By The Arabic School
There are two well-trodden roads to reading classical Arabic. Both have produced generations of scholars. Both lead to the same goal: reading the Qurʾān, the Sunnah and the classical works with understanding. They differ in where they begin and which texts they use.
At The Arabic School we call them the Ajami Method and the Arab Method. Choose one and stay on it. Mixing the two in the early stages wastes time.
The Ajami Method
The Ajami Method is based on the Dars-e-Nizami curriculum of the Indian subcontinent. It begins with Ṣarf, through short primers from the Persian tradition, and gives the student a firm hold on verb forms and patterns from the first weeks. It suits students who think in rules and tables, and ʿĀlimiyyah students. Its aim is to take a student from beginner to intermediate, with a focus on reading.
The sequence:
- Ṣarf-e Bahāʾī
- Mīzān uṣ-Ṣarf
- Munshaʿib
- Naḥw Mīr
- al-Qirāʾah al-Wāḍiḥah, Volume 1
- Zād uṭ-Ṭālibīn
- Mufīd uṭ-Ṭālibīn
- Irshād uṣ-Ṣarf
- Sharḥ Miʾat ʿĀmil
- Applied Ṣarf (Ijrāʾ)
- Qiṣaṣ an-Nabiyyīn
- Hidāyat an-Naḥw
- Durūs al-Balāghah
- Safīnat al-Bulaghāʾ
The Arab Method
The Arab Method is based on the Azhari and African curricula and the mutūn used in Egypt and the Arab world. It begins with Naḥw, through short Arabic mutūn and iʿrāb, and gets the student parsing real Arabic, the Qurʾān and ḥadīth, early on. It suits students who learn by parsing, and those heading to al-Azhar or Madinah. Its aim is reading mastery.
The sequence:
- ash-Shabrāwiyyah
- al-Ājurrūmiyyah
- Matn al-Amthilah
- Matn al-Bināʾ
- al-Mutammimah
- Iʿrāb of Qiṣār al-Mufaṣṣal
- Iʿrāb of al-Arbaʿūn an-Nawawiyyah
- Qaṭr un-Nadā
- Taṣrīf al-ʿIzzī
- Taysīr al-Balāghah
- Shudhūr adh-Dhahab
- Qawāʿid al-Iʿrāb
- Iʿrāb of the Forty Ḥadīth Qudsī
- al-Balāghah al-Wāḍiḥah
- al-Naẓarāt (selected essays)
- Lāmiyyat al-ʿArab
- Nahj al-Burdah
- Lāmiyyat al-Afʿāl
- Shadhā al-ʿArf
Which should you choose?
- If you like tables, paradigms and a firm grip on word forms before sentences, choose the Ajami Method.
- If you want to parse the Qurʾān and ḥadīth from the start, or you plan to study in the Arab world, choose the Arab Method.
- If you have already started one route, finish its early stages before looking at the other.
What neither route does on its own
Both methods aim at reading. Neither on its own trains listening, speaking or writing. A student who wants all four skills runs a skills programme alongside the method, as our Diploma in Arabic Studies does.
Study either route with us
Each route has a Level 1 Certification at The Arabic School, with weekly tests and a certificate for each text: the Dars-e-Nizami Level 1 Shahādah Programme and The Arab Method Level 1. Individual courses in Naḥw and Ṣarf are also available on their own.
Study with The Arabic School
Ask us which route suits your goal. Contact us with your level and what you want to read.
For the full map of the sciences, the two classical routes and the texts for every level, download the free guide, Learning Arabic: Skills and Systems. You can also see all our courses and prices or book a one-to-one class.