c
  


Knowledge of the Arabic language is a primary and indispensible tool in studying liturgical
topics such as Qur¶an and Hadith. It is part of the retinue of religious knowledge. Other members
of this retinue include knowledge of logic, as well as piety, good morals, and respect for one¶s
instructor.

As such, a student should always begin learning the language with the correct intention and
direct his or her heart towards the Almighty. Without this requisite, proficiency in the language
will yield no favour and its pedagogy will have gone to waste.

Therefore, a student must have correct intentions, begin with the name of God, and always be
humble. May God help us in this pursuit.

c 
 
 
Arabic is somewhat unique in the sense that the classical and modern dialects are not too
different from one another. The divergences are largely limited to the lexical meanings of words,
a few grammatical constructions, and some stylistic elements. Other than this, the two are quite
similar.

Classical Arabic is roughly considered to have ended at around the mid-19th century. Of course
the transition from classical to modern was very gradual, but it was during the industrial
revolution that linguists began to systematically create new words and take advantage of the
language¶s framework in order to express new concepts like engines, steam, and factories.

But the similarity between the two only means that a speaker of one brand will need minimal
instruction to learn the other brand. It does not mean that a speaker from the seventh century will
completely understand a modern speaker, or that a modern speaker can pick up the Qur¶an and
start analyzing it without proper training. By no means.

For this reason, we focus on classical Arabic. After having a good grasp of this, one can extend
his or her knowledge to easily learn modern standard Arabic (MSA). Such knowledge of the two
dialects of Arabic can be learned and practiced from courses such as the Shariah Program. One is
highly encouraged to join such courses in order to correctly learn the Arabic language


 
c  
In modern Arabic, we have the standard (or formal) dialect. Then each region of the Arab world
has its unique colloquial brand of the language differing from others to such an extent that
speakers of the same language sometimes can¶t even understand each other.
 In classical Arabic, there is a similar schism. Each tribe of ancient Arabia had some differences
in pronunciation, in style, and in the grammar as well. Over the centuries, these differences were
formalized into schools and, during the apex of Arab civilization (ca. 8th ± 10th century CE), the
two schools of Basra and Kufa were the dominant grammatical schools of thought.

Here we study classical Arabic as it was understood by the Basran scholars. It is noteworthy,
however, that not all the authors upon whom we rely are Basran and not all our grammatical
rulings are based on the Basran school, but this is largely the case.

!  c  

Below is a list of all the sciences related to the study of Classical Arabic.

i c 
 ± this includes reading, writing, and pronunciation

i 
 ± this includes both morphology and etymology

i c  ± the study of grammatical inflection and all associated issues of grammar

i c  ± this is primarily focused on vocabulary

i [ ± practice with the above theories and learning classical Arabic style

i r ± elevated speech, literary techniques, poetry, etc

Learn Arabic Online offers detailed tutorials on each of these topics (except literature). The
tutorials range from the most basic to the most advanced. They are relatively self-contained and
are easy to follow.

Learn Arabic Online does not cover literature. Literature is an absolutely essential category of
study that is used to help students practice their verb conjugation, translation skills, learn
idiomatic expressions, practice reading Arabic with and without vowels in front of a teacher, and
much more. This is very essential, but something that cannot, unfortunately, be done through
tutorials. For this, a student must learn Arabic through the medium of knowledgeable teachers
and well-established courses.

  [ c

Learn Arabic Online is a valuable resource with many tutorials. These tutorials are filled with
theory designed for beginners as well as even the most proficient grammarians. Theory alone,
however, accounts for only 50% of understanding. It cannot compensate for reading in front of a
teacher and other forms of practice. For this, one is highly encouraged to learn Arabic through
courses like the Shariah Program.

   c

Arabs have always prided themselves on their language and, in particular, their poetry. Poetry
was the primary medium of ancient times through which tribes were praised, enemies were
lampooned, messages were sent, and much more. At the fairs of cUkāz, poets would read and
listen to poetry as well as critique it as an inter-tribal custom.

