03 mastering arabic script a guide to handwriting

Mastering
Arabic Script
a guide to handwriting
Jan
e
Wightwi
ck
and
Mahmoud
Gaafar
Contributions
and
handwriting models
by
Professor Mohammed
Hamaam
Head
of
the Academy
of
Arabic Script, Cairo
palgrave
macmillan
www.uz-translations.net
*
C g-a
nd
-w
1'V8USHI,,"C 2005
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First publi
shed
2005
by
PAlGRAVE
MACM
I
LLAN

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hi
re
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ISBN.13:
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Printed
and
bound
in
Chino
Contents
Introdu
c
tion
Ba
sic
lett
er

shapes
1
U
nit
1
Unit 2
Unit 3
extra
Unit 4
Unit 5
Unit 6
ext
ra
Un
it 7
Unit 8
Unit 9
ex
tr
a
Unit l Q
Unit
11
Un
it 12
Unit 13
extra
u 6
9
Vowel

and
doubling signs
14
16
J ; ;
20
j J 24
Long vowels 28
C C
1;
30
" " 34
~
39
H
amza
42
v::.
'-""
44
V"
V"
48
~
J
52
;
J
57
Nu

mbers
U
nit
14
.!l
Unit
15
J.;.b
62
64
68
7J
Unit 16
iii
www.uz-translations.net
Letter
combinations
Unit 17 General principles
Unit 18 Joining to t
Unit
19
75
76
79
83
Unit
20
Unit 21
Joining to
{"

Joining to final
86
Summary of combinations with
-!
89
Write on! Activities for further practice
93
Arabic
alphabet
Summary
table
111
Acknowledgements
Th
e authors
and
publishers wish to
th
an
k
the
following
for use
of
copyright material:
Dar
Assayad for
the
use
of

the
masthead
from
Ai
Anwar newspaper; Professor
Mohammed
Hamaam
(or
th
e
sa
mple
of
his calligraphy.
Ev
ery effort
ha
s been
mad
e to trace a
ll
copyright holders,
but if
any
have
been
inad
vertently overlooked,
the
publishers will be pleased to

make
the
necessary
arrange
m
en
ts
at
the
first opportunity.
Introduction
The
hi
story
of
the
Arabic
scr
ipt
The Arabic
alphabet
and
written lang
uage
ha
s remained
remarkably con
stant
since
the

six
th
or seve
nth
century
AD
,
largely
due
to
the
unifying factor
of
the
Qur'an.
There
is
no
clear documented progression in
the
development of
the
script
before this time
and
only a limited
number
of
original pre-
Is

lami
c Arabic texts exist, sometimes
as
scraps of stone
or
parchment.
Arabic is a Semitic
languag
e related to Aramaic
and
Hebrew.
Th
e
language
ha
s its roots in
th
e n
omadic
oral tradition of
the
desert, which largely explains
the
la
ck
of
early examples
of
the
Script.

Although spoken Arabic dialects have diverged in
the
same
way
that
Romance
languag
es such
as
Italian
and
French
hav
e
diverged from Latin,
the
Modem S
tandard
Arabic of today's
media
is
close to
the
l
anguage
of
th
e
Qur'a
n

and
Classical
literature.
Th
e spelling
and
grammar
hav
e
not
changed
signifi
can
tly over
the
centuries.
Different
styles
of
writing
Arabic calligraphy is a highly respected art form with hundreds
of
different styles. Many of these
ca
lli
gra
phic styles a re very
ornate
and
intended more for decoration

than
comprehension.
The
ca
lligrapher relies
on
the reader
alr
e
ady
knowing the text,
often a verse from
the
Qur'an,
and
can
concentrate
on
making
th
e
sCrip
t
as
beautiful
and
balanced
as
possible.
As

for
as
every
day
written Arabic is concerned, there
are
two
si
gn
ificant styles: na
sk
h,
the
basic script used for most printed
material;
and
ruq'a,
the
script used for most handwritten
material. Although it is possible to typeset
ruq'a or handwrite
www.uz-translations.net
Introduction
An
example
of
hig
hl
y decorative calligraphy showing text from the
Qur'an (Professor Mohammed Hamaam, Head of the Academy

of
Arabic
Script, Cairo)
na
skh, this does
not
huppen
commonly.
Most Arab children will initially le
arn
to read
and
write naskh
in a
similar
way to English children learning
to
read
and
write
using
infant
letters.
At
about
11
or
12
years old, secondary
school students in

the
Arab world will
graduate
to writing ruq'a,
which
is
an eagerly
anticipated
step
and
a sign of
having
joined the '
adult'
club.
Ruq'a is a more flowing script
than
naskh
and
designed for
speed
and
efficiency. Good
handwriting
is
much
admired
as
an
Introduction

extension
of
the
respect
paid
to calligraphy. As a
learner
you
will find a
mastery
of
the
ruq'a script
wi
ll
help you to be
regarded
as
a serious
student
of
the
language,
as
well
as
being
a more efficient
way
of handwriting.

