Answering your Arabic questions—raw and honest, no sugarcoating

This is not your average faq section—this is the safe space where you and I sit together, finding answers to all the questions and concerns that worry you when it comes to learning Arabic—no sugarcoat, no fluff.

1. How much time does it take to learn Arabic?

Well, this totally depends on how much you can give to Arabic. 

You can master it in 1 year, or you can take 2 years to just know the basics!

And trust me, both are fine!

You need to see it as “how much you are able to understand Arabic or the Quran,” rather than focusing on how much time it takes to master Arabic. 

Some things do not have a fixed timeline, or the destination—it’s a journey.

And this is something that may stop you from even starting. 

Do not see it as 5 years, or 3 years—look at it as;

How much is it changing you as a person?

Are you able to connect to the Quran?

Do you feel and see the difference in you, from the time you started and now?

Because it is better to keep studying for life, than studying Arabic and then leaving it or forgetting everything, or not being able to implement it in your life or in the Quran? 

These are the questions you need to ask yourself. 

You know, the first course I enrolled myself in was an Alimah course. It was a five year program, and I had to leave it after just 2 semesters. You cannot imagine how it affected me—I was devastated, and spiraled back to the same point, absolute zero—but you do not have to. 

I was working a 9 to 5 job, then reaching back home till 6—getting fresh and eating something easily takes an hour—and then completing 6 hours of lectures and complete attendance—it was all about passing exams and completing attendance—that’s not what I signed up for, that not what I envisioned with studying Arabic.

I wanted to enjoy it. I wanted to sit with it and spend time on each concept, each word, each verse. 

I wanted to live through and with it—so, I left. 

I had to leave.

And, joining another course, starting from the start again—did I waste that 1 year?

No, it helped me in better understanding. 

No, that one year wasn’t just about making notes, it was an Ibadah—counted and recorded. 

No, it was what Allah had for me, and my heart knows that there can be nothing better than what my Lord, my Allah, has planned and written for me.

2. I do not have time?

Another most asked question when it comes to learning Arabic is “I do not have time,” and it breaks my heart sometimes. 

We have time for everything, but we don’t have time for Arabic. 

We feel that we do not have time because we think, to learn Arabic you’d have to leave everything—no, you can do everything, and still study Arabic—if you have a clear “why”, you will find time and motivation.

Let me tell you something—what time do we talk about? We don’t know if we’ll wake up tomorrow or not, yet we have our lives planned for the next 5 years, and we don’t have Arabic in that plan, right?

If you keep waiting for the right time, it will never come; you have to make time. 

The first myth I had to unlearn was that Arabic study required luxury—time, silence, space. I had none of those. Living in a shared space with another non-muslim girl, 8 working hours, cooking and cleaning, all I had at that time were a few stolen minutes or hours after work, in-between dinner and laundry, memorizing tables in metro, doing practice in office prayer breaks—crazy but so satisfying in the heart.

Just take out 30 mins each day, and trust me, you are good enough to study Arabic—you just have to stay consistent, and do not worry about how much you are covering in those 30 mins—focus on the fact that you showed up to your commitment. 

And that's all that matters!

3. What is the best Arabic book? 

Well, I have so many resources on Arabic books—you can see them all here on my Instagram, and here on my blog.

Some things you need to know about Arabic books(for that matter, any book) are;

There is no one best book. When it comes to language, every book has the same concepts, duh! What you need to see is which one you like the best. Which books seem easy to understand for you? 

Every book is good. For the most part, you can benefit from any book that is available to you. It means no book should hinder your learning. If you think with “that” book, you will learn the best—you will learn the best with practice and intentions.

4. What study routine should I follow?

To be honest, this is something that solely depends on your schedule and what other responsibilities you have. 

Islam teaches us balance. 

You don’t have to leave everything to make a routine for Arabic. 

It is more about consistency. 

Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Take up good deeds only as much as you are able, for the best deeds are those done regularly even if they are few.”

Set optimal goals.

