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Islamic Arabic I


Course Description

Reading of various Qur'anic surahs (chapters), emphasizing Arabic pronunciation, translation, understanding meaning, learning vocabulary, recognition of grammatical features, and syntax. Supplementary related Arabic readings in the "circumstances of revelation," Qur'anic commentary, hadith, and various online resources for Qur'anic studies.

Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students will be required to complete an annotated translation of an Islamic text and to become proficient in the scholarly conventions for transliterating and doing research in Arabic.


Athena Title

Islamic Arabic I


Undergraduate Pre or Corequisite

ARAB 1002 or permission of department


Semester Course Offered

Offered fall


Grading System

A - F (Traditional)


Course Objectives

Students will to learn to: 1) read and comprehend the Qur'an and other Arabic Islamic texts; 2) vocalize and translate unvoweled Arabic Islamic texts; 3) write in Arabic, implementing grammatical constructions, and vocabulary used in Arabic Islamic texts; 4) become computer literate in Arabic by learning Arabic word processing and becoming familiar with searching the internet and online texts in Arabic.


Topical Outline

Weeks 1-2 Starting readings in Qur’anic surahs: emphasizing Arabic pronunciation, familiarity with online dictionaries and other resources for pronunciation, reading, translation, and Arabic word processing. Weeks 3-7 Continued readings in Surahs, emphasizing vocabulary building, grammatical recognition, and syntax. Weeks 8-13 Continued readings in Surahs and previous emphases, using “circumstances of revelation” literature, Qur’anic commentaries, and Hadith. Weeks 14-16 Class projects demonstrating the grammar, vocabulary, understanding of a surah, supplemented by student research in Qur’anic commentary.


Syllabus