vii
This book sets
out
to
compare
and
contrast naskh
and
ruq'a
and
to
teach
you a fluid
and
mature
ruq'a writing style, using
models produced by
one
of
the
leading experts
on
handwriting
in the Arab world
and
providing extensive practice material.
There
are
obvious similarities between naskh
and

ruq'a,
but
there
are
also some
important
differences to be mastered
when
writing ruq'a.
For
example, ruq'a script largely floats
above
the
line whereas el
ements
of
naskh fall below
the
line. Also,
many
of
the
fiddlier
and
more time-consuming elements of naskh
are
rationalised in ruq'a for
the
sake
of speed.

For
examp
le
the
separate
dots
above
and
below
the
main
script
are
joined
together.
i
A /
()f'.;>
5UI )3U\ '
5
~\
A sentence written
in
both
sc
ripts. The naskh version (top) was
typeset and the ruq'a version (below)
was
handwritten by
Professor Hamaam. Can

you
spot the
simi
larities and differences?
www.uz-translations.net
viii
Introduction
How
to
use
this
book
This script book
ca
n be beneficial
at
different s
tage
s of
th
e
l
ea
rning
process.
It
c
an
be used by complete begi
nn

ers who
wish to
ma
ster
the
ruq'a
scri
pt
s
imultan
eously with
the
print
ed
naskh, s
upplem
e
nting
the
ear
ly s
tag
es of study of
the
Arabic
languag
e,
whether
in a classroom
or

home
setting. Beginners
often find
th
e script quite easy to
ma
ster in principle
but
still
find it tokes a lo
ng
time to become flue
nt
in reading
and
writing. This book
can
help you overcome
th
e script barrier
much
more quickly.
Alte
rnati
vel
y,
you
may
hav
e

already
studied Arabic
and
be
proficient in reading
naskh. But
you
ma
y
not
yet
have
had
th
e
opportunity
to
impro
ve yo
ur
own writing
or
to decipher
th
e
handwriting
of
nativ
e
spea

kers. This book
can
take you to
th
e
n
ex
t level by conce
ntrating
on
making
yo
ur
Arabic
handwriting
mor
e
matur
e
and
flue
nt
.
At whatever s
tage
y
ou
a
pproach
this book, it is best to work

your
way
through
the
unit
s
meth
odicall
y.
There
are
thr
ee
main
pa
rts to the book. The first
part
covers how to form
and
join
individual letter s
hape
s;
the
second covers speci
al
combinations
of
letters;
and

the third
part
is
an
activity section for further
practice. Features included
are
:
• clear
ex
planation
and
graphics showing how
the
letter
s
hape
s
are
form
ed
•
numerous
practice exercises to help you achieve fluency in
writing
•
Master
calligrapher
tip
s: expert

hint
s on writing in
ruq
'a
from
Professor Mo
hamm
ed
Hamaam,
head
of
the
Acade
my
of
Arabic
Sc
ript in Cairo. Fo
ll
ow
th
e in
st
ructions in
thi
s guide
and
you will
hav
e good

ru
q'a
handwritin
g. Follow Professor
Hamaam
's tips
and
you will
ha
ve even better
ruq'a
writing!
• 'ex
tra
' sections covering f
ea
tur
es
of
th
e Arabic
sc
ript such as
writing vowe
ls
and
hamza (

)
•

ph
otos
and
illustrations showing
th
e scri
pt
in co
nt
ex
t
•
Write
on!:
additional
s
timulating
and
useful activities to
impro
ve recognition
and
fluency
of
writing.
Introduction
Basic principles
of
Arabic script
There

are
a few
ba
sic princip
le
s of Arabic script which
apply
whichever sty
le
of writing
is
use
d:
• There ore 28 letters in
the
alphabet.
• The
sC
ript
is
written right to left.
• There
are
no
capital letters.
• Words
are
written
in
cursive,

or
'join
ed
up'
, writing.
All
letters
join to
the
le
tt
er before in a word
and
all
but
six join to
the
letter after also.
Once you
have
ma
stered
the
various forms
of
each
letter
sha
pe
in both naskll

and
ruq'a
you
will find you
can
write
and
read
Arabic in most everyday context
s.
Fin
ally,
mak
e s
ur
e you
have
a good ink pen, drawing pen,
gel p
en
or a so
ft
pencil to write Arabic. The Arabic
sC
ript usually
looks better
when
written with a thicker
nib
or tip. Arabic is a

fl
owing scri
pt
and
it is difficult to achieve a good
hand
with a
ch
eap
biro.
www.uz-translations.net
Basic letter
shapes
www.uz-translations.net
.
r·
·
l
~
! )
~
"
~~
,.
:.
U
For the first few
unit
s
of

