Reading Arabic

The Arabic Alphabet: 28 Letters

Arabic has 28 letters, all consonants. The short vowels (a, i, u) are written as marks above or below the letters rather than as separate letters. The long vowels (aa, ii, uu) are written using three specific letters: alif (ا), ya’ (ي), and waw (و).

The 28 letters in order (right to left as Arabic is written):

#	Letter	Name	Pronunciation
1	ا	Alif	Long ‘a’ vowel / glottal stop
2	ب	Ba	B as in “boy”
3	ت	Ta	T as in “top”
4	ث	Tha	Th as in “think”
5	ج	Jeem	J as in “jam”
6	ح	Ha	Strong H from the chest
7	خ	Kha	Kh as in Scottish “loch”
8	د	Dal	D as in “door”
9	ذ	Dhal	Dh as in “the”
10	ر	Ra	Rolled R
11	ز	Zay	Z as in “zoo”
12	س	Seen	S as in “sun”
13	ش	Sheen	Sh as in “ship”
14	ص	Sad	Heavy S (emphatic)
15	ض	Dad	Heavy D (emphatic)
16	ط	Ta	Heavy T (emphatic)
17	ظ	Dha	Heavy Dh (emphatic)
18	ع	’Ayn	Deep guttural sound
19	غ	Ghayn	Gh — like French ‘r’
20	ف	Fa	F as in “fish”
21	ق	Qaf	Q from deep in throat
22	ك	Kaf	K as in “key”
23	ل	Lam	L as in “lamp”
24	م	Meem	M as in “moon”
25	ن	Nun	N as in “noon”
26	ه	Ha	H as in “home”
27	و	Waw	W/long U
28	ي	Ya	Y/long I

Letters with No Equivalent in English

Four categories of letters are completely different from English sounds:

The emphatic letters (ص, ض, ط, ظ): These are “heavy” versions of s, d, t, dh — pronounced with the back of the tongue pressed down and the voice resonating in the chest. These sounds fundamentally change the meaning of words and Quranic recitation.
The guttural sounds (ع /‘ayn, غ /ghayn, ح /ha, خ /kha): Produced deep in the throat or from the chest. The ‘ayn (ع) is the most challenging for non-Arabic speakers — a constricted sound from the throat with vibration.
The qaf (ق): A stop produced at the very back of the throat. Different from the English K which is produced further forward.
The emphatic ha (ح vs ه): The letter ح (Ha) is a strong, breathy sound from the chest — distinct from the regular ه (Ha) which is like the English H.

How Arabic Letters Connect

Arabic is a cursive script — most letters connect to the letter that follows them. However, six letters never connect to the next letter: ا, د, ذ, ر, ز, و. These letters only connect to the previous letter, causing a natural break in the word.

Each letter has up to four forms depending on its position in the word:

Isolated: The letter stands alone (ب)
Initial: At the beginning of a word (بِ)
Medial: In the middle of a word
Final: At the end of a word (ـب)

Some letters look very similar in isolation but are distinguished by dots:

ب (ba — one dot below), ت (ta — two dots above), ث (tha — three dots above)
ج (jeem — one dot below), ح (ha — no dot), خ (kha — one dot above)
د (dal — no dot), ذ (dhal — one dot above)

The Harakat: Short Vowel Marks

The harakat (حَرَكَات — singular haraka, “movement”) are the diacritical marks that indicate how a letter is vocalized:

The three basic vowels:

Fatha (فَتحَة ـَ): A small diagonal line above the letter → sounds like “a” (as in “had”)
Kasra (كَسرَة ـِ): A small diagonal line below the letter → sounds like “i” (as in “bit”)
Damma (ضَمَّة ـُ): A small waw-shape above the letter → sounds like “u” (as in “put”)

The Sukun (سُكُون ـْ): A small circle above the letter indicating no vowel — the letter is silent/unvoweled.

The Shadda (شَدَّة ـّ): A W-shape above the letter indicating the letter is doubled — held twice as long.

The Tanwin (تَنوِين): Double vowel marks at the end of a word indicating “an/in/un” — the nunation used in Arabic grammar endings.

Reading Practice: Building From Letters to Words

Step 1 — Single letters with vowels:

بَ = “ba”, بِ = “bi”, بُ = “bu”
مَ = “ma”, مِ = “mi”, مُ = “mu”

Step 2 — Two-letter combinations:

بَا = “baa” (ba + alif = long a)
بِي = “bii” (ba + ya = long i)
بُو = “buu” (ba + waw = long u)

Step 3 — Simple words:

رَبّ = “Rabb” (Lord) — shadda on the ba
كِتَاب = “Kitaab” (Book) — ka-ta-ab
بِسمِ = “Bismi” (In the name of)

The Quranic Script (‘Uthmani Rasm)

The Quran uses a specific ancient script preserved from the time of Caliph Uthman (ra). This script has some spellings that differ from modern standard Arabic:

Some letters that are not pronounced are written (e.g., the alif in al-Rahman is written but not vocalized)
Some letters that are pronounced are not written (because classical Arabic implied them)
The hamza (the glottal stop) appears in various positions and forms

Children learning to read the Quran must learn this traditional ‘Uthmani script — Quranic versions may look different from the same words in modern Arabic text.

The Bohra Madrasa Sequence

In Dawoodi Bohra tradition, the madrasa (Saturday/Sunday/evening Islamic school) follows a structured progression:

Level 1 (Alef Ba): Learning the 28 Arabic letters in isolation, recognizing each letter, writing them.

Level 2 (Harakat): Adding the vowel marks — reading fatha, kasra, damma, sukun, shadda, tanwin. Reading two-letter combinations fluently.

Level 3 (Quran reading): Moving to reading actual Quranic text with harakat, beginning with Surah al-Fatiha and short surahs of Juz ‘Amma.

Level 4 (Tajweed): Applying the rules of tajweed — proper pronunciation, elongation (madd), the nasal sound (ghunna), and letter-junction rules.

Level 5 (Fluency): Reading Quranic text at a standard pace with correct tajweed, and beginning to memorize surahs.

Parallel Lisan al-Dawat instruction: Alongside Arabic, Bohra children learn Lisan al-Dawat — the liturgical language of the da’wa that combines Arabic, Gujarati, and Urdu elements. Duas in Lisan al-Dawat are taught alongside Quranic Arabic.

Reading Arabic — The Letters, Vowels, and Quran Script for Beginners