Arabic Through the Qur'an

by Alan Jones

Whether used as a means of self-instruction or as part of higher learning coursework, this language primer is ideally suited for those wishing to learn classical Arabic and for Muslims who wish to learn Arabic exclusively for use in their religious and spiritual practice. Designed to enhance the understanding of the Qur'an and its vocabulary that has infiltrated the whole of Arabic and Islamic literature, this workbook provides 40 easy-to-follow lessons for learning Qur'anic rather than modern Arabic. Beginning with a section on the Arabic alphabet, the text moves on to individual lessons that address one or more grammatical topics, ranging from the basics of nouns, adjectives, and prepositions to the more complex concepts of the imperative, the passive, and conditional sentence, introducing new vocabulary in the process. Accompanying translation exercises, a glossary of technical terms, and an index supplement the main text.

Genres: Islam, Language, Nonfiction, Religion

331 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2005

About the author

Alan Jones is a film critic, broadcaster and reporter on the horror and fantasy genres and has travelled the world to report on movies in production. His first assignment was the original Star Wars in 1977, after which he became London correspondent for Cinefantastique magazine (1977–2002) and reviewed for British magazine Starburst from 1980 until 2008.

A film critic for Film Review and Radio Times, he has made contributions to the Radio Times Guide to Films, The Radio Times Guide to Science Fiction and Halliwell's Film Guide, After stints co-presenting the legendary Shock Around The Clock festival in London, and Fantasm at the National Film Theatre, Jones is now a leading figure and co-curator of London FrightFest Film Festival.

Reviews

[Francesca Bocca-Aldaqre · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book as a first resource to learn the Arabic language, after having studied an introductory book to learn how to read and write in the Arabic alphabet.
The book is well structured, and enables the student to analyse and understand simple Quranic verses after a few lessons.
However, grammatical explanations are extremely concise (even though clear), and there are very few exercises. The student might be overwhelmed by the depth of the material after the first few pages.
I advice people that are interested in understanding Quranic Arabic to use this book as a secundary reference, along a more complete and traditional course like the "Arabic course for English Speaking Students", from Madina Islamic University.
The books complement each other nicely, in terms of vocabulary and grammatical rules.

[Rachel Edney]

😮‍💨

[Sofia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I use this book to teach students Arabic with the aim of being able to read the Quran in it's original Arabic text. I have always used Haywood and Nahmad's A New Arabic Grammar, to teach and while I prefer the depth of the latter, the brief "bite-size" nature of the chapters in this book, make it more accessible for students. However if you are looking for a teach-yourself kind of book, this will probably not be sufficient. Hence four rather than five stars.

[Natta Kuiski · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is by no means perfect, despite the 5-star rating I've given it. However, there aren't any other books in English that teach Quranic Arabic at this level of rigor that I'm aware of. If only for that alone, this book is a must have if you are hoping to understand the grammar and stylistic peculiarities of the Quran and lack a teacher to guide you.

[N Durrani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Received yesterday. So far, brilliant!

[Jalaluddin Abdullah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Need to practice reading The Qu'ran!

[Carson Harraman · Rating 3 out of 5]

could have been more systematic, with more examples for practice

[Ramón · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't have any other frame of reference for books on learning Arabic, but I found this one to be helpful. It's pretty limited in scope though, so if you're wanting to get serious about learning Arabic, there are probably better resources. For the casual learner like myself, give it a try.