The Three Levels of Studying Arabic

TOPICS:Arabic GrammarBalaghahMorphologyNahwSarf

Learning Arabic consists of three steps:

1. Learning basic language skills (can take 1-3 years depending on student)
2. Studying Arabic as a science (can take 2-4 years depending on student)
3. Intensive Academic expertise/research (Lifetime)

First Step

For the first step, the entire step consists of one word: Practice. Practice, Practice, Practice
your reading, listening, speaking and writing skills as much and as often as you can to get to
to fluency. It can take 2-3 years to obtain full fluency (or more) don’t despair. The key is
consistency in practice, even if its only 1/2 hour everyday (although more is better).

Important books for this are:

 Bayna Yadayk series (preferably with a teacher who can give you speaking and

writing practice). The book is in three parts (Level 1, Level 2, Level 3).
  My personal favorite for self study: a book called An Introduction to the Arabic
Language through Islamic Texts by Syed Iqbal Zaheer. It comes in two volumes.
(Download volume 1, volume 2).
 Qasas-ul-Nabiyin lil-Atfal (affiliate link) for reading practice.
 Suwarun min Hayatis-Sahabah for reading practice after Qasas.
 Other things you can use for practice include Arabic Youtube (like the Omar
series, Arabic cartoons, etc.)
 al-Nahw al-Wadih – [a partial translation of it available here]

Do not cross over to the next stage until you have achieved at least 80% or so fluency. Ask
around for additional resources for practice.

Second Step

Studying Arabic as a science – this should be done with a teacher.

If you are a natural at languages, any teacher who has studied these texts will suffice,
otherwise a teacher skilled and fluent in these sciences is highly preferred (doesn’t have to be
a specialist in the Arabic language though, some scholars of fiqh and hadith can also teach
language very well).

There are 4 sciences – Nahw (grammar), Sarf (morphology), Balagha (prose/rhetoric/style)

and Adab (literature).

The most important books are:

In Nahw:

 – al-Ajrumiyyah (with a lot of basic I’rab practice)

 – Qatr-ul-Nada (With I’rab practice from the Qur’an)
 – Qawa’id ul-I’rab (with I’rab practice from the Qur’an)
 Alfiyyatuibnu Malik (With I’rab practice from the poem that forms the text of the
book).
 – Mughni al-Labib

In Sarf:

 – Imam al-Taftazani’s explanation of Tasrif ul-Izzi – (with some basic practice in I’lal
and Ibdal)
 – Lamiyyatul-Af’al – I prefer the sharh of the author’s son for the student – although
the teacher can use others to reference from.
 – Alfiyyatuibnu Malik (with a lot more practice in I’lal/Ibdal etc)
 – Taysir-ul-I’lal wal Ibdal – can be studied on one’s own after the alfiyyah – excellent
book for practice.

In Balaghah:

 – Durus-ul-Balaghah – an easy, comprehensive introduction

 – Al-Balaghatul-Wadihah – Important to learn Balaghah on a practical level.
  – Sharh Mukhtasar Sa’d (or Mukhtasar-ul-Ma’ani) – Very important text to study,
will really make the connection for you between logic and balaghah, as well as
opening up advanced balagah texts for you.

In Adab:

 – Any text in Urud/Qawafi with a teacher.

 – Sharh Mu’allaqat al-Sab’ or Ashr
 – Selected study from al-Mutanabbi
 – Maqamat Al-Hariri – extremely important for building vocabulary
 – Al-Umdah – a comprehensive text on the sciences of poetry. I forgot the author but
I think his nasab was al-Qazwini.

Third Step

Intensive Academic expertise/research – a specialist in the Arabic language will know way
more than I do.

In Nahw –

 – Other explanations of the Alfiyyah such as Imam al-Ushmuni’s, Abu Hayyan, al-
Shatibi, Ibn-Aqil
 – Explanations of Imam ibn Malik’s Tashil – Abu Hayyan’s is a famous one and his
students rebuttal is not bad either.
 – Imam al-Zamaskhari’s works (and their explanations)
 – Kafiyatu-ibn-il-Hajib and its famous explanation.
 – Kitab-al-Sibawayh if you’re feeling adventurous.

In Sarf-

 – Shafiyyatu-ibn-il-Hajib and it’s explanation.

 – Al-Munsif
 – Al-Mumti by ibn Usfur.
 – Al-Mustaqsa by Dr AbdulLatif alKhatib

In Balaghah-

 – Abdul-Qadir al-Jurjanis books

 – Mahmood Shakir’s books
 – Muhammad Abu Musa’s books – I wonder if anyone has tried to teach from these
instead of classical texts?
 – Tafsir Al-Zamaskhari
 – Tafsir ibn Ashur

In Adab (better to ask a specialist)

 – Maqamat al-Hariri (yes again)

 – Imam al-Jahidh’s books especially Al-Bayan wa al-Tabyin
 – Al-Kamil by Imam al Mubarrid.
 – Al-Khasa’is of Ibn al-Jinni
Conclusion

This list seems dauntingly long, but the question you need to ask yourself as an Arabic
learner is: Why do I want to learn Arabic? If you want to become a scholar, the whole list
applies. If you don’t then the length of the list varies depends on what you want to
achieve. For those who want only a basic grasp of the Qur’an in Arabic so they can read
small tafsirs on their own, or to engage in Modern Arab culture, then the first stage will
suffice.

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