Dr. Pasha's Arabic Language and 
Cultural Immersion Sessions -- Lesson 22

Congratulations, all you wonderful people who have gotten hold of a hard copy of the Mu'jam. Great investment.

Mu'jam simply means Index. This book you have in your hands is a fairly comprehensive index of the Aayats of the Qur'an.

This book is a treasure that you must hold on to for the rest of your life. Assuming of course that you believe as I do that Qur'an should be the central focus of our life; learning Arabic is compulsory for all Muslims; and all we are doing is playing catch up to a serious historical time lapse.

By running and taking these so-called classes in Arabic Language and Culture, we are trying to correct a grievous historical and cultural wrong that was perpetrated upon us over decades if not centuries. 

Partly, or even largely, due to hundreds of years of Western European Colonialism, we were cut out of our moorings with our Cultural Root Language Arabic.

What we are doing now through our sessions is turning the tide of history and rectifying a grievous cultural wrong.

Now, this book has neither translation nor I'rab -- Zabar, Zair, Pesh and all that. It is simply Arabic Text in the raw. And that is how we want it.

And that Arabic Text in the context of the Mu'jam that you are holding in your hands is nothing short of the Qur'an itself. 

First, individual words from the Qur'an. Then, the Aayats in which those words occur.

I am using the Mu'jam to drill people, who have opened up their souls to Allah, in the Language, Culture and Book of Allah.

Because, just like Shakesepeare, Keats, Milton, Whitman are some of the best examples of English writing, Qur'an and Hadith are absolutely the best and finest embodiment of all that is best in Arabic Language.

Can this be intimidating, daunting, and even frightening? Of course it would. But that will pass and you will gain confidence as you go along. 

And don't forget Arabic is learnt by your Soul, and not just by your Mind. 

So, if you keep your Intention -- your Niyyat -- pure and your purpose uncluttered, you will receive direct help from above, from God Almighty, who is the author of the Qur'an. 

And your learning will become easier and even pleasant and joyous as you go along.

No two ways about it, as that is the promise of the Qur'an.

However, the best thing for people will be to hit our Qur'an Reader, the Qaidah, running and get it done very quickly. 

And then keep working on it.

In these so-called classes that we are running, we are using a very different approach to what is considered usual and normal. It is a little bit like plastering a wall. We are throwing a fair splash of material on the wall and waiting to see what sticks.

Then we come back and repeat the operation, over and over, as each class repeats a fair amount of what was done previously. Then comes a time when a critical mass of learning is reached before we even realize it. 

The mudding of the wall is thus complete and the wall is now ready to sand and paint.

At the same time, get your thinking and your vocabulary right. We are not doing Qur'anic Arabic. And in my view, there is no such thing as Qur'anic Arabic.

Nor is the expression Qur'anic a linguistically and culturally elegant expression. In fact, quite disrespectful of the Qur'an if you ask me. 

So, what we are teaching and learning in our classes is not Qur'anic Arabic, but Arabic Language: pure, simple and perfect. For, Arabic is an almost perfect language. 

God Almighty chose it for his book, didn't he? So, what do you think?

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