But with the arrival of God¶s Messenger (PBUH), the language took on a whole new importance.
It was a prerequisite to scholarship and knowledge of it became a matter of the utmost
seriousness:

³Learn Arabic as you learn the [Islamic] obligations and practices.´ [Ali b. Abi Tālib]

And erring in it was a matter of shame and even misguidance; the Prophet (PBUH) is reported to
have said the following after hearing a man make a grammatical mistake:

³Guide your brother, for surely he has erred´ [Prophet PBUH]

To illustrate the nature of grammatical mistakes: A man once said ³O ye who is seen but cannot
see´ referring to God and trying to say ³O ye who sees but cannot be seen.´ So a blind man
answered him, ³Here you go; that¶s me.´

As Islam unified the Hejaz ± and later the known world ± it became the dominant ideology and
scholarship in it was the highest honour. Therefore, scholarship of the language flourished and
proficiency in it was vital in order to avoid misquoting the Qur¶an, the sayings of the Prophet
(PBUH), and secondary books of scholarship. Many authorities went as far as to say that even
something as simple as responding to God¶s query (ϢϜΑήΑ Ζδϟ΃) ³Am I not your lord?´ with (Ϣόϧ)
³Yes´ as opposed to (ϰϠΑ) ³Indeed!´ was an act of apostasy!

 !
 "#
   [
But systematic codification of Arabic didn¶t begin for quite some time. The caliph Ali (d. 661) is
popularly cited as the common ancestor to the study. It was then his student Abu Aswad Ad-
Duwali who began to delve into grammar and Mucāz b. Musallam Al-Harrā, a student of Abu
Aswad, who began to delve into morphology. Mucāz then trained the caliph Abdul Malik b.
Marwān (d. 705). And Abu Aswad also had many disciples to his name.

A few decades down the road, these disciples yielded Khalīl b. Ahmad (d. ca. 776) whose works
in prosody and grammar are famous. He is a huge figure in the study of the language. One of his
students was the father of classical Arabic, the Persian, Sibawayh (d. ca. 796) whose book, know
only as c
, is the most well-known of them all. A four volume treatment of the language, it
is the primary basis for all future works on the language and is a framework for the methodology
in the study. Sibawayh¶s book constitutes the Big Bang of scholarship on the Arabic language.

Following Sibawayh were other important figures such as Al-Kasā¶i. It is after this initial
codification that grammarians slowly began to divide into the two camps of Basra and Kufa. By
the end of the Arab golden age at around the 10th century, these groups became well established
and were actually rivals. There was so much animosity between them, in fact, that one would
give a ruling only to oppose the other. But despite these fierce conflicts, the Basran camp came
out dominant by the 10th century. By this time, most of the language had been systematically
codified and methodologies were now in place thanks to seeds sewn by Sibawayh and the dint of
pious men and women who followed him. Further medieval work on grammar was expansion on
these Basran frameworks.

v #

"#
 
 v
One of the students of Sibawayh was the famous Al-Akhfash Al-Awsat (d. ca. 830), a
grammarian of Basran inclination like Sibawayh himself. Among the students of Al-Kasā¶i was
the famous Al-Farrā (d. 822) who was of Kufan inclination.

Following these were many grammarians, including Mubarrad (d. 898). He authored the famous
c
 

. Al-Zajjāj, roughly contemporary to Mubarrad, was followed by Abu Ali Al-Fārsi
(d. 987), As-Sarrāj (d. 929), Al-Zajjāzi (d. 950), and Abdul Qāhir Al-Jurjāni.

Further down the chain ± after the the Basran frameworks had been set ± is Zamakhshari (12th
century) who authored the profusely cited c


, Ibn Al-Hājib (13th century) who authored
the much commented on c

, and Ibn Mālik (13th century) who authored the infamous c

 
, more popularly known as c 
. And contemporary to these figures was Ibn Hishām
who authored many famous books including the often cited 
c


and c

.

