Step by Step

Arabic for beginners

The easiest way ever to learn reading and writing











By Umm Ziyad




Introduction
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Bism-i-llaah-ir-Rahmaan-ir-Raheem
In the name of Allaah the most Gracious the most Merciful























Assalaamu 3alaykum

Peace be upon you (all)


Wa 3alaykumu-s-salaam
And upon you be the peace


Assalaamu 3alaykum means "peace be unto you." The response for it is
" Wa 3alaykumu-s-salaam ", which means" and on you be the peace".
Muslims commonly use this greeting in all parts of the world, Arabs & Non-
Arabs alike as it is the greeting of Islam.


Very good action or deed should be started with reciting Bismillah:
before meals, when coming home, when leaving the house ,when feeling
pains, before ablution, when night falls, writing Bismillah in our letters, when
placing the body of the deceased in the grave, when slaughtering an animal
Bismillah is literally in every aspect of our lives

:
Introduction
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THE IMPORTANCE OF ARABIC THE IMPORTANCE OF ARABIC THE IMPORTANCE OF ARABIC THE IMPORTANCE OF ARABIC
The Key to Understanding the Quraan

All praise is for Allah. We praise Him, seek His help and forgiveness. We seek
refuge in Allah from the evils of ourselves and the evils of our actions. I bear
witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah and I bear witness
that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.
We all feel touched when we open up a good interpretation of the meaning of the
Quraan and we ponder and wonder at the beauty of the words and the deep
meanings within. In reality though, we are just seeing a glimpse of the real treasure
that the Quraan is.
Imagine how youd feel if you could understand the words of Allah in the form in
which they were sent down and not just rely on a interpretation of the meaning in
English. Imagine the power of the words and the directness of the message then!
The potency would be outstanding!

The Quraan is the word of Allah; a direct message from Allah to His creation and
Allah chose the Arabic language as the language of this message. Indeed Allah
tells us this in the Quraan emphasizing to us that to understand the message in its
fuller form one must understand the language:
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Indeed we have sent it down as an Arabic Quraan, in order that you may
understand (Surah Yusuf, Aayah 2)
Arabic and the message of the Quraan cannot be separated and translators
throughout the ages have tried to convey to the non-Arabic speaking people the
beauty of the meaning of the Quraan but have always called it The translation of
the meaning of the Quraan, emphasizing the fact that the Quraans direct
translation is not possible, because so much of the potency and splendor of the
words and their meanings which are inextricably linked to the Arabic language are
lost in English or any other language. Indeed to even appreciate the poetic beauty
of the Quraan one needs to have an understanding of Arabic.

Introduction
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A Priority for all of us
Scholars throughout the ages, from the Companions to the present day, encouraged
the Ummah to learn the Arabic language. Ubay ibn Kab said, Teach
Arabic like you teach the memorization of the Quraan!
Abu Bakr said, That I recite and forget (a portion of the Quraan) is
more beloved to me than to make a grammatical mistake!
And Umar once passed by a group of archers who missed their targets.
He admonished them and they responded that they were only beginners, but in
answering back they made a grammatical mistake in their wording. He told them,
Indeed, your mistakes in Arabic grammar are more difficult to bear than your
mistakes in archery!
Imam ash-Shaafiee said, "Therefore it is imperative that every Muslim should
strive to learn Arabic as hard as he can, so that he can testify the shahada, and
recite the Book of Allah and say the invocations that are mandatory upon him,
such as the takbeer, tasbeeh, tashahud and other prayers. And the more he learns
the language that Allah Himself chose to be the language of him who sealed the
Prophets, and to be the language of His final revelation, the better it is for him!
Imam ash-Shaafiee also said : "It is compulsory for every responsible Muslim to
learn what they can of the Arabic language."
The great 8th century scholar Shaykul Islam Ibn Taymiyyah even went so far as to
say that, The Arabic language is part of the Religion, and knowing it is an
obligation.
Unfortunately, we have become comfortable with simply relying on translations
and spending all of our time and efforts in studying other things, (other languages
even!) which may not even benefit us in the hereafter and have forgotten that the
Quraan is in a very approachable language and we all have the ability or rather the
responsibility to study and understand it.
If you knew that Allah had a message for you, personally, would you then not
want to understand it in its original form? Think about it. We have the last
revelation to mankind, the only communication from our Lord and Master, which
is preserved in its original form, and yet in a 70 odd year life we do not give it the
attention which it deserves. We should realize that Allah has honored us with the
Quraan and chosen for us the noblest of languages. Attention to Arabic is
attention to the Book of ; therefore, we should make learning it a priority.
I remember the feeling of tasting the sweetness of Allahs words in my Salaah
when I first embarked upon my Arabic studies. I just repeated the same aayah of
the Quraan again and again savoring the words and suddenly feeling a deep
emotion that Id never felt before though I had read the same aayah many times
Introduction
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before studying Arabic. It was as though a light had been lit for me and Id
suddenly discovered a new part of a house that Id been living in for years.
One of the definite benefits of learning Arabic is that it aids Khushoo or
consciousness in salaah and helps us to improve all of our acts of worship.
Taraweeh prayer in Ramadan becomes a new experience!
Practical steps towards learning Arabic
Alhamdulillah (all praise for Allaah) with all the teaching aids and easy access to
information that we have, learning Arabic does not necessarily mean traveling on
arduous journeys to distant lands as it once used to. With discipline and
commitment, the student can study much in his own
Here are some tips to help you:
1. Make Du3aa' (Supplication): As with everything we work towards, we should
ask Allaah to help us and make learning easy for us.
2. Discipline yourself: Put a set amount of time aside every day or twice a week
for your Arabic studies and stick to it.
3. Know your basics well: going step by step is the best way to master any
language. Concentrating on improving your basic reading and writing is the
first step in learning Arabic, even if it is repetitive. You can build on that firm
foundation.
4. Invest in a good dictionary and Arabic books: A good dictionary is the Hans
Wehr or Al-Mawrid, available in most Muslim bookshops and on the Internet.
5. Study under an Arab friend or tutor: The importance of a good teacher cannot
be stressed enough. Although there is a lot of self-study involved, a friend who
knows Arabic or an Arab brother or sister who you could go to regularly for
guidance would be very valuable. You could even start going through your
Arabic books with them.
6. Speak Arabic whenever you can: One of the biggest obstacles to speaking
Arabic is being shy about making mistakes in speech and so not speaking at all.
You must overcome this shyness and use whatever you know whenever you
can. This is how you will eventually improve insha Allah. Maybe you could
meet some Arab brothers or sisters who only speak Arabic. This way youll be
forced to speak what you know and theyll be pleased that youre making the
effort.
7. Relate your knowledge back to the Quraan and other worships: Dont forget
that your aim is to understand what you recite of the Quraan especially in your
salaah and other adhkaar. Try to recognize Arabic words as you come across
them in the Quraan and apply your knowledge in understanding the Quraan.
Ponder over and pay attention to the words in your salaah.
May Allah help us all to master the language of the Quraan and to aid its
spread throughout the Ummah.
Introduction
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BEFORE WE START

