Dear Seeker of Knowledge,

Here's the big misconception...

We're told that learning Arabic happens through gradually progressing from the simple to the complex. 

In other words, the first thing you need to learn is how to say "this" and "that" and what's the word for house and what do we call a chair. 

Then you should move to commonly used conversational elements like how do you ask someone their name and where they're from. 

By around the 7th lesson you will have learned the major pronouns and have a few dozen commonly used words within your vocabulary. 

Lesson 8 will go on to introduce verbs for example by first showing them being used within sentences and following up with exercises.....you get the picture.

Almost all modern programs teach words and rules little by little with no connection between them instead of teaching the BIG PICTURE and getting a sense of HOW the LANGUAGE WORKS. 

As a result, you're left feeling overwhelmed and thinking the language is confusing and random, when in fact it's quite the opposite.

Here's what you need to know:

The single biggest cause for failure in learning classical Arabic is to progress from the simple to the complex without having a big picture understanding of how the language works, and the fastest and most results-certain approach is to isolate from the language a core and a central theme and learn that first.

It's simple. Not all rules and lessons are created equal. In fact, the “80/20 Rule” states that you can expect 20% of your efforts to give you 80% of all the benefits you ultimately achieve.

This is especially true for the Arabic language. It has a very clear core which consists of roughly 20% of all the rules in the 3 sciences of Grammar (nahw), Morphology (sarf) and Rhetoric (balagha).

The rules that belong to this 20% core have the broadest application by far. These are the fundamentals of Arabic that you would expect to encounter in practically every sentence.

But within this 20% core, there is an even DENSER inner-core which we call the “Core-4″. Without getting caught up in math, re-applying the “80/20 Rule” with the 20% core, we get an inner core of no more than 4% of all the total rules in the 3 sciences. This 4% inner core accounts for over half of all benefits!

And it is the ability to properly capitalize on this very concept that allows students in our program to grow at an exponential rate. A sister who studied Arabic at Harvard university and subsequently at our intensive puts it best:

… Because of that, in one day of class I learned more than I learned in an entire _year_ of Harvard…. What you need in a class is someone to explain to you how the language WORKS…. In only a few days of the Shariah Program, people were starting to read Arabic fluently … they had already learned what each part of the sentence was, like: this is a past tense verb/this is a noun/ this is a command to a man/ this is an adjective referring to the feminine noun). That does _not_ happen in university Arabic until well after the first full year….

Yes, properly capitalizing on the “80/20 rule squared” allows our students to learn mind blowing amounts of proper and well-structured Arabic in mere days. This is what makes the Shariah Program unique and its curriculum one of the most sought-after in the Western world.

The following 7 steps summarize how we'll get you out of the beginner phase and eventually help you achieve incredibly high levels of proficiency:

STEP 1: Study the CORE and Central Theme of How the Language Works 

When you learn this core and central theme first, you will have a bird's eye view of the entire language. Then each time a new rule or pattern is introduced, it’s not going to be just a random piece of information that needs to be memorized. It’s now a key piece of the big picture that you eagerly grasp and put into place to make your understanding of the language clearer and clearer.

STEP 2: Begin Your First Arabic Book in the Third Week of Class

Text: Qasas an-Nabiyyeen 1-2

As you see the rules that you’ve learned come alive in the pages of this story book, your enthusiasm level will go through the roof. Not only that, but you’ll have a perfect opportunity to learn the rest of the language organically and contextually, based on need and necessity, as the author gradually brings more and more complex structures. 

STEP 3: Complete a 132 Page Classical Book in Grammar, Cover to Cover

Text: Hidayah an-Nahw

In the second semester (roughly the 7th month of study), we take everything we’ve learned in grammar and morphology and put it into practice as we start reading our first unvoweled text (i.e. without tashkeel, harakaat or zabr, zer and pesh). This is where you'll learn to think at the level of the scholars. 

STEP 4: Dive Deep into the Meanings Of The Qur’an

Here we will be going through the verses of the Qur’an and learning about rhetorical devices and language patterns. We will cover two large surahs from the Qur’an with a very thorough grammatical and rhetorical analysis. The themes, language patterns and rhetorical devices you’ll learn about in these verses will equip you to understand hundreds of other verses like them.

