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iTunes ChannelWhy and How to Learn Arabic for Comprehension of the Qur’an
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by Abu AbdAllah
Would you spend your whole life in a country where you never learned the local language? Some people do, and manage to do quite well for themselves, thank you very much. If they do not understand something, it usually turns out not to be very important. And if it is important, someone eventually explains what they need to know in the language of their preference.
Well, a billion-odd people on this planet, among whom I do not want to be one, are those who say “la ilaha illAllah” but whose eyes remain dry when the Qur’an is recited. These (and too often me, too) recite the Qur’an and seek to memorize it, but they cannot grasp much of it at all on their own.
SubhanAllah. Is it that the Message is so unimportant to us? Or is that we are just as well-off if we rely on translations? Or on the translations of tafsirs of the Qur’an? Or have you tried studying Arabic and failed to get closer to the Qur’an?
Only Allah Guides. So I pray He will Guide you, me, and everyone we know.
Nouman Ali Khan of the Bayyinah Arabic Institute (www.bayyinah.com) gave this speech in Houston, Texas. He explains the importance of studying Arabic for comprehension of the Qur’an. And he discusses the pitfalls of many techniques used by students. Finally, he describes the advantages of the methods used by Bayyinah. A must-see for any student studying Arabic to better understand the Qur’an and Islam.
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Complementing courses that teach Arabic comprehension of the Qur’an are courses on Ulum-ul-Qur’an (Sciences of Qur’an) like the one taught by Shaykh Yasir Qadhi.
Man is ever in need from His Lord, and so I am praying that He will give me the benefit of both classes, and for one thing more: a waqf dedicated to teaching every interested person (Muslim and non-Muslim alike) how to read the Qur’an with basic comprehension of the Arabic.
Every single person who wants to experience the Qur’an in Arabic with at least a basic grasp of what he or she is reading or hearing.
The time for this trust is now.
What could such a waqf do?
Here are just two ideas:
- Pay for the training of more teachers in the methods tested and proven by Bayyinah in over 50 cities nationwide. The course is great, alhamdolillah, but it needs to be available all the time, all over the country and the world.Imagine if the waqf hosted an annual (or biannual, or even triannual) training conference. And to this conference came one or two delegates from every large university/college Muslim students’ group — like the MSAs of the University of Texas and the University of Toronto. And each of these delegates had one job — learn how to teach the course in basic comprehension of the Qur’an in Arabic.Imagine what would happen when these delegates returned to their campuses? How many people — Muslim and non-Muslim alike — could be taught!?!? And even if there were only enough money for the waqf to do the training conference once every four years, then at most participating campuses there could still be a new teacher after the last teacher graduates.Now imagine, too, that among those who are trained, some become so proficient that they can train others.
- The waqf could pay for the development of software that teaches comprehension of the Arabic used in the Qur’an through immersion. Limit the software as much as feasible to reading and hearing skills. Limit the vocabulary and grammar skills to those needed for basic comprehension of the Qur’an.Then make the software available for free. Through an on-line site, and via downloads/DVD for the web challenged. But again, available to each and every man, woman, and child in the world.
Some of you may already be thinking — not every person in the world speaks English. And you’re right.
Courses like Bayyinah’s should be developed for every language spoken in the world today, and the highest priority should be population size. So I would vote for Chinese and Hindi next, since the course already exists in English, alhamdolillah.
And a model for the software already exists, Rosetta Stone. Rosetta Stone Arabic software exists, but the goals and parameters are completely different from what is needed. What is smart about the RS model, though, is that the course uses no language but Arabic. So if the waqf funded the development of Qur’anic Arabic software (or simply paid RS to do it), then the software would be ready for the world, all of it.
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I’m taking the Arabic class by Nouman Ali Khan (for the 2nd time) and it is still extremely good and beneficial for me. I highly recommend everyone to take it if its offered in there locality.
