The Nooraniyah Qaida is a method of teaching children to read the Quran. It is based on the principles of phonics and repetition. The Nooraniyah Qaida can be taught to children as young as four years old.
The Curriculum
The Nooraniyah Qaida program consists of several lessons that must be followed in the order specified by the author. These lessons are as follows:
Lesson 1: The Individual Letters of the Hijaiyah
In the first lesson, children are taught the individual letters of the Arabic alphabet, which are:
- Alif , Baa ,Taa , Thaa , …, etc.
These are the 28 letters of the Arabic language, considering the hamza as a separate letter (ء) as in the word (أَخَذَ), and the long vowel (ā) as a derivative of it as in the word (ذَات). When teaching the letters, the following should be emphasized:
- Memorizing the letters well from top to bottom and vice versa.
- Making sure to emphasize the emphasized letters and thin the thin letters. The child should learn one letter at a time and not move on to another letter until they have mastered the one before it. The emphasized letters are: (خص، ضغط، قظ). The rest of the letters are thin letters. The letters lam and ra’ fall between thinning and emphasizing and have several cases. The alif follows what precedes it in thinning and emphasizing.
- Reading with the rules of tajweed without explanation. The child learns by repeating what they hear from the sound.
- Committing to pronouncing the letters (حا، را، طا، ها، يا) with this spelling in Quranic pronunciation. It is not permissible to pronounce them (حاء، راء، طاء، هاء، ياء) even if this is permissible in non-Quranic pronunciation, as they did not come as separate letters in the Quran. The pronunciation of Arabic letters in the Quran is as follows:
Lesson 2: Compound Letters
In this lesson, compound letters are explained, which consist of two or more letters. The child learns to read compound letters by spelling them out, not by sound. For example, the letter (لا) is taught to the child by spelling it out. They do not know this letter and its composition, so they are told: the letter (لا) is lam and alif. In this way, the teacher tells them what it is made of. In this lesson, the letters are repeated between compound and individual letters so that the child can distinguish between them and they are ingrained in their mind. Here are some examples of compound letters:
- بلب: بَا، لا، بَا
- . تكث: تَا، كَافْ، ثَا
- . تس: تَا، سِينْ
- . بج: بَا، جِيمْ.
Lesson 3: The Nooraniyah Letters
The Nooraniyah letters are known as the Nooraniyah letters, and scholars have differed about these letters and their interpretation. They do not have a fixed meaning, and they are taken from the transmission of sheikhs. In this lesson, the teacher must read with the rules of tajweed, and the long vowels should be applied without focusing on the child applying the long vowels; because their breath is still short, so they only extend according to their energy. Rather, they will learn from repeating what they hear of the long vowels and the rules of tajweed from the teacher or from the tape. The Nooraniyah letters are 14 letters, and they are divided into four groups, which are:
- The alif: It is not extended.
- The letters (حي طهر): They are extended by two movements of natural extension for each letter.
- The letters (سنقص لكم): They must be extended for 6 movements, and the type of extension is mandatory literally weighted if it is followed by a shadda letter. It is a mandatory literal lightening if it is not followed by a shadda letter.
- The letter (ع): It is sometimes extended for 4 movements, and sometimes for 6 movements.
Conclusion
After completing the first three lessons, the child should be able to distinguish any letter of the Quran without hesitation. Here are some examples of the Nooraniyah letters and how to pronounce them:
- طه: نطقها (طَا هَا)
- . طسم: نطقها (طَا سِينْ مِيمْ).
The Three Movements
In this lesson, the child learns the three movements, which are the fathah, kasrah, and dammah. The child must be taught that the fathah is called a fathah because the mouth is opened when pronouncing it, and the kasrah is also called a kasrah because the mouth is closed when pronouncing it. The dammah is called a dammah because the mouth is closed when pronouncing it. The way to spell them is as follows:
- Hamzah fathah: A, hamzah kasrah: I, and the child repeats: A I, hamzah dammah: U, and the child repeats: A I U. Here, it is important to pay attention to the position of the jaw and lips when pronouncing the movements, as well as to the length of the movement, which should be very short, not exceeding one second.
The child should be trained to read the letters from top to bottom and from left to right until they are fluent in reading the letters with the movements quickly. Sheikh Noor Haqani arranged the letters according to their exits, starting with the hamzah, whose exit is the roof of the throat, and ending with the letter mim, whose exit is from the lips. In this lesson, the teacher focuses on the qalqalah when the letter is silent, and the letters of qalqalah are (qutb jadd). The teacher also draws attention to other tajweed rules, tafkhim, and tarqeeq. Examples of the pronunciation and spelling of the movements as in the word (أَخَذَ): A hamzah fathah ءَ, kha fathah kha, A kha, dhal fathah dhah, and the child repeats: AKHADHA.
Tanween
Tanween is a silent nun that comes at the end of a noun in pronunciation, and it differs from it in line and stop. The sign of tanween is two fathahs, two kasrahs, or two dammahs. The way to spell tanween is as follows:
- Maa: Mim two fathahs: MAN, m: mim two kasrahs: MIN, m: mim two dammahs: MUN. It should be noted that in the Nooraniyah Qaida, what is not pronounced is not spelled; so the alif in the fathah tanween is not pronounced or spelled. It should also be noted that the alif in the fathah tanween is extended by two movements if it is stopped at when reading. The focus should be on the ghunnah for two movements, and its exit is from the nasal cavity. This lesson includes exercises on the three movements and tanween. Examples include the word (بَرَرَةٍ): Ba fathah: BA, ra fathah: RA, BARA, ra fathah: RA, BARARA, ta two kasrahs: TIN, and the child pronounces and repeats: BARARATIN.