STEP 5: Master Classical Logic and the Modes of Argument

Text:  Mi'yar al-ilm and al-Qistas al-Mustaqim (both by Imam al-Ghazali)

Studying mantiq will deepen your appreciation of the Qur’an. Because entire sequences of verses within the Qur’an are formatted based on the rules of Logic. When you understand exactly why a particular argument leads to its conclusion you will appreciate the argument to a much higher degree. You’ll go beyond satisfaction into absolute certitude.

STEP 6: Attain True Proficiency Through Second Grammar Text

Text: Ibn Aqeel’s commentary on the Alfiyyah of Ibn Malik. 

Because this commentary is quite easy to understand, you’ll be able to focus your efforts on getting more proficient at reading quickly. Our aim is to gradually wean you off of conscious deciphering – and take you to the point where the deciphering becomes subconscious. So you can read and understand Arabic as quickly and easily as you do English.

STEP 7: Arabic Rhetoric (balaagha) or the Study of Eloquence 

Text: Mukhtasar Al-Ma’aani Imam Taftazani’s commentary on al-Qazweeni’s Talkhees Al Miftah

Rhetoric is the most exalted and noble area of study concerning the Arabic language. It is said that it is through the principles of Rhetoric (balaagha) that “the veils are removed from the faces of miraculousness within the verses of the Qur’an”.

The study of balaagha will open up a whole new world for you, exposing you to the most wondrous things. We’ve saved this text for the final months of Year 2 so that you’ll have something exciting to look forward to.

Here's a sister who drove 10 hours from New Jersey with her husband to attend a 5 day intensive workshop a couple of years ago. Click play on the video below. (1:47 min)

Alhamdulillah, over the almost 2 decades that we’ve been teaching, literally hundreds upon hundreds of students have left behind detailed reviews, within Facebook comments, at our student only message boards, within surveys and sometimes emailed to us directly.

Many of these are actually full blown essays which are hard to share on this page. 

Below and on the side of this page, we're sharing a few of the shorter ones to help you decide:

Here's a screenshot of one posted on Facebook. Many others can be seen here.  

"the bold step he takes in getting the student into the heart of the Arabic language through ‘the stories of the prophets’ just after a few weeks of schooling in Arabic is unheard of but it is highly effective because while giving the opportunity to the student to apply and understand the theory (morphology and syntax in general), it also keeps him/her not only challenged but also motivated and interested…this is what the other courses fail to achieve!"

- oumardia

“Within first few weeks I realized the structure of this course meant that it was adding to everything I had been exposed to and forming a much clearer map of the language. The course has never felt boring despite my previous exposure and the students are always being stretched and steadily taken to the next level”.

- Faisal Khan

"I showed a friend the material available for each lesson.  She was stunned.  The fact that the video is backed up by a transcript and with an abstracted handout and table when appropriate, is the greatest and most brilliant idea I have ever seen or experienced...  I would also add that the fact that you have distilled your experience of the past ten or more years in such a way as to present the material in a logically and chronologically coherent manner, contributes to your method as an unqualified success. "

-Shakira, Palestine

"This is my third series of Arabic classes. I’ve previously attended an Islamic school for three years, and I also took a year of Arabic classes in college, and I can honestly say that I’ve learned far more here in three months than I did in my four prior years in Arabic instruction. Not only that, but what I have learned I am also able to understand and recall far better than anything I learned from my other attempts at learning the language. 
“This is truly a remarkable system, Mashallah. I was somewhat skeptical that the course would be as good as I had heard, but it definitely exceeded my expectations. Everything that is taught is taught in an amazingly efficient manner, with each issue being brought up multiple times, with each instance increasing the depth of the discussion at a controlled rate, so that by the time a subject is taught in exhaustive detail, the subject will already have been brought up multiple times. It really just flows”.

- Farhad Akbari, San Diego

“alhamdulillah I feel like I’m getting much more than my money’s worth and really your program is the answer to my dua’s of wanting to learn arabic seriously. I used to read the website and the testimonials and think that it was all just hype to get people to sign up, but now I can’t stop gushing about it to other people I know having similar problems as I had with finding the right course. Within the 7-8 weeks of recordings you have summed up what I have learned with 3-4 years of part time studies and more, and I’ve understood the concepts much more clearly than before. So I just wanted to say jazakallah for offering the course as I’m really excited to see what else I learn as I go on inshallah”.

