Understanding Classical Arabic

We have one big dream: to understand the Qur'an when we hear it or read it. That is our goal. Everything today is a small step toward that dream.

Arabic comes in three flavors. Think of three different ice cream shops.

1. Spoken Arabic: the everyday talking Arabic. It changes from country to country (Egypt, Morocco, Yemen all talk a bit differently). We are NOT learning this.
2. Standard Arabic (MSA): the news and newspaper Arabic. People all over the Arab world understand it. We are NOT learning this either.
3. Classical Arabic: the beautiful, deep Arabic of the Qur'an. This is the oldest and richest one.

We ARE learning Classical Arabic, because that is the Arabic of the Qur'an.

To read Arabic well, two friends help us. They have funny names but easy jobs.

• NaḥwNaḥwنَحْوSentence grammar: the science of how words function in a sentence and the rules of sentence structure (like using "I" vs "me" vs "my" correctly).Introduced on Day 1 (نَحْو): the sentenceJumlaجُمْلَةA sentence: a complete thought. Arabic sentences are either nominal (Jumla Ismiyya, starting with a noun) or verbal (Jumla Fiʿliyya, starting with a verb).Introduced on Day 1 helper. It tells us how words work together in a sentence. (Like knowing to say "I went," not "Me went.")
• ṢarfṢarfصَرْفWord morphology: the science of how words are formed and built from a root (knowing the word is "teacher," not "teach-inator").Introduced on Day 1 (صَرْف): the word-building helper. It tells us how one word is built from a rootRootجَذْرThe core set of letters a word is built from. New words are created from one root (the science of this is Ṣarf), so a little vocabulary generates many words.Introduced on Day 1. (Like knowing the word is "teacher," not "teach-inator.")

There are four things you can do with a language. Two are about taking words IN, and two are about putting words OUT.

• Taking in: listening and reading.
• Putting out: speaking and writing.

Our dream is to understand the Qur'an, so we practice taking in first. And of those two, we start with reading, because when you read you can go nice and slow. Good reading slowly makes your listening strong too.

Now the most important idea of the day. Every single word in the Qur'an is one of just three kinds. Imagine three toy boxes. Every word fits in exactly one box.

The three boxes are IsmIsmاِسْمA noun: a word naming a person, place, thing, or idea (and also adjectives and adverbs). It has meaning but is unattached to time, so it is not a verb (Fiʿl) or a particle (Harf). One of the three Arabic word types.Introduced on Day 1 (naming word), FiʿlFiʿlفِعْلA verb: a word with meaning that is attached to time (past, present, or future), so it is not an Ism or a Harf. An Arabic Fiʿl already carries its doer inside it, so a single verb is a complete sentence. One of the three Arabic word types.Introduced on Day 1 (action word), and HarfHarfحَرْفA particle: a word that has no meaning on its own until another word follows it (like in, on, to, of, and, but); it is not an Ism or a Fiʿl. One of the three Arabic word types.Introduced on Day 1 (helper word).

Here are your three boxes. Tap each tab to meet one.

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Some "-ing" words are tricky. Is "eating" a naming word or an action word? Here is a fun trick: swap the word for "ice cream." If the sentenceJumlaجُمْلَةA sentence: a complete thought. Arabic sentences are either nominal (Jumla Ismiyya, starting with a noun) or verbal (Jumla Fiʿliyya, starting with a verb).Introduced on Day 1 still works, it is an IsmIsmاِسْمA noun: a word naming a person, place, thing, or idea (and also adjectives and adverbs). It has meaning but is unattached to time, so it is not a verb (Fiʿl) or a particle (Harf). One of the three Arabic word types.Introduced on Day 1. If it breaks, it is a FiʿlFiʿlفِعْلA verb: a word with meaning that is attached to time (past, present, or future), so it is not an Ism or a Harf. An Arabic Fiʿl already carries its doer inside it, so a single verb is a complete sentence. One of the three Arabic word types.Introduced on Day 1.

• "I am eating." becomes "I am ice cream." (Sounds silly, breaks, so it is a Fiʿl.)
• "I love eating." becomes "I love ice cream." (Still works, so it is an Ism.)

Most "-ly" words are IsmsIsmاِسْمA noun: a word naming a person, place, thing, or idea (and also adjectives and adverbs). It has meaning but is unattached to time, so it is not a verb (Fiʿl) or a particle (Harf). One of the three Arabic word types.Introduced on Day 1 (the adverb kind). But two famous ones wear an "-ly" costume and fool you.