The Three Extended Movements
The three extended movements are the small alif (i.e., the long fathah), the small ya (i.e., the long kasrah), and the small waw (i.e., the long dammah). They are spelled, for example: (هِ ي): ha kasrah ya small (HI), or in (هُ و): ha dammah waw small (HU). The amount of extension is two movements.
Letters of Lengthening and Softening
The letters of softening are the two letters (ya, waw) that come silent after a fathah. These letters are called letters of softening because they are easy to pronounce. The silent letter is pronounced with the letter before it when pronouncing the letters of softening in words. The letters of lengthening are (a, i, u), and they are lengthened if the waw is silent and what precedes it is dammah, if the ya is silent and what precedes it is kasrah, and the alif is silent and what precedes it is fathah. In this lesson, the child should learn that the alif that follows the waw of the collective is not pronounced or spelled either. The spelling method is as follows:
- BA fathah alif silent: BA.
- BA dammah waw silent: BU.
- BA kasrah ya silent: BI.
Examples of the movements include the word (ءَامَنَ), and its spelling is as follows: hamzah fathah alif silent: ءَا, mim fathah: MA, ءَامَ, nun fathah: NA, and the child repeats (ءَامَنَ).
The Silent Movement
The child learns that the silent movement is called so because the mouth is still when pronouncing it. Knowing the silent movement is important for the child; because when pronouncing it, it is in the case of the hamzah of cutting, unlike the other movements, and it also corrects the exit and description of each letter. To learn how to spell it, you can refer to the following example:
- AB: Hamzah fathah BA silent.
- IB: Hamzah kasrah BA silent.
- UB: Hamzah dammah BA silent.
In this lesson, the child should learn the shape of the letter of jazm, which is the small ha above the letter. He should also distinguish between letters that are close in their exit and description, such as the letters dhal and sin. He should practice them by making the letter sin silent and the dhal moving, such as:
- DHI S
- DHA S
- DU S
He should also distinguish between homogeneous letters such as ta and ta, making ta silent and ta moving, such as:
- TA T
- TU T
- TI T
He should also know that the silent letter is not spelled alone; therefore, a moving letter is added before it and the hamzah is with its three movements. The child is given exercises on the silent movement until he masters it. [5]
The Shadda
In this lesson, the child learns the shape of the shadda and where to place it on the letter. He learns that the shadda is two letters: the first is silent and the second is moving. Here, it should be noted that the qalqalah is dropped when spelling the shadda letter. The spelling method is as follows:
- ABB: Hamzah fathah BA silent AB, BA fathah BA, and the child repeats: ABB.
- ABU: Hamzah fathah BA silent AB, BA dammah BU, and the child repeats: ABU.
- ABBI: Hamzah fathah BA silent AB, BA kasrah BI, and the child repeats: ABBI.
The following are examples from the Quran on the shadda:
- KUWIRAT: Kaf dammah: KU, waw silent: KU, waw kasrah: KU, ra fathah ta silent: KUWIRAT.
- BURRIZ: BA dammah ra silent: BUR, ra kasrah: BURRI, za fathah: ZA, is pronounced: BURRIZI.
- TUBALLAS-SIRA’IRU: Ta dammah BA silent: TUB, lam sin silent: LAS, sin fathah SA: TUBALLAS, ra fathah alif mad: TUBALLASRA, without mad hamzah kasrah I, TUBALLASRAA, wajib muttasil mad 4-5 movements, ra dammah RU: TUBALLASRA’IRU.
The Shadda and the Silent Movement Together
- MARRU: Mim fathah ra silent: MAR, ra dammah waw silent: MARRU.
- WA-S-SUBH: Waw fathah sad silent: WA, sad dammah BA silent: WA, ha kasrah: HI, is pronounced: WA-SUBHI.
- WA-T-TAYNI WA-Z-ZAYTUN: Waw fathah ta silent: WA, ta kasrah ya silent: WA, nun kasrah: NI, WA-TTAYNI, waw fathah za silent: WA, za fathah ya silent: WA, ta dammah ta waw silent: WA-ZZAYTU, nun kasrah: NI, WA-ZZAYTUN, becomes together: WA-TTAYNI WA-Z-ZAYTUN.
Two Shadda in the Same Word
- YAZZAKKA: Ya fathah za silent: Y, za fathah kaf silent: ZAK, kaf fathah alif small: KA, YAZZAKKA.
- ILLIYUNA: Ayn kasrah lam silent: IL, lam kasrah ya silent: LI, YA dammah waw silent: YU, nun fathah: NA, ILLIYUNA.
- INNA L-LADHINA: Hamzah kasrah nun silent: IN, nun fathah lam silent: NAL, lam fathah LA, dhal kasrah ya silent: DHI, nun fathah NA: INNA L-LADHINA.
The Shadda After the Mad Letter
- HAJJAKA: HA fathah alif mad jim silent: HAJ, jim fathah: JA, HAJJA, kaf fathah KA, HAJJAKA