Product Review

The Routledge Introduction to Qur’ānic Arabic is an innovative, text-based, language course designed for students interested in acquiring a foundation in Qur’ānic and Classical Arabic.

Focused on enhancing comprehension and vocabulary acquisition, the book contains 40 lessons designed to be covered in about 40 hours of classroom instruction. Starting with the shorter sūras of the Qur’ān, such as al-Fatiha and those of the Juz’ ‘Amma, it utilizes their recurring vocabulary and grammatical structures to build a stable linguistic foundation for learners before moving on to more challenging and longer sūras such as Yāsīn, Maryam and Yūsuf.

Although the book is primarily designed for classroom use, the vocabulary and structures of the short sūras, the accompanying audio recordings, and the activities found throughout the book will also be helpful for independent learners. The only prerequisite is knowledge of the Arabic writing system.

The audio material, which is available on the Routledge website, helps learners improve their pronunciation of individual sounds and develop their skills to syllabify Arabic words and phrases correctly in order to approximate that of native speakers. Also available on the website are answer keys to exercises and transcriptions of the audio material.

Written by an experienced teacher, The Routledge Introduction to Qur’ānic Arabic is an essential guide for instructors, students and anyone interested in developing their knowledge of Qur’ānic Arabic.