• Bruce Lee: that is a person, so it is an Ism (a name).
• lovely: that is a describing word, so it is an Ism (an adjectiveṢifahصِفَةThe adjective in a noun-adjective fragment. By the Golden Rule it must match its Mawṣūf in all four properties: Status, Number, Gender, and Type. In Arabic the adjective comes after the noun. It is never a proper name, pronoun, or pointer word.Introduced on Day 5).

Neither one is really an "-ly" action word. Watch out for these two.

You do not have to guess. Each box leaves little clues. You only need to find ONE clue.

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Now meet a new idea: statusIʿrābإِعْرَابStatus: the first and most important property of a noun. It is the grammatical case (Rafaʿ, Nasb, or Jar) shown by the word’s ending, telling you the word’s role in the sentence.Introduced on Day 1. Status is the JOB a word is doing in the sentenceJumlaجُمْلَةA sentence: a complete thought. Arabic sentences are either nominal (Jumla Ismiyya, starting with a noun) or verbal (Jumla Fiʿliyya, starting with a verb).Introduced on Day 1. An IsmIsmاِسْمA noun: a word naming a person, place, thing, or idea (and also adjectives and adverbs). It has meaning but is unattached to time, so it is not a verb (Fiʿl) or a particle (Harf). One of the three Arabic word types.Introduced on Day 1 can do three different jobs. The Arabic name for this is إِعْرَاب (iʿrāb).

The three jobs are:

• RafaʿRafaʿرَفْعThe "doer" status (subject). The word that performs the action, answering "who or what did it?" Its singular ending is the u/un sound. The state-word for it is Marfūʿ.Introduced on Day 1 (رَفْع): the DoerFāʿilفَاعِلThe doer of the verb: the one performing the action, which is in Rafaʿ. In Arabic the doer is built inside the verb, but an outside Rafaʿ noun can supply it instead.Introduced on Day 7. The one who does the action.
• NasbNasbنَصْبThe "done-to" status (object / detail). The word receiving the action or giving its detail (to whom, what, where, when, how), answered by the a/an sound. The state-word for it is Mansūb.Introduced on Day 1 (نَصْب): the Done-to. The one the action happens to (the detail).
• JarJarجَرّThe status of the word after "of" or after a preposition. Shown by the i/in sound. A word is Jar for one of two reasons: it is a Muḍāf Ilayhi, or it follows a Harf of Jar. The state-word for it is Majrūr.Introduced on Day 1 (جَرّ): the word after "of." It shows belonging, like "messenger of Allah."

This part is magic. In English, the ORDER of words tells you who did it.

"Bob punched Joe." Bob did the punching only because Bob comes first. Swap them and you swap who got hurt.

Arabic does NOT care about the seating order. Arabic listens to the ENDING SOUND of the word. So the DoerFāʿilفَاعِلThe doer of the verb: the one performing the action, which is in Rafaʿ. In Arabic the doer is built inside the verb, but an outside Rafaʿ noun can supply it instead.Introduced on Day 7 stays the Doer even if it moves around.

Here is the easy key. Listen to the last little sound of an IsmIsmاِسْمA noun: a word naming a person, place, thing, or idea (and also adjectives and adverbs). It has meaning but is unattached to time, so it is not a verb (Fiʿl) or a particle (Harf). One of the three Arabic word types.Introduced on Day 1.

• The u sound (like ustādhu) means RafaʿRafaʿرَفْعThe "doer" status (subject). The word that performs the action, answering "who or what did it?" Its singular ending is the u/un sound. The state-word for it is Marfūʿ.Introduced on Day 1: the DoerFāʿilفَاعِلThe doer of the verb: the one performing the action, which is in Rafaʿ. In Arabic the doer is built inside the verb, but an outside Rafaʿ noun can supply it instead.Introduced on Day 7.
• The a sound (like ustādha) means NasbNasbنَصْبThe "done-to" status (object / detail). The word receiving the action or giving its detail (to whom, what, where, when, how), answered by the a/an sound. The state-word for it is Mansūb.Introduced on Day 1: the Done-to.
• The i sound (like ustādhi) means JarJarجَرّThe status of the word after "of" or after a preposition. Shown by the i/in sound. A word is Jar for one of two reasons: it is a Muḍāf Ilayhi, or it follows a Harf of Jar. The state-word for it is Majrūr.Introduced on Day 1: the after-"of" word.