Part I, you will be practising how to
write individual Arabic s
hape
s
and
letters.
When
you
hav
e
mastered eno
ugh
letters, we will introduce complete words to
re
co
gnise
and
copy.
Practise forming
th
e le
tt
er s
hape
above, first
by
tra
cing
th
e

shape
and
then
by
copying
what
you see. P
ay
special
attention
to where
you
s
tart
th
e shap
e.
• •
• •
•
s
ta
rt
h're
'-"'-"
~
• •
This s
hape
is used for

thr
ee different Arabic letters.
Compare
the
printed
and
the
handwritt
en versions:
Printed form Handwritten form

-
~
-
•
the
letter ba'. The
ba
sic
shape
with one
dot
undern
eath
.
Pronounced '
b'
as
in 'boat'.
the

letter ta'. The basic s
hope
with two dots
above
.
Pr
ono
un
ced 't'
as
in 'tin' .
Un
it 1
A

~
-
the
le
tt
er tha', The b
as
ic s
hape
with three dots above.
Prono
un
ced '
th
'

as
in
't
hanks'
,
3
Notice
that
in
the
handwritten form
th
e dots become joined
up
f
or
speed.
Two
dots
are
joined like thi
s:
_
Three dots
are
joined like thi
s:
1\
Practise tracing
and

copying
tho
se shapes by
th
emselves,
remembering to move your pen from
right
to le
ft.
1\
-
1\
-
1\
-
1\
-
1\
-
1\
-
Now
pra
ctise all three letters. Always complete the
main
letter
sh
ape
first
and

th
en
add
any
'dots'.
t ;
__
~

~

- .

•

-
~

~
A
A
t.,
L,.oo
~
www.uz-translations.net
4
Unit 1
Joining
up
Arabic is a cursive script: most Arabic letters a re w

ri
tten join
ed
up to t
he
o
th
er letters in a word. Here is how the letter
shape
fo
r
"':""
U
and
~
looks
when
at
the beginning, in the
mi
dd
l
e,
and
at
the
end
of a wor
d:
final

joined to the
le
tt
er
before only
t
~
.
~
]
~
C.
.l
- -
=
-_
.
me
dial
joined
bo
th
sides
initial
jo
ined to the
letter aft
er
only
[

-
:
~
-J

~

~W
Notice how in the initial
and
me
d
ia
l position
s,
the dots
associat
ed
with the
le
tter move to the right
of
th
e sh
ape,
sitting
above
or
under
the

right.h
and
curve.

] Master
calligraph
er
tip
s
Th
e shape of
th
e initial ba', ta' a
nd
tha' is one
of
th
e most
importa
nt
in Arabic writing. The stroke is fundamental
to
handw
ri
ting and f
or
ms the b
as
is of a
numb

er of Arabic letter
shap
es.
Pay
a
tt
ention to the starting and finishing position
s.
U
ni
t 1
This letter sh
ape
can
be joined together in differe
nt
comb
in
atio
n
s.
Compare
the
printed
and
handwritten
comb
in
atio
ns below:

Pri
nt
ed
fo
rm
Ha
nd
written form
~
•

U-?

:.
+
'-'

(read right to left)
~
-
+
~

'-:' 1

-
'-'
::.
~
•

-
:.
+
+ ::.
~
_
1 M.I
___
'-'
Practise c
op
ying
the
s
hap
es wi
th
out
dots a
nd
th
en
th
e
com
bin
ations of letters. Complete
th
e
wh

ole
combi
nati
on from
rig
ht
to
le
ft
before
add
ing any 'dots', also
fr
om
right to left.
5
~".
".
A _
_~_
L
~
___
~_

_.

