Introductory Arabic 1

• The first level in a series of courses designed to take you from no knowledge of Arabic to a high-level proficiency.
• Understand basic sentence structure, simple word constructions, pronouns, and verb conjugations
• Consists of both pre-recorded lecture sessions twice a week and live hands-on tutorials twice a week
• Special online tools will help you practice forming sentences and learning vocabulary
• Three comprehensive exams will help you track your progress

• Ability to read and write Arabic script [i.e. Basic Arabic Reading or equivalent]. No other familiarity with the language is expected.
  
• Estimated Commitment Per Week: 6-7 hours for core requirements
• Learn how to make sure your computer is ready.

• LESSON 1
  Course Introduction
  • course goal, structure, philosophy, and advice
  • the Arabic alphabet: common alphabet mistakes and the Arabic keyboard
• LESSON 2
  Simple Sentences
  • types of words
  • simple noun sentences
  • word gender
• LESSON 3a
  Pronouns
  • a new type of noun
  • noun sentences with pronouns
• LESSON 3b
  Word Gender
  • changing gender
  • gender agreement
  • saying "it"
• LESSON 4a
  Definite and Indefinite Nouns
  • definiteness and indefiniteness
  • sun letters and moon letters
  • reclassification of nouns
  • definiteness and indefiniteness in noun sentences
• LESSON 4b
  Feminizing Describing Words
  • describing words
  • feminization
• LESSON 5a
  Translating Describing Words
  • describing words
  • describing words as subjects
  • describing words as predicates
• LESSON 5b
  Duals and Plurals
  • singular, dual, and plural
  • subject-predicate agreement
• LESSON 6a
  Word Gender Revisited
  • predictable word gender
  • unpredictable word gender
• LESSON 6b
  Broken Plurals
  • broken plurals
  • human vs. non-human plurals
  • sentence agreement with non-human plurals
• LESSON 7
  The Describing Construction
• LESSON 8
  The Replacing Construction
• LESSON 9
  The Joining-Construction
• LESSON 10
  Introduction to the J-Construction
• LESSON 11
  J-Construction Continued
  • the j-construction with duals and plurals
  • j-construction with embedded follower-constructions
• LESSON 12
  The J-Construction with Pronouns as the J-Noun
• LESSON 13
  The Association-Construction
  • introduction to the association-construction
  • indefinite association constructions and plural associations
• LESSON 14
  The Association-Construction Continued
  • the association-construction with embedded follower constructions
  • the association-construction with pronouns
• LESSON 15a
  Verb Sentences
  • the structure of verb sentences
  • noun states
  • verb conjugations
• LESSON 15b
  Simple Verb Conjugation
  • feminizing verbs
  • the fa'ala pattern
• LESSON 16a
  The N-State
• LESSON 16b
  The First and Second Person Conjugations of the Past Tense Verb
• LESSON 17a
  The Third Person Conjugations of the Past Tense Verb
• LESSON 17b
  Follower Constructions in Verb Sentences
• LESSON 18a
  Association Constructions in Verb Sentences
• LESSON 18b
  J-Constructions in Verb Sentences
• LESSON 19a
  The Future Tense and the Six Verb Groups
• LESSON 19b
  Introduction to the Present-Future Tense
• LESSON 20a
  The First and Second Person Conjugations of the Present-Future Tense Verb
• LESSON 20b
  Third Person Done-To Pronouns
• LESSON 21a
  The Third Person Conjugations of the Present-Future Tense Verb

"The All-Merciful taught the Qur'an, created man, and taught him speech." (55:1-4)

The contributions of non-Arab scholars to the Islamic tradition have arguably been even greater than the contributions of their Arab counterparts. But the language that these great minds used to communicate with one another was Arabic, and it is for this reason that the reference works of every religious discipline are written in Arabic. It is therefore impossible to master any of the Islamic disciplines without a strong grounding in the Arabic language.

Mastering Arabic, like any language, takes a long time and many hours of practice. This course is the first step in a multi-year Arabic program that will take you from no knowledge of Arabic to a high level of proficiency where you will be able to easily read and understand Arabic texts, both classical and modern. This first level course is divided into three modules. The first module analyzes the Arabic language at the level of the single word in the context of simple noun sentences. The second module moves up a level by analyzing it at the level of multi-word constructions, such as adjective-constructions, attribution-constructions, and J-constructions. The third module focuses on verbs and verb sentences. Students will learn how to visually decompose complete sentences into their basic structural constituents. You will also learn how to conjugate basic Arabic verbs. After the successful completion of this course, you will have a strong theoretical and applied grounding in Arabic sentence structure. You will also be able to move on to the second level course.

