Free Resources
Free guides for anyone starting Arabic or the Qur'an.
The alphabet, the tajwīd rules every beginner meets first, and the Islamic calendar: the same reference sheets we hand to new students in Abuja. Use them whether or not you ever study with us.
Chart one
The twenty-eight letters
Arabic is written right to left. Most letters change shape depending on where they sit in a word: these are the isolated forms, which is where every student begins.
- اalifa long “aa”
- بbāʾb
- تtāʾt
- ثthāʾth, as in “think”
- جjīmj
- حḥāʾa hard h, from the throat
- خkhāʾkh, as in “loch”
- دdāld
- ذdhālth, as in “this”
- رrāʾa rolled r
- زzāyz
- سsīns
- شshīnsh
- صṣāda heavy s
- ضḍāda heavy d
- طṭāʾa heavy t
- ظẓāʾa heavy dh
- عʿaynfrom deep in the throat; no English equivalent
- غghaynlike a French r
- فfāʾf
- قqāfa k from the back of the throat
- كkāfk
- لlāml
- مmīmm
- نnūnn
- هhāʾh
- وwāww, or a long “oo”
- يyāʾy, or a long “ee”
And the numerals
These appear on every page of a printed muṣḥaf, marking verse numbers.
- ٠0
- ١1
- ٢2
- ٣3
- ٤4
- ٥5
- ٦6
- ٧7
- ٨8
- ٩9
Chart two
The four rules of nūn sākinah and tanwīn
Between them these four cover every letter of the alphabet. Learn them and a whole class of recitation mistakes disappears at once, which is why they are taught before almost anything else.
Iẓhār
Clear
- ء
- ه
- ع
- ح
- غ
- خ
6 letters · Before the six throat letters.
The nūn is pronounced plainly, with no nasal hum.
Idghām
Merging
- ي
- ر
- م
- ل
- و
- ن
6 letters · Before the six letters of yarmalūn.
The nūn disappears into the following letter. With ي ن م و it is held with a nasal hum; with ل ر there is no hum.
One exception, agreed by all
Where the nūn and a following ي or و sit inside the same word, it stays clear:
- دُنْيَا
- بُنْيَان
- قِنْوَان
- صِنْوَان
Iqlāb
Conversion
- ب
1 letter · Before one letter only.
The nūn turns into a mīm sound, held with a nasal hum.
Ikhfāʾ
Concealment
- ت
- ث
- ج
- د
- ذ
- ز
- س
- ش
- ص
- ض
- ط
- ظ
- ف
- ق
- ك
15 letters · Before everything not listed above.
The nūn is neither clear nor merged: it is hidden, with a nasal hum held for two counts.
Six, six, one and fifteen make twenty-eight letters, and between them these four rules cover every one. That is why they are taught before anything else.
Three more you meet early
- قلقلة
Qalqalah
A slight echo or bounce on five letters (ق ط ب ج د) whenever they carry a sukūn. Remembered as quṭb jad.
- غنّة
Ghunnah
A nasal hum held for about two counts on ن and م when they carry a shaddah.
- مدّ
Madd
Elongation. The natural madd stretches a vowel for two counts on ا و ي; longer madds have their own rules and counts.
Chart three
The twelve months of the Hijri year
The Islamic year follows the moon, so it runs about eleven days shorter than the Gregorian one, which is why Ramaḍān moves through the seasons.
- Month 1 of 12Sacredمُحَرَّم
Muḥarram
The year begins.
- Month 2 of 12صَفَر
Ṣafar
- Month 3 of 12رَبِيع الأَوَّل
Rabīʿ al-Awwal
- Month 4 of 12رَبِيع الآخِر
Rabīʿ al-Ākhir
- Month 5 of 12جُمَادَى الأُولَى
Jumādā al-Ūlā
- Month 6 of 12جُمَادَى الآخِرَة
Jumādā al-Ākhirah
- Month 7 of 12Sacredرَجَب
Rajab
The lone one; the other three are consecutive.
- Month 8 of 12شَعْبَان
Shaʿbān
- Month 9 of 12Fastingرَمَضَان
Ramaḍān
The Qur'an was first revealed in it.
- Month 10 of 12شَوَّال
Shawwāl
Opens with ʿĪd al-Fiṭr.
- Month 11 of 12Sacredذُو القَعْدَة
Dhū al-Qaʿdah
- Month 12 of 12Sacredذُو الحِجَّة
Dhū al-Ḥijjah
Hajj and ʿĪd al-Aḍḥā.
Four of the twelve are the sacred months, and three of them run straight through the turn of the year: Dhū al-Qaʿdah, Dhū al-Ḥijjah, then Muḥarram, where the year begins again. That leaves Rajab on its own in the middle. Ramaḍān is not one of the four: it is the month of the fast, which is a different distinction entirely, and the two are constantly mistaken for each other.
Common questions
Twenty-eight. They are written from right to left, and most change shape depending on whether they stand alone or sit at the beginning, middle or end of a word.
There are four: iẓhār (pronounce the nūn clearly, before the six throat letters), idghām (merge it into the next letter, before ي ر م ل و ن), iqlāb (turn it into a mīm, before ب) and ikhfāʾ (conceal it with a nasal hum, before the remaining fifteen letters). Between them the four cover every letter. There is one agreed exception, called iẓhār muṭlaq: where the nūn and a following ي or و sit inside the same word (as in دُنْيَا, بُنْيَان, قِنْوَان, صِنْوَان), the nūn stays clear instead of merging.
A slight echo or bounce on five letters (ق ط ب ج د) whenever they carry a sukūn. Remembered as quṭb jad.
Muḥarram, Ṣafar, Rabīʿ al-Awwal, Rabīʿ al-Ākhir, Jumādā al-Ūlā, Jumādā al-Ākhirah, Rajab, Shaʿbān, Ramaḍān, Shawwāl, Dhū al-Qaʿdah and Dhū al-Ḥijjah. Four of them (Muḥarram, Rajab, Dhū al-Qaʿdah and Dhū al-Ḥijjah) are the sacred months. Ramaḍān is not one of the four; it is the month of the fast, which is a different distinction.
No. Most students at Elite Iqraa Academy begin at the alphabet. The charts on this page are the same starting point our beginner classes use.
Charts only take you so far
The rules on this page take a few minutes to read and a term to apply. That part needs a teacher listening to you recite.