Publications

The Author’s Latest Publications

Here you will find the latest news about our books.

Volume 3

Volume 3 of Qur’anic Arabic has been published. You can order it on all online retail platforms, including Albouraq:

https://librairiedelorient.fr

Volume 2

Building on the success of Volume 1 of the Qur’anic Arabic method, we are pleased to present this second volume, Level A2 — which will be followed, God willing, by a third. Our A1, A2, B1, and B2 classification does not follow the Common European Framework of Reference, as our method serves a specific purpose: above all, to understand the Qur’an.

That said, oral practice has not been neglected. On the contrary, we include numerous oral activities, as spoken practice is an important means of achieving this primary goal — one cannot effectively learn a language without speaking it.

Students will note that the oral activities, based exclusively on Qur’anic roots as in Volume 1, revolve around topics drawn from the Holy Book and increasingly incorporate Qur’anic verses to enrich expression and illustrate ideas, gradually bringing these activities closer to Qur’anic language and themes.

The book Une approche du Coran par la grammaire et le lexique [“An Approach to the Qur’an through Grammar and Vocabulary”] lists 1,726 Qur’anic roots, whereas a simple dictionary such as the Sabîl contains no fewer than 6,000 Arabic roots.

In this Volume 2, each unit opens with a study of near-synonyms — words with closely related meanings.

Each unit leads towards a “final project,” designed to apply the skills acquired in a real-life scenario. Teachers may assign these activities in class or as homework, depending on available time and learners’ pace.

The textbook consists of 10 units, a final exam, and several games.

The pedagogical aim in terms of the language itself is to cover one year of study at a rate of one and a half to two hours per week, with a reasonable amount of personal work.

This textbook is suited to an adult and teenage audience. A good portion of the teaching materials can also be used with children. The method was designed primarily for teachers, but independent learners will find it equally rewarding.

Grammatical Content

• Past tenses (simple past and imperfect), and sequence of tenses.
• Irregular verbs in the perfect tense.
• Derived verbs (morphology and semantics).
• Active and passive participles.
• The subjunctive.
• Negation of the future.
• Maṣdars (verbal nouns).
• Relative pronouns.
• The declensions of inna and kâna (and similar words).
• Expressing likes and dislikes.
• Expressing opinions.
• Agreement of numbers (continued).
• Colours.

May this method benefit a great many students, with God’s blessing.

It has finally been published: Freedom of Belief in Islam by Hasan Farhan Al-Maliki, which I had the honour of translating. I wish to remind readers that the author has been imprisoned in Saudi Arabia since 2017 and faces a possible death sentence. Let us advocate for his release!

I would like to thank Mr. Bachari of the eponymous publishing house, who initiated this project — which, by a strange coincidence, answered one of my deepest wishes at the time. I should add that I receive no royalties for this book; my translation and promotion of it are motivated solely by my affection for the author.

This study highlights the chasm between the Qur’an’s teachings and the views of traditionalist Muslim jurists and scholars on freedom of belief and interfaith relations. A parallel, hegemonic, and political version of Islam emerged in the very first century of the Hijra, founded on a falsification of history and the invention of spurious hadiths that contradict the Qur’an and suppress all critical thought. The author reviews all the Qur’anic verses and the words of the Prophet (peace be upon him) in favour of freedom of belief…

Extract from Hasan Farhan Al-Maliki’s book (Freedom of Belief in Islam):

“Divine will has thus decreed that human beings would disagree, that they would fail to resolve all their differences in this world, and that the Most High Himself would judge their disputes on the Day of Judgement. This is what the Qur’an tells us. It follows that compulsion in religion or belief contradicts the active will of God, which has established that human beings shall differ… Consider the abundance of Qur’anic verses on freedom of belief and observe the scarcity of hadith texts on the same subject. Ordinarily, hadiths on religious matters are at least twice as numerous as Qur’anic verses. If a verse speaks of how to perform ablutions, at least two hadiths address the subject — and in fact, dozens. So why, when the Qur’an contains dozens of verses on freedom of religion, do we not find hundreds of hadiths on the subject?”

The Doctrines of the Great Masters

This work by ʿAbd al-Wahhāb al-Shaʿrānī addresses major theological questions by presenting the views of great thinkers — theologians and Sufis alike — with particular prominence given to Ibn ʿArabī. It will be of great value for the study of tafsīr (Qur’anic exegesis and commentary), particularly on theological and metaphysical matters.

The author was a great Muslim metaphysician. Born in Cairo in 1493 (899 AH), al-Shaʿrānī witnessed the zenith of the Ottoman era. A prolific writer, he authored numerous books spanning both the exoteric and esoteric sciences. Above all, he was a spiritual master and reviver of the scholarly disciplines of his era. He died in 1565 (973 AH) and was buried in Cairo.

