Al-Maghrib in Arabic!!

Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,

I've been thinking about this for a long time now, and I feel that now is a good time to propose this: How about we have Al-Maghrib in Arabic??!! I know Sheikh Yasser would love to teach in Arabic. He said it is his passion!!

Why teach in Arabic?

First of all, I feel that we're missing out, at least here in Houston, on most of the members of the Arab community. It's not as beneficial for them, they say, to learn in English after learning in Arabic. With the opportunity of having a fiqh or hadeeth class in Arabic, in shaa Allah those who missed out on the English Al-Maghrib classes won't miss on this.
I'm sure the NJ community and others as well will love this idea and will adopt it. The Arabic speakers then will give up the english classes for the Arabic ones; at least the english classes will not be sold out that early.


Whom will this benefit?

Other than the Arabic speakers who would love to learn the Qur'an in the language in which it was revealed, english speakers who took some classes in Arabic would be able to start their real quest in learning the Arabic language. Special accomodations, in terms of fees and exams, should be made for non-Arabic speakers, Wallahu a'lam.



How should we approach this?

In shaa Allah we have enough time to advertise for it, so we can have Sheikh Yasir (sorry I'm planning for you sheikh) give a series of lectures in Arabic here in Houston, as well as in Dallas and Austin, after advertising as well as possible for it, well ahead of time. I suggest to have a series titled 'لغتنا العربية', in which he can touch on the importance of knowledge, and the superiority of the Arabic language and so on, of course mentioning the Al-Maghrib success in the english classes and advertising for the Arabic classes. The classes should be held where most of the class students exist.

Teachers?

I know Sh. Yasir (Sorry sheikh, remember, once you study Shari'ah, your life is not yours anymore...You told me this, remember) would be the first one to volunteer. I know there are others who would love to teach in Arabic, but I'll just wait until I get their approval to be able to speak on their behalf (as if I got Sh. Yasir's approval in the first place!!).

I propose to have the first Arabic Al-Maghrib class be next February, since we need some time to advertise for it. Afterall, we'll be reaching for a different community now.

I know I'm missing on many points to take into consideration, but maybe Sheikh Muhammad can teach us some of the things that he learned and that we need to know before moving forward.

This was me, from my wife's computer. Sorry for the confusion!!

yeah, i was thinking "sarah who?"

this is a fantastic idea because i had many people who study islam but had problems in english (one person cancelled because she felt overwhelmed by language)

there is also this rift in our communities between arab/non-arab

plus it is a great motivator for people to learn arabic!

Yea, and maybe in a few years we can have future shaikhs like Irtiza do the classes in Urdu.

Wa Allahu 'alam

[Muhammad Alshareef]

excellent idea - jazakum Allahu Khayr for sharing it. I'm actually considering making the final classes of AlMaghrib in Arabic only so that a person would need a certain level of proficiency in Arabic to graduate from AlMaghrib's program.

some 'devils advocate' counter points:
- the market of arabic students in the USA is very small. Very small.

- the arabic only community in the USA is the 'uncle' generation. Typically, our classes have not been that popular with 'uncles', it is more likely that their children will be interested in the classes, their children who could easily study in English rather then Arabic. So the class would be an older crowd.

- there would be a conflict of brand focus between AlMaghrib in English or Arabic. A new Institute would need to be started to accomodate the Arabic classes. I know: AlMashriq Institute right

[But - subhan Allah - I would love to see a community of young Arabic speaking youth, whether arab or not, come forward to learn the Deen of Allah. Bi idhnillah it will happen one day.]

Shaykh Yaser and I actually are considering it for the middle east expansion. In sha Allah, i am focused for the next few years on expanding almaghrib to English countries (like Australia and the UK) but it's definately on our scope to encompass the middle east, in sha Allah.

Barak Allahu feek for sharing your thoughts akhee. Keep 'em coming.

Originally Posted by Muhammad Alshareef

- the arabic only community in the USA is the 'uncle' generation. Typically, our classes have not been that popular with 'uncles', it is more likely that their children will be interested in the classes, their children who could easily study in English rather then Arabic. So the class would be an older crowd.

As-salamoulaikoum,
But that would be sooo amazing to see all the 'Uncles' signing up!!

My husband told me that if the classes were in Arabic, considering his job permits him, he would definitely want to attend! Masha'Allah

Originally Posted by sarah

I know Sh. Yasir (Sorry sheikh, remember, once you study Shari'ah, your life is not yours anymore...You told me this, remember) would be the first one to volunteer. I know there are others who would love to teach in Arabic, but I'll just wait until I get their approval to be able to speak on their behalf (as if I got Sh. Yasir's approval in the first place!!).

Ya I was really confused too… ‘Who was sister Sarah that I told her so?’ I couldn’t remember that with any sister

As for the idea, with all the difficulties that might appear with it…go ahead and bring a plan to see how effective it would be.

I'm actually considering making the final classes of AlMaghrib in Arabic only so that a person would need a certain level of proficiency in Arabic to graduate from AlMaghrib's program.

This is a really good idea!

before you can do that....you will need to make a lecture on tips on how to learn arabic as another toung..

As-salamoulaikoum,

Al Baraa:
before you can do that....you will need to make a lecture on tips on how to learn arabic as another toung..

Guess what I did to learn Arabic?? I wasn't raised speaking it or anything. I started off by always trying to read Arabic newspapers. I'd try to copy the letters down exactly as they appear, and look them up in the arabic dictionary. My heart was into it, so I guess it didn't seem so hard. Another way I learned Arabic is by simply learning to read Qur'an. I would follow along with the sheikhs recorded recitation, and stop and repeat, and read . I picked up quickly this way.

Another way, is to buddy up with a friend that only speaks Arabic to you, so you are forced to speak Arabic -my friend from Jordan, she speaks little English, so our conversations are only in Arabic! Ilhamdulilah. That's what has helped me learn tremendously. Actually, scratch the last statement, it was lots of DUA'AH, and Allah's help,, in learning my most beloved language.

I also used to go to this library, and they had Arabic cassettes that teach Arabic( I learned some of the Saudi dialect this way too). I'd listen to them a lot.

This is just my own suggestions.One could do those things in preperation for the Arabic Prep lectures !