Arabic Lesson 8

This lesson starts with the first four verses of Surat ar-Rahmân, (Surah 55),and this is not even in the last part of the Qur'an but right in the midst: In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. The Beneficent - He has taught the Qur'an.He has created the human being. He has taught him clear (speech).

The Dâd is pronouced nearly like the Dâl in lesson 4 but emphatic (with pressure). When it is pronounced correctly, the following vowel sounds hollow.
The Kha sounds like ch in Schottish "loch".
Some prophets and messengers have a surname in addition to their name which is often used in poetry but also elsewhere.In this lesson there are some examles:Abraham is Allah's friend.Moses is Allah's interlocutor.Jesus is Allah's spirit.Muhammad is Allah's messenger.May Allah's blessings and peace be with all of them!

Allâhumma salli 'alâ Muhammadin wa âli Muhammad,Allah, bless Muhammad and Muhammad's near and dear ones.If we pray for blessings for our Prophet Muhammad (s) in this way,we can be sure that this blessing connects him and us.

The Sâd is a voiceless s like the Sîn in lesson but emphatic (with pressure).
The Ta (with the two dots) is pronounced like an ordinary English t, the other Ta is emphatic. Again it is important to differentiate:
tîn, Fig und Tîn, earth, clay
Do you remember the un in lesson 5? It indicates that the word is indetermined and in the nominative case: Tûrun, a mountain. The in indicates that the case has changed, e.g. after a preposition:
'alâ Tûrin, on a mountain.
You are certainly able to read the headlines of more Surahs than those given as examples in the past lessons. And maybe you can already recognize one or the other short verse, especially in the last part of the Qur'an.

Arabic Lesson 6

Al-hamdu lillâhi Rabb-il-'âlamîn,praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.From this lesson onwards, a number of sounds will be introduced that do not exist in English.Try to check with a friend who knows Arabic.

The 'Ayn is a kind of glottal stop that is pronounced deeper in the throat than Hamza (see Lesson 4).
Kâf is pronounced as an ordinary English k, while Qâf again is pronounced deeper in the throat.
Pronouncing 'Ayn and Qâf correctly will take some practice. Do not be discouraged if it does not work straight away.
Take care, however, to make an audible difference between Hamza and 'Ayn as well as between Kâf and Qâf: qalb, heart and kalb, dog; 'Aql, reason und Akl, food usw.
If the Ya bears a vowel sign for a long a (see Lesson 1), it is pronounced as â.
Again there are names of some important prophets and messengers:Moses (Mûsâ), Jesus ('Isâ), Solomon (Sulaymân), Jacob (Yaqûb) und Job (Ayyûb).Find and read the respective stories in a translation of the Qur'an.

Arabic Lesson 5

Do you remember how you were able to read Lâ ilâha illAllâh already after lesson 1? Now this lesson begins with the second part of that sentence, Muhammadun rasûlu-llâh, Muhammad is Allah's messenger.

The Ta marbuta nearly looks like the Ha in lesson 1 except for the two dots. It only occurs at the end of a word.Ta marbuta often indicates that the word is feminine.
Remember:If the word that ends with mit Ta marbuta (and a vowel) is followed by another word, it is pronounced as t: rahmatunIf the sentence is finished with this word, it is pronounced as h, and the vowel is dropped: rahmah.
After you have read the passage "Find the Surah", you may again open the Qur'an and try to find the Surahs that have these headlines.Once you are at it, why do you not try to find out what else you can read in the text?

Arabic Lesson 4

Al-hamdu lillâh,praise be to Allah, there is progress

Just as the Alif makes the a long (see Lesson 1) and the Ya makes the i long (see lesson 3), the Waw makes the u long.
The Hamza is a glottal stop, that means, you make a little break when speaking: not mûmin but mu'min.
Have a careful look at the words yawm, layl etc. that contain diphthongs.
In this lesson, not only new Names of God are introduced but also names of some prophets and messengers: Noah (Nûh), Abraham (Ibrahim), Hûd, Jonah (Yûnus) und Muhammad. Are you already able to recognize them without transliteration?

Arabic Lesson 3

Here we read the complete sentence,Bismillâhir-Rahmânir-Rahîm,In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.It stands in the beginning of each Surah except the 9th.

Just as the Alif makes the a long (see Lesson 1), the Ya makes the i long.
The Ha in this lesson is pronounced deeper in the throat than the Ha in Lesson 1.
Some letters are strong, that is, they assimilate the Lâm of al: not al-Salâm but as-Salâm; not al-Rahmân but ar-Rahmân etc.
You can easily recognize strong letters in the beginning of the word because they carry a doubling sign while the Lâm of al does not have a sign at all.
Ar-Rahmân, the Beneficent, andar-Rahîm, the Merciful,are among the Names of Allah most frequently mentioned in the Qur'an. From this lesson on, more Names of Allah will be introduced.

Lesson 2 for Arabic

Bismillâh, we read at the top of this page, In the Name of Allah. With this sentence we start all important things.

Sî:n is always an unvoiced S.
Watch how the letters Sîn and Mîm are written in the beginning and middle of the word: the tail end goes.
Sukû indicates that there is no vowel, but the consonants are pronounced immediately one after the other: Bismillah.The definite article al is joined with the word.
Right, there are a few lines without transliteration. But don't worry, they are all familiar words, and you are certainly able to read them without transliteration by now.You may also open the Qur'an and see if you can recognize some of the words you have learned