By the 13th century great scholars had come and gone, leaving masterpieces of grammatical
theory in their wake. Others came and went, but it was six hundred years later that Arabic saw a
groundbreaking change in its study; the industrial revolution.

Ρήη ϰϠϋ ϯΪϬϟ΍ ϞϴΒγ ".ϮΤϨϟ΍ ΡΪϣ ϲϓ ΔϟΎγέ" .ϲϧΎτϋήϳήϟ΍ ΏΎμϘϟ΍ ήϫΎϘϟ΍ ΪΒϋ ϲϟΎόϤϟ΍ ϮΑ΃
ϱέΎμϧϷ΍ ϒγϮϳ ϦΑ Ϳ΍ ΪΒϋ ΪϤΤϣ ϮΑ΃ ϦϳΪϟ΍ ϝΎϤΟ .(ϰϟϭϷ΍ ΔόΒτϟ΍) ϯΪμϟ΍ ϞΑϭ ϯΪϨϟ΍ ήτϗ
.˻˼-˺˹ .˻˹˹˺ ˬήΠϔϟ΍ έ΍Ω ΔΒΘϜϣ :ϖθϣΩ .ϡΎθϫ ϦΑΎΑ ϑϭήόϤϟ΍
Sellheim, R. ³al- Khalīl b. Ahmad b. á


 
     -yahmadī al-basrī abū
á
    2
´. Encyclopaedia of Islam. Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman , Th.
Bianquis , C.E. Bosworth , E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill.
Carter, M.G. ³Sībwayhi´. Encyclopaedia of Islam. Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman , Th.
Bianquis , C.E. Bosworth , E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill.

Brockelmann, C. ³Al-Akhfash´. Encyclopaedia of Islam. Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman

, Th. Bianquis , C.E. Bosworth , E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill.

Sellheim, R. "al-Mubarrad , Abu 'l-áMuhammad b. Yazīd b. cAbd al-Akbar al-Thumālī 

  Encyclopaedia of Islam. Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman , Th. Bianquis ,
C.E. Bosworth , E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill.

Pellat, Ch.; Longrigg, S.H. "al-Bamra." Encyclopaedia of Islam. Second Edition. Edited by: P.
Bearman , Th. Bianquis , C.E. Bosworth , E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill.

Djaït, Hichem. "al-Kūfa." Encyclopaedia of Islam. Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman , Th.
Bianquis , C.E. Bosworth , E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill.
    
c
Successive lessons on Arabic require reading knowledge of the language. This tutorial will kick-
start your reading and writing knowledge in order that you may carry on to the grammar,
morphology, and other advanced topics. Proper reading and writing come with time and much
practice; this tutorial gives you the tools you need for this.


Arabic is read from right to left. Its alphabet consists of 29 letters, most of which are consonants,
that are appended together in order to form strings of letters. For example, below we take three
of the 29 letters and string them together.

βϠΟ = α + ϝ + Ν
JLS = S + L + J

But strings of consonants cannot be pronounced; try pronouncing ³jls´. What we need is vowels
in order to make syllables. In Arabic, vowels are not letters; they are ticks atop or beneath a
letter. We have three short vowels in the language: A, I, and U. If we assign each letter in the
above string of letters the A vowel, it becomes a word and we can pronounce it:

β
˴ Ϡ˴Ο
˴ = α
˴ + ϝ
˴ + Ν
˴
JALASA = SA + LA + JA

Although letters in Arabic are neither capital nor small, they do have different forms based on
how they¶re appended to the rest of a word.

