the letter after it, so it often looks like a small standalone curve inside a word.
No. It is a fixed number used to add letters. It does not measure luck, character, compatibility, or future events.
✓ Key Takeaways
- Ra (ر) has an Abjad value of 200 in both Mashriqi and Maghribi
- It is the twentieth letter in the Abjad order, between Qaf (100) and Sheen (300)
- Ra is a sun letter with a light, rolled “r” sound
- It opens words of mercy and provision: Rahmah, Rabb, Rizq, Ar-Rahman, Ar-Raheem
- Zay (ز = 7) is simply Ra with one dot added
- Ra joins to the letter before it, not the one after it
- It descends from the Phoenician Resh (“head”), like the Latin R, and shares the value 200 with Hebrew Resh
- The value is plain arithmetic, for study and reference only
Sources & Further Reading
- Encyclopaedia Iranica: Abjad for the letter order and traditional values.
- Unicode Arabic Block (U+0600) for the letter Ra (U+0631) and its forms.
- Abjad Calculation Rules for the method behind each value.
- 99 Names of Allah for the divine names that contain Ra.
- Research Sources and Bibliography for the full source list.