Innalhamdolillah. Alhamdolillah, here in Houston, we are on the brink of a “perfect storm” of guidance. Not only is the Bayyinah course described in the video coming to the greater Houston area, inshaAllah, starting October 24, but Shaykh Yasir Qadhi — yes, our own MM shaykh and author, Yasir Qadhi — will teach a course on Ulum-ul-Qur’an (Sciences of Qur’an) at the University of Houston, inshaAllah, starting November 7.
If you are in Houston, then let this storm of good fill your sails, let it carry you as high as Allah may wish. Dorothy rode a Tornado to Oz. May Allah permit these classes to carry us all the way to Jannat al Firdaus.
alhamdulillah
I’m not in houston, and havent been for over the past year and a half….
so I’ve missed out on this a lot….insha’Allah i hope these take place in IL soon insha’Allah
Alhamdulillah i’ve taken Bayyinah twice and taken Uloomul Qur’an twice with Shaykh Yasir Qadhi and Shaykh Muhammad Faqih…don’t miss out! May Allah azza wa jal make us companions of the Qur’an, Ameen.
Jazaakumullaahu khayran
Subhanallah, great lecture
Does any one know if this course will be offered in Toronto any time or any time soon?
Jazakallah kher,
ASalamualiqum wa rehmatullah
Is the Bayyinah course similar to the AlHuda one, to help you understand the Quran word-for-word in Arabic?
No…bayyinah is not similar to al-huda….Bayyinah teaches the fundamental Quranic arabic grammar for 10 days straight.
bismillah. last night was the first night of our Arabic class in Houston. it was packed, mashaAllah!
“un, an, in” — you never knew how much potential information there was in that one lesson with your maulvi saab.
bismillah. last night was night two, alhamdolillah. the class rocks! mashaAllah!
every time you read an ayat of Qur’an and an ‘ism (not a fi’l and not a harf) ends without an “N” sound — there is a specific reason for it! the default is for those words to have the “N” sound. sometimes the reason is really simple — and sometimes it is quite literally not just sublime but DIVINE!
that shelf packed full of oh-so-good-translations? to use a favorite quote from amad out of context: they get pwned by this class!
can i get a takbeer?
ALLAHO AKBAR! <– and it’s light, not heavy, for a reason!!!
innalhamdolillah. the third night of the Arabic comprehension class. now our brows are girded with the four properties of the ‘ism. inshaAllah we will use that knowledge to assail our ignorance over the next few nights.
this class, mashaAllah, is so full of appreciation for the majesty and beauty of the miracle of Allah’s Qur’an — it’s like an invitation to renew your faith. an invitation to let a clear sweet breeze sweep away the cobwebs and dust that accumulate from daily life. reminding you that Allah’s Mercy need never be at a distance from you at all — once a person appreciates the content and beauty of the Qur’an, remembrance of Allah is never farther away from a person than an ayat that comes to mind in the middle of any activity.
sure, even without comprehension, the power of the Qur’an is such by Allah’s Mercy that you may be moved. but the difference with comprehension… imagine water as a solvent. it is powerful and works on more substances than we realize. but with a catalyst, water can accomplish its work much more quickly. and the gift of comprehension is a catalyst by which Allah lets the Qur’an wash away the worst rusts. more and deeper comprehension is that much more effective as a catalyst.
may Allah increase us in comprehension and appreciation of His Qur’an, may He make it a means to submit more fully to Him, and may He accept from our teacher, from us, and from you.
Are there efforts being made for the Bayyinah courses to be put free on the web?
May Allah increase the people behind Bayyinah in wealth and may Allah increase in His love for them.
MashaAllah, I really enjoyed the lecture. Very true!!!
However, my sadness is when Arabic speaking people who are supposed to know the language and they are the biggest noise maker during Taraweeh or the Imam recitation!!!! And they are the women busy with kids and those not in prayer. So it seems for these people, the Qur’an didn’t recite to them?
Some native Arabic speakers do not understand the Qur’an, because it is not in their dialect. Modern Arabic and Qur’anic Arabic are like night and day.