Dear Interested Students,

As-salaamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.

During my ongoing journey in this life I had a realization: how can I claim to want to love Allah, and not understand the language in which He chose to reveal His Word? Thus I began my struggle to learn Arabic. A couple of years ago I tried to learn the language, and although my teacher was excellent Masha’Allah, the books we were using and thus our approach to the study left me utterly confused. We seemed to be tackling Arabic grammar in a round-a-bout, convoluted manner which made no logical sense in my mind. By the end of the course, despite the patient perseverance of my teacher, there were more concepts that didn’t make sense to me than concepts I understood.

In summer 2004 Shaykh Kamaluddin Ahmed (may Allah increase him) told me to take the Shariah Program’s Online Arabic Course so, not knowing what to expect, I signed up. Alhamdulillah the outcome was completely opposite that of my last experience.

Masha’Allah Mufti Yusuf Mullan’s (may Allah increase him) approach to teaching Arabic is well thought-out, organized and logical. We started with basic verb tenses and gingerly worked our way up to much more complicated verb forms and tenses, covering the vast majority of tenses by the end of the two months. New concepts were introduced in a structured, step-by-step, easy-to-follow manner, with examples given along the way for further clarification. I was amazed to see intricate and complicated grammar concepts so neatly spelled out and easily decipherable. Mufti Yusuf also made available to us vast quantities of resources including lists, charts, slides and past lectures given by Mufti Yusuf to his Toronto-based classes. We also used Shaykh Husain Abdul Sattar’s (db) “Fundamentals of Classical Arabic” which beautifully spells out verb structure and tenses through charts and careful explanations.

As if these weren’t enough, Maulana Ziad Hashmi, Mufti Yusuf’s assistant, was always available to answer questions in class and give “insta-clarifications” on any matter. His presence made it easier and less intimidating to ask questions during class, and his consistent encouragement helped to keep us positive and motivated. He also held review sessions on his own time in which students could get private attention on topics with which they were having particular trouble.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of the class was going through the original text by Imam Zarnuji called, “Ta’leem al Muta’allim” (Instruction of the Student.) This was where the benefit of having a mufti teaching Arabic became quite apparent in more than one dimension. Having a good majority of Sarf and Nahw under our belts, we covered the grammar concepts outlined in each sentence, and additionally Mufti Yusuf gave us invaluable pearls of hikma (wisdom) from his own knowledge, along with the hikma from the text.

Flowery words of praise are all well and good, but the proof ultimately lies in the facts: by the end of the two-month online intensive I was able to read and translate entire chapters from Maulana Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi’s (rahimahullah) original Arabic text, “Qasas An-Nabiyyeen” (Stories of the Prohets.)

May Allah subhaanahu wa ta ‘aala reward and increase all those who teach, help and offer their services to the Shariah Program and also those whose texts we use to further our understanding of the language of Allah subhaanahu wa ta ‘aala’s Kalaam. Ameen.

Was-salaam ma’al ikraam,

Zareen

Now formally registering for the 2009 Online Arabic Foundations Program