Noorani Qaida Lessons 1 to 17: What Each One Teaches

How Many Lessons Does Noorani Qaida Have?

Most prints have 17 lessons. Other prints have fewer or more. Many put the topics in a different order.

Page numbers change from print to print too. So page 7 or page 31 is not the same lesson in every book. Match the topic in your own book, not the page number. Here is one common order, in plain English. Your lesson numbers may differ.

• Lesson 1: single letters. The name, sound and place of each letter.
• Lesson 2: joined letters. How letters change shape inside words.
• Lesson 3: the opening letters of some surahs (muqatta'at).
• Lesson 4: short vowels (fatha, kasra and damma).
• Lesson 5: tanween (the double mark that adds an 'n' sound).
• Lesson 6: short vowels and tanween together.
• Lesson 7: standing vowels (they stretch the sound).
• Lesson 8: long vowel letters and soft letters.
• Lesson 9: practice on lessons 4 to 8.
• Lesson 10: sukoon (a letter with no vowel).
• Lesson 11: practice on sukoon.
• Lesson 12: shaddah (a doubled letter).
• Lesson 13: practice on shaddah.
• Lesson 14: shaddah with sukoon.
• Lesson 15: shaddah with shaddah.
• Lesson 16: shaddah with long vowel letters.
• Lesson 17: noon sakinah and tanween rules.

Lessons 1 to 3: Letters and Joining

These first lessons teach you to see every letter and say it well.

• Lesson 1, single letters: You learn the name and the sound of each letter. You also learn where in the mouth or throat each sound is made. This place is called the makhraj. The dots help you tell look-alike letters apart, like baa, taa and thaa. The usual count is 28 letters. Many prints show 29, because hamza gets its own place.
• Lesson 1, heavy letters: Many prints point out 7 of them. They are khaa, saad, daad, the heavy taa, the heavy zaa, ghayn and qaaf. You say them with a full, deep sound.
• Lesson 1 practice tip: read each row from right to left, then read down the columns. Then ask a helper to point at letters in a random order. This way you learn the letters, not the order.
• Lesson 2, joined letters: A letter changes shape at the start, in the middle and at the end of a word. Six letters do not join to the letter after them: alif, daal, dhaal, raa, zay and waw. Read the words of 2 and 3 letters slowly, and point at each letter.
• Lesson 3, opening letters of surahs: 14 different letters open 29 surahs. Read them by their letter names, not as words. For example, Alif Laam Meem. Scholars give different views on what they mean. The Qaida only teaches you how to read them.

Lessons 4 to 9: Short Vowels, Tanween and Long Vowels

Here the letters turn into sounds. This is where real reading begins.

• Lesson 4, short vowels: Fatha is a small mark above a letter. It gives an 'a' sound. Kasra is a small mark below. It gives an 'i' sound. Damma is a small curl above. It gives a 'u' sound. Keep all three short. Do not stretch them.
• Lesson 5, tanween: Tanween is a double mark at the end of a word. It adds an 'n' sound: an, in or un. It only comes on the last letter of a word.
• Lesson 6, short vowels and tanween together: Words now mix single vowels and tanween. Read one letter at a time, then the whole word.
• Lesson 7, standing vowels: A standing fatha, a standing kasra and an inverted damma stretch the sound. Hold each one for 2 counts.
• Lesson 8, long vowel letters and soft letters: Three letters stretch for 2 counts. They are alif after a fatha, waw with a sukoon after a damma, and ya with a sukoon after a kasra. The soft letters are waw or ya with a sukoon after a fatha, as in 'khawf' and 'bayt'. In normal reading, say them softly, with no stretch. When you stop on a word like 'bayt', they can stretch. Your tutor will show you. Many prints teach them here.
• Lesson 9, practice: This lesson mixes lessons 4 to 8. Read it until nothing makes you stop and think.
• Practice tip: tap the table twice for each stretch. That keeps the count at 2. Our guide to madd rules explains stretching in more detail.

Lessons 10 to 16: Sukoon and Shaddah

These lessons make your reading smooth. Small mistakes can hide here, so go slowly.

• Lesson 10, sukoon: Sukoon is a small mark on top of a letter. It means the letter has no vowel. Its shape changes from print to print, so ask your tutor to point it out. In the Madinah print, a small round circle means something else. It tells you not to say that letter. Say it together with the vowel before it, like "ab" or "ik". Do not add a vowel after it. Many prints also teach the echo letters (qalqalah) here: qaaf, the heavy taa, baa, jeem and daal. When one of them has a sukoon, give it a light bounce.
• Lesson 11, practice: More lines with sukoon. Keep each sukoon clean.
• Lesson 12, shaddah: A shaddah marks a doubled letter that is written once. Say it as two letters. The first part closes the sound before it. The second part opens with its own vowel.
• Lesson 13, practice: Lines with shaddah. Say the doubled letter firmly, not fast.
• Lessons 14 to 16, harder mixes: Shaddah with sukoon, shaddah with another shaddah, and shaddah with long vowel letters. Take each line step by step.
• Practice tip: slow down. Speed comes after clean sounds.

Lesson 17 and Beyond: Noon Sakinah and Tanween Rules

In this order, lesson 17 teaches what to do with an 'n' sound that has no vowel, or that comes from tanween. There are 4 rules. The letter that comes next decides which rule to use. Some prints split these rules over more than one lesson.

Your tutor shows you which letters trigger each rule. For the full list, read our guide to noon sakinah and tanween rules.

• Izhar: say the 'n' clearly.
• Idgham: merge the 'n' into the next letter.
• Iqlab: change the 'n' to an 'm' sound.
• Ikhfa: hide the 'n' with a soft nasal sound.
• After lesson 17: some prints add meem sakinah, rules for the letters laam and raa, and stop signs. Others leave them for Quran reading. See what comes after Noorani Qaida.

A 10-Minute Routine for Each Lesson

Use the same short routine for every lesson. Read aloud, not in your head. Ten minutes every day beats one long session a week. Parents can track the days with our free kids' practice chart.

• Read yesterday's last lines aloud.
• Read the new lines slowly. Point at each letter.
• Read each line 3 times.
• Mark every slip. Ask your tutor about it.
• Move on only when the page reads clean twice in a row.

Can You Learn These Lessons by Yourself?

You can follow the order and learn the shapes by yourself. A book is enough for that.

The sounds are harder. The heavy letters, how long to stretch and how to say a shaddah all need a teacher's ear. It is hard to hear your own mistakes. Read more in can I learn Quran by myself.

Learn Noorani Qaida with a Live Tutor

At Salam Campus, every class is live and 1-on-1. You can choose a male or a female tutor, and you get a regular tutor. Every class is 30 minutes, for every age. Your tutor shows each page on screen, so there is nothing to buy or print. The tutor listens to every line.

In US dollars, plans start from Regular price $40, now $28 a month30% off for 2 classes a week. Your first 30-minute trial class is free, and no card is needed. See the Noorani Qaida course or book a free trial.