1- The notes below are important and should be read carefully before starting the
book.
2- The book is divided into units with each unit gathering the letters similar in
writing.
3- Some parts of the book can be learned without a teacher, but it is always better
to have a native teacher to learn the correct pronunciation.
4- The Arabic Language is easy to read as it is pronounced as written; so as soon
as you finish learning the Alphabet & the Marks (indicate short vowels) you
can easily read any text.
5- The Arabic Alphabet is composed of 29 letters.
6- The Arabic words are written from right to left.
7- The letters of the same word are usually connected from both sides, with an
exception of six letters that can be connected from the right side only.
We call them the non-connectors.
8- The letter in the original form is different than the connected form. The change
is usually by cutting the left side of the letter. Some letter don't change of form
at all.
9- Only three vowel sounds exist in the Arabic Language. Each one can be short or
long.
10-Youll find six letters that are completely new for you so they are to be learned
by imitating the native speakers.
11- The Arabic letters are divided to heavy letters and light letters:
Heavy letter: By giving the letter a quality of heaviness by elevating the
tongue. Light letter: By giving the letter a quality of lightness by lowering the
tongue away from the roof of the mouth.
Ex. Letter b in "bag" is light but b in "bath" is heavy

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12- The Arabic letters cannot be read without The Marks which indicate the
vowels following the letter. In the modern writing these marks are normally
omitted as the reader is used to the pronunciation of the words but for
beginners the presence of mark is essential.
These short vowels in Arabic are:
1- Fat-hah : represents a short (a) as a in tablet
2- Kasrah : represents a short (i) as i in bin.
3- Dammah : represents a short (u) as u in bull
4- Sukoon absence of the vowel as "n" in "ant ","t" in "cat"etc
5- Shaddah : the letter should be stressed (pronounced twice) as ".. t + t." in hot
tea. They are called in Arabic ( Harakaat)
13- The Long vowels have same sound of the short ones but longer in time, and are
represented by three letters:
1- Alif: If the letter Alif ( ) comes after a letter with Fat-hah, then this Alif will
be pronounced like double Fat-hah as a in father.
We will represent that by "aa"
2- Yaa: If the letter Yaa' ( ) comes after a letter with Kasrah,
then this Yaa will be pronounced like double Kasrah as ee in cheese .
3- Waaw: If the letter Waaw ( ) comes after a letter with Dammah,
then this Waaw will be pronounced like double Dammah oo in loop
The detailed explanation of the marks and the long vowels will come in special
lessons in the book insha'Allaah.
14- Transliteration is the technique that changes Arabic writing into a Latin
substitute. Since there are many letters in Arabic which have no Latin equivalent,
either the combination of two letters, or special qualities are added to normal Latin
letters. Table in next page is showing the equivalent of each Arabic letter.