How to Learn Arabic Part 1

Mahamud Osman
Aug 9, 2017 · 7 min read

Introduction

(and say, “My Lord, increase me in knowledge.”) Quran 20:114

I want to start off by saying that I am not an Arabic teacher nor am I an authoritative figure in the Arabic language to comment on how to learn Arabic and the methodologies behind it. I am, however, a student of classical Arabic for the past 11 years and have studied Arabic sciences like grammar, morphology, and eloquence. I have been extremely blessed to live in Cairo, Egypt most of my adolescence and have the opportunity to sit at the feet of scholars and learn from them. I have the first-hand perspective in what it feels like to learn Arabic as a non-native speaker and have encountered and assisted countless others on their journey.

I have always shied away from sharing my experiences and knowledge because I felt as though it would not be beneficial to anyone and have always avoided being boastful. However, after engaging with my community and seeing the deep thirst for knowledge and scholarship especially among the youth, I felt compelled to gather my thoughts and share them with you all. The purpose of this article is to share my experiences, mistakes and what I would have done differently to learn Arabic. It is also meant as the motivation to let you know that learning the Arabic language crucial, possible and a lot easier than you’re lead to believe.

If I can learn Arabic, so can you.

1. Arabic is not for Arabs

Pre-Islam Arabia had no set of grammatical rules, It was one of those you either knew how to speak it or you didn’t languages, and that you could only learn through being immersed in the culture and picking up the language. It was only after the spread of Islam to non-Arab countries and the derivation of Islamic knowledge like Hadeeth, Tafseer, and Fiqh that it became necessary for people to learn Arabic.

What most people don’t tell you however, is that the greatest Arabic linguist and grammarian was an ethnic Persian man named Sibawayh. Coined the “ Father of Arabic grammar” his seminal work, Al-Kitāb, was the first written grammar of the language, he was not a native speaker and only learned Arabic later in his life. Sibawayh was monumental to the documentation of Arabic and teaching it to non-native speakers. In short, if not for this man we don’t know if we would have the same amount of people speaking Arabic in the world today. All this came from a man with a desire and passion to learn.

Keep your chin up, you might be the next Sibawayh.

2. Why you should learn Arabic

(Say, “Are those who know equal to those who do not know?”) Quran 39:9

(Indeed, We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur’an that you might understand.) Quran 12:2

I have tons of respect and admiration for non-Arabic speakers who have sincerity in their prayers and memorize the Quran without understanding or speaking Arabic. I vaguely remember what that was like, and I understand where the deep passion to learn and comprehend comes from. I feel as though I have a unique perspective to explain what the feeling of going from not understanding to understanding is like and my words do no justice to that sensation.

Learning and understanding Arabic and going back to passages of Quran you memorized, is equivalent to a man who used to see the world in black and white and now can see in 4K HD resolution.

I can’t begin describe the eloquence of regular Arabic poetry in words, so imagine trying to convey the eloquence of the Quran and Hadeeth of the Prophet PBUH. Tafseer, commentary, and translations were meant to be comprehension tools and not a substitution for the beautiful, melodious and rhythmic words of Allah. Learning Islam through translations is always learning from a secondary source and someone else’s interpretation. There are certain meanings and beauty that are quite literally “lost in translation”.

If you don’t learn Arabic you will always be missing something.

Another reason to learn Arabic besides contemplating Islam at a deeper level is because we come from a tradition of knowledge, repeatedly in the Quran Allah refers to guidance as knowledge. We have 1400 years of Arabic legacy and scholarship that ranges from Islamic sciences, and branches into logic, rhetoric, and philosophy that is not studied because a majority of Muslims don’t speak Arabic. The European renascence would not have taken place without the contribution of Arabic speaking scholars and their deep knowledge. The result is an ever-expanding heritage. Had it not been for the past Muslim scholars then we would not have known Islam as we know it to today. May Allah reward them abundantly for the great service they have rendered to Islam and the Muslim Community.

3. Your friends really don’t know Arabic

If a Moroccan and an Egyptian were put in a room and asked to have a conversation, no party would understand what the other party is saying. That’s because the default for most Arabic speaking people is to speak in slang. They only begin to understand each other when classical/formal Arabic is spoken.

There’s a big difference between MSA ( Modern Standard Arabic) known as (فصحة) and slang/colloquial ( عاميّة) Arabic. The latter is only spoken and each country/region has it’s own slang. While the former is uniform between all Arab countries and is used in formal settings such as the media, writing book..etc. MSA is the closet thing we have to classical Arabic today and although they differ slightly it the way to go for a person seeking to learn Arabic in 2017. As someone who is pursing the Arabic language to further their studies in Quran and Islam avoid عاميّة like the plague.

Most of your friends speak Arabic that is colloquial/infromal( عاميّة) and has no place in the world of Islamic and Arabic academia. Classical Arabic is clear, eloquent and universal. It’s the master key that can open doors of contemplation and deep creative thinking. I am an engineering student and have studied Calculus and applied physics, and learning Arabic has been more mentally stimulating than both subjects combined. Don’t be discouraged, your Arabic speaking friends only have the advantage of speaking the language over you, but you can surpass them with the right knowledge and framework. I was consistently top of my class in Arabic and grammar because I understood it at a deeper level than my Arab peers and had a deeper appreciation for the language.

Knowing Arabic is the ability to portray ideas eloquently and clearly, it is about having a good grasp on the three sciences that make up the Arabic language. Grammar ( نحو), morphology ( صرف), and finally eloquence (بلاغة), I will get into detail and explain the difference between them in upcoming articles.

Arabic is a vast ocean and I hope to express the tools and framework you need to build your boat and begin sailing.

4. Everything becomes easier

It took me five years to memorize the Quran.

I struggled with memorizing it and would frequently get discouraged. I had a Quran teacher that would come to my house 4 days a week during the school year and 6 days a week during the summer. I would frequently get in trouble for not memorizing . I would give my mom every excuse under the sun as to why memorizing Quran wasn’t important. She did not buy any of them. After spending four years of private Quran lessons I was only able to memorize 5 Juz. During my 5th year of memorization, I was able to memorize the other 25.

The key to my rapid memorization is because I focused deeply on learning the Arabic language and became serious about it.

Instead of memorizing words and passages , with Arabic I was now memorizing stories, dialogues, and prayers. The Quran addressed me and it was a completely different atmosphere. It was also easier to retain the Quran through understanding it. Over the course of that year, I went from memorizing 1 page a day to 5 pages. I was able to memorize a Hadeeth by hearing it once or twice, not because I am smart ( trust me I’m not) but rather because I trained myself in classical Arabic and complete immersion. I reached a point where my entire household spoke Arabic and English took a backseat as my first language.

I would dream, write and curse in Arabic.

In this article, I wanted to clarify the why and in the upcoming articles, I will clarify the how.

Whatever good and benefit in this article came from Allah and my teachers and whatever bad and negativity that came from it is from my own shortcomings. These are my thoughts and experiences. Please share feedback with me and tell me what you want to know and learn about.

Below I have shared some resources that you might find useful.

If you have any questions my email is:

Mfosman26@gmail.com

Don’t hesitate to reach out.

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