Tap each tab to see the same idea three ways.

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See how the SAME two words swap jobs when their endings swap. Order does not matter, the ending does.

• عَلَّمَ الْأُسْتَاذُ الدَّرْسَ (ʿallama alAlالْThe definite article "the" (الْ). Adding it makes a word proper and drops the tanwin off singulars (Al and tanwin cannot share one word). A Muḍāf can never carry Al.Introduced on Day 2-ustādhu ad-darsa): the teacher (u, DoerFāʿilفَاعِلThe doer of the verb: the one performing the action, which is in Rafaʿ. In Arabic the doer is built inside the verb, but an outside Rafaʿ noun can supply it instead.Introduced on Day 7) taught the lesson (a, Done-to).
• عَلَّمَ الْأُسْتَاذَ الدَّرْسُ (ʿallama al-ustādha ad-darsu): now the lesson (u, Doer) "taught" the teacher (a, Done-to)!

The little ending flipped the whole meaning. That is the power of the ending.

So far we talked about one thing. But what about two things, or many? Then the ending is not just a sound, it is a small combination.

• Two of something (dualMuthannāمُثَنَّىDual: a noun referring to exactly two items. Rafaʿ ends in -āni; Nasb and Jar both end in -ayni.Introduced on Day 1):
  • RafaʿRafaʿرَفْعThe "doer" status (subject). The word that performs the action, answering "who or what did it?" Its singular ending is the u/un sound. The state-word for it is Marfūʿ.Introduced on Day 1 ends in āni (ـَانِ): مُسْلِمَانِ
  • NasbNasbنَصْبThe "done-to" status (object / detail). The word receiving the action or giving its detail (to whom, what, where, when, how), answered by the a/an sound. The state-word for it is Mansūb.Introduced on Day 1 and JarJarجَرّThe status of the word after "of" or after a preposition. Shown by the i/in sound. A word is Jar for one of two reasons: it is a Muḍāf Ilayhi, or it follows a Harf of Jar. The state-word for it is Majrūr.Introduced on Day 1 end in ayni (ـَيْنِ): مُسْلِمَيْنِ
• Many (pluralJamʿجَمْعPlural: a noun referring to three or more items. Arabic has five kinds of plural, including the sound masculine, sound feminine, and broken plurals.Introduced on Day 1, three or more):
  • Rafaʿ ends in ūna (ـُوْنَ): مُسْلِمُوْنَ
  • Nasb and Jar end in īna (ـِيْنَ): مُسْلِمِيْنَ

This is the chart to memorize. Some things in Arabic you just learn by heart, and this is one of them. It shows every job for one, two, and many.

The key word is مُسْلِمُوْن (muslimūn). The same endings work on any noun. Learn this chart and you can read the job of words in the Qur'an.

Look back at the big steps you took:

• We learned Classical Arabic because the goal is the Qur'an.
• Two helpers guide us: NaḥwNaḥwنَحْوSentence grammar: the science of how words function in a sentence and the rules of sentence structure (like using "I" vs "me" vs "my" correctly).Introduced on Day 1 (sentences) and ṢarfṢarfصَرْفWord morphology: the science of how words are formed and built from a root (knowing the word is "teacher," not "teach-inator").Introduced on Day 1 (word-building).
• We practice reading first, because we control the speed.
• Every word is an IsmIsmاِسْمA noun: a word naming a person, place, thing, or idea (and also adjectives and adverbs). It has meaning but is unattached to time, so it is not a verb (Fiʿl) or a particle (Harf). One of the three Arabic word types.Introduced on Day 1, a FiʿlFiʿlفِعْلA verb: a word with meaning that is attached to time (past, present, or future), so it is not an Ism or a Harf. An Arabic Fiʿl already carries its doer inside it, so a single verb is a complete sentence. One of the three Arabic word types.Introduced on Day 1, or a HarfHarfحَرْفA particle: a word that has no meaning on its own until another word follows it (like in, on, to, of, and, but); it is not an Ism or a Fiʿl. One of the three Arabic word types.Introduced on Day 1.
• A word's ending sound tells its job: u is DoerFāʿilفَاعِلThe doer of the verb: the one performing the action, which is in Rafaʿ. In Arabic the doer is built inside the verb, but an outside Rafaʿ noun can supply it instead.Introduced on Day 7, a is Done-to, i is after-"of."
• Look for "two or many" endings first, then memorize the Muslimūn chart.