Learning Quranic Arabic (and Struggling)

One of the things I wanted to do for a long time was learn Arabic so that I could understand the Quran in the language it was revealed and insh’Allah also benefit my children in this way.  I started my maternity leave in October, a few weeks before a new Islamic Studies course started locally, so I planned to join the class once the baby was born.  Yeah right!  Once bubba was here, I could not imagine sitting through a three hour class without being able to breastfeed her, nor could I imagine the teacher allowing me to bring her along.  So I asked Allah to help me find a way and Alhamdulillah, he blessed me with something better.  Sister Sumaiyah, who is editor of Aailamagazine and a good friend of mine (her blog is here) directed me to a course being led by a local sister called “Arabic Through the Quran”.

I did istikharah, read through the blog a little and then took the step of applying for a place.  Alhamdulillah I was accepted and have joined the classes.  The classes are online and require a couple of platforms to run smoothly (Wiziq for classes, Moodle for the sister’s forum and Memrise for vocabulary practise).  I was a little bit daunted by this, but the teacher gave clear instructions and it was pretty easy to set them all up.

Alhamdulillah, the classes have been great.  The first few were brilliant, until class three when I started to feel a little out of my depth.  I soon realised that it wasn’t a case of turning up for classes and doing the compulsory homework and weekly tests, but that I would have to dedicate significant time and effort if I really wanted to learn.

I had to go back and review the sincerity of my intentions and make a commitment to set aside time daily and prioritise this over the numerous other things that catch my attention online and off through the day.  This week is the second week of the Red PillLeadership Course run by Sheikh Muhammad Alshareef  I have joined so I have had a full-on two weeks with  so many decisions and plans going through my head.  Once this is completed (last session today – more on this soon insh’Allah) I will be dedicating more time to the Arabic studies insh’Allah and try to bring some discipline to my studies.

One of the sisters on the forum recommended the following lecture by Ustadh Nauman Ali Khan for anyone looking for inspiration or wondering why someone would want to study Quranic Arabic.

Alhamdulillah, I feel so lucky to have found this course and just hope Allah (SWT) gives me the discipline and opportunity to rise to the occasion adequately.  I would love to hear from sisters who have learnt Arabic or are learning what has helped them or if there are books, apps, websites, programmes they can recommend for adults or children to learn.