- Fariha Siddiquie, Toronto

Here's Br. Tauhid Rashad who drove over from Detroit, Michigan for a 5-day intensive I conducted here in Toronto.

If what I've shared with you in this post has caused your dedication to increase and you want to understand more and more of the messages Allah has willed for you, then please read this section carefully.

Allah Most High selected the Arabic language as the medium for His final message. That is because the language has elements built into it that make it unique and special. What makes it special is its comprehensiveness and its ability to communicate through mere vowels what other languages would need entire words to communicate. So there's a mechanism that governs the conveyance of "non-word meanings". 

Studying this mechanism first is what will get you to your goals in the easiest, fastest and most results-certain way. 

This is how you get speed. Speed is not only possible but it is essential. Because without speed you get no momentum. You get bogged down with endless lists of rules that seem random and then you end up quitting.

Trying to understand the Qur'an without a thorough understanding of this mechanism (the most broadly applicable aspects of grammar and morphology) will force you to rely on the translations of others. As a result, you won't possibly be able to experience it as the Companions did. So much will get "lost in translation".

However when you learn the language as it's meant to be learned, meanings will jump out at you when you're reciting Qur'an on your own. You'll have great khusoo in your prayers. You'll be able to appreciate the conclusive arguments that are on every page and you'll be able to speak about your deen with confidence openly and publicly.

The program has been in session uninterrupted for over 20 years now, alhamdulillah. You can rest assured that you will be studying through a proven methodology that has worked for thousands, and that, at any given time, you'll only be studying the things that you absolutely need to know.

Does it require effort and work? Of course it does, what thing worth achieving doesn't?  The good news is the work is all front-loaded and limited to barely 4-5 weeks of study. 

You won't have to wait very long for a payoff. After just a few short weeks you'll already be reading an actual Arabic book. Even the opening weeks that are the most challenging are fascinating. There is nothing in this program that is tedious.

So if all of this sounds good, I'd like to invite you to join, inshaAllah.

There are 2 versions of the program. 

SELF-PACED VERSION (Tuition $1497 USD)

A Self-Paced version where you simply study on your own at your own pace through our extensive library of resources. You ask your questions under every video and/or attend office hours if you need extra help. 

Plus, there are quizes after every week's material to ensure that you're understanding all the concepts. This option is ideal for people who do not need extra accountability. The price is $1497.00

PREMIUM with LIVE CLASSES (Tuition $1,997 USD)

The second option is premium with live classes. In addition to lifetime access to all of the learning resources, this option includes 2 hours a week, one on Saturday morning and one on Sunday morning to augment and supplement the concepts covered in the weekly videos. 

I conduct one of these classes myself personally, and my assistant Sr. Asma does the other. The tuition for the premium version with live classes is $1,997.00

"I am a father of 9, so time is a luxury that I don't always have. I have tried for several years to learn the Arabic language and this course has allowed me to achieve more in the past 15 months then I have in all my previous years collectively".

- Kyree Spain, New Jersey

"I took one year of University Arabic course and came out with zero understanding of morphology and grammar. But just few weeks after enrolling in the Shariah Program, I started to understand portions of what the Imam recites from the Holy Quran during salat "

- Kasim Ali

"Within the first few weeks of Shariah Program I had covered in a year [of my studies] of my weekend madrasah with much deeper understanding. And alhumudlillah after a year of Shariah Program I was able to read books with considerable understanding."

- Saad Anjum

"I don’t know of anything comparable being offered elsewhere in Canada or the US in English. WHAT YOU COVER IN THIS COURSE IS WHAT PEOPLE GO OVERSEAS TO SYRIA, PAKISTAN AND ELSEWHERE FOR. I spent 9 months in Damascus studying Arabic and this course is better organized and more thorough, and you can take it without quitting your job. If this had been offered then I wouldn’t have needed to go..."

-Waqar Ali Khan, Canada

"When i first read comments raving about shariah programme, i thought they were abit over the top until i started the course… subhanallah wow!  It really is the only course outside the middle east that teaches arabic as of you were studying under a sheikh abroad."

- Zakra Ahmad

"I had almost given up on learning the language... But since finding this program, I have changed that mind-set. I no longer feel stupid, and am now comfortable with knowing that I will be fluent in Arabic just as much as I am with English (InshaAllah) due to what’s provided in this program... I must say the Shariah Program has given me so much confidence."