~

www.uz-translations.net

•
u
r-
~
')
r"
' l
~
t ::
'-'-

-
-l
··
Q

J

~
This letter s
hop
e is used for only one Arabic letter:
Printed form Handwr
itt
en
form

0
_
th

e letter
nOn
. Pronounced
'n
'
as
in '
not'
.
The
print
ed
n
as
kh
form
of
nOn
falls below
the
lin
e,
but
the
handwritten ruq'a f
or
m tends to sit
mor
e on
the

lin
e.
The
dot
above is often joined to
the
main
letter s
hop
e in
handwriting
.
Practise tracing a
nd
th
en
copying
th
e s
hope
.
start
C)
~
he
:
._
Unit 2
7
Joining

up
nOn
ha
s exactly the same shape as
ba
' w
hen
in the initial or
medial position (see
Unit I), except it
ha
s one dot
above.
Beginners
ca
n confu
se
nOn
a
nd
ba'. Remember
Qa
' has the dot
!2e
lo
w.
final
medial
joined to the
letter before only

joined both sides
Printed form Handwritten form
~
• •

~
. .
.;:.
•

~
U.> >
.:
•
•

.
C)!

.
u !
-
u
+
+
+
initial
joined to the
Je
tter after only

'-'
+
U
.
+
u
'-'
'-'
.
Notice t
hat
when
joining to a
fi
nal
nOn
,
as
in
the
final
examp
le
above
, you need to s
tart
the
previous letter higher to
end
up

back on
th
e lin
e.
Practise copying
the
co
mbinati
ons
below:
www.uz-translations.net
8
Unit
1
. 1
Master
calligrapher
tips
You
can also write
the
isolated
and
final
nOn
like
this:
So
the combination
<.J

followed
by
W could
also
be written:
_
N:
_
~,
;y.
;,.H
bunn min al-yaman (Coffee beans from Yemen)
This letter
shape
represents
the
Arabic letter ya':
Printed {onn

tl
Handwritten {onn
the
letter ya'
can
be
pronounced
in three ways:
y
as
in

'):::es';
T
as
in
'm
~
t';
or
ay
as in
'd~'
Like
the
nOn,
the
printed naskh form of
ya'
falls below the line,
but
the
handwritten
ruq'a form sits on
the
line. The two dots
below become joined in
handwriting
as
with u (see Unit
1)
Practise tracing

and
then
copying
the
shope.
Joining
up
ya'
is
another
letter which
has
exactly
the
same
shape
as
"":-'
(see
Unit
1)
when
in
the
initial
or
medial position, except
that
it
has

two dots below. In the final position,
it
looks simil
ar
to the
isolated letter.
www.uz-translations.net
10
final
joined to the
letter before
only
me
dial
joined both
side
s
initial
joined to the
le
tt
er after only
Unit 3
To s
ummari
se, there
are
five letters which s
har
e

the
same
shape
in their initial
and
medial positions,
and
are
only distinguished
by
th
e
number
of dots
above
or below:
final
c
~L
•
-
-
~
~

A
l
,
_ __ W _____ _
-

~

medial

-
~
-
-

•
-

~

A

~
-

•
-
-
~

-
-
~


initial

~
-
•

)
i
so
lat
ed
-
-
~

•


~

A

~

__
~
_ __ 0
__
_
~
__ J

••
.$
__
_

-
Notice how these combi
nati
ons
are
written:
Printed form Handwritten fonn
•

. -
-

,


A

,

. -
ba'
ta'
tha'
nOn
ya'

Unit 3
•
U':!
=u+<;?

-
-
~
-

-
~
J
Mast
er
calligrapher
tips
\ .
If you write one of the letters U
~
:J '":"' before a final
ya
/
,
the initial shape w
ill
become a short downwards stro
ke
, with
the f

in
al ya'
end
in
g back
on
the
lin
e:
_
__
_ di
___
_
-
Sometimes a final
ya'
is written without
the
dots a
nd
pronounced 'a', as in
the
names.; mona or u-4llayla. In
addition, some people
don't
bother
to handwrite
the
dots

on
the final
yil
' even when they sho
uld
be
th
ere!
Practise tracing
and
copying
th
e co
mbinati
ons below.
-
~ ~
-
~' ~1._.MJ~~ '-\_ !A.~"-~)
_. _.
_.
l W

11

.

www.uz-translations.net
12
Unit 3

-
Unit 3
-
~I
, .
."
-
- • , I I
-0
-
, , -
~I
~
bayt at-Un (House
of
Figs)
~\
.jA
~
tin min
al
-t
alamayn (Figs from
El
Alamein)
Notice that the 'dots' over or under the script may move
around in handwriting, sometim

es
ending
up
to
the left
of
where they should be (see the dots
on
~I
above). This
movement happens because the dots are added after the main
word has been completed and
is
comparable to what happens
in English handwriting when you
might
find the
cross
stroke of
a
't'
has
moved
to
the right.
13
www.uz-translations.net
14
extra:
vowel and doubling

signs
~
-
extrCl
"'.
,.
I Vowel
and
doubling
signs
I Most
modem
Arabic is written
without
short vowel
s,
in
a
similar
way
to
th
e
language
of
mobile text messages ('en u
em
tdy?'). So a word such
as
~

bint (gir
l)
is
actually
written
as
bnt
and
~
bayt (house)
as
byt.
It is possible to
add
signs
above
and
be
low
the
main
script
show
in
g
the
short vowel
s,
and
these

are
sometimes included
for clarity
or
in
material
aimed
at
learners,
as
well
as
being a
feature of classical
and
religious texts.
The vowel signs are:
~fat~a
~9amma
b~
kasra
a
dash
above,
pronounced
as
a short 'a'
after
th
e letter, for

example

~
ba
a
comma-shape
above,
pronounced
as
a
short
'u'
after
the letter, for
example

