Dr. Pasha's Arabic Language and Cultural Immersion Sessions -- Lesson 53

Read Every Word Carefully!

1. Read everything posted on www.IslamicSolutions.Com.

2. Use Arabic-English Dictionary to figure out meaning of Aayaat.

3. Then, after that, use Translations as a Supplementary Source.

4. Do not use Commentaries of any kind. 

First, do what I am asking you to do. Then, a time, Inshallah, will come when you will use Commentaries.

5. Do not import your Prior Knowledge into what we are doing now. It will hinder your progress.

6. Qur'an and Arabic are two sides of the same Divine Coin. One does not exist without the other.

7. A little bit of Nahw: constructing sentences. 

a) Mubtada'-Khabar;

b) Mudaaf-Mudaaf Ilaihi;

c) Sifat-Mawusoof.

So far, we talked about Manipulating Individual Words: Taking a basic Three-Letter Verb like Fa-A-la and changing it to its many derivative forms.

Various Verb Formats and Meters: Four-, Five-, Six-Letter Verbs.

And then looking at Act, Actor, Acted Upon -- is there an expression in English Actee, why not?

Ask the French. For, English is mostly stolen and broken French.

So, you have:

a) Fi'lun.

b) Faa-'ilun.

c) Maf'oolun.

And also exploring for the various Verbs their:

a) Maadi -- Past.

b) Mudaari' -- Present/Future.

c) Amr -- Command.

d) Nahyi -- Negative Command; Cease and Desist.

And also:

a) Tadhkeer: Masculinization: Dhakar: Masculine.

b) Ta'neeth: Feminization: Unthaa. Feminine.

And also:

Taking singular nouns, like Jundun, and looking for their plural (Junoodun) and Salafun and Aslaafun and Kitaabun and Kutubun.

And also finding their Dual form, which to my knowledge is unique to Arabic Language. It is called Tathniyah.

So, Jundun will have a Tathniyah of Jundaani.

So, you have:

a) Singular: Waahid or one

b) Dual: Ithnayin or Tathniyah: Two.

c) Plural: Jam'un.

That was all Sarf.

Now, we should also turn our attention to how these words -- nouns, verbs and other (Huroof) -- are situated next to each other to create full sentences and more complete and meaningful text.

That is what is referred to as Nahw. 

If you want to call it Grammar, that is your choice. 

But when you start importing Prior Knowledge, and Vocabulary, you picked up from here and there, into our Sessions, you will cause setbacks for yourself and impede the progress of the Sessions as a whole.

Also, when you start telling me -- or expecting from me -- what to "Teach" and what not to teach -- and I am no Teacher -- or what I should say or not say, or how I should do or not do something, you will not only speak a language I do not understand -- never did from childhood -- you will also Burn Up whatever Barakat there maybe in these Sessions, if there is any.

8. Now, Study:

a) Aayaat Sabr.

b) Aayaat Kibr and Istikbar.

c) Aayaat Anbiyaa', Alaihimus Salam: Aayaat that talk about different Rasuls and Anbiyaa', alaihimussalam.

d) Aayaat Nafs: Nafs Ammaarah; Nafs Lawwaamah.

e) Aayaat Maghfirah: Yaghfirudh Dhunooba Jamee'aa.

f) Aayaat Adhaab.

g) Aayaat Kaffaarah: Yukaffiru Anhum Sayyi-aatihim.

h) Aayaat Fasaad.

i) Aayaat Tarabbus.

j) Aayaat Samaawaat Wal Ard.

k) Aayaat Alhamdulillah; Subhanallah; Inshallah; Laa Ilaaha Illallah; Takbir.

l) Aayat Fa-Lillahil Hamdu.

m) Aayat Subhaana Rabbis Samaawaat wal Ardi.

n) Aayaat Tahaddi: Aayaat in which Qur'an challenges Skeptics.

And basically the whole Qur'an: 

Who ever told you that studying the Qur'an -- and learning Arabic Language -- was a Choice? 

That it was Optional business?

That it was a Leisure Pursuit, which you turn to when you have done all your other chores, attended to all your other businesses, done pursuing all your other interests, and basically have nothing else to do?

And:

Develop a Time Frame. Set Fairly Firm Begin and End Dates.

(A) Stage One.

Start with Learning to Read Qur'an Correctly. From Arabic Script. 

Use our Qur'an Reader for that purpose. We originally worked using a Three-Month Model -- Start to Finish. 

And that was for those whose Mother Tongue was English, and who did not know a single word of Arabic, Urdu or Farsi.

And, mashallah, we were blessed with breath-taking success. There is no reason why that should not be valid even now.

Practice -- aloud -- reciting often, often, often: Arabic Words and Aayats and Expressions. 

How about starting with Alaihis Salaam and its variations? And Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam? And Radiyallahu Anhu and its variations?

(B) Stage Two:

And then Reading the Qur'an -- Naazirah: by looking at the Script -- from the Mushaf: from Alhamdu to Annaas.

That too should be done within a definite and precise Time Frame. And Three-Months are still a good target to work with.

(C) Stage Three:

And then a surface Textual Analysis of the Qur'an: a quick and text-based understanding of the meaning of the words of the Qur'an. 

But only at preliminary level.

You use Arabic-English Dictionary for this purpose as your Primary Aid.

Secondarily, you use Translations -- in any language.

But, at all costs, you stay away from Commentaries. Those are mostly human interjections between you and the text of the Qur'an, no matter what their source.

The only two Authoritative Sources who know exactly what the words of the Qur'an mean, or what an Aayat means, are Allah, and Allah's Rasul, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam.

And as for Transliterations -- in my book, they are nothing less than Haraam, Haraam, Haraam. And even more Haraam.

Except maybe a very limited use of them for purely educational purposes.

So, say it again:

What was it you said was holding you back from Learning Allah's Book, the Qur'an, and from Learning Allah's Language Arabic? And doing so in a Finite, Precise Period of Time?

END