LearnArabicOnline.com¶s sister site has a very comprehensive tutorial on reading and writing
Arabic. It covers all of the following aspects:

i all the letters: their order, their names, pronunciation

i all the vowels: short vowels, long vowels, doubled vowels, absence of vowel

i how to join letters to form words

i reading and writing practices

Although the above tutorial is very comprehensive, some of the topics are designed for
beginners. As a result, we have expanded on those aspects and we present advanced discussions
here. Below is a list of topics upon which we have expanded.

i Rules for Writing Hamza

i Cluster Reduction

    !$   

Hamza is written in one of four ways:

i by itself on the line, as in ˯

˴ ΎΟ

i on a ˯Ύϳ, as in Ϟ
˴ Ό˶ γ
˵
i on a ϭ΍ϭ, as in ϝ΍Ά˵γ
i on an ϒϟ΍, as in ϝ
˴ ΄˴γ
˴

In order to learn the rules that govern which of these forms will be used, we consider the Hamza
as it appears in the beginning of a word, at the end, and in the middle. But note that these rules
may have exceptions and this is merely a guideline or rule of thumb.

 

1. The Hamza will always be written on an ϒϟ΍. This is despite the vowel on it and despite any
preceding particles (like the definite article, conjunctions, etc).

!%

έ΍ή˸ϘΘ˶ ˸γϹ
˶ ΍ϭ ΔϣΎϗ˶· Ϣ˴ ϴϗ˵΃ ϡ˴ Ύϗ˴΃
 ‘  

To facilitate the learning of these rules, consider the following hierarchy of vowels in the
language:

 [    !
ΔΤΘϓ ϭor ΔϤο ϱor Γήδϛ

1. If the Hamza is preceded and or followed by ˯Ύϳor Γήδϛ, it¶s written on a ˯Ύϳ.

!%

Ϣ˸ϴΌ˴ ˰˵ϟ Ϟ
˴ Ό˶ γ
˵ Δ˴Ό˰˸ϴϫ˴ Ζ
˵ ˸ΌΟ
˶
2. If there is no ˯Ύϳor Γήδϛin the vicinity, then if the Hamza is preceded and or followed by ϭ΍ϭor
ΔϤο, it¶s written on a ϭ΍ϭ.

!%

ϝ
˴ ϭ͉ Ά˴ ˰˴Η ϡ˵Άϳ˴ * έ˴ ΅˴ ˸ϮΘ˴ ˸γ΍˶ α˸Ά˰˵Α
3. If there are none of those vowels in the vicinity, then if the Hamza is preceded and or followed
by ϒϟ΍or ΔΤΘϓ, it¶s written on an ϒϟ΍.

!%

ϯ˴΃έ˴ * α˸΃έ˴

* When a Hamza has (is followed by) a ΔΤΘϓand is preceded by a long vowel ϒϟ΍or ϭ΍ϭ, it is
written on the line:

!%

Γ˴˯˸ϭή˵ ϣ˵ Ε˴˯ΎΟ
There are plenty of exceptions. Consider, for example:

΍˸ϭ΃˴έ˴
The rules tell us to use a ϭ΍ϭfor the Hamza, but it uses an ϒϟ΍. It is better to simply memorize the
case for each new word one encounters. And this is how most students approach this.

 v

1. The Hamza will be written on the line if it is preceded by a ϥϮϜγ(this includes long vowels and
diphthongs).

!%

˯˸ϲη
˴ ˯˸Ϯο
˴ ˯˸ϲΠ
˶ ϳ˴ ˯˸Ϯο
˵ ϭ˵ ˯˴ ΎΟ ˯˸ήϣ˴
2. The Hamza will be written according to the Word Internal Rules if it is not preceded by a ϥϮϜγ.

!%

Ά͊ϛϮ˴ Η˴ Ή˶έΎϗ ΃˴ή˴ ϗ˴


  
This tutorial deals with a topic in Arabic phonology that has major repercussions in morphology. This
topic is known as Cluster Reduction, and it is a set of rules designed to alleviate the difficulty in
pronunciation caused by successive stops in the same syllable. In other words, pronouncing two
successive letters, both of which are ϦϛΎγ, is difficult; Cluster Reduction implements rules to alter those
two letters in order to create proper syllables.

Cluster reduction has implications when reading texts without vowels. Even with vowels, some texts do
not implement the cluster reduction rules and the reader is left to apply them himself. Moreover, these
rules play an integral role in the morphology of weak verbs.