~
bu
a
dash
be
low,
pronounced
as
a
short'i'
after
the
letter, for
example

-'
bi

There ure also two
additional
signs:
~sukon
-
';J!. shadda
a
sma
ll
circle
above
sho:ving
that
no
vowel
follows
the
letter, e.g.
~
bint (girl)
a small
'w'
shape
above
showing
that

the
"
letter
is
doubled, e.g.
~
bunn (coffee
beans)
Don't
confuse these signs with
the
dots
above
and
below
letters. The dots
are
an
integral
part
of
the
script,
distinguishing
one
letter from
another.
The vowels
and
doubling signs

are
a discretionary feature.
_.
extra:
vowel and doubling
signs
Practise writing
the
signs, following
the
direction of the arrow,
and
making
sure you move
your
pen
from right to left.
Only
kasra
(i)
is
written
under
the
line:
o w
o w
Now practise tracing
and
copying these words with

the
vowel
and
doubling signs included. Follow these steps:
1.
Complete
the
main
shape
of
the
word.
2. Add
the
letter dots from right to left.
3. Add
the
vowel
and
doubling signs from right to left.
<>
_.
o

I
,l J.
J
_
n-:,
•

f-
bint
4- bayt
15
J
www.uz-translations.net
. .
4\
.,~-
,
r
-"
'1
-[
J J
,
,
I

'
The letter a
li
t
is
the
first letter
of
the Arabic
alphabet
and

one
of
the
simp
lest to recognise
and
write: a single downward stroke.
Printed form
Handwritten {onn
,
Practise tracing
and
th
en
copying
the
shape.
I
I
I
I
1 I
I
_ start
\
he
re
alit does
not
represent a single consistent sound.

It
has
two
functions:
•
as
a 'carrier' for
one
of the short vowels
(a,
U, i),
usua
ll
y
at
the
begi
nning
of
a word
• to
ind
icate a l
ong
a vowel.
Joi
nin
g up
Most Arabic letters join to t
he

letters either side
of
them
in a
word. aljf is
one
of
six Arabic letters
that
onl
y
join
to
the letter
before
(on its right). This effectively
means
that
the alif retains its
shape
wherever it fa
ll
s in a word, with just a small joining
Unit 4
stroke
if
it
is joi
ned
to

the
letter before.
me
di
al/fi
na l
joined to the
letter before
ini
tial/iso
l
ated
not joined at all
c) -J
The letter followi
ng
an
a
li
f (to the left)
must
be written in the
initial form,
or
in t
he
isolated form if it is the only
remain
ing
letter in

the
word.
An a
li
t at
the
beginning of a word
is
usua
ll
y written
wi
th a
hamza symbol
(~)
over it if
the
vowel is a
or
ll,
or
under
it if
the
vowel
is
i:
I
a
or

u: I ;: I
I
Complete
the
whole word before
adding
the
hamza (see extra
section pages
42-3
for more details
on
hamza).
Look carefully
at
how
these words are written:
Printed form
Handwritten
form
-
'-'
-4
_
__
wl
__
bab door
•
•

•
,
_
__
_
~L
___
~
L
ab father
J

,-
L
.L
_
___
U __
baba daddy/papa
•
•

u!


'4
-
in
if
•

,

-
1:.
L
__
__
1_L
ana
I (am)
-
L :.
__
d_l.;
__
nabatT
vegetarian
~
-
.

•
www.uz-translations.net
18
Unit
4
Practise tracing
and
th
en copying

tho
se wor
ds
cont
aining
alit
.
c, ,.1

• •
,
_~I
,
~I
,
!, ,-I
• •
•
•
• •
• •
• •
_c.tl
J
al
J
CLI~
"C L')~I
,C £')+-'
_

_
J >
J
LI
f J , J
J _I
~L-I_
Jd
_lL_
,=
-

-



Un
it
4
]
~'d
~
J
l.Ji
-
~4
b
aba
- a

na
II
bayt
th
ab
it
(Daddy - I'm in
Th
ab
it's house)
19
www.uz-translations.net
'5"
f'
',
.
)I-
"
t J

y
•
JJJ
,
'
___
L
__
_
."

