Classical Arabic Language

Search The Web

Custom Search

Classical Arabic language is also called 'Literary Classical' Arabic. In Arabic it translates to, 'Al-Fos-ha', pronounced as one word.

So, what is classical Arabic ?

• This is the source language, the mother language that gave birth to the more popular, Modern Standard Arabic , MSA of today, and other regional varieties known as Colloquial Arabic or Arabic dialects.
• Historically, it is the ancient Arabic language spoken by the Arab tribes of Arabia (the Arabian peninsula).
• In ancient Arabic/Islamic tradition, it is said that Ismael son of Ibrahim the Prophet (the biblical Ishmael son of Abraham the patriarch), was the first person to speak the classical Arabic language fluently.
• Classical Arabic is the highest level of Arabic language .
• Qur'an is the 'jewel-of-the-crown' in the classical Arabic language, linguistically and grammatically speaking.
• It is the language of Qur'anic and religious studies.
• It is the language of prayers in Islam.
• It is the language of the great pre-Islam Arabic poets.
• It is the language used by the famous Arabic linguists, Arabic grammarians and the language used in all Arabic dictionaries.

About the Masters

You will be delighted to know that:

• The father of Arabic grammar is the legendary grammarian Sibawayh (b. 760 AD)




• The book Sibawayh wrote is called, simply, The Book or 'Al-Kitab' in Arabic; it laid the foundation for all Arabic grammar.

• Sibawayh's grammar book was described by Al-Jahez (d. 868 AD) the famous Arabic author as follows:

  
  
  

  "Nobody ever wrote a book in Arabic grammar on this level".





• Sibawayh, went to study in Basra (modern Iraq) with Al-Khalil (d. 789 AD), another legendary master of the Arabic language, who came up with the first Arabic dictionary that he called Al-Ayn,which means...The Eye.
  

  Some say that Al-Khlil was the first one ever to invent the dictionary, and that the invention of the dictionary came after he arranged the Arabic letters in order, something like this: A, AA, B, BA, BB...etc and then he would try to find a meaning for each arrangement of letters.

  
  

• Not only that, but Al-Khalil is also the inventor of a new discipline in Arabic language called Al-O'rood....

  .........Where he sat the rules upon which classical Arabic poetry should be written, balanced/weighed and valued...

  
  

  ...... Just like gold.

I just want you to know that .....

You do not have to be an Arab to learn classical Arabic language, or even to master it.

And before you enroll in any Arabic language course, school or university....

First, decide if this is what you want ...

Then, you can start learning about the Arabic language and the Arabic culture here, in this website, a good starting point is Learn Arabic, and also Start learning Arabic.

All the best.

Return to the top of Classical Arabic Language

Return to Write My Name in Arabic Home Page.