Classical Arabic supports the following types of syllables, where the symbol C represents a consonant,
the symbol V represents a vowel, and VV represents a long vowel.


 !%

1 CV ΍˴
2 CVV Ύϫ
3 CVC ˸ϥ·˶
4 CVCC ˸Ώ˸ήο˴
5 CVVC ˸ϝΎϗ
6 CVVCC ϥ˷ ΎΟ
The first three types of syllables in the inventory are the primary syllables of the language. The following
three are quite rare because they result in two ϦϛΎγletters occurring in succession ± this phenomenon is
formally known as ϦϴϨϛΎδϟ΍ ωΎϤΘΟ΍. In particular, syllable types 4 and 5 are only tolerated during stops (ϒϗϭ)
 and there must be a set of rules implemented to transform these into proper syllables of type 1, 2, or 3 if
they occur anywhere else. The rest of this tutorial deals with these rules. Syllable type 6, albeit rare, is
tolerated wherever it occurs. This is because it has a long vowel followed by a geminated letter which
eases the pronunciation.

"
ωΎϤΘΟ΍
a succession of two letters, both of which have a ϥϮϜγ
ϦϴϨϛΎδϟ΍

In summary, therefore, syllable types 4 and 5 occur in the language. The reasons for their occurrences are
numerous, including verb morphology. When their occurrence is not due to ϒϗϭ, rules must be applied to
alter the letters and vowels in order to form proper syllables.


  r
&' 

 
r

if two non-vowelled consonants occur in succession, the first is given a Γήδϛ.

In the vast majority of cases, two non-vowelled consonants appear in succession only across word
boundaries. In other words, the last letter of a word will be ϦϛΎγand the first letter of the following word
will also be ϦϛΎγ. This restriction is because the internal structure of Arabic patterns are typically already
secure from bi-consonantal clusters thanks to coinage.

When bi-consonantal clusters occur across word boundaries, the last letter of the first word is non-
vowelled. This occurs with certain verbs (such as ˸Ϟϗ˵ ), certain particles (such as ˸Ϧϣ˶ ), and certain non-
declinable nouns (such as ˸Ϧϣ˴ ). Moreover, it may occur if the last letter of the first word has nunation,
since nunation is nothing more than a ΔϨϛΎγ ϥϮϧ.

In addition, the first letter of the second word is also non-vowelled. This occurs with many verbs (such as
ϞΒϘΘ˸γ΍) as well as some rare nouns (such as Ϣ˸γ΍and Ϧ˸Α΍). But the most common occurrence is when the
second word is prefixed with the definite article, Al.

The rule for bi-consonantal clusters is that the first non-vowelled letter will be given a Γήδϛ. However, the
following exceptions apply.

· the word Ϧ˶ϣwill use a ΔΤΘϓ

· plural masculine pronouns will use a ΔϤο

Consider the examples in the table below.

r 
#   ( 
#  
Ϯϔό˸ϟ΍ Ϟ˶ ϗ˵ Ϯϔό˸ϟ΍ ˸Ϟϗ˵
ϙέ΍˷Ω Ϟ ˶Α ϙέ΍˷Ω ˸ϞΑ
ϰϘ˷Η΍ Ϧ˶ ϣ˴ ϰϘ˷Η΍ ˸Ϧϣ˴
ϪϤ˸γ΍ϥ˶ ϡ˶ ϼϏ ϪϤ˸γ΍ ϡ˳ ϼϏ
ϥΎτϴθϟ΍ Ϧ ˴ ϣ˶ ϥΎτϴθϟ΍ ˸Ϧϣ˶
ϥϭΰ΋Ύϔϟ΍ Ϣ˵ ϫ ϥϭΰ΋Ύϔ˸ϟ΍ ˸Ϣϫ
ϥϮϠϋ˸Ϸ΍ Ϣ˵ Θϧ΃ ϥϮϠϋ˸Ϸ΍ ˸ϢΘϧ΃
ϡϮϴ˸ϟ΍ Ϣ˵ ϜϴϠϋ ϡϮϴ˸ϟ΍ ˸ϢϜϴϠϋ


'  
 


r

if a non-vowelled consonant follows a long vowel, the long vowel is dropped.

