Independent Reading¶
This section has a list of useful books to read on your own. Reading a translation side by side, where available, can be helpful. Some of these books also have accompanying audio to overcome the challenge of reading without tashkeel (vowel signs). These books will help you transition from guided reading to independent reading, insha Allah.
This is a work in progress and I will keep adding new books/resources so please check back often.
العربية للناشئين¶
This is a famous book series for teaching Arabic to non-native speakers. But rather than going through the complete text books, I would recommend to use only the texts in the books as independent reading practice.
Arabic.ba is an excellent website where you can read all texts from these books without downloading and navigating the textbooks.
To help ease into reading without vowel signs, this website is equipped with a simple switch panel at the top of the page, which allows the user to control the vocalization (تَشْكِيلٌ) of the text. The user can choose to show or hide short vowels (حَرَكَاتٌ) at the beginning (أَوَّلُ الْكَلِمَةِ), the middle (وَسْطُ الْكَلِمَةِ) and the end (آخِرُ الْكَلِمَةِ) of each word of the text. Read more about their methodolgy here.
You can find all the lessosn here.
تدبر سورة الفاتحة¶
by Dr. Abdur Raheem
Simple contemplation of Surah al-Fatihah in 20 short points. Useful for advanced students who are ready to move from understanding grammar, to contemplating the deeper meanings denoted by the grammar. The language is easy enough to make it a good beginner's book for independent reading.
- Download the book from here
التفسير الميسر¶
by a group of prominent scholars, initiative King Fahad Printing Press
This tafseer is in simple Arabic, using only simple and easy phrases and words throughout the Tafseer, along with explaining the difficult words. The tafseer is simplified and summarized, from the works of the greatest Imaams of tafseer and explains the meaning of the ayaat directly, without quoting any narrations except where necessary. Which makes it a good starting book for the students of Arabic before delving into more complex books of tafseer.
قواعد الإملاء¶
by Abdul Salam Haroon
Qawaid al Imla is a short book explaining the rules of Arabic orthography. Not only this book is beneficial to master Arabic writing, reading this Arabic only book and trying to understand the Arabic video lectures in itself is a great way to practice Arabic comprehension.
- Read the book online
- Download the book from here
- Watch video lectures of Ustadh Ahmad Ibraheem teaching the book in Arabic.
إقسام الأيمان في أقسام القرآن¶
by Dr Abdur Raheem
Another great book by Dr Abdur Raheem, in which 400 ayaat of the Quran are masterfully quoted, arranged and discussed. This publication gathers every āyah in the Quran containing a Qasam and Jawab al-Qasam.
New, advanced, grammatical notes and insights are provided from classical Arabic references on iʿrāb, lughah, tafṣir, maʿānii al-Qurʾān, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhāriyy and Musnad Imām Aḥmad. The āyāt are arranged and discussed in various ways: according to the style and eloquence of the Qasam and Jawāb al-Qasam, according to the sūrahs they occur in, according to identical grammar patterns, according to identical omissions in the Qurʾānic constructions, according to the tools of Qasam, instruments of Jawāb al-Qasam , verbs and nouns that signify Qasam and Jawāb al-Qasam etc.
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Download the book from Dr Abdur Raheem's own website. May Allah reward him for providing all his books free of cost to everyone.
القرآن تدبر وعمل¶
by Alminhaj Center for Educational Supervision and Training
This book takes a unique aproach. For every page of the Quran, meanings of the new words are given in Arabic. It also contains short excerpts from the authentic tafaseer like Ibn Katheer, Qurtubi etc., points to reflect upon and lessons to be drawn. This is an ideal book to study before starting on the study of more detailed books of tafseer.
شرح اللأربعين النووية للعثيمين¶
by Sheikh Uthaimeen
Shiekh Uthaimeen's commentary on the famous 40 Ahadeeth by Imam Nawawi. There are many books written explaianing this famous book of hadeeth, but Sheikh Uthaimeen's explanantion is good for students of Arabic language as the language is easy and he addresses many contemporary issues in his works.
- Download the complete book from here.
- Listen to the audio lectures by the Sheikh explaining the ahadeeth here.
تفسير ابن كثير¶
by Hafidh Ibn Katheer
One of the most well renowned tafseer books in Arabic language, this tafseer forms the backbone of many tafseer studies. But what makes it a perfect first Arabic only tafseer is the fact that it's language is super easy and perfectly suitable for novices to understand. This books quotes large number of authentic ahadeeth which could be a little difficult to understand, but pushes a learner out of their comfort zone.
- Read the Arabic version online here. To turn the tashkeel marks on, click on the small ت icon.
- Download the Arabic version from here
- Download English translation from here
- You can listen to the Arabic version here.
تفسير السعدي¶
by Sheikh Abdur Rahman bin Nasir alSaadi
Written by Sheikh Abd ar-Rahman ibn Nasir alSaadi, it is a clear, concise Tafsir that is considered Authentic. It is a very good choice for beginners, due to its simple language. It is a great place to start reading the Quran in Arabic as it will give you enough context for the verses you don’t understand.
الميسر في غريب القرآن الكريم¶
by King Fahd Quran Printing Complex
The vocabulary of the Quran is explained simply in this color coded book, particularly those words that need further clarification to grasp their meaning. Explained in simple and clear Arabic. The work is prepared by the King Fahd Quran Printing Complex (al-Madinah al-Munawwarah).
- Download the book from here.
- To read with tashkeel you can read it online here. Make sure to turn on the tashkeel by clicking on "التشكيل" at the bottom.
- You can listen to the whole book here.
الصحاح الستة¶
The Six Canonical Books of Hadith in Full Audio & PDF.