')

The two letter s
hape
s
above
are
very s
imilar
. The
downward
s
sloping stroke used to produce
J
ha
s a
sma
ll
'head'
added
to
produce the
,J
shape.
Printed form Handwritten form

:;-

- -
~

•
•

~


:;-


-J-
-

-
the
lett
er
ra
'.
Pronoun
ced as a
slightly trilled
'r'
as
in
the
Spanish 'arriva'.
th
e letter zay. The
sa

me
shape
as.)
with
one
d
ot
above.
Pronounced
'2'
as
in 'zebra'.
the letter
w.1w.
Can
be
pronounced in three ways: w
as
in 'l'!et'; G
as
in 'IQQt';
or
aw
as
in
'hQYi';
Notice
that
although
the

printed naskh letters fall under
the
line
th
e
handwritten
ruq'a letters finish
on
the
line -
one
of
th
e
fundamental
differences between
the
two
sC
ripts.
Unit 5
21
Practise
tradng
and
then
copying
the
letter s
hap

es.
start
.2
_"'_
y
here
Joining
up
ra', zay
and
waw are three
mor
e letters like a
lif
that
only join to
the
letter
before
(on
the
right)
in
a word.
medial/final
ra
', zay
joined to the
letter before
m

ed
ia
l/fina
l
wOw
joined to the
letter
before
Remember
that
after non-joining letters, the following letter in a
word
must
be
written in
the
initial or isolated form, depending
on
whether it is
the
final letter in
the
word. Look
at
how
the
Arabic
nam
es
on

the
next
page
are
written.
www.uz-translations.net
22
Unit
5
Printed form
Handwritten
form
•
.
.L
.
~

nOr
. .
eJ-' )

cr/
.
zayn
-
. ,
.L~
.
L

anwar
.
. .
~ )
_'-4.Jwl ",t_
. -
zaynab

Mast
er
calligrapher
tips
r
B
ecause
~
h
e
shapes
of
the handwritten J
and."
s
it
on the
lin
e
in
ruq'a,
yo

u should
try
to r
aise
the letter before
so
that
yo
u
end
up
back in the r
ight
position:
.

f


•
•
~
_____
._

_
~
_
_

_

__
J
__
+_u ______
~
Pr
actise
co
p
yi
ng the names.
.


UnitS
23
,
/,:;'1
. ,
/_'l
I
. .
~/.~/
Whose peg
is
whose?
How
many

nam
es
can
yo
u read?
U~
(
AUOj)
I
UO}
q'"
'0"
qeu,(
l1z
("oulD
~lJ!1
UAl?
l
1!q~41
rK?>
r'f'
I~A

(
(

.
., ,
'"
rK'

n~
•
(Ydf
OJ
JI/
6jJ
W OJJ
6U1POClJ)
www.uz-translations.net
•
J J
This letter s
hap
e looks sim
ilar
to J
but
is rounder.
It
is used for
two Arabic letters.
Printed form Handwritten form

oJ
·· .
-
)
•
•

.J.
__
th
e letter dar. Pronounced
'd'
as
in
'
den'
.
the
letter dhal. The
same
shape
with
one
dot
above. Pr
ono
un
ced
'th
'
as
in
'th'
or
't
hat'.
., , '

Master
calligrapher
tips
The stroke used to write the handwritten .J is the same as that
used for the initial
~ or
::i,
etc.:
•
Practise tracing
and
then copying d
iU
and
dhal.
Unit 6
•
•
•
,
Joining
up
•
25
s
tart
./'h
ere
._.)

__
",IL .
•
•
dal
and
dhal
are
the
la
st
of
the
six letters
that
don't join to the
next letter in a word. Here is a
summary
of all six letters in
their isolated form
ond
when
joined to
the
letter before:
final
/
medial
isolated
,

alii
-
-~
-
dal
•
•
.
~
.
-
dhal
ra
t
•
•

~

zay
.
~
_.
-'-

waw
www.uz-translations.net
26
Unit
6

Notice how these co
mbinati
ons
are
written:
Printed form Handwritt
en
form
-4
___
N
__
=J+

~
•
.J )-1
__
,).
__ L
=J+,;+ ,.,
•
.
__
o i_
I.S.J
=(S+.i
-
-
,-,4.j

•
_,-,1_
.J
_
=

+I+

+.i
•
•
Lr.! l.:!
c>:~
-
-
0+\ S+J+(S
Note that even with n
on-
joi
ning
letters,
it
is us
ually
quicker to
finish
the
whole word
be
fore

adding
any dots right to le
ft
:
Step
10

L )
Ste
p 2:

