Introduction to Qur'anic Script

Syed Barakat Ahmad

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9781138151888
• eBook ISBN: 9781136111389
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Ethnic Studies
• Index: Social Sciences

'Masterly work ... Leads the reader patiently but directly not merely into Qur'anic writing but into the heart of that Holy Book itself ... By the time we have followed Dr Ahmad to the end of this splendid work we have learned something new and indeed something uplifting about one of the world's great books.' Prof. F. E. Peters, New York University.

LESSON 1

CONSONANTS.

JIM,

SIN,

LĀM

AND

MIM. THE VOWEL SIGN FAT

AH

Arabic is written from right to left. The alphabet consists of twenty-nine letters. The script is a cursive one, in which most of the letters are written in slightly different forms according to whether they stand alone or are joined to a following or preceding letter. The basic part of the letter remains unchanged.

There are no capital letters in Arabic.

In our first lesson we shall learn four letters.

(jīm). It is pronounced like English j in joy and judge.

(sīn). It is pronounced like English s in six and sea, but with a slight difference. In Arabic the ‘hiss’ is stronger and clearer. It is produced with the tip of the tongue at the upper teeth.

(lām). It is pronounced more or less as English l.

(mīm). It is pronounced exactly like English m.

These letters are linked together by ligatures or connecting strokes, as in English handwriting. In conjunction with a following letter they lose their tails and retain the basic part of the letter. In the following examples the basic part of the letter is indicated in black and the tail by dots:

Jīm

, sīn , lām

and mīm

. Mīm has almost no tail.

There is a variant of

which we shall take up in a subsequent lesson.

At the end of a word these letters retain their tails.

Observe the following combinations. All examples are from right to left:

Note how the basic part of

is joined to the following

by a ligature:

There is not much difference between the ligatures joining various letters in Arabic. Once you have mastered the basic form of a letter a ligature should not be difficult to recognize. Note the following combinations.

THE VOWEL SIGN FATḤAH

Now that we have done four consonant sounds we shall introduce a vowel sound. In Arabic, vowel signs are written above or below the consonant they follow. The first vowel is fatḥtah. It is the sound of English nun and but. It ranges between the first and the last a sound of cathedral. It should never be pronounced as a in man (too long). The fatḥtah sign is expressed by a small diagonal stroke above a consonant, e.g.

We shall now try some meaningful combinations.

Since each lesson in this boo...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Full Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• The Entire Text
• Preface
• Contents
• THIS IS A PROGRAMMED BOOK
• INTRODUCTION
• ENGLISH SYMBOLS FOR ARABIC VOWELS
• LESSON 1 Consonants. Jim, Sin, Lam and Mim. The Vowel Sign Fathah
• LESSON 2 Ba, Kha, Ayn and Qaf. The Vowel Sign Kasrah
• LESSON 3 Ha', and Nun. The Sukun Sign
• LESSON 4 Ta' and Kaf. The Vowel Sign Dammah
• LESSON 5 Ta' and Kaf. The Vowel Sign Dammah
• LESSON 6 Review
• LESSON 7 Shin, Sad and Ta
• LESSON 8 Ha' and Ya. Diphthong ay
• LESSON 9 Za' and Ghain
• LESSON 10 Dad
• LESSON 11 Nunnation
• LESSON 12 Non-Connectors. 'Alif
• LESSON 13 Hamzah
• LESSON 14 Waw
• LESSON 15 Dal and Ra'
• LESSON 16 Dhal and Za'. Hamzah and 'Alif (continued)
• LESSON 17 Ha' (continued). Ta' Marbūtah
• LESSON 18 The Signs of Vowel Length. The Pronunciation of Allah
• LESSON 19 Hamzah (continued)
• LESSON 20 "Sun" and "Moon" Letters
• LESSON 21 The silent 'Alif, Waw and Ya'
• LESSON 22 Review
• LESSON 23 Assimilation
• LESSON 24 Nasalization
• LESSON 25 Qur'anic spellings. The Redundant stroke. The Dagger 'Alif
• LESSON 26 Punctuation
• LESSON 27 Muqatta'at or Isolated Letters, Huruf-ul-abjad
• LESSON 28 Mistakes to be Avoided
• LESSON 29 The Development of the Naskh
• LESSON 30 Conclusion
• EXPLANATORY NOTE
• APPENDIX
• TRANSLITERATION OF PRACTICE TEXT