The Noorani Qaida, lesson by lesson
The Qaida is a method rather than a book of facts: each lesson depends on the one before it. Printed editions group the material differently — some into seventeen lessons, some into forty — because the divisions are teaching decisions, not fixed. These are the thirty the academy teaches to.
- 1The Arabic lettersRecognise and name all twenty-nine letters in their isolated form.
- 2Letters that look alikeTell apart the letter groups that share a shape.
- 3Letters that sound alikeDistinguish the pairs English speakers merge.
- 4Joining lettersRead letters in their initial, medial and final forms.
- 5The six that do not join forwardKnow why some words appear to break apart.
- 6FathahRead any letter carrying a fathah.
- 7KasrahRead any letter carrying a kasrah.
- 8DammahRead any letter carrying a dammah.
- 9The three harakat togetherRead mixed harakat without pausing to work them out.
- 10Tanween fathRead the doubled fathah.
- 11Tanween kasrRead the doubled kasrah.
- 12Tanween dammRead the doubled dammah.
- 13Harakat and tanween togetherRead fluently across all six vowel marks.
- 14The madd lettersRecognise alif, waw and ya as lengtheners.
- 15The leen lettersRead waw and ya with sukun after a fathah.
- 16Standing harakatRead the vertical fathah, kasrah and dammah.
- 17SukunRead a letter carrying no vowel.
- 18The qalqalah lettersBounce the five letters when they carry sukun.
- 19ShaddahRead a doubled letter as one stressed letter.
- 20Shaddah with maddCombine doubling with lengthening.
- 21Noon and meem with shaddahHold the nasal sound for two counts.
- 22Sun and moon lettersKnow when the lam of "al-" is silent.
- 23Hamzat al-waslKnow when the opening hamzah is dropped.
- 24Noon sakinah: izharPronounce the noon clearly before the throat letters.
- 25Noon sakinah: idghamMerge the noon into the following letter.
- 26Noon sakinah: iqlabTurn the noon into a hidden meem before ba.
- 27Noon sakinah: ikhfaHide the noon before the remaining fifteen letters.
- 28Meem sakinahApply the three rules of the silent meem.
- 29Stopping and startingStop at a sensible place and resume correctly.
- 30Reading from the mushafRead a page of the Quran applying everything learned.