Learn To Write Arabic

[smk]

It's great to know this is useful to you.

 

Interestingly the numerals Arabs use are actually Indian in origin - what was originally the Arabic numerals (developed in Iraq) are what we know, and use, as the European numerals now.

 

Please do upload your practice sheets for feedback and further instruction if you want.

 

Salman

[Inkheart]

I love this thread, and the time you've made to contribute all this information!

 

I took a term of Arabic this past autumn, and was enrolled in the next level for winter term. Unfortunately, it was canceled due to low enrollment. But my time was well spent as I was thoroughly drilled on writing and correctly connecting letters. Now I am on my own and progressing with a course ordered from Amazon. So glad I have the good grounding in writing though; it's making things much simpler for me.

 

I am marking this thread as I'm sure I'll be returning to it as a reference tool.

 

Thanks so much!

[smk]

April - thank you for the kind message.

 

I'm sure you are well past the basics covered in these lessons but feel free to ask for help with writing if you ever need it.

 

Salman

[Inkheart]

Thank you kindly, Salman.

[Santak]

[madzaxmax]

Bhai, thank you so much. I am from Punjab (East). We use a lot of Urdu words in our daily language, but I suppose you already know that. Our 10th Guru, Shri Gobind Singh used to write poetry in Persian, and I have always wanted to learn the script and language.

 

I understand Persian and Arabic are different, but the script is very similar. With your help, I plan to "set my hand", in the writing style. Arabic forst, and who knows, maybe Persian next.

 

Thank you again.

[smk]

Santak - thank you for sharing this writing. What a lovey ink color.

 

I'm not sure if you are looking for feedback but I will share a couple of things that stand out for the possible benefit of others who read this.

 

Overall, the writing is quite clear and easily understood. There are a couple of places that might trip up a reader not familiar with the verses. I'll list them below:

 

1 and 1-a: The last meem on the first line should be written under the line rather than above it. This is how a 'faa' would be written (albeit with a dot.) You see the same in the last meem of 'Bism' at 1-a. The two 'min's in verses 3 and 6 have the same issue.

 

2: The 'baa+raa' in 'bi-rabbe' in the first verse on line 2 is a strange construction when used in handwriting. It seems like you are attempting to emulate the Naskh script which doesn't work in this case.

 

3: This 'sheen+raa' combination is not wrong per se but it is confusing as the shapes are too similar to a 'sheen'. This is because of the relative proportion of the 'raa' and the bowls of the 'seen'.

 

4: There should be a notch after the 'Saad' in 'Sudoor'.

 

5: There are two issues with 'Jinnate' in the last verse. The first one is easy, you missed the dot under the 'jeem'. You should have a notch for the 'noon' under the dot.

 

 

I'm sure these points are there mainly because you are copying a calligraphic style which doesn't always translate well into handwriting. You pen control is quite nice and all the letters in their various forms are clearly written.

 

Salman

[smk]

  On 3/9/2013 at 3:08 AM, madzaxmax said:

Bhai, thank you so much. I am from Punjab (East). We use a lot of Urdu words in our daily language, but I suppose you already know that. Our 10th Guru, Shri Gobind Singh used to write poetry in Persian, and I have always wanted to learn the script and language.

 

I understand Persian and Arabic are different, but the script is very similar. With your help, I plan to "set my hand", in the writing style. Arabic forst, and who knows, maybe Persian next.

 

Thank you again.

 

You are most welcome. I'm glad people are finding these tips useful.

 

I know a little Punjabi having lived in Punjab (in Pakistan) for a couple of years when quite young.

 

Persian and Arabic scripts are identical (except Persian has a one or two more letters and Urdu has another couple more than Persian). Learn to write one and you can write Arabic, Persian and Urdu (and to a certain degree Pushto but some letters are drawn differently).

 

Persian is a lovely language. I can write and read it but can't always pronounce it properly and understanding it is another matter altogether. It's a language I long to learn to a degree to be able to understand the works of Hafiz, Saadi, Iqbal and Rumi to mention a few of the greats.

[Santak]

  On 3/9/2013 at 12:04 PM, smk said:

Santak - thank you for sharing this writing. What a lovey ink color.

 

I'm not sure if you are looking for feedback but I will share a couple of things that stand out for the possible benefit of others who read this.

 

Overall, the writing is quite clear and easily understood. There are a couple of places that might trip up a reader not familiar with the verses. I'll list them below:

 

1 and 1-a: The last meem on the first line should be written under the line rather than above it. This is how a 'faa' would be written (albeit with a dot.) You see the same in the last meem of 'Bism' at 1-a. The two 'min's in verses 3 and 6 have the same issue.

 

2: The 'baa+raa' in 'bi-rabbe' in the first verse on line 2 is a strange construction when used in handwriting. It seems like you are attempting to emulate the Naskh script which doesn't work in this case.

 

3: This 'sheen+raa' combination is not wrong per se but it is confusing as the shapes are too similar to a 'sheen'. This is because of the relative proportion of the 'raa' and the bowls of the 'seen'.

 

4: There should be a notch after the 'Saad' in 'Sudoor'.

 

5: There are two issues with 'Jinnate' in the last verse. The first one is easy, you missed the dot under the 'jeem'. You should have a notch for the 'noon' under the dot.

 

 

I'm sure these points are there mainly because you are copying a calligraphic style which doesn't always translate well into handwriting. You pen control is quite nice and all the letters in their various forms are clearly written.

