- Arabic Tidbits -

10/01/2020

How beautiful. “I am as My slave thinks I am...”

14/01/2019

May you wake up to good news

06/09/2014

Just 1 week remaining before the Memorisation Course starts insha'Allah! Also, recordings will be available for those who miss any sessions :)

Alhamdulillah this is a course that I personally love conducting as I continue to learn and benefit myself firstly as well as others. Please register your place on this link and keep watch for the response via email: http://www.fajr-literary.com/?p=2224

Any inquiries or questions, please email: [email protected]

Share along to others, jazakumullahu khayran!

It's back online!

'Memorising the Qur’an' Course
September 2014

A 5-week online course

A unique course designed to help inspire students and prepare them for the memorisation of the Qur’an. Five weeks of increasing one’s knowledge of the Qur’anic Sciences and Ijazahs, learning about the importance of hifdh, breaking mental barriers, exploring the lives of huffadh and the various international methods of hifdh, as well as real-life case studies and learning the art of deriving benefit.

Day: Every Saturday and Sunday starting from 13th September to 12th October 2014

Time: 8:00pm – 9:30pm

Course fee: £40

To enrol, please complete form on website (http://www.fajr-literary.com/?p=2224) or email: [email protected]

Course topics include:

• Introduction to the Sciences of Qur’an
• Introduction to the Science of Hifdh
• Virtues of the Qur’an
• The Position of Qur’anic Hifdh with the Salaf
• The Qur’an and Islamic Heritage
• 25 Practical Steps for Memorising the Qur’an
• How to Memorise the Qur’an
• Relationship of the Hafidh with Allah
• Gradualism vs. Haste
• Relationship of the Hafidh with their Mushaf
• Obstacles on the Path
• Methods of Memorisation
• Memorisation vs. Review
• Words of Wisdom and various case-studies

A thoroughly enjoyable and inspiring course for all. No pre-requisites or requirements needed, and it's suitable for all sisters insha’Allah.

Email: [email protected]

26/03/2014

This is the mother of the creator of this page - Arabic Tidbits - who has passed away. Please pray for her and for her family.

A bright dawn follows every dark night...

09/04/2013

One of al-Mutanabbi’s most peculiar lines of poetry is the one below:

ألمٌ ألَمَّ ألمْ أُلِمْ بِدَائِهِ *** إنْ انَّ آنٌ آنَ آنُ أَوَانه

If you look at it closely, you’ll see that each partial bayt is almost entirely composed of a single word… or so it seems!

This is what we get if we break it down for explanation:

ألمٌ – Pain
ألَمَّ – to hurt or surround in pain
ألمْ – not
أُلِمْ – to know
بِدَائِهِ – its (cause of) illness

إنْ – If
انَّ – to cry or complain (of pain)
آنٌ – one who is in pain
آنَ – to arrive
آنُ – time
أَوَانه – its cure

So we get the following:

ألمٌ ألَمَّ ألمْ أُلِمْ بِدَائِهِ *** إنْ انَّ آنٌ آنَ آنُ أَوَانه
“I have come to be surrounded by pain the cause of which I do not know
If the one in pain cries out in agony, then the time for its cure has surely arrived.”

18/03/2013

Our predecessors loved Arabic so much that one of them, Abu Rayhan al-Bayruni (the famous Muslim scholar), said,

والله لأن أُهجى بالعربية أحب إلي من أن أُمدح بالفارسية

'By Allah, to be slighted in Arabic is more beloved to me than to be praised in Persian.'

(Hijaa' -هجاء- is a type of poetry in which the poet insults or slights someone; Madh -مدح- is also a type of poetry where the poet praises a person by enumerating his merits, for example)

11/02/2013

This made me laugh! It's a really funny play/mix on Arabic and English, let's see how many people get it...

10/01/2013

Throughout the Qur'an, whenever a question from the people was addressed, Allah `azza wa jall gives the answer by commanding the Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) to 'say', for example:

"They ask you concerning the moons, say..." [2: 189]
"They ask you what they should spend, say..." [2: 215]
"They ask you concerning wine and gambling, say..." [2:219]
"The people ask you about the Hour, say..." [33:63]

Every verse that has a question is followed up by 'Say such-and-such'. However, when the people asked about Allah, the answer came in a different style...

