Noorani Qaida
Your First Steps in Reading Arabic
The Noorani Qaida teaches the letters, vowel marks and reading rules that prepare a beginner to read the Quran. Follow the eight steps below and mark each one complete as you go.
ا ب ت ث
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Step 1
Letters (Huroof Mufradat)
Learn the letters of the Arabic alphabet one by one: their names, shapes and sounds. Arabic is read from right to left. Many letters share a shape and differ only by their dots, so look closely at where the dots sit and how many there are.
ا
Alif
Sound: a (long)
ا
Isolated
ا
Beginning
ا
Middle
ا
End
Alif never joins to the letter after it, so its beginning form looks like the isolated form.
Step 2
Joined letters (Murakkabat)
In words, most letters join to the letter after them and change shape at the beginning, middle or end of a word. Six letters (alif, dal, dhal, ra, zay and waw) never join to the letter after them. Practise recognising each letter inside joined pairs and groups.
Step 3
Harakaat (Fatha, Kasra, Damma)
The three short vowel marks. Fatha is a small stroke above the letter and gives a short "a"; Kasra is a small stroke below and gives a short "i"; Damma looks like a small waw above and gives a short "u". Read each sound short and crisp.
The marks below are used in steps 3 to 6, shown on the letter ba.
بَ
Fathah
“ba”
A small stroke above — short “a”.
بِ
Kasrah
“bi”
A small stroke below — short “i”.
بُ
Dammah
“bu”
A small waw above — short “u”.
بْ
Sukoon
“b”
A small circle — the letter has no vowel.
بّ
Shaddah
“bb”
The letter is doubled / stressed.
بً
Tanween Fathah
“ban”
Double fathah — “an”.
بٍ
Tanween Kasrah
“bin”
Double kasrah — “in”.
بٌ
Tanween Dammah
“bun”
Double dammah — “un”.
Step 4
Tanween
A doubled vowel mark at the end of a word adds an "n" sound: double fatha reads "an", double kasra "in" and double damma "un". The extra "n" is written as a mark, not as a letter.
Step 5
Sukoon / Jazm
A small circle above a letter means it carries no vowel. The letter is joined to the vowel before it, so two letters are read as one syllable (for example "ab" rather than "a-ba").
Step 6
Shaddah
The shaddah (a small "w"-shaped mark) means the letter is doubled: it is read once with a sukoon and once with the vowel that comes with the shaddah. Press on the letter slightly longer.
Step 7
Madd letters
The three madd letters — alif after a fatha, ya with sukoon after a kasra, and waw with sukoon after a damma — lengthen the vowel to about two counts. Standing (vertical) fatha, kasra and damma marks are also lengthened in the same way.
Step 8
Practice reading
Bring everything together by reading words and short lines slowly and correctly, without rushing. Read aloud to your teacher regularly: correct pronunciation is built by listening, reciting and being corrected.
This path is a study aid. Correct pronunciation (Makharij) is best learned by listening and reciting to a teacher, who will tell you when each step is truly complete.
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