Our Curriculum

1. The Single Alphabet: Mastering the individual 28 Arabic letters in their isolated forms.

2. Letter Shapes & Positions: Learning how letters change at the start, middle, and end of words.

3. Fatha (Short Vowel 'a'): Reading simple letters with the upper vowel mark.

4. Kasra (Short Vowel 'i'): Mastering the lower vowel mark sounds.

5. Damma (Short Vowel 'u'): Mastering the rounded vowel mark sounds.

6. Joining Letters (Harakat): Connecting 2-3 letters using the three short vowels to form simple words.

7. Tanween (Double Vowels): Reading words ending in double fatha, kasra, or damma (an, in, un sounds).

8. Madd (Elongation): Applying the long vowels (Alif, Waw, Yaa) to stretch specific sounds.

9. Sukoon (The Stop): Learning how to join a vowel-less letter to the preceding one.

10. Shaddah (Doubled Letters): Mastering the emphasis on doubled consonants.

11. Madd and Shaddah Combinations: Handling words that contain both elongation and doubling.

12. Laam Shamsiyyah & Qamariyyah: Applying the "Sun" and "Moon" letter rules for the definite article "Al".

13. Hamzat al-Wasl: Learning the rules for the joining Hamza when starting or continuing a verse.

1. The Foundations of Sound (Makharij & Sifat)

• Makharij al-Huruf: Identifying the exact exit point for each letter (throat, tongue, lips, etc.) so letters like Ha (ح) and Kha (خ) aren't confused.

• Sifat al-Huruf: Learning the characteristics of letters, such as which are heavy (bold) and which are light.

2. The Rules of Nun Sakinah and Tanween

This is the "bread and butter" of Tajweed that students master after the Qaidah:

• Izhar: Clear pronunciation.

• Idgham: Merging letters together.

• Iqlab: Changing the sound to a 'Meem'.

• Ikhfa: Hiding the sound with a slight nasal pull (Ghunnah).

3. The Rules of Meem Sakinah

• Izhar Shafawi: Clear 'M' sound.

• Idgham Shafawi: Merging two 'M's.

• Ikhfa Shafawi: A soft, hidden 'M' sound.

4. Rules of Elongation (Madd)

Teaching children when to stretch a sound for 2, 4, or 6 counts:

• Madd Tabee'i: Natural stretch.

• Madd Waajib & Ja’iz: Compulsory and optional long stretches found in the Quran.

5. Practical Application

• Qalqalah: The "echo" or bouncing sound on specific letters (ق ط ب ج د).

• Rules of Ra: When to make the 'R' sound thick or thin.

Our Quran curriculum follows a natural progression that builds confidence through steady achievement. We begin with memorisation starting from Surah An-Nas and working backwards towards Surah Al-Baqarah. This "backwards" approach allows children to master the shorter Surahs first, giving them a sense of accomplishment while they perfect their Tajweed. Once a student reaches a level of fluency where they can read the Quran with minimal mistakes, they begin their Khatm—reading the entire Quran from start to finish. This full recitation is done under the close guidance and aid of our teachers to ensure every letter and rule is applied correctly as they complete the Book of Allah.

At Al-Qalam Arabic School, your child will develop their Arabic language skills progressively, starting from beginner level and building towards confident, practical Arabic communication. Throughout the programme, students will develop the four key skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing, while gradually expanding their vocabulary, pronunciation, sentence-building and understanding of Arabic. Lessons are structured to help children become increasingly confident in using Arabic in everyday situations and to communicate naturally, with their ability developing step-by-step according to their age and level. Our detailed teaching programme and lesson sequence are kept internally to ensure a structured and consistent learning experience for every student.

At Al-Qalam Arabic School, students will develop an understanding of the Arabic language used in the Qur’an through a structured and progressive programme. They will regularly practise Qur’anic words and expressions, learning their meanings and how they are used so that they can begin to recognise and understand familiar vocabulary while reading the Qur’an. Our aim is for each student to learn and understand up to 400 Qur’anic words throughout the academic year, building their vocabulary step-by-step and helping them develop a stronger connection with the meanings of the Qur’an.