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Zaber Malik
Shenika Hankerson
English 1010
October 1, 2015
Learning to read Arabic
An important part of the Islamic religion is learning how to read in Arabic. Arabic is the
one of the largest widely spoken languages in the world. There is much meaning behind every
word and learning the art of Arabic is an accomplishment all on its own. In my own experience I
started learning how to read Arabic at the young age of five and throughout the years my
learning has progressed. There are many steps to fully be able to read Arabic and it takes plenty
of practice, dedication, and patience.
In my experience, the first step was to recite sentences after an Islamic leader also known
as an Imam. Everyday my sisters and I would walk to the local mosque to be tutored by an
Imam. He would have us recite the Arabic alphabet so we can soon form sentences. Along with
the Arabic alphabet the Imam would teach us the accent marks with the letter. The accent marks
show me how to annunciate the word. Sentences started to form into paragraphs and then
chapters. After a couple years of learning the basics of Arabic I began my second step of reading
Arabic which is known as the Qaida.
As time went on the Imam moved me to the Qaida, which was difficult at the time. We
started reading Suras, which are verses from the Quran. The Suras contained different symbols
connected to the words which caused some range of difficulty. The next immediate step is to start
reading the Sifara and this is a more complex version of the Qaida. The Sifara is more complex
because it requires specific pronunciation and proper sentence structure. At the time I felt proud

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that I was the learning how to read the Sifara; however, I knew that after this reading I would
have to learn how to read the Quran.
The final and most accomplishing step is to reach the stage of reading the Quran. The
Quran is the holy book of the Islamic religion believed to be the word of Allah. In the Quran
there are 30 chapters or 114 Suras. The Quran is the most important stage in reading Arabic
because it encompasses all the three vital steps before it. Knowing how to read the Quran means
you must have learned how to recite the alphabet, form sentences, and properly pronunciation the
words along with their accent marks.
Reading in general is a fundamental part of learning. However, for me learning how to
read Arabic was one of the highlights of my youth. This experience taught me how to be more
open minded to different languages and a more well-rounded student. The whole concept of
reading Arabic taught me more about my own religion because it conveyed messages that were
sent down by Allah. This experience has shaped who I am today by allowing me to learn a
different language other than English. After I accomplished learning how to read Arabic I can
now pass it down to my younger family members.