The Arabic Alphabet & How to Read

Your Eyes Go the Other Direction

The very first thing Allah revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was a command to read:

Quran

“Read in the name of your Lord who created.”

— Surah Al-'Alaq 96:1

So let's read. But Arabic works differently from English. You read from right to left. Your eyes start on the right side of the page and move left. It feels strange at first, like writing with your other hand. But give it a few pages and it becomes second nature.

Arabic also has 28 letters and most of them connect to each other within a word. Think of it like cursive English, except it's the default — not the fancy version. A letter can look different depending on whether it appears at the beginning, middle, or end of a word. The letter ب (ba), for example, looks like this at the start of a word: بـ, in the middle: ـبـ, and at the end: ـب.

Don't panic. You don't need to memorize every form right now. The shapes are consistent enough that your brain picks up the patterns quickly.

The Secret Sauce: Harakat

Here's where Arabic gets interesting. The alphabet only shows consonants. The short vowels — the sounds that tell you how to actually pronounce a word — are written as tiny marks above and below the letters. These marks are called harakat (حَرَكَات), which literally means "movements."

In everyday Arabic writing (newspapers, text messages, books), harakat are usually left out. Native speakers can figure out the vowels from context. But the Quran always includes them. Every single mark is written, because precision matters when you're reading the word of Allah.

The fathah is a small diagonal stroke above the letter. The kasrah is a small diagonal stroke below. The dammah is a small curl above, shaped like a tiny و. The sukun is a small circle above, and it means "stop here, no vowel sound." The shadda looks like a tiny W above the letter, and it doubles the consonant — so بّ is pronounced like holding the "b" sound twice.

These five marks are the entire short vowel system. Once you can spot them, you can sound out any word in the Quran.

Seeing It in Action

Let's look at the most recited phrase in the Arabic language:

Look closely at that Arabic text. You can spot every harakat we just learned. The kasrah (small stroke below) appears under بِ, مِ, هِ, نِ, and مِ. The shadda (W shape above) doubles the ل in اللَّهِ and the ر in الرَّحْمَنِ. The sukun (circle above) sits on the سْ in بِسْمِ, meaning that letter has no vowel — it just stops.

Breaking Down a Word

Let's zoom into the very first word:

This is a beautiful example of how Arabic works. The letter بِ is a preposition meaning "in" or "with." It attaches directly to the next word اسْم (ism, meaning "name"). When they combine, the alif (ا) at the start of اسْم drops away and you get بِسْمِ — "in the name of."

One preposition. One noun. Glued together. That's Arabic efficiency. You'll see this pattern constantly in the Quran.

More Harakat in Action

Now that you know the marks, let's see how many you can spot in a single short ayah:

And here is Surah Al-Ikhlas, where you can spot tanwin - the doubled vowel mark that adds an "n" sound:

Long Vowels — The Other Half

Besides the short vowel marks, Arabic has three long vowels. These are actual letters that appear in the word, not just marks:

Think of it like this: fathah gives you a short "a," but fathah followed by alif gives you a long "aa." Same idea for the others. Short vowels are marks. Long vowels are letters. Together, they give Arabic its full range of sounds.

Try It Yourself

What's Next

This lesson gave you the foundation: Arabic reads right to left, letters connect, and short vowels live as marks above and below the letters. The Quran writes every single mark so you can read it with precision.

In the next lesson, we'll look at the most common word in Arabic — الـ, the definite article. It's just two letters, but it has a trick up its sleeve involving something called "sun letters" and "moon letters." Trust us, it's cooler than it sounds.