Book Review: Kalimaat-ul-Quraan: Tafseer wa Bayaan

كَلِمَاتُ القُرْآنِ تَفْسِيْر وَ بَيَان

Kalimaat-ul-Quraan: Tafseer wa Bayaan

Followed by Ahkaam-at-Tilaawati wat-Tajweed

By ash-Shaykh Hasanayn Muhammad Makhloof

Printed by Daar Ibn Hazm

Pages: 416

This is a pocket-sized reference book covering the vocabulary of the Quran with an additional section covering the rulings of Tajweed. I couldn’t find a larger version of this book when I bought it at the bookstore in Dallas but it is a valuable reference book that I have benefited from whenever I translate verses of Allah’s Book on my own. I don’t like the fact that the type is small because my eye sight is poor, and to Allah I complain, however overall it is a book that I enjoy using. What I enjoy most is how the author defines the words in the Quran. I will give you an example in Soorat-ul-Baqarah you find the word:

لِّلْمُتَّقِيْنَ

“…For the Muttaqeen”

Which he defines as:

الَّذِيْنَ تَجَنَّبُوا المَعَاصِي وَ أدُّوا الفَرَائِض

“Those who abstain from disobedience and who perform the obligatory duties.”

Very simple, plain and to the point, the rest of the book is pretty much like this. I haven’t had a chance to read it from beginning to end but as I mentioned I rely on it a lot when I translate the verses of Allah’s Book in translations of the ‘Ulamaa. There are some difficult sections as far as the author’s explanation of certain words but most of how he defines these words are taken from the books of Tafseer. The Tajweed section is brief but covers the basic rulings that we should all know when reciting Allah’s book. May Allah reward the author and publishers for a beneficial book for those wanting to better understand the Book of Allah in the Arabic language.

Press Release: 501 Arabic Verbs

Book Description

Barron’s 501 Arabic Verbs is printed in Arabic script with exemplary sentences in English for each verb. To reflect correct Arabic style, 501 Arabic Verbs has been printed back cover to front and back page to front. Verbs are arranged alphabetically in a table format, one verb per page with English translation, and conjugated in all tenses and forms. The book’s additional features include common idioms with example sentences to demonstrate verb usage and a grammar review.

Click Here for More Info

Book Review: 201 Arabic Verbs Fully Conjugated in all the Forms

By Raymond Scheindlin

Barron’s Educational Series, Inc.

209 Pages retailing for $13.95

ISBN 0-8120-0547-3

This is a very decent book that is arranged in alphabetical order and fully conjugated. What this means is that the past and present tense as well as the command are conjugated based off of the he, she, we, they, etc forms. The author based the verbs used in this book on “The World List of the Arabic Daily Newspaper (Jerusalem, 1940). You do have to have a working knowledge of English grammar terminology in addition to a solid working knowledge of Arabic grammar to make the most of this book. I don’t think that every native English speaking person fully understand the words indicative, subjunctive, jussive used in the charts! If it were not for the fact that I understood Arabic grammar better than I do English grammar I would not have understood it either. Don’t get me wrong it is a good book to utilize and makes as a great reference. The price is economical and is very easy to find.

You can do a lot with this book like arranging the verb types in a folder or focusing on all the feminine forms in a spreadsheet, the suggestions are endless. I included an inside look of my copy so you can get a better look at the text ( I know it is crooked, I apologize!). I hope the rest of you will benefit from it like I did.