"And if My Servants ask you concerning Me, then I am indeed Near..." [2: 186]

In fact, so near that the answer didn't even require a command to the Prophet (s) to 'say' to the people such-and-such. There was no intermediary even in the language used. To make this point even clearer, the Arabic says, 'Fa inni qareeb' - the letter 'fa' was used before the 'inni qareeb' ('I am near') and grammatically, this letter indicates speed, immediate action/answer, reasoning and slight emphasis among other things. Tabarak'Allah...

Please share with others if you find benefit.

10/01/2013

The French scholar, Ernest Renan (1823-1894), who carried out extensive research on Semitic languages, said about Arabic:

"The Arabic language is the most astonishing event of human history. Unknown during the classical period, it suddenly emerged as a complete language. After this, it did not undergo any noticeable changes, so one cannot define for it an early or a late stage. It is just the same today as it was when it first appeared”.

08/01/2013

In Surah Nuh it says:

وَجَعَلَ الْقَمَرَ فِيهِنَّ نُورًا وَجَعَلَ الشَّمْسَ سِرَاجًا
"And (don't you see how Allah) has made the moon a light therein, and made the sun a lamp?" [Nuh: 16]

The moon is described as being 'Nur', i.e. something from which light comes from. Mostly it is a reflective light, or light emanates from it. However, in the same verse, the sun is described as being a 'Siraj', a lamp. Siraj is the type of lamp which utilises and burns oil in order to produce light and a little bit of heat. Subhan'Allah, this is exactly what the sun does; it burns fuel in order to give out both light and heat. Amazing and precise descriptions of both the moon and sun...

05/01/2013

In Surah al-Zumar, Allah says, "He created the heavens and earth in truth. He *wraps* the night over the day and wraps the day over the night and has subjected the sun and the moon, each running [its course] for a specified term. Unquestionably, He is the Exalted in Might, the Perpetual Forgiver." [39:5]

Look at the word I've starred above ('wrap'). This is taken from Sahih International translation of the Qur'an, but almost every single translation that I've come across has a different word for the above. They all try to bring out the meaning and message of what is happening, but let us dig a bit further into the linguistics...

The Arabic word used in the Qur'an at this particular point, is actually 'Yukawwiru' (from: كوَّر) which gives the sense that something is being connected to something else either by way of wrapping, or drawing into a circle, or forming into a ball etc (in fact, the term 'football' or 'ball' is 'kurah' which comes from this root). So we get the message that the night comes over the day but in a 'kurah' or 'takwir' fashion, i.e. in a wrapping, or ball, or circular movement.

This is very interesting because it gives the hint and the knowledge that the night comes over the day in a gradual circular way. At the time the Qur'an was being revealed to our Prophet (s), no-one knew that the earth was round, but this verse is actually hinting at just that!! If one knows the science behind how day and night supercede each other, they will know that the circular/ball form of the earth and its spinning on its axis is what allows the sun's light to move across the planet in a certain manner which gives birth to the day. At the same, on the other side of the ball-shaped earth, this same movement and shape is what allows night to move in (due to the lack of sunlight).

Subhan'Allah. Through the language, you not only realise that the verb Allah used (yukawwiru) gives such a great hint of earth being a ball shape, but you also get the perfect image of how night and day succeed each other on this rounded earth. May Allah grant us understanding, ameen!

03/01/2013

The preciseness that is characteristic of Arabic is evident in how, when a particular word is spoken by a person, his listener is able to know exactly what is being referred to.

Example:

In Arabic, the word مَنْزِل Manzil, often translated as "house", literally means a place to which you descend, (from َنَزَل, to descend; here camels and riders come to mind, when they stop at a place, whether temporarily or permanently). The Arabs differentiated between the various types of houses:

If a house was made of مَدَر madar (sticky clay with a thick consistency), they called it a بَيْت Bayt.

If it was made of وَبَر wabar (the hide of camels), they called it a بِجاد Bijaad.

If it was made of صوف (wool), they called it a خِباء Khibaa'.

