The ability to understand the Qur’an, the Hadith, and Islamic books of knowledge is a great blessing from Allah. But the only way to properly understand the Qur’an and seek knowledge is through knowing the Arabic language. The unfortunate reality is that many people struggle with learning the language despite the countless hours they might have invested. Here are 3 tips that I believe are truly instrumental to learning the Arabic language.
1. Dua
We know that Allah has power over all things. We know that Allah answers the supplication of those who call upon Him. So why would we not make Dua?
Asking Allah to help you is not specific to learning the Arabic language. You should ask Allah to help you with anything you want to accomplish.
2. Vocabulary
When seeking knowledge, you need to have a solid foundation to build on. The same can be said for learning Arabic. If you’re focusing all your time on grammar rules but don’t even know how to say the time in Arabic, you might want to change your approach.
You would need to memorize about 2,000-3,000 words to be proficient in Arabic. If you were to memorize 10 words a day, you could have 3000 words in your word bank in under a year. For 5 words a day, you could reach 3000 words in about 20 months. The point is, it’s extremely important to learn vocabulary and it’s doable with the right approach and consistency. Here is a video to get you started on learning vocabulary.
3. Immersion
Since you’re reading this post, I assume you’re fluent in the English language. How did you learn English?
Generally, native speakers of any language, including English, learn their language first by hearing and repeating. Infants and toddlers literally have years of hearing their native language being spoken by their parents, teachers, relatives, or anyone else who happened to be around them. By the time a baby says their first word, they’ve already had countless hours of listening to and being immersed in their native language.
As time passes, they grow in their understanding of the language. When they finally get to learning grammar, they learn it in the native language as opposed to a foreign one.
Similarly, it’s important for us non-Arabs to learn the language through immersion. If you want to become fluent in Arabic, I would strongly advise against learning grammar first. Find Arabic lectures on YouTube or wherever else and listen and listen and listen. If you can, find a teacher or at least someone who already speaks Arabic that you can converse with.
Hikmah Central 