- Shabba Shakkas

"One thing i have picked up from the teacher is his clever way of making you believe you can do it and changing your mindset regarding Arabic as a whole. Mulana Yusuf will either say, "if you got that then its really good, " or, “if your confused then even that is good because it shows that your mind is working!!” Simply brilliant."

- Wisdom

“I feel the spiritual benefit of it already… (I am 63)… All these years I have studied, I thought I was just a poor learner, but I can see that what I was taught and the manner of how I was taught was inferior.”

-Yousef

(older student with vision and hearing limitations)

"[The] big-picture approach brings about an attitude of commitment in the student that so many other courses fail to develop."

- Danish Muzaffar Barey

“I heard about Shariah Program a few years ago and because I was doing another Arabic course, I did not start with Sharia Program. I am really glad and all praise is due to Allah that I did not put it off any longer, because what I have realized, since joining is that Sharia Program taught in 13 weeks what took 3 years+ in the other course”.

- Farida

"I expected a lot from the programme and i ve not been dissappointed. I dont know how it happened but with only few weeks into the study  materials, i am competing favorably with my friends who have been studying the language for close to 2-3 years."

-Abass Badmuss

"...above all, I received a lot of information which I had not come across in previous attempts in studying the language. And I think the methodology in getting across the core of the language and then expand on it is unique and very effective. It also keeps one's attention focused in looking forward to subsequent lessons. "

-Yinka Lawal

"Alhamdulillah I am so very pleased with my classes at the Shariah Program. I've been studying Arabic since I'm Muslim more than 35 years however, I'm just now beginning to get it. The classes are available on a consistent basis and everything is made so clear, easy and to the point. After studying in Egypt, Sudan and Singapore plus in the USA none has presented the classes in a consistent clear way as the Shariah Program."

-Amatullah V. Abdul-Karim, USA

"I have been studying Arabic for a decade but seen nothing like it. There is no replacement for this in our English world. All the books written on teaching Arabic fall below par to the standard set by Shaykh Mufti Yusuf Mullan".

-Yasin Shaikh

"This course, for me, was the first and only opportunity for a sister to really excel in the Arabic language. What I can get and have gained from this course I don't think any sister in the world can get it elsewhere and I am sure of it."

-Safiya Bint Ahmed, U.K.

"I'd read and heard about various online programs to learn Arabic and grammar and Shariah Program was always at the top of the list.  Shariah Program has exceeded any expectations I had as it seems to be a madrassah level education offered online.  I hoped to be able to recognize a few words here and there when reading Quran.  I had no idea that we were going to be studying Arabic to the depths that we are masha Allah."

-Muminah Ahmad, Philadelphia

"I remember that following Ramadan, I would prepare a juz each night before taraweeh focusing on iraab, scanning through the english if need be and then stand with so much happiness and gratefulness as I listened to it being recited. I was able to follow every word alhamdullillah!"

-Javeria Memon

“Last week, I heard a Khutbah after Fajr in which I understood almost everything I have heard. It was such an ecstatic moment for me in my Arabic learning…. to tell you all the truth, I was probably one of the worst students in the first 6 months… I resolved to myself that I would not only catch up but also try to be one of the best students in my class…. my family, friends and colleagues say that I am a person who is hard-to-please. Here in TSP, my experience has just been the opposite. I am pleased with the course from Day 1 till now”.

- Siraj from Geneva

"I had almost started believing that online programs cannot deliver on the real stuff... But after 10-11 months in your program, my faith is restored that it can be done"

-Ali Abidi, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

"When i first started looking for arabic online course...i was skeptical about the promises made by mufti saab.....especially when mufti saab said  we will be reading untexted book after 6 months..i just cloudnt understand how that would be possible since students spend so many years going to in university to learning arabic....i used to think what is so special about this course......But even since i joined Masha-Allaah TabarakAllaah...i can see the promises of mufti saab coming true....its just amazing how this course is structured to ensure that the student get the maximum benefit and learning complicated things within a short span of time..."

-Nargis Begum

"The moment I came across this program, I grabbed it, it was like my prayers are answered.    This is  the most comprehensive, well structured program and very easy to understand. "

-Shada Malik, UK

"Shariah program has far exceeded my expectations. It is not as expensive as many other programs, yet the benefit from the course is unbelievable.