L.
j
• •
~
.'I
~
~
~
barTd
tadi
(Ordinary mail)
Unit 6
27
Practise tr
acing
aod
th
en copying the words.
,.,

,.,
•
•

-
www.uz-translations.net
28
extra:
long
vowels
mextra
, .
Long vowels
You
have
met
the
s
hort
vowel
marks
on
pages
14- 15. These
marks
are
written
above
a
nd

below
the
main
script
and
aTe
I discretionary.
, However,
if
a vowel is
long,
for
examp
le a
long
0
as
in
I 'bQ.Qt', th
is
requires
an
additional
letter to be
added
to
the
I word:
l
ong

a (as in
'(gther
') I
alif
added
after
the
letter: ~
ba
I
l
ong
0
(as
in 'bQQt')
long T (as in
'm~t')
,J
waw
added
after
the
letter: Yo bo
£?
ya'
added
after
the
letter:
~

bT
Look
at
the
handwritten
and
print
ed
versions
of
th
e words
below whi
ch
co
ntain
lo
ng
vowels. Remember:
• I a
lif
and
J waw do
not
join to
the
fol/owing letter
•
($
ya'

ha
s-
the
some s
hape
as

in the intial
and
medial
forms, except
it
has
two dots
~nder.
You
will also occasionally see Q long a written
as
a wavy sign
(
oJ :.
madd
a)
over
an
aUf: I,
as
in
WI
anisa

(young
woman).
Printed form Handwritten form
wL
. .
L:.
.)
'LL
r
' -
··
ct
·
ol
·
.
__
.J
.
•
. (.
1."

.
~lk
.
-

bab door/gate
nOr light

(a
l
so
a name)
dTn
religion
barTd
mail
nar
fire
yabanT
Japanese

ex.tra:
long
vowels
Practise
writing
the
wo
rds
containing
long
vowels.
\.j-=>
~
.:J
J.r
29
ex

tra
.
~~L
. -
I
I
mabrOk
ya
l)
abTbatTI
(Congratulations darling!)
J
www.uz-translations.net
•
Start this l
etter
shape a little
ab
ove the line, then l
oop
ro
und
clockwise
and
add
th
e curved tail. The movem
en
t
is

a little like
a mirror-image figu re
of
8.
Practise tracing
and
then copying the letter s
hap
e.
p
-
c-
s
tart
_
here
~


_
This s
hape
is used for
thr
ee Arabic letters. Notice the difference
between
the
printed
and
handwritt

en
forms:
Pr
inted form Handwritten form

c'-

[

-

g-

g
th
e letter
':la'
. Prono
un
ced
as
a
brea
th
y'
h'.
the letter
jim
. Pronounced
as

a
soft
'j'
as
in the so
un
d in the
midd
le of '
plea
s
ur
e'
Unit
7
.

c
.
JO
inin
g
up
•
31
the letter kha'. Pronounced
at
the
ba
ck

of
the
throat.
Si
milar
to
the 'ch' in the
Sc
ottish word
'l
odl'.
Joining
I)
a',
jIm
and
kha
' requires
pra
ctic
e.
fi
nal
media
l
in
itial
join
ed
to the

letter before only
joined both
sides
joined to the
letter after only
roo
l
l
-~
-
J
The lntial form
of
th
e sh
ape
is relatively straightforward,
but
wh
en
ot
her
letters
are
handwritten before
I)
a',
jIm
or
kha'

th
ey
t
end
to be placed
above
, so
that
they e
nd
up
joining
at
the
top
le
ft
of
th
e s
hop
e.
Look
at
the
exampl
es below:
Printed form Handwritten
form
k.

.

.
~

I +
t::
•
?

y

="+c
~
··
-·
t ··
=c+ ,
C';-' J

~

-
c+(,?+.;
<
•
,
<
. I
_

gL
. + I
(.
C
In this
unit
we
'
ll
conce
ntrat
e
on
th
e initial
and
isolated forms.
,
www.uz-translations.net
32
Unit 7
The isol
ated
form is used
when
th
e letter follows
one
of

the
six
non-joining letters (see
Unit .6 for s
umma
ry tabl
e)
and
is
th
e
lost letter in a word,
as
in
t'
on
page
31.
Part 2
of
this book deals with combination s
hape
s
and
you can
practise the medial a
nd
final co
mbinat
ions f

or
~a
',
jTm
and
kM
'
in
Un
it
1
7.
•
Master
calligrapher
tips
-1
The
initial
~
shape
is
,aised
in
fm
: f : t
e,
shapes
-;:;-
',

