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To learn Arabic alphabet you should know it comes from Aramaic script and Nabatean. It bears a slight resemblance to these scripts, just as Cyrillic or Coptic script resemble the Greek. Initially, several differences were noted between North African and Middle Eastern versions of the alphabet, particularly with “fa” which had a dot underneath and “qaf” which had a single dot above. In addition, letters were in a slightly different order when used in numbers. Nowadays, the old Maghrebi way is unused, except in Maghreb calligraphy and in the Zaouias or Ouranic schools in West Africa.
As in all Semitic languages, Arabic is written from right to left. The Semitic exceptions being Ge’ez script and Latin-written Maltese. To learn Arabic alphabet, you need to learn the twenty-eight basic letters.
There are various script styles, particularly Naskh, used on computers and in print. A commonly used handwriting script is Ruq’ah. Other languages, such as Ottoman, Persian, Urdu, Pashto and Malay adapt the script using extra letters. Upper and lower case letter forms do not exist.
You will find when you learn Arabic alphabet letters many are distinguishable only by the dots, called i’jam, which appear above and below the center of the word. The dots distinguish between different sounds, so they are part of the letter themselves. When you start to learn Arabic alphabet, you will see the letters for “b” and “t” look the same. However, “b” has a dot below and “t” has two dots above.
When you learn Arabic alphabet, some letters appear similar in their three different forms, while other letters appear very different. As a rule, when you learn Arabic alphabet the initial and middle forms will appear very similar. However in some cases, the middle form will begin with a short horizontal line to its right, ensuring it connects with the preceding letter. The final forms and isolated forms will also appear similar. But again, the final form will have a horizontal line on its right side or in some cases a longer line or loop on the left side to finish the word in an ornamental style.
To learn Arabic alphabet for regular everyday language, the written Arabic will have long vowels but short vowels are generally omitted. In addition, short vowels are not typically used in street signs, general publications and everyday handwriting. Therefore, a person needs to learn Arabic alphabet to understand the vowels which are missing. On the other hand, in grammar classes and general education, these vowels will always be used as they are a necessary part of the grammar.
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A sentence can have its meaning changed completely by just a subtle change in the vowels. For this reason vowels are mandatory in important texts, such as the Qur’an. You need to learn Arabic alphabet precisely to understand how the vowels are depicted. Vowels are indicated above and below the letters by diacritical marks. Religious institutes who review copies of the Qur’an will not endorse them unless these diacritics are included.