If it was made of [animal] hair, they called it a فُسْطاط Fustaat.

If it was made of woven threads/fibre they called it a خَيْمة Khaymah (i.e. tent).

If it was made of [animal] skins, they called it a قَشع Qash'.

[al-Mudhish fil-Muhaadharaat by Ibn al-Jawzi (may Allah have mercy upon him)]

03/01/2013

Sister Ola's new classes on 'Arabic Through the Qur'an' - only 2 weeks left before registration ends!

29/12/2012

The verb ikhtara3a means to 'invent' something new. And as such, ikhtiraa3 means to make an invention. However, this is different to the verb ibtada3a which also means to 'invent'.

The difference between the two words lies in their deeper meaning of ‘inventing’. Ibtida3 means to invent something completely new, unheard of before i.e. it has never been done or invented before. This is why Allah `azza wa jall describes Himself as being ‘Badee3 of the heavens and the earth’ [al-Baqarah: 117] – in other words, the 'Originator of the heavens and the earth' and there was none to have done it before Him.

The term Bid’ah also comes from this root as the innovation is new and has never been done before.

In Surah al-Ahqaf, the Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) was commanded to tell the people that his Prophethood wasn’t a new concept, and the term bid'ah was used: “Say: "I am not a new thing (bid3a) among the Messengers…”" [al-Ahqaf: 9] - i.e. he was not the first Messenger to have been sent, rather he comes at the end of a long line of Messengers (`alayhim al-salam).

25/12/2012

A line by Ahmad Shawqi (who was nicknamed the "Prince of the Poets"), in praise of Arabic:

ِإنَّ الذي مَلأَ اللُّغاتِ مَحاسِنا - جَعَلَ الجَمالَ وَسِرَّهُ في الضَّاد
Indeed, the One who filled all the languages with beauty/beautiful qualities - put Beauty, and the secret of Beauty, in "adh-Dhaad"

("adh-Dhaad" is another name for Arabic, as it is the only language with the letter Dhaad -ض-)

25/12/2012

Let's do a Q & A session. Feel free to ask your questions, but let me start with one: What bothers you the most when it comes to learning Arabic?

Yalla, let's make this interactive insha'Allah!

24/12/2012

Sometimes in Arabic, two separate entities will be combined into just 1 word, with one of the terms taking precedence when it comes to the name. This is called Uslub al-Taghlib, and here are some examples:

أبوان - abawan (lit. the 2 'fathers/parents') this term is used indicate both the mother and father.

قمران – qamaran (lit. 2 moons) this is used to indicate both the moon and the sun. The moon has taken preference here due to it being masculine.

عُمَران – ‘Umaran (lit. the 2 ‘Umars) – used to indicate Abu Bakr and ‘Umar. The name Abu Bakr should have taken preference here however it’s murakkab (consisting of 2 words itself), which means it cannot be placed into a dual form. Therefore uslub al-taghlib has taken the name ‘Umar into its expression as it’s mufrad (single).

مكتان – Makkatan (lit. the 2 Makkahs) – an expression for Makkah and Madinah. Makkah has taken preference here because of its virtue over Madinah.

الحسنان – al-Hasnan (lit. the 2 Hasans) – an expression for al-Hasan and al-Husayn, grandchildren of the Messenger (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam). Preference has gone to al-Hasan due to him being older than al-Husayn (radhiallahu `anhuma).

And more...

23/12/2012

A humbling experience:-

Imam al-Kisa’ee relates: ‘I led Haroon al-Rashid in prayer one day and I took a liking to my recitation. But then I made a mistake that not even a child makes! I wanted to say,

ولعلهم يرجعون
"… So that they may return"

But instead I said,

ولعلهم يرجعين
‘… So that they (she) may return’ – [In other words, he mixed up the verb indicating a single fem. subject with the masc. plural]

He said, "By Allah, Haroon didn’t have the boldness to say ‘You have made a mistake,’ but when I finished the prayer he asked me, ‘O Kisa’ee, what language/Qira’ah is this?’ I said, ‘O leader of the faithful, even the fine horses stumble at times.’ He said, ‘Yes, this is true.’"