need
to
fini
sh
on the line,
induding
,J
(see
~
on page 31),
Ja~~
I
I
.L?
__

<1
- I
_____
J
Practise writing these Jetter co
mbinati
ons co
ntaining
initiol
and isolated
~a'
,
jIm
and

khat.
•
•
•
• •
Unit 7
33
. ,
2t
-
-,-
~\
~
i,jl>\~\
ajzakhana
qa
~
r
in-
nl1
(Qasr el-nil Pharmacy)
www.uz-translations.net
The lett
er
0 h
a'
is u
nusual
as
it

changes its shape more
radically
tha
n most letters
when
joined.
First
practise tracing
and
then
cop
yi
ng the isolated letter s
hap
e,
makmg sure
you
move
your
pen
clockwi
se.
_._
The isolated letter looks si
milar
in
the
printed
and
handwritten

form
s:
Printed form Handwri
tt
en
fonn
___
0 _
__
_
_ (1
Joi
ning
up
the
letter ha'. Pronounc
ed
h
as
in 'hotel'.
Pay special attention to
th
e differe
nt
shapes
of
0 ha' when
joined. Alth
oug
h

the
final fonn is recognisable, the initial
an
d
medial forms look very different.
Unit 8
final
joined
co
the
letter before only
medial
joined both si
des
initial
joined to the
letter after
on
ly
35
The medial form
of
0 ha'
is
also significan
tl
y differe
nt
in
ru

q'a
handwriting from
the
printed naskh script, where it looks more
like a ribbon tied in a bow:
Printed ronn
Handwritten fonn
initial

""'-

- -
~
-
medial
+
-
'1'

final
__
L __
__
41
__
Pay special
attention
to
the
inital ha'.

You
need to
start
the
letter
at
the
top
left, fonn a
la
rge backwards C-shape,
th
en
lo
op
back inside
the
C-s
hap
e before continuing to
the
left.
Practise tracing
and
then
copying
the
initial, m
ed
ial a

nd
final
fonns
of
0 ha':
www.uz-translations.net
36
UnitS
'\
____
tl._
-


•

-
_.
_._
Moster
calligrapher
tips


-

The final ha' can be also
be
written
lik

e thi
s:
/-*'
So
'-:-'
followed by
~
can be written in in either of the
se
two ways:

-
~
-




~
-
-

•
Look
at
the
se
words with
tt
ha'

in
the
printe
d
and
handwritt
en
form
s:
Printed form Handwritten form
.
•
.>+>
-
4'-

nahr
river

~

-
huna h
ere
UnitS
37
-
~-'

wa

jh
face
~
-
'-*

jawahir j
ewels
Notice how
the
initial
~
curves
round
the
ot
her
way
into
th
e
s
hope
of
th
e following ha'
in
th
e
handwritten

J]/' (river).
Practise writing
th
ose words.
•
~4'-V-'L'-

-

~
ta' marbota
There is a special fe
minine
ending which looks like
~
ha' with
two dots on top:
.i.
This only
ever
appears
at
the
e
nd
of words
and
is known
as
ta' marbGta (

't
ied
t').
It
is pronounced a or at.
The
ta
' marbota is
handwritt
en
in
exa
ctly
th
e
same
way
as
a
final
or
isolated
~
ha', with
th
e
additi
on of a
dash
re

pr
ese
nting
the two dots:
www.uz-translations.net
38
Unit 8
Print
ed
form Handwritten form
__
~-"'l
_
•
hadfya p
resen
t
/gift
jarlda newspaper
zubda
bu
tter
~
- - P"""t"; .
What's on the shopping lis
t?
s6!J
un
J,mnq epqnz
110

;JA!lO
UlJlAl?Z
lAin
SU
I!<X1
iJ<ljJO:J
uunq
epOH
lOj
lUils<JJd
~
pn4-
! 1
e,.{'!p114
JadedsMilu
epIJe!
Printed form Handwritten form

t

th
e letter mTm. Pronounced m
as
in 'mo
th
er
',
The letter
f"
mTm doesn't shore its s

hape
with
any
o
th
er letter.
Notice how
you
start
t
he
letter s
hape
in
th
e middle, forming a
tight circle
in
a clockwise direction, before
continuing
to
the
le
ft
and
th
en downwards
into
th
e tail.

The
handwritt
en ruq'a
mTm
sits Q little higher
than
th
e printed
n
as
kh
form,
although
the
tail do
es
end
below
th
e lin
e.
Practise
tr
aci
ng
and
then
copying
th
e letter s

hap
e.
_

_
www.uz-translations.net