It only requires around 7 hours a week, which is definitely reasonable. Alhamdulillah, each time I hear the Qur'an I'm able to understand more and more with every passing week. I'm only 5 months into the program but have already paid for the entire 2 years because I am confident in Mufti Yusuf's talent in teaching Arabic, mashaAllah.

In fact, I am now more focused and passionate about learning Arabic than I am about my Masters degree."

- Syed Idris, Toronto, Canada

"I have taught University for years and never seen anyone motivate students with your zeal and humble way of “I too am learning … see it’s not too hard for you."

-Mukhtar B. PhD.

"I pray Allah Most High preserves this program and all involved as it has enhanced the quality of my life, my deen, and foremost my understanding of the arabic language 100 fold and has truly started to unravel for me the true miracle of kalaamullah."

-myaseen74

"At first the energy of the presentations attracted me. They come with the confidence a good teacher must hold for his pupils. He must see their potential when they cannot. No amount of detailed instruction can replace this."

- Barry Nur

"I am moving very slowly but what is invaluable is not only Mufti Yusuf’s expertise but his absolute conviction that it is achievable. That inspires me to continue. Everything is there that I need to accomplish the goal.

My life is extremely busy and so I do not have the possibility to move as fast as I would like but the structure of the course gives me the flexibility to move at my own pace."

- Leanne Day

"After I came across this course, I felt as though my prayer had been answered. It is so exciting to know that that I can access the Arabic language from the confines of my own home under the guidance of a dedicated teacher who will assist and support his students as they progress further at the flexibility of their own learning pace."

- Ridhwana

".. I had (and still have) a bookshelf FULL of Arabic learning resourses, I have all the volumes of al kitaabul Asaasi, al ‘arabiyyatu bayna yadayk, ibn sa’ud university curriculum, al kitab fii taallumil ‘arabiyyah and many more. Of course I didn’t get through them all and neither did I succeed in fully comprehending all the lessons, I probably would have still been at it, maybe even given up. Anyway after 6 months studying at Shariah Program, I could comfortably open any of the textbooks and understand almost all of it. I don’t really need to use them anyway. Alhamdulillah. And that’s no exaggeration! It was the best decision I had made and I’m still around learning new things every week."

– Rahima

"I have found it to be very true that you don't need to worry about not understanding everything the first time it is covered. As concepts are covered over and over again through the Qasas book. I have found slowly but surely everything starts to fall into place. I love the fact we are learning the grammar whilst actually translating a book, so the grammar isn't just theory, but comes to life! It is great being able to listen/watch the recordings as many times as needed and reassuring to know that any questions and queries can be asked anytime on the forum."

- Saliha Chaudhri

"The best thing about the program was the fact that the same concept was repeated so many times that it just settled in the brain. The same was with the vocabulary, because of the repetitive usage of it, I just learned it with minimal effort alhumdulilah."

- Faryal

"I have studied with Mufti Yusuf for about 3 years… Alhamdulillah… I have benefitted so much to the point of being able to read books I was wishing to read for many years. I have read almost 2/3rds of Imam Sabooni’s SafwatulTafsir, as well as the explanation of RiyadasSaliheen by Shaykh Uthaymeen, and have been able to listen to the lectures of the great ulema online who’s lectures are mostly in Arabic. So along with this program and your own personal dedication you can definitely go far. Most of All understanding the Quran is the greatest of the blessings of learning the language!"

- Khaled Hasan

"You've taken a language that seems like an enigma to most people and are handing it to them on a silver platter, all they need to do is to make some effort to do well. Usually when you take a course, there are a lot of variables in order for you to succeed. Such as the course layout, the teacher, course material, course presentation, then the student, their interest, their motivation and effort. I feel I can safely say that, in this Arabic course, you've made these variables into non-variables. The course layout, methodology, the teacher, material and presentation are excellent and constantly getting even better. So a prospective student should only worry about their own variables, because this course undoubtedly will get you there. You just need to prepare for the journey. Its like getting on a plane, as you prepare for the trip, you’re not really thinking about the pilots ability to fly, the engine’s capability to run, etc. Those are given. You’re only worried about being ready, being packed, getting to the airport on time. etc. That is how this is."

– malam