Getting to know the units of the Quran

Units of the Quran

Arabic Alphabet

We talked about how the Arabic alphabets each have unique set of qualities that set it apart. Just like a book can be described in many ways - thick or thin, paperback or hardcover, quality of paper, print, subject etc., each Arabic alphabet has a unique combination of qualities. As we learn more, we will see that some letters share some qualities - like bouncing sound, or flowing air, or a similar point of articulation. It is very encouraging for the beginners to know that we get reward for each letter of the alphabet that we recite in the Quran. So as we learn more alphabets, try to pick up your copy of the Quran (with wudu of course) and try to recognize and recite the letters that you have learnt.

Words in Quran

Alphabets come together to form words in the Quran. Allah SWT told us that He made the Quran easy for remembrance. And subhanAllah we see one manifestation of this when we study the root words of the Arabic words in the Quran. Many words are repeated again and again in the Quran in different forms, which helps the student of the Quran to quickly build up the vocabulary of Arabic words.

Root words simply mean the core letters that the word is made up of. Just like every part of the plant - the trunk, the branches, the leaves, the flowers, the fruit - essentially come from the root, different expressions of a word come from its root letters.

For example, in English language we see word "Write" Several prefixes and suffixes can be added to this to make different words. Eg - rewrite, prewritten, writer, etc.

The letters ka ta ba in Arabic can come together to make several words:

As we are going over the different ayahs of the Quran, it is a good practice to keep reviewing the root words, as it not only helps to build the vocabulary and it helps us to connect with the Quran a little bit more. Alhamdulillah!

Ayahs, Surahs and Juz

Words come together to form Ayahs (commonly called verses), and Ayahs come together to form Surahs (commonly called chapters) in the Quran. The Quran is also divided into 30 Juz for ease of recitation. More about these divisions can be found here in sha Allah:

What is the Quran: https://inspiredbythequran.blogspot.com/2019/09/what-is-quran.html

Units of the Quran: https://inspiredbythequran.blogspot.com/2019/09/units-of-quran.html

An ayah: https://inspiredbythequran.blogspot.com/2019/09/an-ayah-not-just-verse.html

A Surah: https://inspiredbythequran.blogspot.com/2019/09/a-surah-not-just-chapter.html