Translated by IDRIS DE VOS
Preface by SLIMANE REZKI

Our Qur’anic Arabic method was published in 2020 and has already achieved great success, praise be to God. It is the first method of its kind, based on the language and vocabulary of the Qur’an.

Introduction to the Method

This textbook is intended for those who wish to learn Arabic with the primary aim of understanding the Qur’an. With this in mind, all vocabulary is drawn from the Sacred Text or roots related to it — even the place names chosen follow this rule. Grammar is illustrated with Qur’anic examples from the very first lessons. Oral practice has not been neglected; I have endeavoured to find a subtle balance between the demands of spoken practice — often lacking in classrooms — and the study of the Sacred Text.

This textbook is suited to an adult and teenage audience. A good portion of the teaching materials can also be used with children. The method was designed primarily for teachers, but independent learners will find it equally rewarding.

The textbook consists of 10 units and a final exam.

Each unit offers activities aimed at practising the four language skills: listening comprehension, reading comprehension, oral production, and written production. The order of activities can be adapted to suit the learner’s needs.

Some activities are marked “Pedagogical Thread” (fil pédagogique). These explain the method as I designed it. They can be adapted and reused across lessons.

The dialogues presented every two units serve specific pedagogical objectives. They allow for in-class exchanges through question-and-answer exercises.

Audio files are available for download on the website.

Teachers will also find, as optional downloads on the website, animated PowerPoint files for classroom use with a projector or large screen.

The pedagogical aim in terms of the language itself is to cover one year of study at a rate of one and a half to two hours per week, with a reasonable amount of personal work. More specifically, learners will be able to:

• Read and write the Arabic alphabet
• Use common Arabic expressions of courtesy
• Use simple sentences to introduce themselves and others
• Talk about their family
• Use the present tense
• Master the basic syntax of the nominal and verbal sentence
• Become familiar with word morphology
• Learn the basics of Arabic case declension
• Express spatial orientation
• Use possessive pronouns and express possession
• Use all basic interrogative pronouns
• Formulate the negation of nominal and verbal sentences
• Become familiar with the various forms of the plural and the dual
• Learn the numbers

Ample space is naturally devoted to understanding the Qur’anic text, as this is the primary aim of the method. Students will have the pleasure of reading their first Qur’anic words from the very first lesson, thanks to a vocabulary selection drawn exclusively from the first letters of the alphabet. Subsequent lessons follow the same logic, allowing students to immerse themselves in the vocabulary of the Sacred Text and to read increasingly complex sentences. This Qur’anic journey will lead them to study numerous short passages illustrating each grammar chapter, as well as to explore certain verses more broadly.

I have also opened each unit with a “proverbial” Qur’anic passage — phrases that Arabic speakers frequently use in fitting contexts, much like proverbs. Each passage is connected to its lesson.

Qur’anic translations are deliberately very literal, often at the expense of stylistic elegance. This is a pedagogical choice. I leave it to each reader to rephrase them as they see fit.

Nearly 200 flashcards are also available. Some are used in lessons; others are not. They can be used in countless ways, and I leave teachers to use their imagination.

I have included some word games in the appendix to expand vocabulary and encourage a playful approach. These optional activities can also be assigned as homework.

I look forward to feedback from readers, and especially from teachers, to help improve this textbook. Contributions are also welcome: activities, games, Qur’anic passages, and more.

I thank the many students whose presence and commitment allowed me to develop all these activities. They tested and launched this method, weathering the imperfections of the early versions.

Idrîs de Vos
Qur’anic Arabic, an Arabic method based on the Qur’an

Paroles d’amour (Words of Love)

I am pleased to inform you of the publication of this work: a collection of poems by celebrated Sufi masters on the theme of love, illustrated with calligraphies.

Calligraphies by MOUNIR EL KHOUROUJ
Texts translated by IDRIS DE VOS

“At heart, she said to herself, nothing moves us but the objects of our love. But how to reconcile, or rank, all these objects of love? And how to find the strength to give more to God than to a cake? The attraction of the cake exerts more force than that of God! Perhaps He is further away? But is it not said that He is very near? What to choose: God or the cake? I could give this coin to a poor man and go without the cake. But for the moment, I am hungry. Let us eat this cake… My God, if I remember You in the taste of the cake, perhaps I shall save a portion of the love I owe You. In any case, I bought this cake — I did not steal it! And if I stop eating, I shall die. Must one let oneself die to please God? No — for if all those who love God were to die of hunger, there would be no one left to love Him. And no one left to pass on His word.”

Ibéris

Ibéris, le fruit de l’amour. Ed. Victor Lebrun. 2019.