Alif, Ba, Ta: our first Arabic letters
The Quran is written in Arabic letters; Alif, Ba and Ta are the first three letters of the Arabic alphabet, and every letter we read from the Quran is rewarded by Allah.
This episode goes public on YouTube on Saturday 21 November at 9:00 Lisbon time. The note below is ready now.
ا ب ت Alif, Ba, Ta The first three letters of the Arabic alphabet
The first word of the Quran to be revealed (Quran 96:1) اِقْرَأْ Iqra Read!
The story
Raiha can read the big A on the Alif Lane street sign but not the Arabic under it, and Yusuf cannot say why the lane is called Alif either, until Maryam explains that Alif is a letter, the first of the Arabic alphabet. On the living room rug Maryam teaches Alif, Ba and Ta with three cards: Alif stands tall and straight like a person, Ba is a little boat with one dot under it like a fish, Ta is the same boat with two dots on top like birds, and each one starts a word the children know, Allah, Bismillah and Baba, and tamr, the dates Baba brings in. Baba tells them that the first word Allah sent down to the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him was Iqra, read, and that every letter of the Quran we read is rewarded, and Noor the cat makes the dot under the Ba with a paw print in the garden path.
What your child learned
- The Quran is written with Arabic letters. Alif, Ba and Ta are the first three letters of the Arabic alphabet.
- Alif stands tall and straight and starts Allah. Ba is a little boat with one dot under it and starts Bismillah and Baba. Ta is the same boat with two dots on top and starts tamr, dates.
- The first word Allah sent down to the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was Iqra, read. He could not read; the angel Jibril brought him Allah's words, and Allah taught him the Quran.
- Whoever reads one letter of the Quran has a reward, and it is multiplied by ten. The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him said Alif is a letter, Lam is a letter and Mim is a letter, and that the best of us are those who learn the Quran and teach it.
Talk about it at dinner
- Which letter stands up tall and straight, and which word starts with it?
- What is the difference between Ba and Ta?
- How did Noor make the dot under the Ba in the garden?
Try this week
Play Raiha's letter game at dinner this week: everyone names a word that starts with Ba, then with Ta, then with Alif. Afterwards draw the three letters with a stick in the sand or a finger in flour, with the dots in the right places.
Print and do
The free pack for this episode: a colouring page of the scene, the fridge cards with the phrase, and Raiha's sticker chart for the habit of the week. Three pages, as a PDF to print at home.
Download A4 (845 KB) US Letter
More to print from the same art, including the colouring book and the phrase posters, is in the shop.
Where it comes from
The teaching in this episode rests on these sources. The links open quran.com and sunnah.com, where you can read each one in Arabic and English.
- Iqra, the first revelation: Quran 96:1 to 5
- A reward for every letter of the Quran, multiplied by ten, and Alif is a letter: Jami at-Tirmidhi 2910 (hasan sahih)
- The best of you are those who learn the Quran and teach it: Sahih al-Bukhari 5027
In this episode
- 0:00 Welcome
- 0:03 The sign
- 1:05 Three letters
- 2:48 Iqra
- 4:09 Say it with me
- 4:54 The letter game
- 5:45 Letters in the sand
- 6:38 Counting dots
- 7:11 The Alif Ba Ta Song
- 7:43 Quiz
- 8:23 Sing along
From the same episode
- The Alif Ba Ta Song, the song on its own with the words on screen (from Sunday 22 November).
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