This course is inspired by the classical approach to teaching and learning Arabic at institutions of religious education located in non-Arab lands. This classical approach has been slightly modified in light of modern language-learning techniques adopted by universities in the West and Arabic language institutes in the Middle East. The combination of ancient and modern makes this course the first of its kind in the English-speaking world. The method of this course is similar to the "grammar translation method" of learning a foreign language—focusing on grammatical rules, the memorization of vocabulary and conjugations, translations of texts, and written exercises.

Weekly live sessions for this course will consist of two parts. The first part comprises of 30-minute lecture sessions twice a week pre-recorded by the instructor. The second part will be two live weekly tutorial sessions with a highly qualified associate teacher and occasionally, the instructor. These tutorials will be highly interactive. Beyond the lessons, there are a number of very important special features that will enhance your learning experience. These features are listed further down the page.

This course will not cover how to read and write Arabic script. Thus, the main prerequisite of this course is the ability to read and write the Arabic script. Beyond that, no understanding or previous exposure to Arabic is assumed. This course is for absolute beginners who have never studied Arabic before (beyond for example, knowing enough Arabic to be able to read the Qur'an without understanding its meaning).

• Recorded lessons will be taught by Shaykh Hamza.
• Weekly live tutorials will be conducted by the associate teacher.
• Printable course slides will add structure to lessons.
• Assignments, tutorials, and exams will be used to help further understanding of the material.
• You will complete a vast array of exercises.
• Special online tools will help you memorize vocabulary.
• Terminology used in the course is innovative and easy to understand, so that no prior knowledge of English grammar terminology is needed.
• The course is broken up into three modules, with each module ending in a comprehensive exam.
• The instructor will actively answer questions on the discussion forum and hold weekly office hours
• The course is highly interactive and student progress is closely tracked: Learning a language requires constant and consistent study and practice. In order to facilitate this consistency, you will be a part of a section with thirty students (max) that is closely monitored by a TA. You will receive regular feedback from the TA on your assignments and exercises.
• You will complete an e-portfolio as you progress through a course, which will comprise of a body of reflective learning that you will be able to refer to in the future.
• All live tutorials will be recorded, so that you can hear lessons you miss or review key concepts.
• You will be provided with an electronic course package that will include vocabulary lists, as well as essential concepts that are taught in the course.
• You can post questions and engage in discussion in the course forum.
• The instructor and associate teacher will hold weekly office hours.

• Taken this course? Submit a review.
• "If you want to learn the beauty of the Arabic language then you got to start here."
  Asma Arif, 22
  Orthoptist, Peterborough, UK
• "I would highly recommend this course to anyone wishing to learn Arabic in a format that is exciting and easy to follow."
  Imaan Joshi, 34
  Doctor and Mother of 2, Sydney, Australia
• "I would recommend ARB111 because one feels the power and beauty of learning Arabic language."
  Hussen Farah, 45
  Sharja, UAE
• "I would recommend this course because it has helped me to understand Arabic grammar as I read the Qur'an."
  Sakeena Ahmed, 27
  Research Project Manager, Birmingham, USA
• "Arabic 111 was my first course with Sunnipath and Alhamdullah it was a great experience...Sidi Farid was helpful and encouraging. It helped to have an [associate] instructor like that."
  Affan Kareemullah, 29
  Network Administrator, Chicago, USA
• "The class was phenomenal. Alhamdulillah, through its thorough and systematic approach I went from little knowledge of Arabic to greater understanding of the grammar and sentence structure...Shaykh Hamza Karamali explained course material clearly and concisely so that difficult concepts were within reach. This course was wonderful, and the experience has encouraged me to take more courses in the future."
  Mustafa Rizwan Ghani, 16
  Student, Edmonton, Canada
• "I would recommend this particular course because it was well explained and the theory was laid out in a way so that anyone can take the course and, with hard work, inshaAllah succeed...Hamza K. is extremely good at explaining complex things in a way that makes sense. I have heard others say this as well. His way of setting up the lessons are well structured."
  Lill Iman Opheim, 22
  University Student, Oslo, Norway
• "I would recommend this particular course to others because simply it is an amazing organized and structured way of learning Arabic grammar to help in understanding Quran...This was my very first online course. So naturally I was a little hesitant at the beginning during registration, did not know much what to expect. However, it exceeded all my expectations. I attempted to take similar course in masajids before, failed, but this one mashaAllah was excellent."
  Md. Shaheed, 38
  Civil Engineer, San Diego, USA