Rather than setting expectations to study 4 hours every day, pick 30 minutes or 1 hour that you can commit to consistently.

Rather than aiming for mastery of everything in 1 year, aim for better understanding.

Rather than trying to cover multiple courses or books, focus on completing one.

However, to make your even smaller study sessions effective, you can try out different study techniques that are proven to increase efficiency. 

5. How much vocabulary to learn per day?

If you have come across something like learn 5000 words in the Quran in 10 days, ahaha, it’s cute—but that’s not how it works.

And speaking especially about Arabic, you do not have to worry about vocabulary in the start. If you are doing it, that’s good.

If you are not doing it—have patience. 

Vocabulary, in any language, is built over time, when we bring it in use in daily life. 

Once you start to study different concepts, go through different examples, and then implement them in the Quran with proper understanding, you will naturally start to memorize vocabulary or become familiar with it.

6. Which curriculum to choose?

The one that best suits your routine!

What does it mean?

It means you do not have to get into a 5-year course. There are many good courses that offer a good basic understanding of Nahw and Sarf in less time, and convenient commitment—especially if you are working full time, studying at a university. 

Because your focus is to understand Arabic with consistency, and not overwhelming yourself with heavy programs that you cannot commit to, right?

I am currently studying at Ruyaai—they offer 1-year to 2-year Arabic programs, recorded lectures with a live community of other students, and live weekend classes.

You can also choose any other course that you think can fit into your daily routine. 

Can you share any YouTube videos to learn Arabic?

See, the thing is, if we could learn Arabic through YouTube videos, we all would have done it.

Eventually, at some point, you need a teacher. 

To help you solve and check exercises. 

To ask questions directly.

And mainly to give you the right tarbiyah(upbringing).

There is an adab of studying Arabic, and that counseling comes with the right teacher. 

I cannot tell how many times my teachers’ words ring in my head whenever I feel stuck.

Not only that, a good teacher will help you build the right attitude to study Arabic..the word of Allah, the Quran.

7. If someone is not physically well, and has OCD type things, what should they do?

There’s nothing that cannot be managed. 

I know it seems harsh to say, but it is the reality. 

All you need to do is manage your time, attitude, and routine. 

You are lucky, I am lucky that Allah(swt) is our Lord, the merciful, the most compassionate—He sees the intentions, the sincerity, the efforts—do whatever is in your capacity, and leave the rest to Allah. 

And by “do whatever is in your capacity,” I mean do EVERYTHING that you can.

Wallah, even if it is one word that you do every single day with a sincere intention, the reward is with Allah.

Don’t we want to die and be raised as someone in a struggle on the path of Allah?

We all do, I believe that. 

At whatever step of our learning journey we die, we will be raised as someone who has done it all. 

Death is inevitable—I don’t know if I would be alive till I finish this blog, and publish it on the website, but SubhanAllah, if I die before that, you think I will not be rewarded for the effort, and the intention that I wanted to help my muslim sisters and brothers who are struggling to start—ah, my heart aches when I look at the mercy of Allah. 

Imagine, today, you make a sincere intention to start learning Arabic for the sake of Allah alone, and you die before reaching the destination—how and where will you be raised? What will your rank be in the eyes of Allah?

I want to cry!

8. How to solve Arabic questions? Any books, any method, any tip, please

You can only know this once you start breaking down Arabic sentences—the most satisfactory, therapeutic part of the journey. 

The simplest way is to start from the smallest concept;

• Look for words

• What their status is

• What role are they playing in the sentence

• Look for the fragments

• Then move to how these fragments join to make a full sentence

I know you wouldn’t have understood what I said, you can see what I am talking about here.

And this is not the only way—once you get into it, and do your research, and study different ways, you will know which way you can approach breaking down an Arabic sentence. 

Or you can even come up with your own way, who knows?

Well, I feel like this is enough for now.

Let's sit together some other next time!

If you have more questions, leave them in the comments, and we will have another session soon!