Noorani Qaida
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.
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Questions about learning Noorani Qaida
Can a child learn Noorani Qaida from these pages alone?
They can learn the shapes and the names of the letters. What a page cannot do is hear the sound they are making and correct it, and that is the part Qaida exists for. These lessons work best alongside a tutor rather than instead of one.
What order should the lessons be taken in?
The order they are numbered in. Each lesson assumes the sounds from the one before, which is why skipping ahead usually shows up later as guessing rather than reading.
How long does the whole Qaida take?
The course page gives a range in weeks rather than a single number, because it varies with the age of the student and how often they practise. A single figure would be a promise about a child we have not met.
What comes after Noorani Qaida?
Reading from the mushaf itself, then Tajweed once the reading is accurate. The trial lesson assessment says which of those the student is ready for.
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A real lesson with a tutor, not a sales call. No payment details.