The phenomenon of a long vowel followed by a non-vowelled consonant is not restricted to word
boundaries; it may be witnessed within a single word as well. When a vowel-consonant cluster occurs, the
long vowel is simply dropped to alleviate the difficulty in pronunciation. The table below gives some
examples.

r 
#   ( 
#  
˸Ϟϗ˵ ˸ϝ˸Ϯϗ˵
˸ϊΑ˶ ˸ϊ˸ϴΑ˶
˸ϒΧ ˴ ˸ϑΎ˴Χ
if the cluster occurs across a word
boundary, the long vowel drops only ϥΎϤΣ˷ήϟ΍ [΍Ϯ˰]˰˵ϋΩ΍ ϥΎϤΣ˷ήϟ΍ ΍˸Ϯϋ
˵ Ω΍
in pronunciation

"'  

 

 r

if a non-vowelled consonant follows a diphthong, the diphthong is given the short
vowel appropriate to it.

Just as with vowel-consonant clusters, diphthong-consonant clusters may also occur within a single word
as well as across word boundaries. However, in the vast majority of cases, they occur in verbs and are
rarely realized in nouns and particles.

To alleviate the pronunciation difficulty caused by diphthong-consonant clusters, the diphthong is given a
suitable vowel. The vowel suitable to a ϭ΍ϭis a ΔϤο, and the vowel suitable to a ˯Ύϳis a Γήδϛ.

Consider the table of examples below.

r 
#   ( 
#  
Ϧ
˷ ϳ˶ ή˴ Η Ϧ
˷ ˸ϳή˴ Η
Ώ΍άό˸ϟ΍ ΍˵ϭ΃˴έ Ώ΍άό˸ϟ΍ ΍˸ϭ΃˴έ

!% 
1. Identify the instances in the following sentences where cluster reduction should be applied

2. Identify the type of cluster

3. Apply the appropriate rule by pronunciation

1. .Δό˸ϴϠ˶π
˷ ϟ΍ ˸ϢϬ˶ ϧ˶ Ύγ˸ήϓ˵ ϭ Γή˸ϴϔ˶ ϐ˴ ϟ΍ ˸ϢϬ˶ Θ˶ Τ
˴ Ϡ˶˸γ΄˴˶Α Δ˱ Ϥ˶ΤΘ˴˸Ϙϣ˵ Δ˱ ϓ˶ίΎΠ˵ϣ Ϛ
˵ Β˶ Θ˴ ˸θΗ˴ ε
˵ Ϯϴ˵Πϟ΍ ˸ΕΩ˴ Ύϛ

2. .Δ˷ϴϘ˶ Β˴ ϟ΍ ˸ϢϠ͋γ
˴ ϭ ϊ˴ ϴΒ˴Ϥϟ΍ ˸άΧ
˵ ϝ
˴ Ύϗϭ ϕ
˴ ή˴ Θ˴ ˸γ΍ ˸Ϧ˴ϣ έ˶ Ύ˷ΠΘ͊ϟ΍ ˸Ϧϣ˶

3. .ϕ˸ήΒ˴ϟ΍ϭ Ϊ˴ ˸ϋή˷ ϟ΍ Δ˳ Ϡ˶ϣΎΣ ΐ

˴ ΋˶ ΎΤ˴γ ˸Ϧϣ˶ ˸ϢϜ˵ ˸Ϥμ
˶ ˸όΗ˴ ΎϬϴϟ· ΍˸ϭϭ˵ ΂˴ϓ ˴Δό˴ϣ˸Ϯμ
͉ ϟ΍ ΍˸ϮϨ˵˸Α΍ ΍˸Ϯϟ˵Ύ˴ϗ