Building Respect, Seeking Truth
Introduction to Qur'anic Arabic
Online
February 6th - April 30th, 2024
Course leader: Dr. Motaz Al-Thaher
This course is open to anyone interested in Arabic as a classical language.
It will be held on Tuesdays via Zoom at 8:00am Central time.
Course Objectives:
By the end of the course, students will be able to
1. Read the pointed Arabic text.
2. Identify word roots and look them up in dictionaries.
3. Become familiar with transliteration standards.
4. Read with understanding surahs al-Fātiḥa and al-Ikhlāṣ.
The first 6 applicants can take this course FREE! The full cost of the course is
$200 per student.
Course Format:
The course will be conducted entirely online via Zoom, utilizing the Canvas platform for course materials and interaction.
Required Materials:
Notebooks and writing tools are required. Laptops with an Arabic keyboard are mandatory. All students are encouraged to have a hard copy of the Qur'an in Arabic.
The "Introduction to Qur'anic Arabic" course aims to provide a foundation in Qur'anic Arabic by enabling participants to read Arabic text with the help of dictionaries. Through interactive exercises, the course develops these skills through reading short Sūrahs from the Qur'an, specifically al-Fātiḥa and al-Ikhlāṣ.
Course Schedule and Topics
(on Tuesdays via Zoom at 8:00 am Central time):
1. Introduction (Tue, Feb 6th)
2. Alphabet 1 (Tue, Feb 13th)
3. Numbers (Tue, Feb 20th)
4. Alphabet 2 (Tue, Feb 27th)
5. Vowel Letters and Diacritical Marks (Tue, Mar 5th)
6. Typing (Tue, Mar 12th)
7. Breaking Words Down into Letters (Tue, Mar 19th)
8. Analysis of Word Roots (Tue, Mar 26th)
9. Transliteration (Tue, Apr 2nd)
10. Using Dictionaries (Tue, Apr 9th)
11. Reading al-Fātiḥa (Tue, Apr 16th)
12. Reading al-Ikhlāṣ (Tue, Apr 23rd)
13. Common Words and Revision (Tue, Apr 30th)
The Muslim-Christian Dialogue discourse which I studied during the online course will help us craft a new course for our seminarians on Muslim-Christian Dialogue, to promote tolerance among the would be ministers.
Simbarashe Munamati, Murray Theological College, Zimbabwe
Don’t do it unless you enjoy the subject being offered and can be sincerely and fully engaged and devoted. . . . . I’m a self-proclaimed nerd and loved every second of discussion, lecture, presentation, and reading.
Usmon Shaikh, University of Houston
The course is very practical and relevant for the contemporary situation. It opens a window where students can express their opinions - not polemically but in a peaceful environment. Students may have different opinions, but respect towards each other is carefully maintained.
Sujit Sarker, ICL, Bangladesh
I think, this course will serve as a mile stone for those students who are interested in the history of Muslim-Christian Dialogue.
Urfa John, Forman Christian College, Pakistan