 

Salman

Thank you for appreciating.

I adore to write Arabic scripture, despite I cannot read, write and speak Arabic. I copy only. Among eastern languages I know only Turkish and Azeri, the others are western languages. The ink is my handmade saffron ink.

Edited March 9, 2013 by Santak

[smk]

  On 3/9/2013 at 6:39 PM, Santak said:

Thank you for appreciating.

I adore to write Arabic scripture, despite I cannot read, write and speak Arabic. I copy only.

 

That is most impressive Santak. Arabic writing is difficult enough to reproduce for those who know the language. For you to write it out by just copying is just amazing.

 

Take a look at the videos in the first post if you would like to learn how to write Arabic. You don't need to know the language, I start with the basic alphabet and then how they connect to others.

 

Thank you for sharing.

 

Salman

[Inkheart]

Taking the topic just a short step beyond the writing of Arabic, I was curious if anyone was familiar with the Arab Academy? http://www.arabacademy.com/

 

What would have been my follow-up term of Arabic was canceled and I have no other local resources. I'm working out of a text/CD series sold and well-reviewed on Amazon which is furthering my literacy but not my speech. I really need more exposure than the audio snippets provided, and most especially, I need someone to hear ME and correct me!

 

There is such diversity on this forum; I thought I'd ask about this online school...

[Fabienne]

My first try, it's my name for anyone who can't read Arabic.

 

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af174/fabienne301/photo_zps3fa696bd.jpg

 

I went slow and carefully. Pen was a MB 146 OB, ink was Pelikan Blue, paper was a Franklin Planner.

[smk]

Nicely done Fabienne - It is great to see some action in this thread after a long time.

[Anne-Sophie]

I went back to Salman's blog and found 3 new design of nib holders which I named, the beaver tail, the flower bud and the spoon.

 

I can only imagine somebody taking the tiny spoon to pick up natural pigments and mix them to make a very special ink.

 

Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful and whimsical designs!

[smk]

Anne-Sophie - it is I who should thank you for giving my holders names. Your interest is most appreciated, especially when it spurs me to pick up a knife and just start whittling away.

 

This one is a direct result of your post :-)

 

Salman

[antikva]

Thank you for this thread, smk. I'm learning Arabic at the moment and while I've already gone through most of the alphabet, there were still some tips I could gather from your videos and your comments in this thread.

 

I especially like the way you're slanting your "sections" of joined letters, like this:

 

 

I've seen this in other examples too, but never really understood why they do it like that.

 

Here's an example of my writing. This is a new pen and nib for me, and it's written on quite lousy paper, but I wanted to join the thread with some type of contribution. I'll probably post more later on. (Didn't write all the hamzas here as the nib is to broad for that).

 

Edited June 8, 2014 by antikva

[antikva]

Okay, here's an example of some things I'd like some help with.

 

 

لدي : In print, this is writen something like in the example number 1. A straight or almost straight alif/laam and a forward slanting daal. However, I find this quite difficult to write and I don't think it looks very harmonious. I would like to write it as in example number 2. Is that "okay"? The daal is distinguished from other teeth by being longer and not having any dots; and it's distinguished from raa by that I always draw them below the line (like a banana shape).

 

ج ح خ : Which way of writing the initial form of these letters is preferable? My textbooks says to write it like example 5, but I find it a bit boring.

 

Also, with the final shape of these letters, I have quite a hard time. I'm a finger writer and I can't do the connection in one stroke (example 1). It looks really crappy. Are there any other ways of connecting it, except for using the same shape as in example 1/2, but with a connecting line from the right, which also requires you to lift the pen?

Edited June 9, 2014 by antikva

[smk]

Welcome to the thread Tobias (is that really your name or was that just practice?).

 

Both ways of writing daal are quite readable - go with the one that flows better for you. As you already know, Arabic is quite flexible in how you form your ligatures. Some Calligraphic hands (Diwani) take this to an extreme by forming ligatures that are not even allowed (e.g. connecting Alif with letters following it). This is especially useful in normal handwriting as you develop the shapes that make the most sense to you. Textbooks show you the absolute proper way of writing but they aren't always aesthetically pleasant.

 

Similarly, all of your Haa/Jeem options are correct. I like the look of No. 2 the best.

 

The final shape of Haa/Jeem aren't usually connected like that in handwriting. The connection comes from the top moving the bowl of the Jeem below the writing line.

 

I give an example of a Baa-Haa join towards the end of this video: Lesson 10. In this example, any letters that come before the Baa would be joined in line with it i.e. above the Jeem. I hope this makes some sense.

 

- Salman

 

ETA - regarding your question about the slant. It just becomes natural to write like that when you write at speed - sort of like the cursive forms of western hands. My grandfather had beautiful, and quite unconventionally, upright handwriting. There is nothing in it - go with what you like.

[antikva]

Thank you. Yes, Tobias is my name.

 

Ah, that final jeem/haa/khaa shape looks interesting. I've only learnt to write preceding letters above the letter when it is in medial position (when it has no bowl). In final position, my textbook says to write it like in my example.

 

However, have I got it right if you mean that preceding letters should be connected like this? (A drawing on the computer. I have no idea if this is a word or not.)

 

[smk]

You got it Tobias - it should be a bit higher still but what you have is very much understandable.

 

S.